JoNorvelleWalker

Last night was tacos al pastor from the Anova recipe. I followed the recipe except that I used 2 guajillo chiles rather than 2 lb guajillo chiles. I can only hope 2 lb is a misprint when specifying dried peppers. Also I used apple cider vinegar in place of distilled white vinegar, and I added an uncalled for quarter teaspoon of ground chipotle. I have a trompo pan* so I did not have to fiddle with the bamboo skewers. I made fresh corn tortillas for the tacos. The result was good. I am pleased. I had been planning this for months, probably years since I first saw the Anova recipe. I may be eating leftovers for weeks. Whenever I order pork in local Mexican restaurants I cannot chew the meat. In contrast this pork shoulder was juicy and a joy to masticate with my old teeth. If I live long enough to make tacos al pastor again I will leave out the extraneous ground chipotle, and I will wipe off as much of the marinade as I can when I stack the slices of pork together. Pork and pineapple is a tasty combination. *I confess I actually have two trompo pans.

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link) I'd say quick, but forgive me for not getting up and timing.

I've been through four frothers. The first died after one use. The second frothed just fine, but could not whip cream. The third has two mixing discs rather than one. It both froths milk and whips cream, but it doesn't do a great job of mixing Instant Breakfast. The fourth frother has multiple attachments and handles all of the above.

I have four or five iSi pressure vessels, but I no longer use them for whipped cream. Nitrous oxide whipped cream texture is light and airy and I prefer my whipped cream a little denser. However at least one of my iSi vessels resides in my refrigerator at all times for methode rotuts. I purchase carbon dioxide cylinders by the case. These days I use a little USB C milk frother for my whipped cream.

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/149399-freeze-dryers-and-freeze-dried-food-part-1/

Sorry, the grinder complaint was intended to be humorous. Second batch, much better! So far as to say good. Same beans. I increased the grind by three clicks (23 microns per click) and used a Japanese ceramic filter rather than the Chemex paper filter. The pour was completed in three minutes. Everything else the same. After yesterday's cup I was afraid I had made a tragically expensive mistake in taking up a new obsession. However now I see great promise. Thanks, everyone for the suggestions. The ceramic filter is this one: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

It would have been kinder to have mentioned before I got the grinder. Yes, I did wet the filter before I used it.

Made my first cup, using Boa Vista beans: Beans 15g Water 225g Water Temperature 96C Bodum pot, Chemex filter. Total time about 4 minutes. Smell is great. Flavor not everything I had hoped for. I would describe the taste as somewhat sour. I have read it is almost impossible to prepare a single cup of decent coffee using a Chemex filter. Maybe there is some truth to that? Another observation: it is more difficult to grind coffee manually than I thought! Suggestions on parameters for next time, please.

I see you are correct about Meater. Nonetheless I am impressed. I plan to give the BBQOVN a proper test tomorrow.

There is a topic on the combustion.inc wireless thermometer however I have a knockoff of the combustion.inc probe by a brand named BBQOVN. https://bbqovn.com I really doubted the BBQOVN probe would work inside the Anova oven but it does. I can sit at my desk on the opposite side of the apartment from the kitchen and monitor what the probe is reading. Of course I can also monitor the Anova temperature from my desk. The probe temperature tracks the oven temperature within a few tenths of a degree. Impressive, I thought. The probe is rated up to 500C and is dishwasher safe. By now there must be other companies making similar probes. I'd love to hear people's experiences.

I use her raspberry for making knickerbockers. Note: apparently @feste's company only has one hand.

The stuff @feste sells (Small Hand Foods on Amazon) is pretty good. I would recommend it.

The replacement organic pineapple I got today was $4.99.

I will never again finally get around to making tacos al pastor only to discover that my expensive pineapple had liquified.

I have the 4th edition on Kindle. Sadly I tend not to read eBooks.

That coffee looks like scary stuff!

There are at least two bean roasters in Princeton, the town south of me. Even though they are fairly close it would be difficult for me to get there. Used to be walking distance when I was younger and in better health. @weinoo had said good things about beans from George Howell. If the George Howell beans are bad I can blame @weinoo. There is a Trader Joe's on the highway south of Princeton but I have never been there. Speaking of beans, what is the best way to keep them fresh? Freezing? Vacuum sealing? I forgot to put that in my list of questions.

I put my dinner plates on top of my Anova oven.

Good question. The source is the Millstone river by way of a Mavea water filter. Of course I could go down to the creek.

A friend gave me a tea bag. How every good story should begin. And so, down the rabbit hole... Her kind tea bag and the current sales led me to order a Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Studio kettle -- since I couldn't see employing my priceless, high maintenance iron tetsubin for herbal tea. I must say, the Stagg is rather nice. Which got me thinking. I have not been a regular coffee drinker for years. And I hate bad coffee. My first coffee experience was with my high school Latin class at a Greek restaurant. At home I was not permitted coffee, but occasionally I could sneak out to a brew to order vending machine that actually was pretty good. In college I eventually kicked the caffeine habit. Until one night I was assigned to provide coffee for an evening genetics class. Not to do things halfway, I went out and purchased some half decent beans, the best that I could find. Of course I had to try some. Good coffee I enjoy. Over the years since I've gone through instant coffee, which I despise. I've tried a plastic Melitta filter, a French press, even an espresso machine which once sat where my Ninja Creami resides now. I never could achieve potable coffee with any regularity. I have no use for drip machines, percolators, that sort of thing. However since I now have the Stagg kettle in house, I have made a commitment to pour over. I poured over (sorry) ancient eGullet threads and googled much opinion. But I need sound advice. Please, in this topic let's not discuss, compare, or contrast other types of coffee making. In addition to the new Stagg kettle and my trusty scales I have the following accouterments on order: Bodum 11592-109 pot (couldn't afford Chemex) TIMEMORE Manual Coffee Grinder Chestnut ESP Pro Chemex paper filters Wablade Japanese ceramic filter In the past @weinoo has mentioned George Howell as bean purveyor. I have three bags for delivery tomorrow: BOA VISTA GUADALUPE MIRAMAR DOTA These are all light roasts which George Howell recommends for pour over. Things with which I need help: How hot the water (which tastes better in Celsius)? How fine or coarse the grind? Ratio weight of beans to water? How long to brew, which I believe comes down to how slowly to add water? I'd love advice on best beans and best filters: the Wablade ceramic filter was something new I saw today. I'm not thrilled by the Bodum metal and plastic filter. I'm sure there are more questions than I've thought of. But, no, @rotuts, I have no space in the bathroom for a coffee roaster. Thanks in advance.

My dinner last night was quick tuna salad -- but not that kind of quick tuna salad.

I have not cooked green beans since my health faltered, but with the ones I used to purchase I always had good luck. I believe they were imported from Guatemala.

Just a thought, I've not received it yet but I ordered a Fellow Stagg kettle that is currently on sale: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Like Zojirushi, the Fellow is not cheap even when on sale -- however the Fellow's cost is small change compared to that of my non-electric iron kettle that requires ceremonial levels of attention and care.

I'm not saying the acacia board is hard, just that it felt hard when I tapped on it. Just now I did the same experiment with a couple of walnut boards and they felt hard too. I think tapping may be more a test of density than hardness. However after a few moments googling I found an article on acacia hardness. Apparently acacia is hard... https://woodworkly.com/how-hard-is-acacia-wood/ Whether acacia is bad or good for a cutting board I still don't know.

No cookware in your living room?