Darienne

Made a salad this afternoon which we haven't eaten in more than 30 years. My first 'much older than I was' friend ever served it to us up at her cottage and gave me the recipe many years ago, long before I ever considered cooking as something I wanted to do. I know nothing of its origins but a quick look on Google did not find it. She just called it Carrot and Cauliflower Salad, with the carrots being boiled before joining cauliflower florets and chopped onions. Brought back such long ago memories.

For the bottled water drinkers out there from Consumer Reports: https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/whole-foods-starkey-spring-water-sold-on-amazon-contains-high-levels-of-arsenic/?EXTKEY=NA06NHC4&utm_source=acxiom&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200701_nsltr_home

Don't count on it, my dear. And I can quote you several variations on that theme....LOL.

I'm with the two posters above. Welcome to the forum. The generosity of the eGers is wonderful. Everything is shared and like the others, I've learned so much. And I am not a confident cook either. I just pretty much blunder along as best I can.

One look and my mouth actually began watering....

One thing I did when Ed bought way more lettuce than we could eat before it 'went'. I made soup. Couldn't believe how good it was. (In case you have too much...)

I would call them by both names. Don't know what they are made from. My Mother had them in the living room under the drapes and the sheers/glass curtains were never drawn open. We don't have them...but then we don't even have drapes in our living room. Not even blinds. My Mother would have been horrified. Oh, we have no neighbors.

Welcome to the forum, @Wagner Aguiar. And I am interested in learning more about South Americans foods and dishes.

In the same vein, but not re-purposing kitchen gadgets, I use (what used to be called) glass curtains as a straining material in all kinds of situations. I never seem to have cheesecloth when I need it and the sheers, which we brought home from Moab 11 years ago, work perfectly for straining so many things.

How do you prepare your tomatoes for drying? And what size tomatoes are you talking about? Twelve years ago when we rented a house in Moab, the former tenants (who left it in an unbelievable state) also left behind a lot of baking items, including several metal racks with folding legs which have come in so handy. It means that I can load a second cookie sheet on top of a first, just making certain that the feet are not on top of the lower food. Yes, we took all of the items home with us.

There's really no need to buy a dehydrator. I have dehydrated many items in my oven. Just turn the oven to its lowest temperature and stick a double oven glove in the opening. Voilà. A dehydrator par excellence.

I use my dehydrator regularly. And because I kept the trays from my old one which bit the dust last year, I can actually load it more heavily for some easily dehydrated items, like sliced onions, or at least set up trays before emptying others. I dehydrate onions...into the food processor for slicing...because often when I am cooking large batches of stuff, I am just too lazy to deal properly with the onion instructions and just dump in enough dried onions. Plus my hands don't work well anymore. On occasion we can buy ten pounds of onions very cheaply. In fact, I have a bag awaiting my attention as we speak. I also dehydrate beef liver for the dogs. Costs a fortune to buy dehydrated at a pet store and I can do the job at home. First into a regular oven to cook, chop into small pieces and into the dehydrator to dry out completely. Also make fruit leathers, particularly apple with or without chopped nuts in it. I'm going to try some dehydrated vegetable slices next. Right. Forgot the endless apple rings.

My thought exactly!

Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! This is amazing!!!!

So beautifully decorated. Not something I can do.

Wonderful Chris. Really, really well done.

Wonderful as ever, @minas6907. You truly are my confectionery hero. And if I ever get back to your hometown, I will make sure to meet you and try some of your excellent goodies.

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/cattle-farms-most-likely-contributor-to-2019-e-coli-romaine-outbreaks-fda-finds/?EXTKEY=NF05NCF5&utm_source=acxiom&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200530_nsltr_food An explanation of how the e coli outbreaks are started. One thing not mentioned in this article and which I have read elsewhere, is that the land areas defining the edges of the romaine fields are cleared of all vegetation which might otherwise have prevented the airborne fecal matter from reaching the vegetable fields.

Welcome to eGullet Melania and I look forward to reading your writings on South African food. We had one member from Cape Town who has since sailed off into the blue and it's good to have another. I'm very interested in the foods of South Africa and our former eG member helped me a lot to put together a dinner for some South African ex-pats.

We've had white kitchens for 50 years now and I'd be loathe to risk taking on any color at all. The decor in our kitchen is in primary colors, bowls mostly, sitting on the wide window sills.

Looks very nice. What is the original surface of the cupboard doors and what kind of paint did you use, please? Our kitchen cupboard doors have suffered hard wear and really need something, especially the edges which are chewed. Every now and then we say to each other...something must be done...and then we go back to our respective current obsessions.

The pan is rigid, isn't it?

To what end purpose, please.

You don't say what country you are in or region. That might help. Walmart carries a not very good bar but it's usable, depending upon what you are doing and to whom you are giving it. Lindt chocolate carries couverture in its larger stores. I don't know if Lindt is in the US. I live in Canada. The Bulk Barn (in Canada) carries various grades of chocolate discs. When last I looked they were from South Africa. It was some years ago. Try in local bulk food stores...my local bulk food (non-chain) carries Callebaut. Another one in my nearby city carries I think one of the larger Canadian grocery stores, like Super Store, carries a larger bar. Again, like the Walmart bar, it's not really very good...but still usable. I use Lindt chocolate mostly and have had no problems with it. I don't know anything about white chocolate. Sorry.

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you on board.