Deryn

huiray - The only ones I have ever bought have had that very thin shell on them - which, yes, I eat so they are like 'peeled' in that sense. The ones I can get locally in Nova Scotia however come already peeled and cooked - and frozen - but they are wild caught nearby. hummingbirdkiss - Yes, I have shrimp paste. I did note that some recipes for mam la'hong appear to use a paste (presumably shrimp paste - not all the videos were translated well or completely) rather than whole shrimps. At any rate, shrimp paste is a staple I keep around all the time, but, I would like to, again for the reasons I mentioned above - source of the shrimp, etc. - try making my own shrimp paste as well. I am not sure though whether using a modern dehydrator would be a good substitute for laying the (salted) shrimp out to dry in the sun every day for many days and collecting it at night to store in a jar till it disintegrates. I suspect not - and I am also unsure if I would need to try to dry the shrimp over a period of several days, removing them at night - and at what temperature I should do the drying. Guess I will need to experiment since it doesn't seem as easy as just taking dehydrated shrimp and processing them in a blender (which, if crispy would yield a powder so I guess water? would have to be added back). Seems the outdoor sun time, especially if done with the miniscule shrimp that is often used for paste, is a large/critical part of the fermentation process. On the other hand, even if I can make some semblance of a shrimp paste at home, it is bound to be unlike that made from plankton shrimp - and I will have to choose what 'consistency' direction I want to take it in (dried block form or 'saucy' form).

adey73 - I dehydrate meats at about 145 degrees Fahrenheit - so that is the temperature I used for the shrimp. Mine were already (peeled and) cooked (not that that probably took very much time since they are very small shrimp) and pretty salty as they were so no, I didn't brine them. I think they took about 4 hours. Shelf stable for me means they are crispy before I remove them from the dehydrator - but I am not Asian so I may be doing it all wrong. Of course I store them in a mason jar with an O2 absorber too just to be sure. They aren't exactly like Asian dried shrimp since they are peeled but I think there is a taste resemblance. I need to experiment further. hummingbirdkiss - Thank you. You just sent me on an adventure. I had no clue what Mam La'Hong was. Lahong I gather means green papaya. It seems there are MANY methods for its preparation. So far however, while I found one youtube that shows drying shrimp for a short time in the dehydrator to reduce the water, I have not yet found one that started with 'dried shrimp' and rehydrated it - though, given that each family seems to have its own method, I am sure some people do do that. At any rate, thank you. Very interesting quest you sent me on.

I dehydrated my own wild caught (Canadian, tiny) shrimp recently (as well as freeze dried them). I love the dehydrated ones - very different from the freeze-dried (which rehydrate as though they were fresh, right in your mouth, in seconds). Both are very sweet but the dehydrated has a lovely chewy texture and deeper flavour which is, I think, fairly close to what I could buy in the Chinese grocery. I have some concerns these days about the polluted waters and the farming of Asian shrimp - but I do love the taste of dried shrimp so I need to start using them in some Asian type recipes to see if they really are a decent replacement for me. I should now try powdering them (oh ... you said rehydrate first - before grinding?) and then 'fermenting' the powder (or ground shrimp?) to get even more umami out of them. Hummingbirdkiss - I too would like to know about that secondary process, please (the fermentation). Thanks.

Sad, isn't it. I have had an 'organic' tomato (I would say obviously not heirloom though) sitting on my desk by the computer now for 3 plus weeks and it is just as red and 'ripe' looking as the day I bought it - and no bad spots on it anywhere. I originally bought it to make a sandwich, thinking how beautiful and plump and juicy looking it was. Didn't get around to it so now it is an 'experiment' to see how long this can go on.

Plasti-dip? Is that stuff still made?

Wow! Will you (TonyC and Gypsyman) come and live at my house for a while? Bring your families. I wish I even understood everything you have done, TonyC - but I am certainly impressed. I do get why you did it, mind you. I certainly am not handy enough (and I am 'handy' but just not this mechanically inclined these days) to be able to 'do' what you have done - or even know enough to source the parts, especially when I am in Canada. And, Gypsyman, I like your elegant solution for what I too have noticed about the pump exhaust 'mister' - mine looks exactly like the original in your picture - the holes not even cleaned out. Does the new 'filter' actually trap the oil spray so it doesn't go all over the place? And if so, how often do you take it off and wash it out? Thank you both. Keep experimenting, please (not that I could stop you, I am sure).

