haresfur

Fair enough, but does a pot roast have to be done over coals?

Today I learned that some people line the pie shell when pre-baking rather than just pouring the beans in and out

I use a small oxo angled measuring cup sometimes but it is far from the most accurate way to do it. Basically impossible to account for the meniscus - for that you need to hold the measuring line up to eye level. I have a measuring cup that does the reverse - it has graduations for grams of various things like sugar and flour. It is spectacularly useless.

Converting to pounds sterling? 😁

I didn't know about the Willow Pattern. Thanks. The way Chinese porcelain moved around the world along with its stories and how it inspired spin-offs like the Delft and Staffordshire tin-glazed earthenware is fascinating to me. I'm not a huge fan of the really busy, multi-colour stuff but the skill is certainly impressive. Then again, to my mind, Chinese pottery peaked in the Song Dynasty, which inspired my username.

I'm pretty disappointed in most savory biscuits here. Rice crackers are ok as are some of the Shapes varieties in modest dosages but my favourite for putting stuff on and eating are Vita Wheats, especially the cracked pepper variety. For North American crackers, I was glad to get to eat Triscuits on my last trip.

My tree is getting really sparse (an apprentice knocked the top off with his ladder a few years ago so I'm letting the suckers grow up below. The whole thing is looking a bit sad right now because it has been under cover for frost protection but I hope it will perk up.

That naan looks dubious. How is it? Aldi in Australia actually has some pretty good frozen roti that is our go-to, since I can never get my act together to make it.

I just learned another drink order in Singapore, termed yuanyang by the SG people posting on line, which is a mixture of kopi and teh, so coffee, tea, condensed milk and sugar. I'm sceptical but I'd try it. It apparently originated in Hong Kong (according to Wikipedia - yeah, I know, it's the best information I could find), who have an entry for Yuenyeung, 鴛鴦. The person online was complaining that it cost 10-20 cents more.

Looks like kayaking paradise. Will you have a chance to get out on the water? Do people fish for themselves/pleasure there or is it all commercial? The food looks wonderful. How was the mellon-looking eggplant?

So you melt the cheese on the schnitzel then pull it out and put the sauce on top? That should help it stay crisp but is far from traditional where I live.

Raised a Last Word to Murray Stenson, Seattle bartender extraordinaire who rediscovered and popularised the drink and who recently passed away. Being served drinks by him at Zig Zag Cafe was an amazing experience. Such a kind man.

Semi-dried Romas then stored in olive oil in the fridge (freezer would be better for long-term).

It will be pasteurised long before it is tender

You could just cut down on the syrup and add more peanut butter and of course use an unsweetened peanut butter.

I don't understand the expensive part since I make mine in the french press when I do. I usually just get an iced latte from my friends. My partner will often get a nice (as in not iced) coffee to take home and put in the fridge for later - have them make an iced in a large keep-cup but don't add the ice. She likes vanilla syrup, which is an abomination, but it works for her. Our alternate cafe does up cans of cold brew and long-blacks which are pretty good.

There is some discussion in the Coffee and Tea forum. I use a french press but at one time I made my own cold drip system. I personally wouldn't bother buying something special.

I have a cheap slicer with a serrated blade. I wanted it for very thin slices of cheese and salami. I hate that I spend a lot on plastic packaged pre-sliced cheese. Pull it out now and again. The slices are passable and I don't think it is much faster than a knife. It also needs some technique like a knife. I confess that holding the food in my hand works better than the pusher, which of course is more dangerous. Wish I had a good deli counter.

One respected gardening show in Australia said the small tender nettles best for eating don't sting. So the recommendation was to throw away any that sting your fingers when harvesting. Doesn't sound like a fun plan to me.

It was only a near disaster but I will never again put cheesy bread on baking paper under the broiler to ease cleanup. Caught it just before ignition.

Jamie Oliver has a savory pie recipe that uses filo dough in a cast iron fry pan so it is very forgiving of tears or scrunches. I can't remember what his original filling was - my cousin turned me onto it by doing all sorts of variations of filling. So maybe greens, ricotta, a couple of eggs, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. I have also used the technique with store-bought puff pastry or short crust sheets. Aside from that, do brussel sprouts count? I like to half then fry the ever-loving heck out of them in olive oil until the leaves that fall off turn crispy. Or make a spinach dip as an excuse to eat potato chips for dinner.

A dormant member of the forum's two-year old grabbed a tin off the shelf in the supermarket gourmet section, which is how the kid developed a taste for octopus

Sometimes it gets down to what scares you. Cancer risk is one thing but neurotoxins like pesticides freak me out much more.

The water being released by Japan has had radionuclides removed except for tritium (including cesium isotopes in the article cited above). Tritium, for those who may not know, is a radioactive form of hydrogen, H-3, with a half life of about 12.3 years. It is present as a part of the water molecule since it is hydrogen. There is essentially no way to remove it from the water which is being treated to remove other, more hazardous radionuclides. Tritium is an emitter of weak beta radiation that does not bio-concentrate in fish or other life forms, including humans, because it is part of water. It gets flushed through as other water is consumed. As such, drinking water standards are quite high compared to other radionuclides. The drinking water standard for tritium is set by most countries and organisations at 7,000 Becquerels per liter, based on consumption of 2 L of water per day. The basic assumption in calculating radiation risk is the "linear low dose" extrapolation method where any radioactive decay is calculated to have an associated risk. Thus, the goal is to have no radioactive exposure but in actuality we all are exposed to, and consume natural and man-made radionuclides. So yes, there is always a risk with any radioactive exposure but standards for acceptable radioactive dose have been set for the general public and at much higher levels for workers at radioactive facilities. There is a whole lot of science and policy in translating the radioactivity of different isotopes into a dose due to exposure. It can be hard to take all of this and put it into a context of, "Ok, how worried should I be?" while still maintaining the actual accuracy (or precision for that matter) of the science. I wouldn't tell people there is no risk but it is hard to show them how small the risk is. We used a "Theoretical maximally exposed individual" to show that no one would approach dangerous exposure levels near a nuclear facility. It would be good if China took that approach, I don't know for sure why they haven't (no politics). Another way to gain perspective is to compare the discharge to the amount of tritium released by other sources. From a Japanese news site: I don't have any figures for the estimated tritium concentration expected for fish near the coast of China but would be very surprised if it was as high per kg as the drinking water standard. One thing to look for is to compare seawater concentration measurements to the drinking water standard. I personally wouldn't worry about eating the fish if the seawater levels are lower than the drinking water standard since tritium doesn't concentrate in the flesh and I'm not likely to eat 2 kg of fish every day. I do know I was happy to consume steelhead caught by the nuclear facility I mentioned above.