Nick

Burned onions? And, as Dave the Cook said above, "Inadequate appreciation for mise en place. Good prep prevents panic. "

Artisinsanity.

Steve and FG, when the words artisan or artisanal are extended to the sterility of the laboratory or the madness of industrial processes, the meaning of these words has been bastardized. Had either of you spent the better part of your life truly involved in hand work trying to do the best you can, you might have a closer understanding of this. This is all , of course, out of the hands of real artisans who do not have the time or inclination to participate in these discussions. Why am I doing this?

Ah, indeed I did. That was an excellent thread and I tried to get Heston Blumenthal to comment on it when he was doing a Q&A here, but I was unsuccesful in getting my question posted.

No, I haven't, but I have had years of experience heating all the hot water needed for household chores (mostly on wood ranges) going back to 1968. I've used a few tea kettles over those years and the MOMA kettle just wouldn't cut it. (Even if heating small amounts of water.) It's a conversation piece. This is nothing against MOMA. The favorite painting hanging on my wall was done by Jimmy Eng when he was at the Museum School (Boston) and I think his father held a position at MOMA then (sixties.)

I think Toby has given us the best description of artisanal so far.

I'd say that the artisan deals with things of a more practical and physical nature while the artist deals with things more in the realm of the spirit. But these can become interwoven in each practice.

I am an artisan, and have been for over thirty years. I would never describe my work as artisanal. This is pure hype, pure bullshit, dreamed up by marketing.

I just bought a couple of those. They were the only things I could find to put over my oregano and rosemary plants to keep them from drying out after I potted them and brought them in the house. Wood heat - dry. Damn, now I'm thinkin' there'll be a chemical stew in the air the plants are breathing.

Don't ask me why, but I think after the first boiling the water would be "dead". One time as I was pouring water out of a sauce pan for coffee or tea, the water upon hitting the side started evaporating into steam with its characteristic hissing. An older man, a fisherman, said that I was "burning" the water. I've thought about that ever since when it happens.

Do you think that's the current usage in food writing, though? I think it can mean anything you want in food writing. Artisanal seems to be a newly coined word, probably by people in the marketing industry. (Soon we will have artisanal ads.) I did a search on "artisanal" and we now have among other things "artisanal fisheries" and "artisanal art." Make it mean anything you want. As with FG, I haven't even found the word in a dictionary. Only artisan. And the clearest definition of that seems to be, "A skilled manual worker; a craftsperson."

Here's my tea kettle. Nickle-plated solid copper Revere. In my service for twenty years and who knows how long before that. Never needs a towel and holds better than a gallon of water. The MOMA tea kettle was obviously designed by someone unfamiliar with their daily use.

After 20+ years of working on a concrete floor my feet started complaining - really complaining. After four or five hours, they would say, ENOUGH! I went to a good shoe store and told them what was up and they introduced me to a number of lines of footware made just for this problem. Bought a pair of Wolverines and things have been going fine since.

Steve, once again you've cleared the muddy water.

I'd hope that it meant someone who cared about what they were doing when they were doing it. Though I sure as hell hope this wouldn't apply to sex.

Today I finally got around to cleaning and sorting out the mounds of paper and magazines that accumulate on my table, couch and floor. (I'm messy.) Among this was a page I'd printed out from egullet with a recipe for chicken stock. It looked liked Dave the Cook's writing. (It was.) Here's the link if anyone wants to revisit chicken stock. Dave's excellent post is a little less than halfway down the first page. Chicken Stock Aside: Jason, are you going to get this new version running so that the http thingie will take the whole URL?

Awhile ago I was cooking a boneless pork loin and decided to try the "slow-roasted" method. Basically, start out at 450F for ten minutes, then lower to 250F and cook until internal temp reaches around 150F. It was pink in the center but fully cooked and very moist. Almost too moist. This doesn't have much to do with a pork belly, but thought I'd throw it out there. Also, somewhere a long time ago I heard that trichinosis (which has pretty much disappeared) was caused by feeding hogs uncooked "garbage."

I can't say I really know anything about this, but wouldn't they keep better in some sort of vinegar?

Hopleaf, I think it's too late because by now most everything has gone dormant or died. I've never tried the newspaper or plastic thing, but aside from killing the grass and weeds from the heat, it would also be a composting operation. Good compost requires heat to get the right little bugs working to break things down. I can't really go along with the chicken wire (or heavier) composting because, in addition to heat (usually generated by the pile itself) it needs turning and mixing from time to time and that's hard to do with something that's enclosed. (I have to admit I rarely turn my compost. I'm lazy.) Another thing, considering some of the posts, is don't put meat scraps in the pile. They'll attract a whole different kind of little bug to the breakdown process - as well as unwelcome critters like rats, skunks, raccoons, etc. I sometimes put a few meat scraps on the pile but it's only for the crows. While I'm on crows, don't put on tortillas unless you bury them well. Crows love them! They like them so much I leave them on top and watch them have a feast. An exception to meat is fish. There are few things better for a compost pile than fish - scraps, racks, or whole. But bury them well so they don't attract coons, etc. Ten or so years ago I went seining for herring with a fisherman friend and brought home two five gallon pails of herring. At the time I was making a few beds by digging the sod and shaking it out. I took the turfs about 12" square and made piles of them layering herring in between the sods. It was the best compost I ever had. Moving onto beds, that's probably the best way to start as you can just make a few to get the feel of things. And, as I think Fred said above, make their width narrow enough that you can reach the middle from either side. Whether you mulch or not you will have to do some weeding. Also, if you have them side by side make sure there is enough distance between them in the walkway that you can be on your knees weeding one without having your feet in another. I don't do raised beds. I think they may evaporate the moisture from the soil more quickly than a bed that's "in the ground." I think I'll quit here. A last thought is that for your first year plant things that are easy to grow. And some stuff that comes up quick, like radishes and lettuce.

I have to get to work in the shop and will try to write more later, but for now I'd say pay attention to what DaveFaris has had to say, and add that considering where you are that it's too late in the year to do anything with the soil, including covering it with plastic or newspapers. It's really easy to get fired up at the prospect of having your first garden, get carried away, and then do things that later on will make you wish you had given things a little more thought before beginning. Patience is a key word when it comes to growing things. Perserverance is another.

HB, I guess that says it all. PJ, Thanks for the tip. On those rare occasions that I get around making stock though, I like the skimming part. Got me a good skimmer and keep a hawkeye on that foam just so I can use it.

That sounds like a great tonic, with some power.

I'll do that after I've tried it. In the meanwhile maybe Suzanne could comment as she's mentioned using Imagine. This whole thing got me to pull out Michael Field's Cooking School since it has excellent recipes and recommendations for stocks. He has several pages on "improving canned broths"; page 37 in original edition. To improve canned chicken stock - 4 cups canned, undiluted chicken stock, all surface fat removed 1/2 cup sliced onions 1/4 cup coarsely chopped celery 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced 4 sprigs parsley 1/2 small bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon thyme Combine ingredients in a heavy 2 qt. saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to the barest simmer and cook, half covered, for at least half an hour. Skim when necessary. Strain through a fine sieve before using. Edit: I like that he said "1/2 small bay leaf" So many recipes just say bay leaf with no indication of size. If you haven't seen this cookbook try to find a copy. If you already have it, it's worth looking at it again.

Don't have it all together yet, but it will include wild turkey (not the stuff in a bottle), squash, potatoes, Susie's apple crisp and apple pie, and......... guess I better start thinking about this.

There was a post on a different thread awhile ago that suggested browning the, in this case, thighs and legs before adding to the stock. Tried this? Sounds good.