What fun! Storing the 'chorizo piggies' idea in the back of my mind for future consideration.

I apologize for even suggesting there might be other ways to deal with the problem. I completely understood what you were asking for. What will you do if hard-anodized pots won't solve your issue though?

Cheese sauce can be frozen. Make huge quantities of it at your leisure and freeze it in appropriate size containers. You can let it thaw in the fridge on site or on the road to the site. Give to problem cook with instructions to dump it in the (old, familiar) pot with the stock and broccoli. Stir, rinse, repeat. This is a new season coming up. New season can mean new procedures, no? I know this is for Ren Faire but not everything has to be done in a medieval way. This is a very slight change that should not impact the cook's opinion of his/her ability to 'cook'. The extra work is yours, I admit (making the cheese sauce in advance) but isn't that better than dealing with this issue on site and then having to spend so much time washing up? Or you can go spend money on a new pot you will have to still wash and store.

So, I understand that you don't want to change how they cook the soup, but, how do they cook the soup that the dregs get so 'baked' on that they cannot be removed easily? Or is it that though they don't do much to make that happen, the soup just sitting for hours in a hot pan is 'baking' on a layer at the bottom of the pan? The reason I ask is that I don't use non-stick pots at all and don't recall even broccoli cheese soup sticking that badly on my stainless pots. I suspect that a hard-anodized pot might make cleanup easier for you but unless you really wanted to get new pots, that sounds like an expensive solution to what may be a simpler issue than you think. That solution might be as simple as the order in which things are thrown into the pot, or removing the soup immediately from the pot and storing it in another container once it is made if it is not to be consumed immediately.

If you haven't been messing with your hose/pump drain connections since the unit last ran fine (and you definitely closed the water drain hose), then the problem is probably the door seal. Stop the system, open the door, pull the seal out a bit all the way around and close the door again firmly to re-seat the seal. You can also try to run a piece of paper around between the door and the seal to make sure there are no holes. Remember to do the 2 step turn on the handle. I know this is basic stuff but believe me I have made all these seemingly simple mistakes and had a mess of oil spewing from the exhaust and/or something else strange happening such as low pressure or no heating, etc. - and it can be frustrating. One thing I have done to contain the mess a bit, should it happen, is to loosely fasten some paper towel over and around the exhaust exit point - allowing some air in and out but stopping the oil spray from getting anywhere except into the paper towel. Somewhere, on the HR site, there is a video I saw at one time showing a good way to seat the seal for reliable results. Not sure where it is but you might want to go see if you can find it. Another thing I found is that, at first, till I got a better handle on the machine, I should do exactly what HR told me to do - which is basically set it and forget it - don't try to 'understand it' or adjust it at all. I had all sorts of problems when I tried to set things myself at that point. And I always freaked out when it was time for the pump to come on, for fear it would spew oil - which it did a few times till I relaxed and just shut things down for a second and reset the seal on the door (which was the culprit about 99% of the time for me). Every time I set things manually, something new and baffling seemed to happen - and like you seem to have experienced, I also had the heating cycle not come on at least once. I thought it was supposed to come on almost immediately once things were frozen, but, no .. sometimes it doesn't .. but that is usually ok.

The stovetop smoker is 'hot smoke' - and the meat is not far from the heat in a small mostly sealed container - so yes it will continue to cook the ribs .. and quickly. I can cook/smoke a large piece of salmon in less than 10 minutes in mine on medium-low heat and a chicken breast in not much more than that. Kenneth may be right about the order of smoking vs oven tenderizing but I don't think you should leave it in the Cameron for a full hour which ever way you decide to do it. If the Cameron is new to you, you may want to try it out on something else first just to see how fast it will cook and smoke up the meat before you try it with the ribs.

