FauxPas

It was a warm evening and we didn't really want to cook much. We had some bread and cheese and dessert became the focus. Home-made cherry butter with fresh peaches and ice cream. So good!

Beautiful photos! That spicy beef woke me up.

Very simple dinner, but some nice local produce. And very tasty little pork sausages, made by a local grocery. We were surprised how much we enjoyed this meal.

I have exactly the same folding stepstool, I think. But I adore mine and don't think I have ever been bitten. Not sure what you mean, Smithy? I keep mine at the end of a counter run where there is a bit of space before the patio door. It fits there perfectly and doesn't actually need to be folded most of the time, so maybe it doesn't get many opportunities to bite me. Also, Kerry and Anna - I love Canadian Tire. I think they could use the motto "keep Canadian Tire weird." Because they really are a bit weird. But it works. I can never stay away from there for long. And I often find stuff there that I really like. Their store here is the smallest square footage in the whole country or something and they are crazily creative when it comes to stacking merchandise. They are supposed to take over the defunct Target store and I hope that happens because I get a serious kink in my neck every time I shop in their current store.

Fresh wild salmon, caught by our neighbour. Cooked sous vide. Roasted new potatoes and roasted green and yellow pattypan squash with gremolata (with orange and lime zest as well as lemon) and some snow peas. Topped with some citrus slices and toasted pine nuts. The veggies. And the local farm corn is here. This is Fastlane, a bicolour and it's pretty darn tasty. A bit early.

Ha, no it wasn't quite the same - for me, anyway. Though I think I liked cold, icy things more than usual. I was diagnosed in late February and people did find it weird that I wanted icy cold drinks all the time and would be chewing on the ice, asking for more, etc and all in the middle of winter.

Some pretty significant parts of the world generate electricity via hydro-electric. It's not all coal-burning plants.

Also, I am interested in this because a few years back I developed a real yen for munching on ice. It was definitely odd for me, but apparently it's fairly common in folks with anemia. I didn't know I had an issue until some blood tests came back and my doctor freaked a bit and said I might need an immediate blood transfusion. I had a treatable issue, but ice was my friend and foe before the diagnosis. Friend because it really helped me feel better and foe because it can be tough on your teeth. Chewable or nugget ice would have been much kinder. But then, I don't have the same problem anymore and don't crave ice that way anymore. Still, I like a lot of ice and have a tendency to munch at times. Now I see that the ice munching may counteract the effects of anemia: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2014/11/08/9591b4c0-6770-11e4-9fdc-d43b053ecb4d_story.html Very interesting.

I know, but I think I get it! More here at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120165510390727145

Does that area get a lot of summer thunderstorms?

Last night we started by sharing a couple of tasty samosas - one veggie, one beef. I've made samosas before, but these were purchased locally. With commercial mango chutney, which was not that great. I should have found time to make my own. Chicken cubes cooked on hot BBQ after a spicy yogurt marinade for 'tandoori-style' chicken skewers. Basmati rice, of course. And some Chana Masala. I added some cauliflower because I bought a lovely little one from the farm and my husband loves the stuff. Thought about making Aloo Gobi with the caulflower, but we already had lots of food for the two of us! (Plus leftovers.) Served with naan bread (also purchased) and a tomato-cucumber raita.

This isn't really new. Other agencies have also examined this. For example, the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) study for the California Energy Commission. http://aceee.org/files/proceedings/2014/data/papers/9-702.pdf And as Smithy referenced above: But cooking doesn't take place in a vacuum in a home. The extra heat generated by the gas or conventional electric stovetops may require additional home cooling, for example. (Of course the extra heat can be an energy savings in cold homes.) I also couldn't read past the first page of the DOE report referenced in the first post. So I don't know what type of induction cooktop they used for testing. The EPRI only used a couple of inexpensive countertop models - 1500 and 1800 Watts. Would the results have been different if they had used a full cooktop model? But as others have said, I didn't buy induction for energy efficiency. Although less heat in the kitchen certainly seems like energy efficiency to me. With a standard cooktop, I'd be turning on fans or A/C to cool the house down when the weather was at all warm. But there are so many other benefits to induction!

