weinoo

These were very small beets, so I pickled them raw. But before putting the vegetables in their brine, I salted and let them sit for an hour or two.

A friend gifted to me her CSA basket, as she was going out of town. I pickled most of it - radish, beet, Japanese turnip, kohlrabi, young garlic, spring onion, yellow squash, carrot (from my fridge). This is a mild pickle recipe from The Joy of Pickling. Too mild, imo. And - is there a more boring vegetable than yellow squash - in any of its iterations?

Good stuff all.

As I suspected.

This is a pasta called busiate; this particular whole-grain durum wheat busiate is made from an ancient strain called Tumminia, grown only in western Sicily. I've had it served with an interesting pesto made with Sicilian almonds, tomatoes, basil, etc. The importer says that his favorite "sauce" is cacio e pepe, and that's the sauce I made last night.

I'm interested in where these were made - as I am with DDF's Rival blender. I don't remember my first kitchen that well - it was somewhere in Santa Barbara, I think. In any event, I still have the first Chinese cleavers I bought. And the wok tools, but not the wok. I have some cast iron, that I'm pretty sure was gifted or purchased at flea markets/garage sales. I have a few of the knives from my original set of Henckel's (tomato, paring). And I remember buying a set of pots and pans from Macy's - they were called Tools of the Trade, and were well made at the time. I still have the 8 qt. soup pot, and maybe a saute pan or two.

This afternoon. Fine Fare. Clinton St.

I'm still seeing them at 3 for $1 in my local supermarket. Not bad ones, either.

Perhaps you should buy a whole ham for your next trip. That way you can slice it expertly, and I doubt any of it will go to waste.

It's my m.o. as well. I will buy fresh fish from the farmer's market, where I know the fishermen. Otherwise, I pretty much avoid fin fish. I actually trust the labeling of fin fish at whole foods - but I don't necessarily like the way it's stored and displayed in their fish counter. For shrimp, wild U.S. product - I buy it still frozen, in 2 lb. bags. That way, I can take out just what I need. Other shellfish (clams, mussels, oysters), I buy local and tagged product.

I forgot to mention it, but Significant Eater and I did a road trip to Nashville/Knoxville last summer. Enjoyed some good food, especially at Husk. Nashville Skyline

I actually have used parchment up to about 450 - 475 - it scorches, but doesn't burn.

Scapes and strawberries - what next!

This is exactly what I (would) do.

Can you buy me one?

Did some mega company buy Chobani?

You've got a slight variation on the Little Italy - it's actually a rye-based cocktail.

Well...almost a Little Italy, but probably still great.

What do you have already? What kind of cooking do you do? Before "gadgets," I'd invest in 2 good knives - a chef's knife (or something similar) and a paring knife. A few saucepans (say 1 & 3 quart), an 8" and 10" frying pan, maybe a larger (8 qt) soup/stock pot. When I first started cooking seriously, I bought a Chinese cleaver and a good wok, and cooked practically everything with those. It's the cook, not the kitchen, making the food.

It's a diner. Of course they're going to take care of their regulars - that's what keeps them in business.

The Ascaso is probably a good $40 - $50 higher than the high end of this. AS everyone else has mentioned, other than budget, what kind of coffee will you be brewing?

What's your budget?

I don't seem to run into this problem. When I buy a package of something that is pre-weighed and priced, I'll often throw it on a scale before I get to the checkout counter. Or if a bag of, say, baby red potatoes says 1.5 pounds, you can pretty much judge by holding the bag if one is larger than another, no? If I have been mischarged at the register, or if someone rings up an incorrect produce item, or if the produce price doesn't match what the sign on the produce says, I bring it up right then and there, and they correct the mistake. I remember when I lived in California and shopped at Safeway - it was kind of in the early days of scanners for checkout. They had a policy that if the scanned price didn't match the price marked in the aisle or on the item, you got it for free. I used to do pretty well back then!

I get my za'atar at Kalustyan's, which (I think) also sells all the individual ingredients if you want to make your own. I make these by brushing with olive oil, sprinkling with za'atar and salt, and toasting in the Steam Girl.

I'm always thinking fresh, but I realize how much of a pain in the ass they will be to transport. And actually, I can now get good quality frozen Hatch chiles - they sell 'em (Young Guns Produce) at Kalustyan's - which might not be a bad place to check out - they carry a dizzying array of spices, herbs, barks, roots, etc. Since you'll be staying in Astoria, and the event is in Brooklyn, you're going to be doing a fair amount of schlepping.