dcarch

That is entirely possible. Sodium bicarbonate is chemically basic, and it can neutralize acidic chemicals, or react and alter other chemicals, rendering them less odious. But that is not deodorizing the air. dcarch

robirdstx, How many meatballs can you make with just one Porcupine? dcarch :-)

Baking soda definitely works as a deodorizer. What are you doing wrong? Snorting it? You can "deodorize" by masking with another scent. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) cannot. You can deodorize by absorption of air molecules, such as activated charcoal; Sodium bicarbonate has no ability to absorb. It can, however, possibly deodorize stinky shoes by direct application to neutralize the offending source if it is of acid based. dcarch

Baking soda as deodorizer. The biggest scam ever. dcarch

"--Except for microwaves, because they penetrate and can deposit energy faster/deeper than conduction. In fact, microwaves will penetrate deeper into frozen foods than thawed - if you stuff a frozen turkey with moist dressing and nuke it, you can overcook the dressing before the turkey thaws. --" Microwave can penetrate deeper, but not all the way. It is not true that microwave cook from the inside out. Microwave doesn't heat up frozen water very well because the molecules cannot reverse polarities as well. Microwave energy therefore is not used and passes thru frozen part of the food and heats up the moist dressing inside. dcarch

The TurboChef has some ridiculous claims. There are physical limitations as to how fast food can be cooked. 15 times faster? Faster than what? Cooking you food in a refrigerator? The water content of food limits the exterior temperature to no more than 212 degrees F, and the conductivity of the food limits how fast the 212 degree heat can travel to the interior of the food. Have you tried to cook food with a blow torch? Does it cook food faster? It can only burn the outside faster. The Microwave assist feature of the upper cavity (why “cavity” and not oven?) is questionable without a turntable. Microwave, with a wave frequency of 2.45 GHz, most likely generates standing wave patterns which results in uneven cooking. We all know that even with a turntable, microwave still cannot cook evenly. dcarch

Your are in NYC? As you know many Chinese restaurants have fish tanks serving live seafood. Is that seasonal? I would guess many veggies come form green houses. Is that seasonal? I have not seen any ethnic organic restaurants either. dcarch

I think you need to define "Manly" more. One late night with a few other couples after a show, we ended up in a restaruant in lower Westside (NYC). it was truly a manly place, no females. It was a gay man's hang out. dcarch

There are probably more cooking done on youtube than anywhere else. dcarch

Emily_R, Those are pretty good photo-compositions, just color hues are a little off. Very nice home-made pancetta. Ann_t, again, your dishes remind me why I am an admirer of your cooking. rarerollingobject, I can just imagine how wonderful it would be to bite into those wagyu wrapped around asparagus and enoki mushrooms. I love the plate they are on. And I like wrapping things :-). ----------------------------------------- Napa cabbage wrapped ground turkey meatloaves on chunky mashed potatoes. dcarch

"----wok hei----" Thanks! That's it! That's what I have been told. That's what makes "stir fry" The red-hot wok temperature instantly caramelizes many ingredients and gives the smoky flavor of stir frying. "Saute" I thought I heard Jacques Pépin once said came from stir frying, that the ingredients jump in the pan. Indeed, the ingredients do jump in a hot wok if you watch one in action. dcarch

"Stir" is not part of the Chinese word. You have "deep fry", "stir fy" is kind of "shallow fry", frying with very little oil. With a hot wok, you have no choice but to stir otherwise food will burn and part of the food will not be cooked. A hot wok is also to burn off water quickly. Sogginess is a sign of bad cook in stir frying. dcarch

A used vacuum pump is not very expensive. Vacuum pump is not noisy. You can probably use dry ice in a can and let air from the vacuum chamber pass by the cold can before the vaccum pump. moisture will be condensed on the can surface. Refrigeration is one of the methods to extract water from air. dcarch

Freeze dried and dehydrated, as you know, are completely different. Also, when you vacuum water, it starts to boil and then it gets frozen. dcarch

Thank you guys. You are too much. I am embarrassed by you kind comments. Djyee100, the purple cabbage was cooked in corned beef broth then the outer leaves were peeled open. It was not difficult to do. The leaves kind of support the cabbage to sit just like that. Blether, thank you. The roast loin of pork looks comforting to the tummy, and exciting to the eyes. ScottyBoy, masterful plating and expert photographing of gastronomic extravagances. Dejah, your lemongrass Lamb Chops dish is no less pornographic than the others. :-) Genkinaonna, thank you. I like the way you “plated” the Passato di Ceci soup and the pizza Rustica will be on my to try list. dcarch

