Shel_B

There is another farm in the general area and I plan to contact them after the weekend when my upcoming schedule is better established. If I go, it's for me, not for a "commitment to the cause," whatever that cause may be.

The peppers have arrived, and at a great time. The meat for the dish I want to try them in is defrosting as I type. Eagerly waiting to give 'em a try. They smell great ... nice and smokey, but not quite as intense as my recent chipotle purchase. These appear to be a good alternative to chipotles, appearing to be closer to the morita than the meco. From what I've read, they're not quite as hot as chipotles, so that could be a good thing for some people and for some recipes. So, @blue_dolphin, thanks again for tip. These will be a great addition to my cooking.

The Wasabi growers never got back to me. I called - twice - and sent them a message through their online contact form. I would love to go down there. A friend was going to accompany me, and she is somewhat disappointed that I've not heard back.

Hassan's Eggs: Based on a recipe from Sami Tamimi's father, Hassan, these are boiled and halved eggs drizzled with Cugini's EVOO and lemon juice, sprinkled with Diamond Crystal salt, Quang Tri black pepper, a locally-made (Oaktown Spice Shop) Za'atar blend, and a mixture of Urfa and Aleppo pepper flakes. Nice with a dark, rich Ethiopian coffee and leftover pita bread to sop up the juices.

This morning I enjoyed a bowl of cornmeal porridge with Kampot black pepper and a bit of pecorino romano, Panamanian Don Bosco coffee, and fresh, home made spinach and apple juice, nice and cold.

I decided to try some other cornmeal and polentas, not just for the recipe posted in this thread but for other cooking adventures as well. Apart from the Italian polenta mentioned upthread, I ordered some fine and coarse yellow cornmeal from Anson Mills as well as some of their polenta. It'll be nice, and hopefully educational, to compare three brands and six variants of the product. Just how different can ground corn be? I'll find out ...

Fair enough ... I've been making this recipe for several years, and have used Bob's medium grind and Bob's polenta for this and my other corn meal needs. However, the recipe specifically calls for a finer grind (Quaker!) and I'd like to try it with a finer grind. Sure, I can use Quaker, but I prefer not to. It would be my last choice. https://youtu.be/kO9P89V9_qY I've ordered a fine and coarser grade of Italian polenta to experiment with. My results with the coarser corn meal and polenta have been good, but maybe the finer grind will give a better result. Quite likely something different. Hadn't thought about whizzing the polenta or medium grind in the processor or blender. Good suggestion. Will do!

Great link ... that's the old Alton that I loved!

Not a chance. As noted in my original post, there are other options available to me. Thanks for the link ... might come in handy some day.

Frankly, that was my suspicion, but I was hoping that there was just a new name for the old product. Damn.

I remember using Bob's Fine Grind corn meal. I can no longer find locally or online. Bob does show a corn flour. Might this be substituted for fine corn meal, or is it essentially just fine corn meal? There are other acceptable options that I can use, but my preference is to stay with Bob's in this case if possible.

@JeanneCake ... My current BSOP replaced a Breville Mini oven, but before giving the small unit to a neighbor, I had both. The small unit fit atop the larger one, and for a short time I had both. Vertical space was a non-issue, although having both on the counter top space available to me was not happening. Is your situation that you could do something similar?

That's a nice image, but perhaps more useful would be how toast in the BSOAFP compares to toast made in other, especially Breville, ovens. Perhaps others can post their toast pictures. Without making and photographing toast in my BSOP, I'd say that my toast is a little more even, BUT rarely do I make the type of toast you've made, and never have I made six slices, so I'd say my experience is apples to oranges.

@Dante I checked The Spice Shop and it looks like I can order the product. I hope it's the right item and that the link works for you. https://thespiceshop.co.uk/checkouts/cn/Z2NwLXVzLXdlc3QxOjAxSjFSR0s0RktSRUhFWjBCVkhGRUMwRUQy

I don't know ... sorry.

Sweetie was from Argentina and she introduced me to Havanna alfajores. Actually, she introduced me to alfajores in general. Lovely light wafers filled with just the right amount of dulce de leche ... my oh my .. wonderful. One of my favorite TJ's cookies along with I haven't had cookies in the apartment for months. I'll eat too many of them too quickly if they stay around. What I've taken to doing is to buy a container, grab a couple-three handfuls, and give the rest to the neighbors. The neighbors like me, but I think they like the cookies more.

Oh, that's a nice blend. I'll definitely try it. I'm guessing that he's suggesting the Chipotle Morita? Does he say anywhere which Chipotle variation is used/preferred?

I always thought the Morita was a Jalapeño that was processed differently than the Meco, which is also a Jalapeño. and both of which are Chipotles.

@blue_dolphin ...Thanks for the mention of pasilla de Oaxaca. That's new to me, and coincidentally, I've been looking for an alternative to Chipotle. I found a couple of places online that sell the wgole, dried pods, and ordered some. There's a couple of dishes coming up where they'll be used. I looked for Centeno's mix and came up with this: https://www.texasmonthly.com/recipe/carne-guisada-josef-centeno/ That's only seven ... is there a different mix that you're referencing? And a pet peeve: when a recipe calls for chili powder and doesn't mention the ingredient(s) 2 ancho chiles 1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano, preferably Oregano Indio 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 fresh bay leaf, or 2 dried Fresh black pepper

I'd heard of the Wayback Machine, so this is a nice compliment to that. Already sent a link to my sister in NYC. She's a retired Public School librarian ...

Thanks! I signed on. I hadn't heard of this Internet Archive until now. Looks like a good resource. I appreciate the link ...

@Dante ... Where can I find Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection Chili recipe? I did some searching but didn't come up with anything that seemed to fit. Have you a link, or a copy that you can send or post? Thanks!

Some years ago I was in Vancouver and discovered a place called Pirate Joe's which sold many Trader Joe's branded items. I may be mistaken, but I think their entire inventory was TJ's products.

Host's note: this was originally a post titled "Have You Tried These Costco Products?" If you have, what's your opinion on their quality, value, taste and flavor?

Please define what you mean by uneven. Items in the tray cooked to different degrees? Individual batches cooked differently under similar conditions? Or ... ?