Magictofu

Unless you have a cold sea water aquarium, I think your best bet is in the fridge, on ice (temp close to 0C but not bellow and a source of humidity). Make sure that the water from the melting ice does not drown your lobster or clams (empty it frequently). Also, leave the bag open so that some oxygen is available. I kept lobster alive for a couple of days (not 4) this way and mussels a bit longer.

I tried to find a way to see the show on internet but it appears only people living in UK or Ireland can see it...

Degreasing stocks or even stews produces quite a bit of grease.

Lilija, you mentionned that different sources of Umami have different flavour profile. I assume that this is because of the various chemical compounds that forms the ingredient or is it because there are a variety of glutamates with different tastes?

Flames aside, I think the pictures of the interior or the steak produced by TheFanatic speak for themselves about the two zones method on a BBQ (which is similar to the pan to oven method). This technique is very popular for good reasons.

I love the idea and will be improving my disposal technique starting tonight! Thanks.

You could burn the oil in a basic oil/grease lamp but the smell might not be appreciated by most people.

I fill an empty can until its full and then dump it.

You will probably need to add sugar in order to get the right texture. There might be other culinary tricks that could work (e.g. tomato pulp, the protein and fat in yogurt, etc.).

What would happen if a piece of meat is left in the brine a bit too long appart from being too salty? I assume it would be a bit harder... anything else?

I think it's something about the black residue left on the meat... some kind of bitter compounds. I should study bio-chemistry one day!

I thought flames were to be avoided for both flavour and health reasons. Any comments on that?

I'm in the process of brining a pork loin for the Canadian Bacon recipe. Following your comments, I plan to brine it 72 hours. Will report back in a few days. What are the risks of over-brining here?

Cabbage also last very long in the fridge or even on the counter.

You want less liquid? Do not use a lid. This requires a bit more oversight than the usual crockpot method however.

If you like pork hocks, you might also want to try an old French Canadian recipe: ragout de pattes de cochon. There's a recipe translated into English on that blog.

I believe you can also replant carrot tops but that you risk seeing them go into seeds.

If butter reach too high a temperature, it will separate. If your sauce is acidic and your cream not high enough in fat, it might break as well. I always swirl butter and stir cream in sauces.

My advice would be to put something like 3-5 layers of newspaper on top of your soil and then cover this with a natural mulch such as wood chips. Simply tear small holes in the newspaper where you want to place your plants. Over time, the newspaper will desintegrate but the grass should have died by then. For tomatoes, cukes and peppers, this technique works really well because it helps keep some moisture in the soil. A good mulch will also prevent some disease. Hope this helps

For herbs, my choice is: sweet basil, chive, sage, rosemary, parsley (both curly and flat leaf), edible lavender, thyme (both english thyme and lemon thyme), tarragon and mint (green mint and peppermint). I usually go for the usual varieties, some of the more exotic varieties have nice smell but taste awful (especially the new mint varieties). Other herbs, such as coriander, go into seeds too fast for my taste and I generally don't bother with them. Dill is nice but I almost never use it at home. Mint and horseradish should be contained as they can be invasive. If you grow herbs in pots, make sure your pots are large otherwise you'll need to water them everyday and even then you will risk of seeing some of them go to seed faster than they would in larger containers. I grow my herbs in two large box on my patio (2' x 6').

That's the theory behind "breaking the bones" the old country way, as I understand it. The lore says there's an audible "crack" when the ice goes in, of course I also hear a crack when the cubes enter my gin & tonic. Personally, I can only reflect on veal stock for so long. Hot water + bones = good. ← I think the problem with putting frozen bones in hot stock is that you will instantly 'cook' the outside of the bone and release those particle Paul talked about. I might be wrong but not only will this cloud the stock but it might prevent flavour extraction... I think I'm due to read McGee again.

Not the best trick in the world but still a nice discovery to me: you can freeze toasts. I can buy a nice loaf of bread and partly grill them on a grill-pan to get nice char marks, then freeze them. You can then pop them in their frozen state in the toaster oven to defrost them and finish toasting them... this way you can get nicely charred toast will the grill marks and all and that wonderful campfire smell without getting the grill-pan out. I find it is a great way to use extra bread.

Leftover omelet or pie. The concept is simple: you use your collection of leftovers to make a pie or omelet. Spaghetti omelet is quite good and so is shepherd's pie. With a bit of imagination and experimentation, it is surprising what one can make.

Deltadoc, I am not sure about veal stock but I did brown chicken and duck bones when initially frozen without problems.

I did search the internet a little bit to find more information... so far I only found this (in French): http://www.hrimag.com/spip.php?article1569 There is a sentence at the end suggesting that the chef is in the process of developing a revolutionary veal stock recipe... I have no idea if this works... it seems quite counterintuitive... but again, he is a well respected chef in Montreal.