Trev

Yum, that soup looks delish! I love the shots of the produce, especially the mushrooms. Following right along here....

Did you know that a rose and cactus combination is something of an iconic southwestern image? Many folks plant them immediately adjacent to one another in the hopes they will entwine. You were totally 'on trend' and didn't know it. Perhaps you should put the one that you removed back in! It's funny because when I say 'removed' I actually meant cut down. But apparently that rose bush is tougher than it looks and is trying for all it's worth to come back. So it's still there, but Maybe I could entice it to grow a little more to the side to give the cactus some more light.

I'm not sure what to say about the tomatillos, this is my first year growing them too. The cactus I bought at a local nursery in the spring for a few bucks each, I guess about 3 summers ago. I never have bothered feeding or watering them, they're just so darn hardy nothing seems to affect them. The one is likely more than 4 feet across now, just unreal the size of the thing. It must have over 60 paddles on it. The other one had to compete with a rose bush, which I removed, but it's still pretty impressive.

Thought I would mention that prickly pear cactus grow really well here in Ontario. The winter knocks it down but when the spring comes it takes off like mad. I've been growing a couple plants here for about 3 summers now and they're huge. Once they get rolling it would be easy to sacrifice the odd bit of it for nopales. Wouldn't even miss it.

Hi Tyler, smoke is not absorbed by meat, it's adsorbed(sticks to the surface). Muscle is non-porous so, for the most part, the most flavour is mixed in when the shoulder is pulled and combined. Even a rub will not penetrate very far into a shoulder, but a brine will, if you give it enough time. With a dry rub it's the salt content that draws water out where it combines with spices and through osmosis, carries the spice molecules back into the meat. That's why salting a steak with course salt half an hour before you grill it will give it great flavour. The salt interacts with the proteins by 'unwinding' or 'unlocking' them, making the steak more tender. But if you leave a dry rub on for too long before you smoke it then you will begin to cure the meat to a certain extent, altering the texture and flavour of the finished product. If you inject a shoulder and leave it sit then you will get the same 'hammy' texture as brining gives, but if you inject and smoke right away you can increase the flavour closer to the bone. It will take too long for osmosis to carry any molecule from the surface of the shoulder to the area near the bone, if it even happens at all. I've injected pork shoulders and legs of lamb (both, with bone in and boneless) just prior to smoking and had great results, but I usually reserve brining for chickens and turkeys because of that hammy taste you get from an extended brine. Lamb, being of a similar texture to beef and pork will also suffer from an extended brining process, effectually curing the meat. You are correct to draw a correlation between this and when you make corned beef from a brisket. By the way, are you the same Tyler who was looking to buy my wsm a couple of years ago? You seem familiar to me.

My wife bought a couple of these on the weekend and while the guacamole was a little mild or watery even, it was still good. Just needed a little more salt than usual.I definitely prefer Haas as well.

Thanks so much, Kate. What a great week of insight into the food scene in Sydney!

I know you guys had quite a heat wave a little while ago. In farming territory that can be a real deal-breaker. I hope your summer evens out for you and the crops don't suffer too much. I blew through Windypeg a couple times in the 80's. First time I ever saw a real tumbleweed. RRO, I can't wait to see what you've got up your sleeve next. I have to agree with everyone so far about the produce, seafood and the terrific restaurants! You're so lucky to live in such an awesome country. I must say, you really seem to know how to take advantage of this great stuff, and you obviously have a knack for putting things together in the kitchen. Savory oatmeal is something that never would have ever crossed my mind. It's been a real eye-opening week thus far. When I have a chance to sit and read eG, this is the first thread I check. Just fabulous.

You're most welcome Will your house insurance cover some of the loss? I think we get $200 coverage for freezer loss here without any increase in premiums.

I'm not sure thermometers in Winterpeg even go that high, do they?

That's a drag. I wouldn't trust any of the meat after that long. Lee Valley sells a freezer alarm, here's the link --> http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=10163&cat=2,2120,33279&ap=1

I've got the same one and use the same methods you use, with the exception of wanting to get it all off and leaving none to be licked. I don't have a solution, I never thought of it as a problem. I'm just happy if I don't get any in my hair.

What a ride! This is great, RRO.

