Martin Fisher

I've tried several different peelers, I don't like the Y-shaped or U-shaped peelers at all. The Oxo and Messermeister straight peelers that so many like are okay, but rather cumbersome. I keep going back to the old Ekco (not the newer junky model) that I've used for years, it's by far the fastest peeler I've ever used. ~Martin

Clambake!!! ~Martin

I agree with Paula Wolfert, if you're so inclined, make your own vinegar. The difference is remarkable. Having said that, Eden Foods Raw & Unpasteurized Red Wine Vinegar (No additives or sulfating agents.) isn't bad and comes closer to homemade than most others I've tried. ~Martin

Love her or hate her, Paula Deen is in BIG trouble because she was honest, admitted mistakes and apologized....if she'd lied and covered it up, there would be no issue. Think about that.

They're best grown in the fall. They tend to bolt to flowering and not form well in hot weather. ~Martin

X2 I agree! ~Martin

I agree with all but this.....in regards to chili.... "But a lot use the canned kind (which is not a crime) but try to pass it off as homemade." Canned chili IS a crime!!!!!! ~Martin

I've always made blackberry grunt pretty much the same way that Alton Brown does, but I've never followed a formal recipe. Always with drop biscuit batter and in a cast iron skillet. It's the way my grandmother made it for ages. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/blackberry-grunt-recipe/index.html ~Martin

It appears that Oxo has redesigned the two-fold grater, the original design was nothing but pure garbage. It worked fine at first, but quickly cracked (the plastic sides along the edge of the grater) and fell apart. It appears that they've eliminated the plastic sides. I may give Oxo another chance although about 3 or 4 of their products that I've purchased have been nothing but junk!!! The grater comes apart for easy cleaning, one of the things I don't like about box graters. The new design is also bi-directional!!! That's a great idea, if it works well!!!!! New design.... http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Two-Fold-Grater/dp/B004VLYQHM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_2 Original Design.... http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Multi-Grater/dp/B00004OCKU/ref=pd_sbs_k_4 ~Martin

I've wanted to try my hand at tamagoyaki for a long time, but the good pans are crazy expensive.....maybe some day. ~Martin

Yes, I've found that putting the herbs between two snug fitting plates works very well. ~Martin

My friends in Spain deep fried the potato slices until they were a bit soft. Onions were lightly sautéed in olive oil. I love Spanish tortillas. I can't wait to go back. ~Martin

Is this the video you were looking for? http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xia9h9_julia-jacques-cooking-at-home-eggs_lifestyle I like both main styles. ~Martin

It's pretty much the same as deboning a chicken and the like. Jacques Pépin video..... ~Martin

I prefer to not dilute the flavor by adding more than just a tiny amount of brine to top off the jar if needed. You can extract more liquid from the peppers before packing into the fermentation vessel if you chop, salt and store in the fridge overnight. If you do wish to make a brine, adding 2% salt to the water wouldn't be enough salt. You'll need an equilibrium brine where the total salt percentage isn't less than 2% for safety reasons (some suggest more than 2% is needed, there's a lot of conflicting information). In other words, add the pepper weight and water weight together and use at least 2% salt based on the sum of the two. HTH ~Martin

You can safely hot pack (hot fill and hold) hot sauces without a canner and store at room temperature of the pH is low enough. I keep several sauces that way. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/29501-making-hot-sauce-101/ ~Martin

I forgot to address the mold issue. I typically ferment in wide mouth canning jars, both quart and half gallon. I pack the peppers to eliminate any air. I top off with brine all the way to the rim, I then insert an empty 1/2 pint Ball quilted jelly jar to catch any expansion. (the jelly jar should fit snugly against the lid) Making sure that the brine still comes to the rim of the canning jars, I then top the jar with a loose lid (no band), and top with a pint jar filled with water. The jar is not opened until fermentation is complete. No mold or yeast growth. ~Martin

Pepper fermentation is a sequential process that takes time. It requires up to a month to complete the fermentation cycle at room temperature, longer is better. The following link highlights sauerkraut fermentation, but pepper fermentation is much the same. http://www.meatsandsausages.com/food-preserving/sauerkraut/fermentation-sauerkraut Here's a master's thesis that has a lot of useful information on pepper fermenting and aging. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5216&context=gradschool_disstheses ~Martin

I make a lot of different hot sauces. One of my favorites is smoke-roasted jalapeno and onion....green jalapenos (with or without the seeds and placenta) and onions are smoke-roasted in the smoker and then cooked with white vinegar, a little water, a touch of garlic, a bit of spicy brown mustard, a bit of lemon juice for freshness and just a touch of sweetener for balance.....it's great! ~Martin

Total lunacy!!!!!!! What's going to happen when a chicken pecks on the another (which they very frequently do.) The victim will have no reason to escape, will become severely maimed or even killed!!!!! THAT IS CRUEL!!!! There are several other similar scenarios that I can imagine! Pure Craziness!!!!! ~Martin

Exactly! ~Martin

Instead of assuming that the power pack is a bad thing, perhaps its purpose to keep some components away from steam and heat!!!!!! I find it strange for someone to be bad-mouthing a product that's not even in production yet, based on a bunch of assumptions! If the design doesn't appeal to you, look elsewhere!

Can you put it in context? That'll surely help ensure helpful advice. ~Martin

There are several egg quality faults that tend to increase with age of the hen. Including, but not limited to, blood spots, meat spots, watery whites, large mobile air spaces, misshapened eggs, rough shells, thin shells, etc. Eggs from young hens are not without common faults.....small eggs, misshappened eggs, double yolks and thin shells. Some breeds and strains are more prone to certain faults than others. Quality control usually weeds out most of the troubled eggs before they reach consumers. Having said that, because egg production is highest in very young hens but plummets rapidly, most commercial laying hens are culled when relatively young, the same applies to many small-farm flocks. ~Martin

Controlling predators certainly is a challenge. I raise large breed chickens because hawks and owls are less likely to bother them. I control foxes and coyotes with electrified netting and and electric high-tensile fence around the perimeter. Millet makes great chicken feed. I also grow grain amaranth, grain sorghum (milo), naked barley, naked oats, hulless pumpkin seeds, peas, among other things. I've recently planted some siberian pea shrub and maximillian sunflower in hopes that those perennials can provide some good feed. ~Martin