FauxPas

Wow. Just wow. What a lucky little boy!

I notice that you didn't peel them - just wondering if that makes any difference or not?

Was that Romertopf only $4???? What size is it? I assume it's in good shape? You two are amazing shoppers. But I thought you said you had a very small kitchen, Anna????? Where do you keep all this stuff?

Oh, I love Carnival squash! The local farm markets are just coming out with some winter squash and the Carnival are especially beautiful this year. I was going to buy one a couple of days ago and was thinking that it would almost be a shame to cut it up as the colouring was so lovely, but also I wasn't sure how I wanted to cook it. How do you prepare yours? Do you cook the apple separately and mix them after cooking?

Oh Shel, I think you could! It would take a bit of work and maybe a different variety. You can grow watermelon in a container and train the vine to grow up a trellis. You can use strips of cloth to support the fruit as it develops if you select a miniature variety. This is something I really want to do as soon as we actually live in one place for enough of the summer to grow a garden again! I've had winter gardens in Arizona for the last few years but I haven't had a 'northern' summer garden in years! Next year should be the year, though. I especially like Renee's Seeds as she has small reasonably priced packets that often have two or three different varieties in them - perfect for a small home garden where you don't have room for large crops. She also has quite a few seeds that are suitable for container growing. I've had success with some of her patio tomatoes, peppers, and a lovely aubergine/eggplant suited for container growing, called "Little Prince." She has a few choices in watermelon seeds, at least two of them are smaller 'icebox' size. And I see Johnny's has a 2-4 lb variety, Little Baby Flower. Edited to add: I see Shelby and I posted at the same time. Great minds and all that?

Shelby, I thought of you when I saw this recipe - Courgette and Apple Chutney - because it uses 'overgrown' zucchini and green tomatoes, both of which I thought you might have toward the end of the season. Also some apples or crabapples. I wish I could say that I had tried it and could recommend it, but it does sound appealing. I'm not sure I would cook it as long as they do, I like a chunky chutney. And of course you can always play with the spices. I might try making a mini-batch of it, if I have time and the right produce in the next week or two. I love chutney.

And the beauty of pickling them is that you don't have all the prep work that you would for some other recipes. Good idea! You can always make crabapple jelly, it can be lovely. You probably already thought of that, but here's one link, just in case. It can be easy to do, also - you don't have to peel or core - just cut them up a bit!

Thanks for the warning!

I'm not sure how you mean this. They do freeze well, but perhaps you don't like the change in texture or the inability to roast after? I'm not saying it's the ideal way to preserve them, but if they can be quickly frozen, they lose less of their texture. They are still very useful, though they may not be used the same was as a pre-roasted chile. When I have extra peppers of any kind and don't have time to blanch or roast them, I find freezing raw still preserves them very well. The University Extension food departments usually agree that this is a good method for preservation (though some do recommend pre-roasting, but I think this is when you really want to try and preserve some of the roasted flavour and not just the pepper) : http://food.unl.edu/preservation/freezing-peppers http://university.uog.edu/cals/people/PUBS/Food/L-5309.pdf

If I was going to roast them, I would definitely roast before freezing. But I sometimes throw whole or diced peppers (of all kinds) into the freezer and they get used in cooked salsas, chilis, soups, etc.

Shelby, these are a good use for chiles. First met this style of quesadilla in Tucson, served as an appy. I love the simple attractiveness of it and it lets the pepper flavour shine through! Sonoron Quesadilla.

I've had this little meal a lot over the last 6 weeks or so. The BC peaches have been so luscious this year and I always love banana-nut breads or muffins. I've been using a simple Banana Nut Muffin recipe from Simply Recipes, I use a bit less sugar and I always use 4 bananas! They freeze well, so it's easy to reheat one in the microwave. I've made several batches of these muffins because we seem to scarf them down pretty fast. Sometimes I use pecans instead of walnuts.

You definitely have skills. Did you just roast the tomato or use any sweetener? I'm thinking of tomato jams, etc. http://foodinjars.com/2013/09/classic-tomato-jam-sweetened-honey/ Edited to add: Am I wrong or has the boyfriend become the partner? If so, congrats and I hope you can spend more time together in future. Any plans to live in the same city? And please forgive me for being too forward/intrusive, if so.

