rotuts

@paulraphael I agree with you on the issues w freezing. you want your beans to be dry. moisture and oxygen will degrade both roasted and green beans , however its slower w green beans. I roast my own, from Sweet Maria . I have a VacMaster , one of the wisest investments Ive ever made , as I do a lot of ' bult ' SV , then freeze. I also use the VM for both green beans and roasted : a 2 lbs bag of green beans from SweetMaria , inserted into a 10 x 13 VacMaster bag ( cost : 4 cents ) N.B. : the inner bag is open then the combo is Vac'd these beans will keep for a very long time in a cool , dark place. After i roast GB's , and they are cool , I Vac : sometime the next day there is CO2 release , so I trim the top and rReVac the same bag. sometimes there is no CO2 release. I roast in something called ' The Bullet ' by bean temperature : 235 F . it's reproducible , and I like it far better then 232 F or 238 F which Ive tried. I use the temp rather than color of beans ( used by professionals ) as at these temps the beans roast very quickly. and that would add a variable I can easily eliminate. so : if you can Vac your beans , that's very helpful. my VacMaster is right next to my espresso machine on the counter , so I open a vac'd bag of roasted in the AM for a day or two at a time. Im also able to keep several different roasts for variety . there does not seem to be a lot of de-gassing @ 235 F. the vac's beans do seem to ' mature ' vac'd w/o CO2 for a say or two , as I taste the same beans over a few days.

@Paul Bacino mighty fine shells. Shells and Lasagna are two of my favorite dishes. Your versions look fantastic. @Tropicalsenior Yep. MB's best cooked in a hot oven. Or , straight in sauce.

An odd one : CornedBeef 140 F // 48 H w mini shredded wheat ( MarketBasket ) , and TJ's Dijon mustard very tasty and filling.

@Pete Fred fine video thank you.

I'll take it. w all the other stuff , of course . esp BlackButter. very nice video references . thank you .

Take-out carnita burrito , w added guac : Melted some cheese ,torched it , and added pico de gallo (TJ's ). The guacamole was non-existant . Cartels ? Tariffs ? next time Ill plan on an actual avocado on the side. w some lime. and of course a Hoponius Union , ice cold in a frozen glass. needed some heat , so Tabasco Chipoltle sauce. quite decent . a bit under flavored . 1/2 for breakfast tomorrow. H.U. excellent as always. time for a short nap. Happy Easter !

for corn tortillas ( as fresh as you can get them ) Id lightly coat each side w water , then cover and micro until warm they can get pliable that way . sort of ' steamed '

@liamsaunt nothing quite like the aroma that hits you when you enter a bakery like that one.

@Smithy thank you for the Sprouts tour. re : Tortillas: Id very lightly coat the inside of the tortilla w good quality oil then a very light dusting of seasoning of your choice , for flavor.

@liamsaunt thank you for sharing . Bad Food in Paris ? who knew I counted at least 3 Dover Sole's , nicely cooked so there is that . and that's worth the trip , in my book.

@liamsaunt more sole ! Excellent.

carrot cake in the sheet cake form. new to me . in the past Tj's had a CC that was very chunky : chunky nuts , carrots , and very rich. this one is a bit lighter , and quite tasty . I added Tj's coffee bean ice cream , as I wanted to try it. the IC was very nice , good coffee flavor w ground bits of coffee. the paring worked nicely . these come throughout the year , but in different forms you like mouse cake , you will like these . they are quite rich.

@RWood Fantastic. Ill take the turtles and the peanut caramel. and of course try the rest , esp the carrot cake

@liamsaunt more Sole . nice.

the MOAP does not have a handle , thus might not be a good selection for an inexperienced used its a nice looking npan , but you better be nimble w your pot holders .

Im not worried , other some concern for FR. tastes.

@liamsaunt looks like you did much better this time . and more sole ! congratulations.

@liamsaunt thank you for sharing. I swooned over both the Dover Sole and the Fish and Chips.

@lemniscate I also like these . thank you for reminding me . Ill stock up.

Cake and IceCream : not an outstanding pic , but an outstanding bowl : TJ's Chocolate Sheet Cake , TJ's Vanilla bean ice cream . I can't remember the last time I had C&IC. if you can't remember either , get some tomorrow. It's as good as it always was. I have a new refrigerator/freezer . Ice cream now comes out hard as a rock. Im going to have to dig out my ice cream scoop-per w the anti-freeze handle.