Ah, thanks, gfron. Sounds as though the 'mistake' in this case, is that the clams were maybe just an afterthought and the chef really didn't do a great job constructing/designing a plate using these two ingredients so that they worked together, not that these cannot work together. Poor choices on the chef's part.

Cheesecake. I think some disappointments come about because some ingredients have changed over the years or are formulated differently in different places, even if the same recipe is used everywhere and/or for many decades by a single producer. For a long while, many years ago, in the Yukon, I made the New York cheesecake recipe from Dinners for Life and it was spectacular, consistently so. Intermittently, over the years, in different places, I have made that same recipe using whatever ingredients were available locally and it has disappointed every time since, mostly in a textural sense. I believe that the cream cheese and ricottas have changed somehow or were never the same as what I used many years ago.

Thanks, Huiray. I agree. I said a number of cultures because I know these two foods in combination are quite common in cuisines around the world. The Spanish have a version - chorizo and clams - which may be more familiar to American palates, but I figured that if gfron had had his dish prepared in that manner he would have said chorizo (even though chorizo is a pork product). gfron has quite a wide range of culinary experience so I was surprised that he was surprised at being given that combo - which is why I was interested in how it was prepared.

Thanks for the rundown, gfron. Glad you seem to have had a great trip! Pork and clams - don't seem that strange a combo to me. A number of cultures like those two together, particularly, I believe, the Portugese. How was your dish cooked?

Elsie - I have not tried the microwave method but this guy http://jetcitygastrophysics.com/2012/07/05/modernist-cuisine-at-home-microwaved-beef-jerky/ apparently has. Has pics and comments about, I think, the very recipe you may want to try. And he also tried it in a dehydrator as well - says it was superior (and in the pic those pieces definitely looked 'drier') but I don't think he hated the microwaved version either.

You can (though I cannot recall where) buy rolls of 'silicone' mat-ting which can be cut. Perhaps look at Target or a store like that. Not as thick as a silpat and far less expensive. I got some a while ago that is red. You could buy that sort of thing and cut to your tray size ... plus a little bit .. so that when it is placed in the tray it completely fills in the tray and makes its own 'lip'. If you have a center hole, make sure you cut the hole in the matting a bit smaller and then either stretch it a bit or cut small slits so it will curl up on the spindle.

I think it has gotten much, much harder to accommodate what we might view as a picky eater (whatever their reasons for being so might be) because our fare has gotten much more sophisticated and complex than it was decades ago, particularly for those of us with a culinary interest/background. Half the fun for me of having people over for dinner (especially these days since I live alone) is cooking a 'fantastic meal' (one I might not normally make just for myself). Since that happens so rarely, I definitely don't want to have to follow the old tried and true rule of never making something that I have not made and perfected aforehand. I love to experiment - and perhaps to expand the culinary horizon of my guests. To put a standard roast and 3 veg on the table unadorned is very difficult and not fun for me - though I will do it if I know that otherwise my guests will go hungry. In long years past, I might just have put a fairly plain roast, some sort of potatoes or plain boiled rice (with maybe a smattering of parsley on the top to make it attractive), and several vegetables on elegant platters and just about everyone would have happily eaten those. These days I might want to do a 'thai' or 'spanish' theme for instance. That means, though those might actually contain most of the same ingredients as those previously 'plain' meals, the spices may vary (which brings in a whole new world of potential 'preferences'/likes/dislikes, even allergies, to consider) and individual ingredients that are not liked by a particular guest may be difficult to pick out discreetly and push to the side of one's plate. And people are so much more outspoken than they used to be too I think. Allergies abound - that never were there when I was a kid or in the early years when I was beginning to cook, to my knowledge. And, as some have mentioned, there is the 'fad or diet of the week club' to consider as well. I am a polite hostess so I will ask in advance if there is anything that my guests can't eat - but these days the list that is returned may be very long indeed. All this can be frustrating for a host/hostess. These same people might go to a restaurant and just quietly order or not eat whatever is served - but, when I ask for a home dinner, they will say much more than they would in that venue. So perhaps the answer is just to put out very plain/simple and immediately recognizable/common/familiar/non-ethnic based foods when I am inviting guests over. I invite them because I want to enjoy their company - but, I admit that it takes a good bit of the 'fun' out of the exercise for me when I cannot be creative in the kitchen as I plan and prepare their dinner.