My head exploded a bit reading this thread. You are not a timid cook, that is for sure! Even if I had the space and the discretionary income, I am not sure I would do all that you do, but Wowser, I do love reading about it!!!!

I think gfron1 wants the optimum fresh-roasted flavour for the restaurant and does all the up-front prep for that, but I bet lots of us just throw a pepper or two in the freezer, skin-on and un-roasted. I freeze peppers whole, diced or roasted, depending on time and availability. It's better to freeze them than leave them too long, I think.

Oh, this looks like a fun meal! What type of melon is in that first course? The dessert looks lovely, was it as tasty as you remembered/hoped?

Maybe that's been the problem with the cauliflower i have roasted - it probably needed to cook longer! This recipe definitely sounds interesting.

Sorta. There are no duties on some (most?) goods manufactured within North America. Is the Anova manufactured in the US? But dmg was being charged mostly for shipping and a brokerage fee. I don't know if the brokerage fee includes any duty or if it's just a fee for doing the paperwork. The taxes are still due when you import goods into Canada, but these taxes were calculated at a higher rate than they should have been. Still it's only about $5 at most, so not sure if it's worth the time and hassle to try and correct it. And I suspect it would fall onto the consumer to request the correction. And I think you would have to deal with CBSA in order to obtain a refund. But if anyone knows better, I'd love to know. The better way might have been to have someone ship the Anova as a gift to dmg, as some fees may not be assessed when the item is a gift. Still, I once sent a handmade quilt that I made from the US to Canada that was marked as a gift and assessed a value on it only for insurance purposes, but the recipient had to pay taxes and duty on it before they could receive it. Annoying. And it could have been cotton made in the US (Ok, that is pretty rare now but still). No one asked for details, but someone decided to charge the highest fees they could on that gift item. The whole process can be such a pain. (Better to bring something across the border with you as part of your personal exemptions, but that means you have to travel to the US to purchase the item.)

Anna N's suggestion is probably a good first step. I believe the legislative power for tax and duties on imports falls within the Canadian Border Services Agency. I don't know if Anova can request adjustments after the fact or if you would have to. Not sure how easy it would be to deal with CBSA, but you might be able to check out the Casual Refund Program. The Casual Refund Program Manages the refund and adjustment processes for duties, goods and services tax (GST), harmonized sales tax (HST), provincial sales tax (PST), and levies under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), on non-commercial importations brought into Canada by mail, by courier or carried by travellers. See the website details here. Edited to correct clumsy wording due to severe lack of sleep. :-)

Serious Eats has a write-up on using mint - seven different chefs make suggestions for using or preserving it.

Ouch, and paying tax on the higher value must hurt. I wonder if you can dispute that - tax should be based on what you pay, not what the non-sale price of an item is. Not that it will make a huge difference, more of a 'principle of the thing' situation.

You know, I was kinda thinking the same thing!!!

I haven't tried it, but the Espro French Press has gotten some good reviews. It keeps the coffee warmer than most presses, it seems. It seems pricey but it appears to be well made and its double filtre system keeps the coffee nearly sediment-free. It's attractive, also. But $$$. Also available at Amazon and Williams-Sonomo, not sure if they have better prices. The main web site does offer some Seconds at a reduced press, also.

Here's a cute trick for cutting corn kernels off the cob. I bet some of the folks here have already discovered this or have a similar trick, but this was new to me - using a bundt pan to hold the corn in place (pointy end of corn into centre of pan) and then when you cut the kernels off, they fall into the pan, ready to be poured into a pot or whatever. Good way to approach it if you are cutting multiple cobs for freezing, etc.

I've tried roasting whole cauliflower with this type of coating, also. I think it was this one that started me on it. Yes, totally agree that marinating or cutting some slits or something is necessary with these recipes. They seem to dry out too much on the top or else they aren't really cooked all the way through. My next attempt is going to be using the Cuisinart Convection Steam oven. I think the addition of a bit of steam might help. But I like your ideas! Actually, thinking about it - I think I did marinate the last one for quite a while and it didn't really help that much. I am wondering if a pre-cook might be the solution? What do you think? Steam the cauliflower briefly and then marinate and bake?