Yikes :

plenty of dinky bags @ TJ's this AM. about a gazillion. all colors. No activity @ the table.

@weinoo is that Mushroom Sauce Rx in M.H.'s book(s) ? Im having a little trouble locating it . help appreciated.

totes made the NYTimes : https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/business/trader-joes-tote-bags.html if behind a paywall : '''' For the second year in a row, Trader Joe’s has brought a Black Friday-like frenzy to its stores. But instead of lining up for a new video game console or Taylor Swift vinyl, customers are waiting their turn to buy miniature tote bags bearing the grocery chain’s logo for $2.99. Some people camped out in front of stores hours before they opened, while others sent friends to grab the exclusive item for them. On a few occasions, people appeared to wrestle or get into physical altercations over the 11-by-13-inch canvas bags, videos on social media showed. Kevin Burgoon, an employee at a Trader Joe’s in Sacramento, said the first customer lined up at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. By the time the store opened three hours later, he estimated that more than 150 people were waiting. The bags, offered in four pastel color schemes, sold out within 15 minutes. Image Some people lined up outside the stores hours before they opened.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times Image “In today’s day and age we need bright colors,” said Kaitlyn Marer, 24, of Manhattan.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times “I just thought it was crazy,” Mr. Burgoon said, adding that people called the store “nonstop” that morning to see if the bags were still in stock. The scramble began a year ago when, without much notice, Trader Joe’s released its first series of limited-edition totes, essentially smaller versions of the reusable canvas bags that the chain has sold for years. The totes became a trendy accessory, and a rush to get them ensued. This year, there was a bit more warning and stores were prepared for the chaos. At Trader Joe’s stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan, extra security was present, and a few stores placed the bags behind the registers. Almost every store restricted shoppers to a certain number of bags, though the limit varied by location. These smaller bags aren’t big enough to carry groceries, but some use them as purses or lunch bags. A few fans said they added personal touches — applying patches to the totes, for example, or Bedazzling them. One X user used the bag to transport a bowling ball. Last year, the demand for the bags led people to resell them at steep prices. On Wednesday, a few of the new bags were already listed for up to $70 on eBay. Natasha Fischer, who runs the Instagram account @traderjoeslist, said she has used her mini tote to carry wine and snacks to a friend’s place or to the beach. But, because Ms. Fischer bought several tote bags last year, she said she might skip out on the new series. “I have so many tote bags right now,” Ms. Fischer said, adding that she had noticed the hype might not be as big this year. “Maybe people are in the same camp as me, you know — how many mini tote bags do you need?” In a few New York stores, the bags weren’t selling out as swiftly as they did last year. In one Brooklyn store on Tuesday, the shelves had been picked clean of eggs by the afternoon, while tote bags were still hanging near the cash registers. Barbara Kahn, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said that decreased consumer spending in the midst of economic uncertainty could be one reason for the more lukewarm response to the totes. But also, she said, “There’s a lot going on in the world.” “There’s so much of this scarcity kind of mind set and fear and things setting in,” Dr. Kahn said. (Some have been stockpiling items such as coffee and canned food.) Image Despite the scramble, the bags did not appear to be selling out as swiftly as they did last year at some stores in New York City.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times A mix of excited, worried and confused shoppers waited in a line that stretched down the block outside the Union Square Trader Joe’s in Manhattan before it opened on Wednesday morning. But they were waiting for different things. “You’re here for eggs?” one shopper said to another. “Everyone’s here for the tote bags.” “I thought people were here because of the tariffs,” said a different customer who had come to stock up on foreign goods like olive oil. Plenty were still thrilled to get their hands on the totes. “I got the bags, all four!” one woman shouted as she left the checkout counter, stomping and chanting with her new totes in hand. Kaitlyn Marer, 24, of Manhattan, decided at the last minute to grab a spot in line for the bags while waiting out a subway delay. Ms. Marer wasn’t able to get one of the bags last year, so she called this her “redemption arc.” Plus, she’s a big fan of the color palette. “They’re just really bright,” she said, “and honestly, in today’s day and age, we need bright colors.” '''' for review purposes.

The three sheet cakes @ TJ's my area : thhe chocolate 😜 sliced : nice and chocolatey on the denser ( a good thing ) side . needs ice cream . will pick up next trip.