peterm2

Thanks for the replies all. The Orino thyme honey is listed as "honey with thyme." That seems to suggest that they add thyme afterward - is that what you found from yours, Mostlylana? I've heard about a small gourmet food store nearby that would be a good idea to check out too. I hadn't thought of that.

After coming across yet another reference to wild thyme honey, I'm determined to give it a try. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to get it from, or whether wild thyme honey from one region is superior to another? How about other types of single-varietal honeys that would be nice? I feel like trying something other than clover in my oatmeal.

If you stick to a normal-looking knife (not a Ken Onion or something like that) they should all feel good at the price point you're looking at. The difference will be in the metal used, the edge profile, and the cutting ability which you wouldn't be able to gauge by seeing it at a store anyway. Read some of the reviews and look into the knives already suggested. Any of those would make an excellent chef's knife. But not a knife for breaking down chickens.

If you're worried, why not get a Watanabe knife with carbon center and stainless cladding?

The Shun Kaji is an excellent knife. It is not just about looks, although you're paying some for that and the marketing. It has more belly than some other Japanese knives, but would be more similar to the Wusthofs you're used to. The handle is very comfortable too. There are many alternatives in your price range, but it sounds like you wouldn't be able to try any of them out in person. The steel is excellent, and Shun will sharpen your knife for cost of postage.

How about a stainless clad carbon knife like the Hiromoto AS?

I would also definitely be interested in any informational resources. I don't want to have to buy jarred tomatoes because cans may have BPA-plastic lining.

Yeah me too. Maybe this will be the year I finally make it to an eggfest.

I also find that lemon, onions, garlic, etc. don't really do anything. Last time I put some fresh tarragon in there, though, and I could definitely taste it. More than I wanted to.

I also strongly recommend The Chinese Kitchen. I like it better than Barbara Tropp's book - the stuff in there is more what I was looking for. The Chinese Kitchen's author just came out with a new book that might be worth checking out as well - Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking.

I'm about to put in an order with The Chile Guy. His prices are excellent and it seems he has rapid enough turnover to keep them fresh. Now if I could find some black chihuacle chiles, I would be a happy camper.

Nice, where did you get it from?

When I wasn't using the humidifier, it worked well to put the salt water tray directly under the cooling unit, wherever the included drip tray was designed to go (in fact I just filled my drip tray with the salt and water). That way the water drips right back into the tray, and there's little if any moisture loss (my dorm fridge has a teeny freezer section, so for normal operation you'd just get ice buildup). I could go at least a month without adding anything. I'm not sure if your unit is arranged so you could do that.

I don't have a fan. Opening/closing the door when I check on the stuff inside circulates the air, as does the mini humidifier when it works. I'm using mine for cheese, so the salt tray doesn't quite get the humidity level up high enough to result in moist cheese once it's through aging.

Just to point out that the humidity sensor that drives a mister might not work in a fridge that small unless you build a roof for it. I've had poor luck with the humidistat in my converted dorm fridge. The space in there is so small that inevitably a drop of water gets from the mist onto the humidity sensor, which then causes it to run constantly, defeating its purpose.

I've found that the places I've been to in CT are cheaper picking your own still. But the big "resort"-type places in MA were cheaper to buy pre-picked. If you're buying pre-picked, you're still sorting through their bins and getting only the best ones. If you're picking your own, they don't have to provide storage space or pay people to go pick them. Maybe the small places here live on the edge without liability insurance.

A ha. Then maybe it takes longer to pack those x-large and jumbo eggs. Those suckers are heavy. Don't want to burn out those lifting machines.

I wonder if the large eggs somehow last longer on the shelf than the extra-large or jumbo? Then they could all be just as fresh. You'd think supermarkets understand customers' buying habits enough so that they carry consistently fresh product on something like eggs. I've been getting Eggland's best eggs for awhile now. They taste fine and have significantly less cholesterol.

I went through a period of making a bunch of different coffee cakes, trying to get one similar to what I used to get at a bakery in Summit, New Jersey (Trost's). Unfortunately, I never succeeded, but I did end up finding this pippin: Moist Coffee Cake I was trying to make something similar to this recipe. Either my streusel wouldn't clump together enough, or it would sink through the cake (even if I added it after baking for a bit). They also had a tasty blueberry cake that had a blueberry jam-type thing spread all over the top. That was delicious. Maybe I will start trying again.

I don't think anyone has. Tammy ordered one - didn't hear a report as to whether she got it. I need to take a run down there and ask him what's up. I think you can still order the bigger machine - the Asia - which would work just as well. Last I spoke with him was about a week or two ago. Not even the standard 2 week wait anymore. He said maybe a month or two, but they are definitely hoping by Christmas. I guess you can interpret that as you want, given that last time he told me 100% end of June. The Asia kitchen has a substantially larger footprint than the multigrind, which is why I haven't gotten that one in the meantime. I'm also not in a big hurry, and don't have much counter space at all for this year. This has become more like a nice background thing that I can annoy myself with when I'm having a good day.

Thanks for the hint. I haven't tried it yet, but will soon. The grinder seems to work well at first pass - much finer than anything I could get out of the Cuisinart. It tackled whole peanuts reasonably well, but next time I'll spin them through the Cuisinart first to make the grinding a little easier. I'm also looking forward to trying it on my vanilla beans to try to make some paste. Thanks again for the help, and for liberating me from Sumeet Customer Service.

Thanks for finding that for me. I'll give one a try and see how it goes! Hopefully that and my coffee grinder together can also handle my dried chiles.

The other options looked a little more attractive, because they're significantly cheaper and easier to get paste out of. I don't have much use for a Vita-Mix for its other functions, currently.

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out what grinder to get for making nut butters and pastes that are smooth as a baby's butt. The Sumeet has been recommended by Kerry Beal in this thread, but the smallest size has been out of stock for quite some time, and I've lost faith on it since he told me "100% it will be ready in June." My Cuisinart doesn't seem powerful enough to do the trick, instead turning hazelnuts into flour and no further, and I don't particularly want to break out the mortar and pestle unless necessary. The goal is to make nut butters the same smoothness as commercial products, but without having to add oil to do so. I've found a number of apparent alternatives here but don't know if they will be baby-butt smooth, and read enough of the return policy to be somewhat cautious of running out and buying one to see if it works. I won't be using this for commercial applications, so large capacity isn't necessary, and small footprint is preferred. If any of you have experience with these brands or particular mixies, or if you have other ideas, your thoughts would be welcome!

The part that I don't get is that I said I'd get the bigger machine, which they have in stock, if it is going to take awhile for the multi grind to come in stock, and he still told me to wait "two weeks" (for like the third time, most recently this past Saturday). But he could get rid of me, and sell me a more expensive thing, if he just said it was going to take awhile.