FauxPas

Would you buy it again? I would try it (at the price you found it) but not sure I would pay some of the Amazon prices.

How picky is she? Looks like they have a fairly good variety for meal choices.

Also wondering about the Fuji apples - isn't that rather like taking coal to Newcastle? (given your abundance of freshly picked apples)

Is that Made in Canada Hawkins Cheezies???!!!! I love that Castello Danish Blue Cheese, it's a staple for me. And I really like those Campbell's Broths, which surprised me when I first tried them. I get the No Salt Added ones and use them quite often. Does anyone know if they are available in the US? The last time I was in the US for a while, I took some down with me.

Mmmm! Tourtière! I love that suggestion. And the cornbread. I used to cook cornbread with beans and peppers and onions - throw the veggies on the bottom of a pan and put the cornbread on top. Bake and freeze in portions. It can be served with a bit of salsa and sour cream or just eaten on its own or with other veggies. Kerry, I was afraid you might start off with .... "First, get a freeze-dryer..... "

From the same site, I really like the idea of the single-serving Shepherd's Pie Muffins. I probably wouldn't use exactly the same ingredients, though. I also like the muffin pan for making mini-quiches. Speaking of muffins, they freeze well and fruit and whole grains can make them a healthy breakfast or lunch or snack.

Chicken Marasa is one that I have made ahead for freezing. This website has a recipe for that, plus many others for freezing. There is a membership available but I have found a lot of recipes there without a membership. http://onceamonthmeals.com/chicken-marsala/

Not sure about those Humpty Dumpty ChedaCorn thingies. No Hawkins Only-in-Canada Cheezies????

I hope you don't need to use them!

Well, not sure I want to get on that ferry with you (in that storm), but I surely look forward to reading about it!!!

Niagara Falls?

I've never tried that before, but I will now!

Just wondering which cheesemaker you buy from. I know Natural Pastures up here in Courtenay makes Mozzarella di Bufala. (I used to occasionally visit Hilary's Cheese in Cow Bay when I lived further south on the Island.)

My smartphone pulls up the mobile version of the website and I have to say I think it's pretty good - links to menu, reservations and directions all on first page - no scrolling necessary.

Jaymes, it does look like their website is temporarily down - I was able to view it earlier today. Deryn, completely understand that many of the other systems are rather small and don't produce very much. I do wonder about the tray sizes and head room inside the Urban Cultivator, though. Here is one slightly critical review by someone who tried it. It's still going to require planting, thinning, and possibly transplanting. And that $800 shipping cost is high! And a final estimate of $3500 with all taxes. Ouch. I can see that a restaurant might make good use of the UC, though, for things like micro-greens and sprouts. I've been using the Easy Sprouter for sprouts for years and I adore it - so easy and I can grow a variety of sprouts in it. The rosemary plants I have here in BC produce pretty much year-round. Where do you live that you would need to grow them indoors?

What's the price on that Urban Cultivator? I couldn't find one. It looks like a pretty complete solution though! I saw this Smart Herb Garden recently. It's about $100 and will automatically water but looks like it will only provide extra light so I assume it needs to be positioned in a fairly bright spot. It looks like it will hold 3 plants, which isn't that many. But you can also get additional Smart Pots and germination lights, etc. Not sure it's a good solution, but it seemed to be similar in goal to the Cultivator. For someone who wants a fairly compact solution that isn't too ugly, it might be the right answer.

El Charro Café in Tucson air-dries their Carne Seca on the roof of the original restaurant. Extract from El Charro Café Cookbook on Google Books.

You need an assistant. Maybe you could get a collar camera for your kitty to snap some shots while you stir. I'm sure Kitty would be interested in watching the food prep and you would have hands-free pics! http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-collar-camera-photos-behavior-cats-eyes

I marinate chicken wings in lemon and/or lime juice along with red pepper flakes (or fresh hot pepper), honey or sugar, olive oil, basil or thyme or rosemary. Marinate for 30 mins to overnight, then bake. Lemon roasted potatoes, sometimes called Greek Roasted Potatoes. (Or roast chicken pieces and potatoes together with lemon, olive oil, oregano) I also love pork ribs (side or back) marinated for about 24 hours in lots of lemon juice, some lemon zest, olive oil, honey, oregano, grated onion, garlic. Then bake. Serve with fresh lemon slices. And here's one from Renee's Seeds that I haven't tried, Greek Style Stuffed Chard. And one more - Sweet Onion & Lemon Relish - though it's called 'sweet' it's intended for use with meats. ETA a couple of additional suggestions.

I've read about this before, but never tried it. But it's been around for awhile, here's a 2009 article on the dehydration idea: http://thetanglednest.com/2009/08/drying-food-in-car/ Also, there is a whole oeuvre on cooking with cars: http://jalopnik.com/5913336/the-ten-best-recipes-for-cooking-with-your-car/ Some of it seems kinda silly to me, but I guess it works!

What kind of kitchen facilities do you have to work with?

May I ask what's in the bag there?

I know what you mean, Shelby! It is very interesting. I'd love to see more pics.

As rotuts says, it will hold a pretty decent amount of chicken pieces. I have done enough chicken wings for 4 people, though it was a bit crowded and we weren't having a wings-only meal. I've cooked 6 drumsticks at once. I often steam-roast whole chickens, up to a max of about 2 kg or 4.5 lbs. We've had several guests over the last couple of months and i have used the Cuisi for some of our meals, enough for 4 people. I cooked a whole chicken a couple of times. Once cooked, I would cover the chicken with foil and put it on top of the Steam oven to stay warm while I did nugget potatoes or veggies. As rotuts also mentions, you can do a meatloaf that would serve 4. I've also done lasagne for 4 or other baked pasta dishes - you just need to find the right sized casserole dish. Look at the interior size measurements of the oven and find a casserole dish that would fit so you can visualize better, perhaps? And compare the size of the baking tray that comes with the oven with food that you might want to cook. (I can't remember the size and don't have a ruler handy but I know the measurements are in this thread. If I have a few minutes later, I will try to update some of this, though.) I've done braised beef short ribs and beef rouladen as well - not specifically for 4 people, but there were leftovers or i could have fit a bit more in. Sometimes I do wish that I had a larger oven. It's nice when you can cook meat and veggies at the same time, but there isn't enough room to do that for 4 people. I can do that at times for the two of us though even then it can be a bit crowded, depending on what you are cooking. But there is room for a decent-sized pot roast or a couple of thick steaks, 4 small/med pork chops or a pork tenderloin. I think I could fit 4 small hamburger patties on the tray, but not huge ones. I have done a dry-cooked beef roast in the regular oven and then cooked mixed veggies in the Cuisi. It won't always do all your food at the same time but I would say you can definitely use it for cooking for 4 for some meals or parts of meals. And as rotuts also points out, it depends on how large your appetites are!

Sounds interesting! Can you tell us a bit more about it?