Okanagancook

I grow NZS every year but the ones that spontaneously appear in the compost do the best. I will have to address perhaps a soil issue in the four foot square boxes I use. They are kept under a shade cloth but those plants don't get nearly as big as the compost plants. I made a delicious salad with the greens today. I love the texture of NZS.

Yes, I pull of the shoots and they were raised by moi as per usual. Seeds started from seed, in the heated green house with grow lights. Planted when they were about a foot high. It is the lack of heat. My friend plants around 20 plants every summer and they are a good five feet tall with a plethora of fruit...not this year. Glad to hear yours are going nuts! Tomato envy.😁

Everyone is in the same boat around here. It was very cool and lots of rain. The coolness I think it what killed everything. I mean I have pepper plants that are two inches tall that were raised in the greenhouse (as usual) and planted after the May long weekend. The fruit set on the wine grapes isn't the greatest either which could be a good thing...less grapes....better quality. Thanks.

I may have whined before that this year's garden is an absolute bust. My Cherokee Purple plant has three pint-sized tomatoes and my Early Girls maybe 3 to 5...normally 20 or more. The cherry tomato plants aren't bad. Likewise the cucumbers suck...just three off four plants. I have given up weeding. But, you can't keep a good zucchini plant down and my two are producing some lovely ones. These are a different variety but I like them because not many seeds and nice firm flesh. And.....never underestimate nor neglect your compost pile....Best produce so far. This morning I harvested a huge amount of lovely New Zealand spinach. There's a small tomato plant in there. The other bin has a large squash plant plus two others 😁 Our neighbour got some spinach and cherry tomatoes in exchange for some lovely peaches which my brother's dog was very interested in.

Meatballs, before and after.If you haven't made these from OL's Jerusalem maybe consider. Many positive comments on Eat Your Books. My second time making them. The yogurt-sumac sauce is a must.

@ShelbyThey turned out great although slightly higher temp that I was aiming for....probably related to ball size! Thanks

Ok, thanks @Shelby...I'm on it

Thawed without their shells. They were the large Argentinian shrimp.

Anyone cooked meatballs in the CSO? I have ten turkey/zucchini 45 grams meatballs from OL's Jerusalem that need to be cooked for reheating at another time. Or should I go Convection Bake at 400F for 10 minutes turning at halt time? Thinking 350F on bake steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Check the temperature (aiming for 165F). They can be quickly browned after reheating.

I had three fairly large shrimp that I wanted cooked to go in a veggie stew. I put them in a small pyrex bowl and steamed them at 200F for 8 minutes. Wow, beautifully moist and cooked perfectly. Who knew....only trouble is I only have two left to go in the stew 😋

@Paul BacinoThat's creative. Nice flavour combo!

My pasta loving DH would love that... 😃

Tabasco Sauce and a beer?😑

I am not sure how many I have squirreled away in the vegetable drawer 😲 currently looking for a Mexican zucchini and tomatillo dish to make for dinner because the tomatillos are coming!

Rick Baylee’s has a number of his recipes on his website if you wanted to get a feel for his style.

Anything by Rick Bayless and/or Diana Kennedy.

For all the newbies to CSO cookery here is the spread sheet (in PDF format) I put together from Egulleter's experience with various foods. (I have just listed the times and temps that people used to get a result they were happy with.) Use it as a guide. CSO in PDF Format.pdf 😍

I did the same test with my spare.

Seeing it is heavy cream, I think you should be able to freeze it. You may have to whip the sauce to bring it back together once thawed.

Can’t do anything else but trust it. Put it away and forget about it. It’s only money.

Try sous vide. Documented over on the sous vide thread.

Friends have butcher block on some of their counter areas. Well oiled/bees waxed. They are beautiful and holding up well. We have mostly granite with some areas of butcher block also....at the eating bar. I love the granite...but I don’t think I would get a black granite because I think it would harder to keep streak free...maybe those with such counter tops can enlighten me.

Using fresh young grapes leaves does make such a big difference. My neighbour has a lovely vine that they are happy to share.

@weinoo love your kitchen. The CSO looks right at home.

I put my plates to warm on top of the oven...not covering the holes