dcarch

Canned ones are white. Uncooked ones are somewhat white. Otherwise they look like Huiray's. dcarch

For Norm: http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/cmo-harley-davidson-lifestyle-transportation/242952/ and also do a search on youtube on major BBQ competition events. I am not talking about backyard type. dcarch

"---------Rules are made to set boundaries, to keep some kind of focus, otherwise someone might think it is OK to submit smoked pies.----------" I understand you need some boundaries, but why you must use Styrofoam boxes? only 4 kinds of garnishes and only six sticks of ribs cut in stipulated ways? Why, the judges can't tell true tastes if someone uses a different garnish to look pretty? I much prefer seeing some freedom, like the Masterchef, Ironchef kind of competitions. dcarch

It is interesting also that in those big major competition events, creativity is very much discouraged by all kinds of "rules". Same ribs every year, everywhere, by everyone. dcarch

I seem to think that people who has Harley Davidsons are not actually interested in transportation to get from one place to another. Likewise people who are into BBQ competitions are not really into food. It is a life style (obsession?). They spend many thousands of $, thousands of hours for those huge trailer smokers --------------, which takes up 1/2 of their properties, dcarch

I understand that for Chinese New Year, all food should have symbolic good luck meanings. dcarch

It was mad! mad! mad! at Trader Joe's. I am not even talking about inside TJ's. There was no way you could find parking. dcarch

Thanks guys!

What are the rules regarding the use of MSG? dcarch

You can tunnel bone a chicken. Taking out all the bones, including wing bones, without opening up the chicken. It makes a great stuffed chicken. dcarch

There is nothing sophisticated about a dehydrator. The fan is typically an induction or shaded pole motor fan, which will last forever. The thermostat is a bi-metal mechanical switch, a low tech device. The heating coil, typically nickel/chromium wire element running at low temperature. dcarch

Win a Nobel price. Find a magnet with only one pole, either north or south. dcarch

No pictures because it was a big surprise. I had a few lousy tasting oranges in the refrigerator. Didn't want to throw them out, and couldn't eat them fresh. I decided to cook with them. I peeled them, removed seeds, and cut them up in small chunks. Added some oyster sauce, and a few spoons of mayonnaise and a little white wine. Using a hand blender to turn everything into a sauce. Cooked the sauce on low heat. Poured on some leftover chicken. It was very good. Yes, I will make that again. Next time may be some garlic. dcarch

Not in cooking. HaHA! dcarch

I have a calamondin orange tree, a Meyer Lemon tree and a yuzu orange tree. They are all indoors in pots, and they all produce full size fruits. The flowers make the whole house smelling good. dcarch

Give this technique a try. One I have been using to deal with difficult sandy veggies. Works very well: Get a plastic container that is big enough, find a cover that will seal it well. Fill the container with water and the sandy veggies to about 2/3 and seal with the cover. Now over the sink, shake the container as hard as you can, let it rest for about 10 seconds for the sand to settle. Repeat again until you don't get any more gains of sand settled on the bottom of the container. I have found that two shakes are all you need, never more than three shakes to clean up the most sandy ones. dcarch

How well the oven is insulated will not tell you how well the oven cooks. Gas oven cooks by convection/conduction, and an electric oven heats by IR/conduction. They each heats up the food differently using the same BTUs. dcarch

Microwave cooking is actually not too bad for many types of cooking. Try warming up a cup of coffee in a microwave vs. on the stove. dcarch

You can save money: 1. don't preheat oven. Many recipes tell you to preheat, but there is no need to. 2. Remove all things you are not using in an oven, racks, you need only one most of the time. It is a big waste to leave your pizza stone in the oven all the time. dcarch