That's exactly how it hits me too. I will eat eventually but with temps hitting 38 yesterday and a humidex of the mid 40's I lost my appetite completely. After about 5 hours in an A/C environment I was hungry enough to eat about 2 ounces of pork tenderloin and that was it for me.

I don't mind a little noise; I think it signals the happy, excited atmosphere that a good restaurant can conjure. But when it get's to the noise level of a rockin' bar then I can't take that. I have some hearing trouble and I get a little testy when I constantly have to ask my wife, or friends, to repeat themselves. Having said that, we were out on Saturday to a relatively noisy place, but the food was great, the atmosphere exciting and the service top notch. I'd definitely go again but I'd be prepared for the noise next time.

No guilt here either. Like nolnacs, I also grew up on a farm and witnessed death from a young age, along with the processing of meat for consumption. I don't lose any sleep over it at all.

I don't know if it's ice milk or ice cream, but when I hear that music on a hot afternoon and see the ice cream truck rollin' down the street I can easily outrun almost any kid in the neighborhood to be the first in line. I love it whether it's from the truck, from DQ or almost any place. They're kind of different from one another but I've never met a cone I couldn't learn to love!

I get what people are saying about most of this stuff, and the reasoning behind it too, but, instant coffee? LOL come on man, my mom drinks instant coffee because she likes the taste of it, and she's still an amazing cook after raising 6 kids and my dad. I did give her a pound of Blue Mountain coffee I brought back from Jamaica, and she raved about it, but then went back to her same old instant that she likes every morning. Ah well, some things never change.

Great pictures! The one of the hummus with feta and peppers and yogurt on top is really nice.

It's a design flaw I guess cuz I've had at least 2 bottles of ED12 that have had the same problem, just this year. I just used a corkscrew to pull it then left the cork sticking out enough to get a grip on the next time, like you did. ED12 is my preferred sipping rum. Just lovely stuff.

I'm agnostic so I respect peoples decision to give thanks, or not. As long as there's no attitude of superiority or pity because of it. Each to their own.

I've had good luck in the past just stringing them on a heavy thread, like a small wreath, and hanging them in the kitchen to dry. They have pretty thin skins so they always dried well, but would discolour slightly. Last year I used a dehydrator and they dried well but retained all their colour. We use them dried by grinding them in a coffee grinder and using them as an addition to almost anything. I tried smoking some once when I was making chipotles and then ground them up into a powder. It had great flavour and has been useful in all sorts of things. I have never pickled them or used them with pickles.

I believe the notion that she is 'playing it up' is all in the viewers head and very subjective. She appeals to a broad spectrum of people, particularly those who don't have a chef's training or intuition. The fact that she is somewhat messy and aloof in the kitchen has inspired those who were previously afraid to give cooking a try, especially many urban professional women in Britain who were also trying to juggle family and career at the same time, like Nigella herself. The hardships she has endured aside, she is quite natural in front of the camera and has much more class than many of the 'plastic' waifs so prevalent in modern television. Originally a successful journalist, she moved to a career in food in 1992. She's also had great success with several tv shows and several well-received cook books. She's not dumb and she's not new to the game. She is who she is and while there is a certain crowd that may enjoy watching her cook without actually seeing what she's making, there are those who respect her for her abilities, wiles and confidence.

I've never seen her shake her cleavage, and she's far from dumb. I doubt she can help how she's built, and why would she want to change it anyway? Because someone, somewhere is uncomfortable with it? If you look at her life and what she's overcome to be where she is then there would be something wrong with a person who didn't admire her for it. Nigella is the sexiest woman on tv. She doesn't need to apologize for that.

Oh my goodness, I'm sorry highchef but I think I've misled you by accident. Although I've read a lot about the ranch and about it's operating habits, etc., I don't actually own one. I meant that I use fire-bricks to cordon off an area in my kettle grill for indirect cooking, or direct grilling in a smaller area. After re-reading my post I can see how it was misleading. My apologies for the confusion. I can tell you, however, that using longer tongs is a good idea, as is a good pair of long mits-- like welders gloves. I can also tell you that the ranch is actually pretty thrifty with charcoal. I'd suggest a visit over to TVWBB (the virtual weber bulletin board) and google ranch kettle. A number of guys there have one and they're really good about sharing info. Good luck with it.