Martin Fisher

Avocados, Flat or carton, 2 layer, 26 lbs. Chives, Flat of 12 pots, 10 lbs. Dewberries, Flat, 12 ½-pint baskets, 6 lbs. Figs, fresh Flat, 1 layer tray pack, 6 lbs. Kiwifruit, California, 1-layer flat, 4-5 lbs. Mangoes, Florida, Flat, 14 lbs. Persimmons, 1-layer tray pack, flat or carton, 10-12 lbs. Raspberries, Flat 12 ½-pint baskets, 6 lbs. Tomatoes, 2-layer flat, 20 lbs. Source: Weights, Measures, and Conversion Factors for Agricultural Commodities and Their Products. USDA Agricultural Handbook No. 697.

Around here, "flat" is a general term...basically groups of a product of a given quantity and measure.

About the same here, 11 Thermoworks emails since April 19th. Which is crazy!!!! I have a lot of thermometers and stuff but I don't buy very often. They've sold that surface thermometer for quite a while.

Yeah, as I mentioned above, Griswold made more than just plain cast iron. "Nickel plated “ERIEs” can be found in all Series except for the First Series. Commercial nickel-plating, which used electricity, was relatively new when first used by Griswold. It seems there was a demand for cooking utensils that looked “better” than regular cast iron by their wealthier customers. The plated utensils were shiny and were advertised to have a superior cooking surface. They would generally command a price that was double that for the identical regular cast iron utensil." "All plated “ERIEs” were nickel-plated; Griswold did not start plating with chromium until c. 1929." Source: http://www.wag-society.org/guest/ERIESkilletArticle.pdf

Can't tell much from the pics but Griswold made plated cast-iron and aluminum skillets in addition to standard cast-iron.

Heavy whipping cream is relatively low in carbohydrate — ~3 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams of cream.

The best thing you can do is get them in the ground ASAP.

In my opinion, there's no easy answer because it depends on what you're baking and personal preference. Most alternative sweeteners have their own peculiar issues and, usually, take some getting used to. I tend to only use products that don't affect my blood sugar in any appreciable way. Some of the products that I use the most..... Natural, or fairly "natural," alternative sweeteners: Stevia — tends to be noticeably bitter. Bitterness varies from product to product. Erythritol — mildly sweet with a cooling effect that can be rather weird depending on how much is used and in what way. Monk Fruit (Lo Han Go) doesn't have the bitterness of stevia, but it's very expensive in its pure form. Liquid isomalto-oligosaccharide — mildly sweet with a pleasant flavor reminiscent of light corn syrup. PolyD Fiber — mildly sweet, adds chewiness to things like low-carb brownies. Not so natural sweetener that I use (sparingly): Liquid Sucralose: Highly concentrated with little to no noticeable objectionable flavor when used in small amounts. Some specific products I use: Vitacost Erythritol — pretty good deal on pure erythritol at regular price and they do run frequent sales. I often use this in combination with liquid stevia or sucralose. I also mix in a tiny amount of robust molasses for use as a brown sugar substitute. Swerve Confectioners — a finely ground erythritol blend that I use when making frostings. Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener Golden — expensive but works great for spiced nuts and the like. Sort of a very mild brown sugar-like flavor. SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia — better than most stevia products but still mildly bitter in spite of what they claim. FiberYum (Isomalto-Oligosaccharides) — expensive but a great product for some applications. Lifesource PolyD EZ-Sweetz liquid sucralose — this company makes liquid sucralose in 2 concentrations. The linked product is the most concentrated. One drop effectively equals 2 teaspoons of sugar in terms of sweetening power, so a little goes a long way. HTH

I pay little to no attention to strangers when I'm out and about so it's never been an issue.

In spite of the opinions of some and any, so-called, science—some of us ARE carbohydrate intolerant....none are more inconvenienced by that fact than those who live it!!! Glycemic index and the like are essentially meaningless to those of us who are extremely carbohydrate intolerant. Anyway, you may wish to try whey protein or the like as means of freezing point management. Whey protein isolate is low in carbohydrate.

Instant Pot IP-LUX50 6-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker, 5Qt/900W, $67.89

We had 4 cats that were FAR outnumbered!

In all my years of — mostly rural — gardening/farming (35+years) I've had minimal trouble with rabbits, woodchucks, deer, etc. Voles, on the other hand, are nothing but pure evil! Here's one of my posts from another forum back when I still had the farm...... "Yes, voles are pure evil! LOL They're the worst warm blooded pest on my place, they'll nibble on almost anything in the garden..beets...potatoes...carrots..... tomatoes...you name it. I've reached almost 100% control with 4 measures....a shallow trench around my raised beds discourages them....cutting the grass quite short surrounding the garden area makes it easier for the hawks to get them (there are a lota hawks here)...and trapping (placed where my dogs or cats won't be bothered)...a regular unbaited mousetrap will work when placed perpendicular to their paths...they'll just run over it and SNAP! I also use a regular mousetrap under a one foot square piece of plywood baited with a small piece of apple! Also.....I have several 4-foot X 4-foot pieces of heavy rubberized roofing (basically, extra heavy tarp material) that I have placed on the ground around the place...my dogs will flip the pieces of roofing looking for voles... the dogs and cats both will readily munch on them! Good luck!"

FWIW, one is the Wi-Fi model ($30 discount using code LUVMOMWIFI,) the other is the Bluetooth model ($50 off.)

Yep! Years ago I installed some left-over, supposed, 'moisture-resistant' laminate in a tiny utility room. Knowing that exposure to moisture was a possibility, I coated the laminate with a couple coats of polyurethane. Moisture eventually caused some issues in spite of the precaution.

Yes—FWIW—from On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen By Harold McGee, Page 88: "Difficult peeling is characteristic of fresh eggs with a relatively low albumen pH, which somehow causes the albumin to adhere to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it coheres to itself. At the pH typical after several days of refrigeration, around 9.2, the shell peels easily. If you end up with a carton of very fresh eggs and need to cook them right away, you can add a half teaspoon of baking soda to a quart of water to make the cooking water alkaline."

I have regular laminate flooring in a couple rooms, but not the kitchen. I like laminate flooring but I'd only install something like highly durable resilient vinyl planks in a kitchen or bathroom.

It's a trick that's been around a very long time—it's especially useful in suppressing the bitterness of cheap robusta coffee. My grandparents—extremely frugal folks—added a tiny pinch of salt to the coffee pot for decades.

Potatoes can turn sweet if stored too cold. See more here.

I also much prefer the steaming method for various reasons—I've been using that technique since back in the '80s.

I was thinking similarly.

They require special and specific conditions to thrive, including a cold period to break shoot dormancy. It's unlikely they'd do well in the lowlands of the deep south. Around here, the southern-tier of NY state and northern-tier of PA, in certain 'sweet spots' they grow abundantly, literally blanketing the forest floor in a sea of green. They're a welcome early sign of spring but largely considered an ubiquitous pedestrian food. A dinner or two, or sometimes a few, satisfies until next year. Cultivating Ramps: Wild Leeks of Appalachia

Ball Wide Mouth 1.5-Pint Canning Jars are straight-sided and easy to clean. About $10.40 for 9 jars at Bed, Bath and Beyond with the 20% coupon. The small jelly jars are also straight-sided. The wide-mouth quarts have a small hip—but still easy to clean.

Heavy cream was back in stock last Tuesday.

My grandfather used to say, "There isn't a single rock on this farm—they're all married and have big families."