My first cooking lesson was in "molecular gastronomy". A few kids discovered that you can cook a hot dog very quickly by sticking two nails in the hot dog and wired it to an outlet. Don't try this at home. dcarch

Kim, I like the Chicken marinated in Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce, and the sliced cucumbers and radishes is so beautiful. Interesting St. Pat’s Day corned beef dish. Cass, Pad Thai and St. Louis Style pizza, How international! menuinprogress, Pork Chile Verde and Huevos Salseados both look superb. Dejah, Stir-fried with chicken and Thai mussels and clams, both my favorites. Ann_t, Home-made chips with home-made burger. Home-made bun :-) ? rarerollingobject, You have a flair with Asian style cooking. Jenni, fine-looking Stuffed courgettes! Kayb, you are cooking up a storm. The frank steak looks gorgeous. patrickamory, your seur rong hai does look celestial. Knaw, nice plating beautiful duck breast. ----------------------------------------------- Had to make different corned beef dishes for different taste preferences. Sour vide cooked and presure cooked corned beef. Home-corned beef (no nitrate) and store bought corned beef. Two differnce potatoes and two different cabbages. Dcarch

Thank you everyone. Cooked vegetables are difficult to plate. Salad vegetables are fresh, alive, vibrant, they always look good on a plate. I make two kinds of black garlic dressing: chunky black garlic - chopped black garlic in light olive oil, balsamic and pepper. Put evewrything in a coffee grinder for a few seconds so that the black garlic is still in chunks. Black garlic sauce - Same as above, add a little soy sauce, and put in coffee grinder blend until smooth. A very dramatic almost totally black dressing/sauce. dcarch

Indeed, salad is more than a side dish. dcarch Not so sweet watermelon is perfect for salad Black garlic dressing Palm hearts, napa hearts, arctichoke hearts, romaine hearts, with rose petals for Valentine's Day

Not your usual survival items that you may have: I have: 1. A three-ton small hydraulic jack for changing tires. May be useful to lift heavy wreckage to rescue a life. 2. A Four-ton car battery operated hoist that can be useful to pull away heavy objects. 3. Spent old car batteries may not have power to start your car, but if you keep them trickle charged, each can power up LED lights for many days. dcarch

Not trying to be disagreeable. Perhaps it has to do with the frame of reference? I distill pure water for many uses. Everytime I serve distilled water to friends, I always get the same reaction,"Something is wrong with your water. It has a strange taste." I have had many excellent pizzas in Vancourver. Perhaps you guys are so used to lousy pizzas elsewhere you are using them as standards to judge Vancourver pizza? dcarch

I am so fucking tired of the overuse of the worn-out word "awesome" in food writing. dcarch (Going to find a bar of soap to wash my mouth now. )

100 acres! Wow! for sure you can survive any disaster. Especially if you have a greenhouse. Please don't laugh. I have a small maple tree in my tiny suburban front yard (NYC). Two days ago, just out of curiousity I drilled a hole in the trunk and fashioned a spile. HaHaaa! I now have two quarts of sap in the bucket, and a few ants drown in it. I think I will be able to make one tea spoon of maple syrup. You can get large diameter (20'?) parabolic dishes almost for free to make powerful solar furnace. Telecommunications companies are upgrading to much smaller satilite dishes now. dcarch

A generator is great for some things. It's a creature comfort at best. But for a catastrophe -- like a tsunami, major earthquake, asteroid strike, nuclear blast -- what's it REALLY going to do? I'd rather have a satellite phone in my earthquake survival kit than a generator. I'd also want a means of water filtration -- although sand and a bucket will work in a pinch. I'd also want antibiotics, wound dressing supplies, survival food bars, etc. I still am puzzled why you feel that a generator will mean don't do anything else. You are correct that you cannot eat a generator. A huge population there are in need of electric power right now. Also, Sand makes a very poor filter for water, especially sea water. dcarch

I corned my own brisket. No nitrates. Low salt. It's in the water bath. Tomorrow will be 48 hours. Can't wait. :-) dcarch