DesertTinker

Here’s the “blue item”. It's a fun butter dish. I had to hunt to find a linkable pic in blue. I think there were many more colors available in the late ‘90s.

My shears also arrived. I like the serrated blade, that’s something the old Gingher pair didn’t have.

I was offered a “taste to see if you like it” at a friend’s house. It was… interesting. Not offensive, but also not something I would seek out to consume again. My memory of the experience is the initial whiskey flavor and burn, followed by a peanut butter aftertaste.

I also cheated and did my cabbage/salt massage with my Kitchenaid 5 qt mixer, two pounds of thinly sliced cabbage with salt just fit in the bowl, and with the dough hook took about 2 or 3 minutes on low speed to be “massaged and juicy”. I just wasn’t feeling the cold and salty massage by hand today.

Double ditto! I just put up two quarts of sauerkraut this afternoon, I made a couple of 9cm rounds from polypropylene dehydrator screen (I had extras), the mesh size is the same as the cheese mat and it’s food grade. It’s so much easier than the glass weights that I have, as noted by @blue_dolphin. I only had a couple of “floaters” to catch and dispose of.

Well, at least he was able to articulate where you went wrong… But that’s a whole new level of exact order and timing! 🙄🤣

Some commercial customer probably ended up with a case of retail K salt, having fits wondering why the salt isn’t “right”.

So, I cooked the remaining 8 oz of the pinto beans in the Instant Pot 3 qt. I used unsoaked beans, 1 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and the 1/4 tsp of baking soda, 4 cups water, 45 minutes on high, 20 minutes natural release. Added the new beans to the salty batch and bean liquid as needed. Now they’re delicious and edible (without inducing any medical emergencies). Fortunately these were not planned for dinner tonight.

I was trying not to be too dramatic, but agree that they are very salty. I just looked up Epicurious Salt Chart (scroll way, way down), they say 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon of Morton’s Coarse = 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal.

@Smithy So, mine looked much like yours when I took the lid off at 3 hours, kind of dry and a little scary. I automatically stirred them without getting a picture, but this is what they looked like after a quick stir. A ladleful in a small bowl with much better color balance. They are completely done, great flavor and texture, but a bit too salty. I think this is a Diamond Crystal vs. Morton’s kosher salt issue, I put 2 scant teaspoons of Morton’s, should have done a teaspoon. I’ll cook up the other half pound of beans and add them in, problem solved. Definitely a keeper, once revised.

@Smithy Thanks for the link to The Sunday Beans, I just put a pot of them in the oven, and in the same Lodge Double Dutch Oven that you used. I’m sure your lid will be fine, cast iron isn’t as big a PITA or delicate flower as most modern media (social media?) seems to want to make it. And yes, the smell is wonderful!

Much trickier to find then, going incognito. Sneaky bugger!

Still unassembled in the box?

This is from Anyday’s FAQ Is the metal on the lid safe to use in the microwave? Yes, you can put our metal in the microwave! We’ve designed the stainless steel in our lids to be 100% microwave-safe due to its smooth, curved shape. It sounds nuts, but some metal is totally safe in microwaves. If the metal is rounded, it won't arc. A metal bowl, for example, is fine! But don't put in metal that is super thin (e.g. aluminum foil) or has multiple sharp corners (e.g. a fork). Science doesn’t lie! FYI: Make sure your Anyday dish is placed at least one inch away from your microwave's wall. If the stainless steel rim of your lid gets too close, it can cause sparking.

Oofah!😳

On the bright side, it’s certainly easier to clean up than something fatty and protein based. Did you hear the explosion?

Ooh, Morton & Basset my favorite! Their spices, especially the ground cumin, lasts longer than any other I’ve tried, even not kept in the freezer. My expiration date. Eek!

Well, that’s one way to start the day… Hopefully she didn’t have to drive herself anywhere!

@ElsieD Here’s another option and I think it would be a good option for your use. The dried peppers end up more leathery than hard/crunchy. But they also do very well added to wet cooked dishes. I only have this one reference to it in home use. If you search for it on the internet, it seems to only be referenced in a commercial context. From HPBooks “How To Dry Foods” by Deanna DeLong, published 1979. I’ve used the method for bell peppers of all colors successfully, the advantages being reduced freezer space used and quicker better rehydration. The conditioning referred to is an easy internet search away “conditioning dehydrated food”

Good plan! Take care of your and your immediate family’s needs first, then show up for the bigger family’s version, ready to quietly and serenely accept whatever happens when the “littles” or the “old enough to know betters” go off the rails.

This might be a part of the lack of retail supplies. Though it does seem to focus more on the 1/2 pint school/institutional size. Milk Carton Shortage Disrupts Dairy Marketplace

A lot of small/independent businesses think that they can get away with copyright and trademark infringement. We had one taco joint here a while back that used an exact copy of Corona beer’s name and logo, they found out otherwise.

I ordered it yesterday… After the 20% discount, plus tax and shipping it came to $60.72.

@Kim Shook Glad to see you survived. No long time at room temperature turkey this year to worry about, and you got some delicious looking sides and desserts.

After having them for almost a year, I seem to use the medium and large, in both shallow and deep, more than the small. The smalls seem to be used mostly for heating leftovers or the occasional canned vegetable, I think I need to revisit using the little guys more often. The Scalloped Potato Gratin and Egg Roll in a Bowl are two that have made it into our regular routine. I did try rice once, and it worked well, but with a rice cooker there’s really no reason.