I am really a novice at sous vide cooking, but it helps me to try talking through some of these things. Someone much more knowledgeable than me will come along and give you some better guidance, but here are my thoughts. I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong. (I won't comment on the brining or smoking.) A brisket is a very different cut than a chop. The brisket is a tough cut that requires longer cooking. A chop is more like a steak, it can easily be overcooked. 68.2 C seems quite high to cook at chop. That puts it up at the well-done end of the spectrum, unless that is what you want. I've looked at some of Baldwin's figures, but I feel pretty comfortable using ChefSteps simpler guides to time and temp. They advise 1 to 2.5 hr water bath time for chops, depending on desired doneness. If you look at the sous vide cooking thread, there is some discussion of cooking pork chops. Also, how will your friends be reheating the chops? That will be significant.

Gorgeous colour, Shelby! I bet it tastes delicious also. Sounds like it might make a nice glaze for meats as well as toast-topping, etc. Any special plans for using it?

Sorry, should have said 'how much longer are you three there?'

Wow, too bad that the farmers' market is so nonexistent this year. Too much cool, rainy weather earlier? From what I can see, your weather now is fairly warm and sunny, is that so? We are finally getting some much-needed rain out here, so maybe we are doing a weather swap for a bit? And the produce is all late there, while here it has all been really early this year. How much longer are you two there?

Previous threads on how to prepare kohlrabi include: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144258-kohlrabi/?hl=%2Bkohlrabi http://forums.egullet.org/topic/103289-kohlrabi/?hl=%2Bkohlrabi You can cut a bit off and try it (the inside bit, not the outside peel). If it tastes good to you raw, think about using it in a salad. If not, check out cooked recipes.

Pickled eggs take me back to being 5 or 6 years old. I still remember how fascinated I was when I first saw these as a kid. I haven't made them in years, but added a few boiled eggs to a small batch of pickled beets I made recently. We had a couple of them for lunch along with some crackers and cheese and some fresh steamed peas. Fun!

Tomahawk pork chops. Marinated in apple cider, ginger, garlic, honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and zest, oil for less than 2 hours. Sous vide for just over an hour at 62C and then quickly seared on the BBQ. Boiled the marinade down for a finishing sauce. The chops were lovely, moist and full of flavour. I'm not sure they needed the marinade, but I don't think it hurt either. Nice that there was a bit of fat on these chops, they were lovely after the sear.

A few dinners. My husband was in charge of this one. Strip loin medallions, I think? He did them on the BBQ to a medium/rare after cooking the potatoes (wrapped in foil with a bit of oil, S & P). He didn't think it needed anything else, but I insisted on the tomato. You can tell he likes new potatoes. It was really quite tasty. The cat and I sat and watched him and drank wine. (Well, I drank wine.) All in all, a very good meal. (The cat got a taste or two.) Marcella Hazan tomato sauce (with butter and onion), topped with a bit of parm-reg and a bit of basil. I made extra sauce and froze it. Not that it takes much effort to make it, but it does take a bit of time. Tomahawk pork chops - after an apple cider marinade, cooked sous-vide to med-rare, then seared quickly on the BBQ. With fresh local snap beans (yay, I love beans!) and some homemade pickled beets and red onions.

Yellow squash can make a pretty relish, though. I used to make one similar to this, the red pepper is a nice contrast. Another recipe and picture. Though of course that won't preserve it close to its original form.

Whatcha gonna do with all those mushrooms you bought? Any specific plans?

So lovely, such a nice summer dish. I'm guessing that you make your own sausage mix?

Went to the farm and bought some more produce today - lots of purple and yellow snap beans. Mmm. Might have to freeze some of them, but steamed a few for a bean salad. I love bean salad with fresh beans! This won't last long, we'll eat it for lunch or as a dinner side. Boring, but good. Also had a small batch of red beets and made a jar of pickled beets layered with sliced red onion and topped with a few boiled eggs. We'll eat the eggs within a few days - I like the colour and the taste of beet-pickled eggs. And then we can use the onions and beets as a side or in salads or sandwiches over the next few weeks. For pickling liquid I used cider vinegar, water, sugar, a few cloves and a cinnamon stick. These aren't processed, just made for the fridge and quick eating.

I didn't know anything about this but did a search and found this recommendation: