haresfur

Maybe I left my fennel seeds on the plant too long. The ones I have bought are a pale yellow and these are dark. Do you think they are ok to eat? I already have some in pots in the cold frame and a few randomly scattered in one of the raised beds.

No beetroot?

Do the pillows come with pillowcases for easier cleanup?

This would have been a good bunch to start with. They were almost starting to look like leeks

Only a before photo since I got frazzled during cooking (What do you mean you didn't buy spring onions??? Help! I can't find the corn flour!!!), but I made Mapo Tofu using Adam Liaw's recipe. The tofu I had was too firm imo, and about everything in the kitchen was stained red, but I would do it again. IGA spring onions I used were huge so I cut them lengthwise as well as crosswise and the result seemed to have a lot more greens than his photo didn't seem too terribly different. I ground the Sichuan pepper in the mortar and pestle and it was pretty course but sufficiently tongue-numbing.

I really like the Thermoworks minis that I was gifted. Small but still substantial.

The water was still perfectly clear, right?

Beautiful Donabe. The Mishima decoration looks very Korean. Of course the Japanese pottery industry started with "recruiting" Korean potters...

In Australia they make a distinction between skinless American style hot dogs and other sausages which are usually sold uncooked and invariably have skin. Are French sausages generally uncooked? Two lazy to google but I think there are two different Aldi companies and I'm guessing that the French one is associated with the one that own Trader Joe's.

No insert. That's what the baking paper is for. I think I just put tomato paste on top instead of their overly sweet looking ketchup and sugar and whatever. I probably will skip the glaze altogether next time. No thyme or bouillon either, because I don't have any. I blitzed the onion in the mini-processor attachment for my stick blender instead of grating. Eager to see your results.

Why not go with the shoulder part, below the butt, which is not as fatty, as mentioned above? Rolled shoulder is a popular roast here with the skin for crackling.

I recently went through the same experience. At least if I have made meatloaf I can't remember when, although I remember using my hands to goosh the eggs and cornflakes into the meat for my mother when I was a kid. I somewhat followed a recipe that suggested grating the onions help for moisture and used panko, which is good because I never have bread crumbs... or cornflakes. Then I took the suggestion from somewhere else to line the loaf pan with baking paper to lift the loaf out for cutting. It tasted very nice but was a little too moist and kind of falling apart. Less onion next time. We do have a Meatloaf topic (last post 2017) and a Burger/Meatloaf Cookoff

In the absence of any experience, I'd leave the proportions the same and adjust next time.

Oooh, I have lemons and an open bottle of wine...

I hope your household follows the tradition where they have to kiss the cook if they get a bay leaf on their plate!

On a bit of a whim, bought some brisket from my beef guy. Last time I tried to cook it was underwhelming. Decided that I'd try a more or less classic Jewish braise, which I had never done. Did enough reading through eG and various websites to get confused but more or less followed Serious Eats method with hints from the wise people here. I was happy with the result documented here. Started with a piece of point end Belted Galloway with a bit of fat cap on both sides. Salt and pepper then browned. Deglazed with some inexpensive but drinkable Cab Sauv. Then I caramelized finely chopped onion and carrot, throwing in garlic at the end (I don't like celery so skipped that). Next time I'll do the onions and carrot first then the meat because the fond and deglazing kind of got in the way of the caramelization. Added 4 bay leaves, ~ 1/3 cup tomato paste, 1/2 can of crushed tomato (200 mL) and a couple of teaspoons Australian umami (Vegemite). I added the rest of the tomato later but think it wasn't necessary. Everything went into my la Chamba clay pot. Since the lid doesn't fit tightly I put a sheet of baking paper over the braise, under the lid. About 4 hours in the oven at 140 C, convection, then pulled the meat out to rest for about 1/2 hour then sliced. It was still quite firm. Stood the slices back into the veg and put in the fridge overnight. Reheated for 2 1/2 hours and served with cauliflower and baked potato (no butter for me as a nod to kosher). The meat was almost fall apart and I didn't find it dry. I'd do it again.

I know nothing about Chinese crocks or Chinese fermentation but I would think that glazed would be better provided the glaze is lead-free, just for sanitation purposes. It is important to understand the difference between low-fired earthenware and high-fired stoneware. The former is not vitrified (using the term vitrified loosely) - there is significant porosity remaining in the clay body. Although this might promote breathing, it will more likely allow leakage of the liquid through the clay. The whole point of lacto-fermentation is to exclude air so I see no reason why you would want the pot to breathe. Stoneware should have little or no porosity left in the clay after firing (not always the case in the real world). This means it won't breathe, even if unglazed. You will just have a surface that is harder to clean. Unless you are making vinegar, you want a water lock to exclude air so the contents ferment and to inhibit the formation of kahm yeast. One thing I have found with water locks is that changing temperature can allow the contents to expand and contract and that can cause water to suck out of the lock into the jar. Keeping a consistent temperature is good. The jars in your photo seem to have pretty deep locks, which is ideal. Keep water in them but not so full that the water sucks into the crock. I have had the water lock on my sauerkraut crock go dry and it doesn't seem really harmful since there isn't a lot of airflow.

Not sure if it was here or elsewhere, but I decided to try a suggestion to snip the leaves off my volunteer tomatoes at the end of the season to get light into the green ones to start them ripening. Worth a try but probably should have been done earlier. They only get late afternoon sun.

Thanks. They make good hot sauce but I don't think I've tried that one.

Looks great. How are you making your verde?

Carnitas made in my La Chamba clay pot. I prefer chunks to shredded. Confess to rendering more fat than I usually do. Confess that it tasted pretty good. Served with yellow corn tortillas (Mission, not the good ones), brown rice, sour cream, greens, some volunteer roma tomatoes, and garnished with finger lime spheres from a tree I'm getting going. Sour with a nice pop when you bite in.

Tasmanian curried scallop pie. Apparently a speciality of the state. Could have used more scallops but they were insanely expensive at the grocery store. Could still taste them though. Made with Keen's curry powder, of course (originated in Tasmania).

The best tortillas I have ever had are made in Melbourne Australia by La Tortilleria. One thing I learned is that they do not dry the masa between grinding and forming the tortillas. I don't know if that is the key compared to using dried masa but I can't argue with success. I don't think they sell their masa - at least I haven't seen it but maybe at their restaurants. I want to buy some because I'm dying for some decent tamales. I used to be able to buy the tortillas in town but now have to go to a store 30 min south, if they have them in stock. Better yet is to go to one of their restaurants in Melbourne where they sell them by the kg. In that case I usually vacuum seal and freeze some then snip an end off the pack and put in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to steam them. If I'm using fresh, I put in a terra cotta tortilla warmer I made with a moist cloth or paper towel and nuke. I think getting the right steamy warmth without being soggy is the key to a good soft taco. Flour tortillas are ubiquitous and come in a large variety because wraps are popular. In terms of fillings, haven't been very inspired - your basic ground meat or chicken with cheese, salsa, guac, sour cream, salad mix. Occasionally some fish tacos made with baked frozen fish nuggets.

I haven't tried it but some people lacto-ferment mustard. That might help give you what you are after.

A friend took me to Mochinut in Minneapolis. They were very soft and tasty.