Martin Fisher

Dry brining only draws moisture out initially but it is reabsorbed. I don't think it tastes like cured meat or the texture either but I suppose length has something to do with this. Kenji over at Serious Eat's is a proponent of it over a wet brine. I don't recall reading about injecton brining or why Modernist Cuisine prefers it but I'll have to go back and read it. That aside, I think brining in general is overrated, especially wet brines. I also agree! A cured taste and texture is a symptom of too much salt. ~Martin

That's great! Yeah, no issues with growing season where you are. Actually, the lady who started East Branch Ginger worked at Johnny's Selected Seeds up in Maine, it all started up there. http://www.mofga.org/Publications/MaineOrganicFarmerGardener/Winter20112012/Ginger/tabid/2055/Default.aspx ~Martin

Here's a website with a lot of good cultural info: http://www.eastbranchginger.com ~Martin

I grow for the stem ginger as well as the tubers. The drip tape should work well. Although some insist that it's not necessary, in my experience, soaking the the tubers in warm water (85 degree F) for an hour or 2 just prior to planting seems to "wake-up" tubers and initiate prompt sprouting. I usually grow in containers because that allows me to get a 6-8 week (or longer) headstart inside, but it's not essential. Container grown ginger needs to be watched quite closely because the growing medium can become too dry quickly. ~Martin

I'm also in NY state, unfortunately, Chemung County to be exact, I grow it as an annual, but as you pointed out it certainly could be overwintered inside given the room. ~Martin

Have you considered growing it? That's what I do. It's quite easy to grow if you meet it's needs (ginger likes a lot of moisture.) It can be grown from the ginger from any grocery produce department. ~Martin

I lot of low-carber's make cauliflower fauxtatoes. A bit of cream cheese and a touch of xanthan are often used to thicken them up. I like to combine them with rutabaga and a touch of xanthan. ~Martin

Lots of folks use Himalayan pink sea salt or Celtic sea salt for fermenting vegetables. I don't know about it's use in cured meats, I use Mediterranean sea salt. ~Martin

I spent several weeks looking for a reliable and inexpensive way to do indoor cold smoking. I settled on rolled cigarettes (LOL) heated with a soldering iron because it’s possible to smoke with pure tea leaves, herbs, sawdust, etc. without the fuel burning up too rapidly. I invested about $20 in the cigarette roller, papers, soldering iron, spring and clamp. Below is some rosemary being rolled. Maple smoked butter, rosemary smoked foccacia, tea smoked hard-boiled eggs….the possibilities are endless. The cigarette must be able to slide freely inside the spring. The soldering iron raises the temperature inside the cold oven only about 10 degrees above room temperature. Each cigarette smokes for about 30-40 minutes. A vent hood is recommended. My vent hood doesn’t vent to the outside, but that wasn’t a problem with a window open and the ceiling fan running. : ) Note: Placing a bowl over the targeted food does help to concentrate the smoke. It's habit forming!!!!! For consistant and reliable smoke in the smoker, I highly recommend the A-Maze-N smoke generators. I have all of their models, they work great. ~Martin

Yes, that's a good idea. Jacques video..... http://youtu.be/ogwXvV_LcJE?t=5m18s ~Martin

When preparing in the oven I've come to favor a combination of methods, Jacques Pépin's quick-roasted chicken, Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe roast chicken and Heston Blumenthal's perfect crispy roast chicken. I dry brine the bird (Judy Rodgers.) I butterfly the bird and cut partway through both sides of the joint between the thighs and the drumsticks as well as the joint between the wings and breast. I also pop the thigh out of the socket. This ensures that those stubborn areas cook properly when roasting hot and fast (Jacques Pépin.) I thoroughly dry the skin (Heston Blumenthal.) I preheat an appropriately sized cast iron skillet on medium high heat and the oven at 450 degrees. Toss the chicken in the skillet and into the oven to roast for 30-45 minutes (Jacques Pépin.) Juicy meat and crispy skin every time! We raise our own chickens, I'm very picky about how they should be raised and butchered. For a few years we raised as many as 1,300 each summer. I'm glad I don't do that anymore!!!!!!!! ~Martin

Cool, dcarch! I've done essentially the same thing, but with Ziploc® freezer bags or Glad® Press‘n Seal® wrap. ~Martin

Looks great Steve. ~Martin

"Cutting up in the Kitchen", is excellent, as already suggested by rotuts. "The Kitchen Pro Series: Guide to Meat Identification, Fabrication and Utilization" is also very good and so is "The Kitchen Pro Series: Guide to Poultry Identification, Fabrication and Utilization". There are countless other books that are also great. HTH ~Martin

Wow! There is no comprehensive book that I know of. You could fill a good sized home library with all the options, and I have. LOL Can you be more specific? What are you most interested in? ~Martin

Yes, Royal Oak is usually good and readily available, it's what I use if I run out of homemade. Royal Oak also private label packs for some grocery stores and the like. Wegman's lump charcoal is Royal Oak.

X2 Buy Kiko's book, it's excellent. I used to have an earthen oven. ~Martin

It's impossible to guess because there are many similar looking cultivars. I've grown upwards to 60 different cultivars that look similar to what's in the picture. ~Martin

My experience enforces the addiction argument, at least in my mind! ~Martin

X2 And folks on food stamps can buy ALL the soda pop, candy, cookies, chips and other junk food that they want!!!! Yet, when I have hundreds of pounds of surplus from a market garden......carrots, green beans, squash, tomatoes, beets, radishes, etc. etc. etc. and FREELY offer it to those who are "in need" it's usually turned down!!!! It has become very difficult for me to sympathize. ~Martin

Canning, drying or freezing are all options. If you choose canning and want the jars to be safe for storage at room temperature, safe canning guidelines must be followed. Here's the tested recipe and procedure for peppers without added ingredients. (They must be pressure canned to be safe.) http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/peppers.html Here's the tested recipe and procedure for pickled peppers. (Canned in a boiling-water bath.) http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pickled_hot_peppers.html Be careful with untested canning recipes, they may be unsafe. HTH ~Martin

Ooops!!!!! After closer look, that is NOT the AWS scale that I have. The one that I have is 100g x .01g! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012LOQUQ/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_3 ~Martin

I believe that scale comes with a measuring vessel as part of the set-up. I'll check to make sure. There are plastic anti-static weighing vessels available to counter the sticking problem often encountered with some materials. ~Martin

I have the exact same scale, I use it mostly for measuring meat cure. It works great. The scale can be calibrated. Buy a couple 50g or one 100g calibration weight when you buy the scale. Here's a $21+ mg scale that I'm considering. http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Gemini-20-Portable-Milligram/dp/B0012TDNAM ~Martin

All of the issues pertaining to the commercial range have been addressed. The description of "tiny" is relative, the kitchen is not the size of an average commercial kitchen and the like, it's actually a summer kitchen separate from the house ~Martin