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@JohnT Fascinating. Thanks. The only experience I have with on-board cookery is when I was a teenager, my cousin and I spent four weeks "living" on a pontoon boat on Kentucky Lake, just to see if we could. We had a periodic check-in with parents, and a weekly rendezvous to pick up more supplies. Our "cooking" was open-air, on a Coleman camp stove set up on deck -- breakfasts, and the occasional burger or hot dog. Otherwise, we ate sandwiches and drank beer we weren't old enough to buy (but there are always cooperative fishermen about). I'd do that again in a heartbeat.

Welcome! I see you've jumped right in. Good!

I want that. Right now. That, too.

I have a subscription to NYT Cooking by virtue of subscribing to the electronic version of the newspaper, and cooking came along in the deal. I absolutely find the paper worth the $19.95 or whatever it is a month; I doubt I'd pay a separate subscription for Cooking alone.

Mine's similar to the dead-simple, and much better than the blue box: 1/2 pound elbow macaroni noodles water salt 4 oz grated cheddar 4 oz cubed American cheese 4 tbsp butter 1/2 cup half and half Cook the noodles until al dente. Drain and return to pot. Add butter, cheeses, milk to pot. Stir over low heat until cheese is all melted. Dig in.

Saving that one. Thanks.

I had the queen of all dogs as far as eating things she wasn't supposed to. At various times, the dog, a Weimaraner, ate a two-pound can of coffee, a bottle of 98 prescription iron supplement tablets, an entire box of chocolate fundraising bars, a box of shotgun shells, and the back off the bathroom door. Nothing fazed her. We wound up electrifying the kitchen trash to keep her out of it.

I guess, if I had fresh sweet corn and good ripe tomatoes, I could go 8 bucks a pound. If I were really jonesing for okra.

I lust for those onion rings.

FWIW: I have a five-gallon food-grade plastic bucket that's my main SV container. I ordered five of them from Amazon; two are fermenting vessels, one is the SV vessel, and the other two are waiting for me to decide what to do with them. I think all five were $30 or so. If I want to put a top over it to slow evaporation in an overnight cook (not generally necessary because it's plenty deep), I use plastic wrap.

"decent splash" works. I can go from there! Thanks!

I think the clipping to the side is to keep the seal out of water so there are no inadvertent leaks. I generally do it when I'm using ziplocs vs. vac-sealed packages. I've used more recipes from eGullet than anywhere else. ChefSteps also has several.

I loved the Mary Poppins books. And the Five Little Peppers. The Lookout Mystery Series. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I could go on and on....

There's a demo model on Ebay for $1,300. Full warranty, it sez. Still out of my range.

Oh, I LIKE that idea. Proportions of vinegar:water?

Nothing any nastier.

I don't remember where I put them last year. And I don't think the house is any warmer...

OK, pickling peeps. I have a question. I have just thrown away the SECOND batch of half-sours I tried to make this summer. I put them in jars, with the air-lock lids, to ferment on Sunday. Went to change them out today for regular lids and process them, and they were all moldy on the top, so i pitched them. Had the same thing happen earlier in the summer, and thought that was because I forgot them and left them to ferment too long. I was meticulous about sterilizing jars and air-locks, because I thought I might have gotten careless last time. Any ideas what the problem is? The same recipe worked perfectly last time. @HungryChris, it's the same recipe I gave you. Did you try it, and did you have any problem? In other news, the eggplant caponata came out wonderfully.

Welcome! You'll find everyone from experienced home cooks to accomplished chefs here. So much to learn, and everyone is willing to help! Jump on in...

Update: This week, I've put half sours in to ferment; I'll can those tomorrow. frozen 12 pints of corn yesterday, made 12 half-pints and 2 pints of fig jam also yesterday, canned eight pints of sweet-hot-dill pickles. These are the pickles, I believe, that @Kim Shook referred to where you do, in fact, make pickles with pickles. You take a gallon jug of kosher dill chips, dump them in a colander to drain, then layer them back in the jar with sugar and hot sauce. Marvelous on a burger, or a pimiento cheese and bacon sandwich! They sit in the gallon jug and age, and then, if you wish, you can move them over to smaller jars and process. Today, I'm going to try my hand at caponata, and see if the peaches are ready to work up. Tomorrow, I'm going to go get some tomatoes, and can a few more jars for the winter, as well as make the tomato relish. Then I'm through until late September, when the pears and the Arkansas Black apples come in. Pear preserves and apple butter will round off the preserving season.

As always, thanks for a vacation in the North. Safe travels, safe return.

Out of 10 pounds of figs (including 3 pounds made into puree last week and refrigerated, that I added back into the jam pot today), I wound up with two pints and 12 half-pints of fig jam. I also FINALLY got the gallon of sweet-hot-dill chips (the ones to which @Kim Shook referred recently when she made "pickles out of pickles," and don't knock 'em until you've tried 'em) broken down into pint jars and processed. Tomorrow, peach puree, peach butter, frozen peaches, whatever I take a notion for, and caponata. Then I'm through until the pears and the Arkansas Black apples come in.

I am about to bestir myself to turn 8 pounds of figs into fig jam.

I'm hungry just reading that. And I don't even like lamb.

I was quite entertained in Tokyo once to hear an arrangement, on Japanese stringed instruments, of Tennessee Waltz playing in a restaurant. I approved.