Richard Kilgore

I received an Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 6 quart as a gift. My choice. In addition to wanting to see if it would actually save me some time and labor, it was promoted as having a Sous Vide function. My sister has had a regular Instapot for at least a year and she like it a lot, so I thought I would give it a try. But my penchant for cooking in clay vessels means there will not be many beans cooked in the instapot pressure cooker. Has anyone else used this model for Sous Vide? If this works well, it would be one of the least expensive ways to Sous Vide.

Thanks cdh. That is a bargain even if it is only culinary grade. I will use it in smoothies and such. It will be interesting to see how it does as traditional ceremonial matcha, too.

Oh yes, used chicken broth as the liquid.

Thanks to everyone for all the interesting and helpful ideas. I will try many of them over time. For this Passover dinner, I decided to do a chick pea and lentil stew with lots of fried onions and two types of lentils. cooked for several hours so the lentils broke down. Used dried oregano early on, adjusted salt half way through and added lemon juice and Aleppo pepper a couple of times in the last hour or so and then before putting out on the buffet, more Aleppo. On the buffet added more lemmon juice and scattered dill leaves liberally on the surface. Cooked and served in a large Columbian black clay pot. It got raves, so thanks again.

Greetings! I have been asked to do a green bean casserole for a men's group dinner at church. Thankfully not the dreaded mushroom soup and canned fried onion sort. The rationale, however, for the idea of a green bean dish is to serve something similar to what Christians in the early church would have eaten. Green beans being New World this would have required quite a miracle. Therefore, I am in search of, preferably, a Jewish dish from that era using Chick Peas and/or lentils. Otherwise a recipe using one or both from anywhere in the Middle East/Mediterranean. Would appreciate any and all suggestions. Thanks, Richard

Just last week picked up a couple of Winter squash varieties, and more soon, so looking forward to all the ideas everyone has to share. I'll be making a very large pot of a curry squash soup for Thanksgiving, too.

Yes! Beautiful photos, David.

I know, I know. I should be drinking iced tea in this Texas summer; that's what all my friends tell me. But I had not ordered any Japanese green teas in several years, drinking black teas and Chinese Oolong and green teas in the meantime. So I recently took a look at http://www.yuuki-cha.com/, a dealer that has been good to us in the past by contributing organic Japanese teas for multi-person tea tastings here in the eGullet Coffee and Tea Forum, and ordered an Organic Karishima Matcha and a Sencha. I have not opened the Sencha yet, but the matcha made as usucha is excellent. Just checked and they are out of this matcha, but I am guessing they will get it in again, and there are several other matchas from which to choose.Today I whisked my bowl after pouring the water when it was at 158-160 F, and that produced a strong green, flavorful drink that was not too strong, not bitter. The whisking easily produced a bowl full of tiny bubbles, just like you want it to do. I'll post something about the Sencha when I open it and have brewed it a few times. No financial interest in yuuki-cha, just a satisfied customer, who is again contributing his tea dollars to the enterprise.

I like the shower curtain ring idea, andisenji Another approach I learned here some years ago is to buy the smallest (1/2 pt.?) canning jars. Four ounces of many herbs and spices will fill several jars. Keep one jar of an herb out for use and put the rest in the freezer in a crate to organize them. It will extend the life of the herbs unless you would be using the 4 ounces within 6 - 12 months.

Depends. If I am brewing Chinese green tea in a gaiwan or Chinese Puehr or Oolong in a Yxing tea pot, both temperature and timing are critical, especially for the early infusions. If brewing lower leaf:water ratios for black teas or Oolong tea in a cup or western teapot I can get close enough using a water boiler (+/- 5 degrees) and estimating time and checking the color of the infusion.

I have been drinking several teas I recently bought from Greg Glancy at norbutea.com: Thurbo Tippy Clonal Darjeeling, second flush (2013); Margaret's Hope SFTGFOP1 Darjeeling, second flush (2013); and Rou Gui Wuyi Oolong. Spring Harvest (2012). Enjoying all of them. Darjeeling quality was hit pretty hard for several years, but these two are delicious - my morning teas. I have gotten away from green teas for some time, except for one from Norbu, but plan to order Japanese green teas soon from Japan.

Chris Z, thanks for the pointers. I actually did do a search before starting this discussion. Many, many topics came up with something related within, but none with a sole focus on gluten free breads and pastry.

Thanks, gfron1. How thin is the pizza crust you make with this recipe? Thanks for all the ideas, Franci.

I occasionally cook for a friend who is 100% gluten free in her diet. I found a cornbread recipe by Andisenjie in Recipe Gullet that looks good, but what other bread and pastry recipes do you like?

I was stunned when I first heard of Steven's passing. He was a trailblazer and innovator, an inspiration and friend to many, and a man of faith. I still miss him deeply. Sympathies to Ellen and PJ.