It has been quite a while since I visited Atlanta so I cannot offer other recommendations for you on the food front, Jaymes, but I am so sorry about your father - been there, done that and I know how tough this time may be for you. I do hope you take the time to stay well nourished yourself and find some pleasant moments to savour the local cuisine nonetheless - you will need your strength.

My first husband never ate anything except plain meat, potatoes and carrots/corn/peas. Period. That drove me crazy. My daughter ate fish and seafood without a fuss till one day, in first grade, the teacher told her that fish scream when they die. She is 32 now and has never eaten fish or shellfish again. That is how powerful the mind is and how those around children can influence their likes and dislikes for entire lifetimes. My sister claimed to 'hate' moose meat. She came to visit one summer and all I fed her was moose meat - in various forms - which she gobbled down happily. At the end of the summer, I told her what she had been eating and the look on her face was priceless. My brother refuses (and has since he was a tiny child) to eat mushrooms and eggs - if he can recognize them. He will eat them if he can't tell they what they are in a casserole, soup, cake, etc. I have never quite understood the difference but in his case the taste or even the texture are not the problem - it is the shape I guess. I am not big on really fatty meats (the meat is fine but I hate the texture of fat on the edges and will just cut it off) and I gag when I have to down milk in its drinkable form (and am somewhat lactose intolerant, as many people are, but use it in all other forms and in cooking). Other than that though I will pretty well eat anything so I don't regard myself as 'picky' - and I would never let on if I were eating at someone else's house that there was something I didn't like - I would eat enough of whatever it was that was not terribly appealing to me to be polite and I would be complimentary to the chef. I would find it very hard to be around or have to cook constantly for whatever may constitute a 'picky eater' - but unless most foods were scoffed at by someone at my dinner table, I am not really sure what that means. Proven allergies I will definitely work around but imaginary stuff is harder to define/deal with - I believe it becomes a 'control issue' at some point. I can, and am happy to, most of the time accommodate minor variances from 'I eat anything and everything' - i.e. one or two things that people are not fond of, if I know about them in advance but if I had a child or adult in my household, present daily, who refused to eat more than half of anything I cooked, I guess someone would go hungry and it would not be me. Either that or they would soon be buying and cooking their own food.

If you microwave dried pasta with about the same amount of water as pasta, much less water is used than for any stovetop method I am aware of and there is no hot water to throw out. I also cook pasta in the microwave for less time (by at least a couple of minutes) than specified on the package and it seems to work out fine. I keep hoping that someone will also discover that fast micro'd al dente pasta immersed in minimal water yields much more resistant starch - but that is probably a pipe dream. It does save energy, water and time however.

I would really love to see the day that outdoor clothes lines are not banned in many places. Not only do clothes dry fast out there (especially if there is a breeze) and smell so much fresher with no additive parfum's but sheets in particular get bleached nicely - especially in winter when they freeze solid before drying out. Not to mention it is cheap! And, since they are not 'illegal' where I live in Nova Scotia (thank goodness), I have rediscovered a sense of 'community' and of my childhood ... when I walk down the road and see the lines full of clothes, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. When will people come back to their senses?

Chocolot - Thank you for showing the process, etc. I have a couple of questions for you. 1) Do you use any water in the pressure cooker when cooking the chocolate sealed up in the bag or just put the bag in on a rack alone? 2) How would you say the results you get using this method compare taste-wise to commercially produced 'dulcey'? Similar, the same, different in some way but (I am sure) still delicious? The colour and texture look absolutely perfect.

Hope the family emergency is resolved soon, Jaymes, so you can get to Puebla in the near future. The reviews about the cooking school make it sound amazing so it would be a shame to miss that experience. The 'incredible apartment' looks wonderful too - though I do wonder about a place that apparently has only1 bed but 2 bedrooms and can accommodate up to 4 people. Cozy?