Martin Fisher

Kelp noodles are worth a try, I like them far better than the shirataki. They're not bad in pho and other soups. I can get them locally for about $5.50 a pound.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of wine. Dry wines are actually fairly low in carbohydrate, especially dry whites, averaging about 1 gram of carbohydrate or less per ounce, about the same as many cheeses. For dessert.....do you like cheesecake? Low-carb cheesecake is my go to dessert, it's great made with or without a chopped nut crust. I also make quick breads from almond flour and farmer cheese, several different varieties.....they're great as a dessert stand-in. Low-carb fudge is another great treat....Baker's unsweetened chocolate, coconut oil, cream cheese, real vanilla extract and an alternative sweetener. The zucchini 'noodles' mentioned by heidih really are great...I was surprised how well I like them as a sub for various real noodles. In my opinion, the biggest bummer when it comes to low-sugar/low-starch eating is the lack of a really good sandwich bread alternative. I make savory quick breads with the almond flour and farmer cheese mentioned above, but they lack the springiness and mouth feel of real sandwich bread. You can get a lot of good ideas for low-sugar/low-starch dishes on the low-carb forums.

No, I don't think that you're missing out on anything. From a practical and utilitarian standpoint a Hawkins is an excellent value. If you're as comfortable with Hawkins as I am, there's really no good reason to go "fancy." Another plus: All Hawkins stainless steel pressure cookers made since April 2011 are induction compatible.

Well, if it's the only choice you need to drink enough to get past that.

I have woks and numerous cast iron Dutch ovens and chicken fryers, they work okay. What i'm interested in is something perfect for small batch deep frying that's relatively deep and narrow so it requires little oil, yet heavy enough to maintain temperature well.

I haven't seen anyone in America eating spaghetti with a fork and spoon.

I've looked and looked and looked for years and haven't found a stove top frying vessel that I think is perfect. I think that a heavy, tall, flat-bottomed cast iron bean pot or potjie would come closest to perfect (hold temperature well with a minimum of oil) but I haven't found a good affordable one.

I agree that frivolous rules are stupid, but if there is a practical reason for a rule it may make sense to consider it..

You're assessment didn't hit a nerve with me it just seems rather "fishy' in that It appears you were hunting for negatives the way competitors do.

re: breaking dry spaghetti I'm not Italian but some Italian friends insist that spaghetti shouldn't be broken because broken spaghetti isn't easy to swirl on a fork or into a 'nest.'

What competitor do you work for?

I can't think of a food that I hate, but I've had to move to a somewhat restricted diet because I've become carbohydrate intolerant yet I don't go out of my way to eat certain foods just because they're allegedly good for me. I happen to love oatmeal! I have Scotch roots on my Mother's side so oats were a big part of growing up. My Mom and Grandmother prepared oats in numerous ways....they bought them by the 50lb. bag when I was a kid.

Samoas are a favorite with Thin Mints not far behind although I've never been a big commercial cookie eater....or a big cookie eater in general. When I was a kid my favorite store-bought cookie was the Fig Newton (thanks to my paternal grandfather.) They were a very welcome change in that they were much different than the excellent homemade cookies that my Mom always made (one of those special treats from a grandparent). Mom never bought commercial cookies.

Call Morton's and ask for the MSDS sheet...it may or may not be helpful....their MSDS sheets tend to encompass more than one product and are very general. I know that a lot folks use Morton's Kosher for fermentation, so it shouldn't be a problem. If you're still concerned, use a real Koshering salt such as David's or Canning and Pickling salt, neither contains additives.

I'm long overdue for a good fish fry with some fish caught with my Pocket Fisherman and some fries nicely cut with my Veg-O-Matic.

Obviously there are cookbooks that I'd never cull....no way...no how. Cookbooks that are on the potential cull list generally only have a few recipes that I'm interested in anyway, so I don't usually find it a bit painful to save those recipes and then send the book off to eBay or wherever.

The pungency (spicy heat) level is mostly a factor of genetics. There's been a lot of breeding of mildly pungent jalapeños in recent years....TAM Mild Jalapeño is a good example while Biker Billy Hybrid from Burpee is a good example of a cultivar that's more pungent than average.

Yeah, chili has become a very general term...actually...off the top of my head I can't think of anything else that varies quite so much. Golly, some are even snarfing down a lot of "white" chili.

I just tried this at the 171 degrees F....bain marie style in a stainless steel malt cup. It came together well at the 20 minute point but I went to 25 minutes to thicken it up a bit more. I still have mixed emotions about sous vide scrambled eggs....they're definitely soft, smooth and creamy...but almost too soft, smooth and creamy....I prefer a bit more curd structure.

Exactly! You must season to taste...there is no other way.

Interesting....I stumbled upon that some time ago on Amazon and liked the idea of it, except for the glass lid...seems whenever I have something like that, Murphy's Law kicks in.

Can anyone recommend a good heavy-duty utilitarian-type stainless-steel tea kettle that has a large opening for easy cleaning, is in the $50-$75 price range and with a 3-4 quart capacity? Thanks!!

Wow! I am so very sorry!!!

Without a doubt it's a regional thing. The homemade chili I grew up with was the traditional type, but there are numerous other versions popular in this area.

A hint of allspice, cinnamon and cloves is common in some chili recipes in my neck-of the-woods - the Finger Lakes region of New York. Especially so in condiment type chili that goes on hot hogs, burgers and the like or Greek chili.