Nick

I was working up to that as this has gone along. You beat me to it. There is no point in taking off on the flight of innovation unless there's a good reason. Where are you planning to land at the end of the flight? This is a good thread. It's got me to thinking.

An old Melody Maker is one fine guitar. I played one once a long time ago. Offered to buy it, but it wasn't for sale.

Beautiful writing. When I was "into it" I also played with my eyes closed. Better to hear all of us that were playing. And I'd take a "solo" on my guitar and take things so far from the idea of the song that I'd wonder how to find my way back. Lost in time and art. But, in my best years Michael, the bass player, would be there to guide me home.

Katy, That's how I came to use Wusthof only about a year ago. I'd never had a chef's knife and I tried out the three different makes at the store with the rocking motion on an available surface. Wusthof was the only one that "rocked" - the others went "clump."

Suvir - please don't take offense at this. It is about all those "in power" whether in the kitchen or not. "Power especially proves itself to itself by the singular abuse of itself which consists in crowning some absurdity with the laurels of success...... " Balzac. I've been to your website and looked at your menu. If I ever get to New York and can wriggle my way into some event you're catering I'd like to have some of your cooking.

Not to get off topic, but I wonder what would have happened if Leo had not sold out to CBS. Been playing Tele's going on 40 years and think my latest Mexican one does pretty good. Now back to knives. Wusthof and Dexter.

This thread may help answer some of what I meant. I am too dense. I didn't find the answer there and have only come up with another question. You say, "A good artist is a natural at changing and adapting with situations and times. They are not bound by the limitations of the diner. Does that mean you are only cooking for yourself? Many years ago I was a fairly good guitar player and there was a point where my ego overcame me and I played more for myself than those who came to listen and dance. It was almost always well received, but I look back at that now and bow my head with the thought of having such an attitude. And then... you have to please yourself before you can please others. It's a difficult situation when you are trying to gain humility.

Not completely, but I'm happy that you've stopped. Kind of like pushing my way through a tall field of corn trying to follow the one who knows the corn field. ? But, now that you've stopped and I've sort of caught up, maybe you could explain, " And yet, I have little patience to romance those apologies that one often has to face in the name of these very valuable and intrinsic realities of life." ?

John - the carrots are not "sealed" in a plastic bag. I just use plain plastic storage bags without a tie. As far as what the carrots "are made of", they're grown by a friend of mine who has had his garden in the same place for the last 20-25 years and has paid attention to his soil. I believe it was Sir Albert Howard that said, "The health of the people is in the health of the soil." My friend attributes that quote to me, but I'm quite sure AH said it first. (Suvir, you may have heard of him as he did much of his work in India.) Howard I don't often buy carrots at a store, but when I do they will go by in a few weeks using the same method. Also, while the carrots are nearly a year old, I've only had them since last spring. Before that they were stored in my friend's dirt-floored cellar. He stores all root crops down there including onions and shallots. And, yes John, you don't want to know about my fridge. There have been times when I didn't want to know either but finally had to face it.

John - I have a couple of carrots in the refrigerator that have been there for nearly a year. They are still good to eat. Now, I have to go to bed. Adios until later. Edit: I also have a turnip (rutabegha) that a friend grew last year that is perfectly fine. Temperature, temperature, temperature. As well as moisture.

Yes, Niall. Also put carrots in a plastic bag and sprinkle some water in there and keep cold in the 'fridge.

Depends on the season. Do it more in the winter than summer. Mostly bean stuff with some meat. In preparation for the winter I just bought quite a few ears of good corn, scalded it and cut it off the cob to freeze. It's a good addition to the beans I'll be cooking later on. And then I'll make a mess of them and freeze them. It's a circle.

Cugel - I second that.

Cook and freeze. The story of my life at present - and my father before me. How else can you eat well (halfway decent) when you have so little time to cook?

As I said above, stick with the 20 degrees that comes with Wusthof. It's not that bad. When I got my first Wusthof knives, I wanted closer to 15 degrees and took them over to a friend's slaughterhouse/meatshop and did that on his machine. Then I had to run them over the stones - India and black Arkansas. It was a waste of time and effort. Almost any stainless is going to be hard because of the chrome. Also, as above, if you want a harder knife without going to stainless, try a Dexter. I don't know if they're available everywhere. I used to get mine at Rockland Boat, a supplier to commercial fishermen.

Thanks. I looked at what I'd written and thought maybe I was fantasizing. " It is often given a home even before it has a body." Excellent. I hadn't thought of it that way. By "soul" I meant in the cook. Maybe rather than innovation and inventiveness we should be talking about imagination, inspiration, and intuition.

Good advice. And after you learn to sharpen you might want to go to a harder steel so you only need a steel for awhile and don't have to reach for the stone. If you like plain high carbon steel than sharpens and holds its edge, try Dexter knives. They're what I used until I got hooked on Wusthof.

If you're talking about stuff in the refrigerator, get a thermometer and turn the 'fridge down to just above freezing, say around 33-34F. It makes a real difference. I learned this years ago when a fisherman friend brought me some fish and stuck it in the fridge. He turned to me and told me it wasn't cold enough. Just from sticking his hand in with the fish. Back then I kept it around 40-43F. Those few degrees make a big difference.

I see we also agree on sharpening. While I used to use something like 15 degrees on my plain high carbon knives (it's really better), since I switched to Wusthof stainless I've decided to stick with the 20 degrees that comes with them. The edge lasts longer and though not as nice as 15 degrees, I have no problems with bread or tomatos using my 10" Cook's.

MeinBuddha - A very good piece and surely a memorable occasion, but I think it lacks the subtlety of Suvir's own writing. Maybe there is another time you could write about and continue these excellent fantasies - oops, I mean revelations in dining as a guest. Suvir - Perhaps you could tell us how it is possible to be a vegetarian and "love" wild boar meat all in the same thread?

The worst has always been (and may always be) under-cooked chicken in all of its forms. Macrobiotic cooking is a good idea gone astray.

There must be a story here. How did the Wusthof snap in half?

"Why I became a prostitute". Name your own author. Sorry, I'm getting a little jaded. Too much WSJ.

Sure. Probably threw in the cost of the kitchen as well.

Jaymes, it looks like you're zeroing in on it. Thanks.