FauxPas

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?

gfweb, I'd love to see links to the other table-top ones. Rotuts, cover your eyes!

I love the thought that went into this! The pictures make Smaug look a bit pink (or maybe it's just my screen non-calibration) but I see you describe it as fire-engine red and I love the gold powder detail. Love the Lifesavers as gemstones! Maybe you already said, but I'm not sure how the pearls are formed. (I think those are pearls, yes?)

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.