Deryn

In Nova Scotia, meat is compostable. In fact, you are not permitted to put meat scraps, bones, etc. into regular waste. If you do, they don't pick it up for another week - and believe me the garbage men scrutinize every bag you put out for collection. (As an aside, this surprised me when I first arrived there as I would not put meat or bones in my own compost pile.) I feed my dog rotisserie chickens which are picked clean by me (so he doesn't get any bones) so I have at least one chicken carcass a day that goes into the recycling bin. I have to separate every darned thing into different bins and everything has to be contained in a different kind of plastic bag (for which I pay a fair bit too) that does not obscure a good view of its contents. So I pay heavily for the 'privilege' of being a good citizen. Additionally, I have no idea where the 'compost' product goes - it certainly is not given out for free where I live. I doubt it is even composted in my area - but is probably shipped some distance to be processed - and never returned. In North Carolina where my other abode is, just about everything can go into the regular garbage. Although they like to 'encourage' you to put plastic, paper and bottles, etc. into a different container, it seems no one insists I do any recycling at all and I can put it all in a dark garbage bag without anyone questioning its contents. I agree that it is good to produce compost (though that does happen naturally over time where ever food waste is dumped - it just can't be usefully separated from other garbage in this decade if it goes to the regular dump area) and in order to do that, it is necessary to have the 'homeowner' separate it out first. However, there is no consistency in how this is done from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and the short term benefits are not always as good as some would have you think.

What I hate is when stores try to sell the 'well past their prime' (sometimes inedible - for instance, green sprouting potatoes, or herbs that are going yellow and are wilted to the point they cannot be revived, or meat that has been relabelled so it appears the expiry date is still days away, or meat that has been 'marinated' to hide that it is already expired) products to me, at full price (or even a higher price in the case of the marinated meats) because they lose too much 'profit' by giving it away or dumping it in the garbage or compost. Where ever it is dumped, no 'dumping' solution solves the problem I just described. I would much rather see stores learn how to better manage their inventories and storage methods than have to continue dumping much at all or worse yet, as mentioned, trying to unload it on me for a price. While I also prefer that stores, when they must 'dump', ensure that the food goes to compost rather than to just the regular garbage, I am equally sure that costs for the paying consumer will rise with each new regulation and we will then pay again if we want the resulting compost for our own gardens. And I have no doubt that if 'edible food' is donated to charity (which is also a good thing, don't get me wrong) that the store takes a tax deduction somehow and yet we also pay for that donated food in some manner when we buy our full price produce/meats. Conundrums of modern life.

You are better off using O2 absorbers than pulling a vacuum. You don't need to do both.

There is such a thing as brown (which is just unhulled/unmilled) glutinous rice. I don't have any so I can't cook any up to see if it gets as sticky as white (sticky, sweet, glutinous) rice so I can't test it for you. Sorry. Glutinous rice is probably always going to be higher on the GI index than other rices, but, perhaps in its unhulled form it would have a better number. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice

That hole at the bottom is not anywhere large enough for me. I have half a Siberian to be sucked up daily for most of the year.

You are getting some amazing (and critically important) advice from some real experts here. I am not one of them however I do know a bit and I also empathize with you because I have a similar story from my past. Some things can take on a life of their own. Many, many years ago, I started making bread for use at home. One day, I made a loaf into cinnamon bread. The next day my husband asked if he could take a loaf to work. Apparently, it was a hit. Next thing I knew I was getting up at 3 am every day to make more and more loaves of cinnamon bread - all by hand, all by feel, without much experience. We didn't charge for it but I swear we fed the whole town every day after a while. I think at the end I was making upwards of 20 loaves a morning and getting virtually no sleep. Eventually (after about 6 months of running my very expensive amateur mini-bakery 5 days a week) I was pretty darned good at it but I was exhausted and I had to put a stop to it. My 2 young sons were actually pleased when that happened .. they got their mommy back. It was all great for my confidence when it came to baking, and I definitely learned a lot along the way - just as you are doing - but there can be a price.

While it sounds to me as though you may have been lacking a fair bit of flour, it is important to develop a 'feel' for the 'batter' consistency, etc. (which I have no doubt you will do if you stick to this for a while) even if you get the amount of flour correct for your recipe. Flour can take up humidity as it sits so even using the same flour, time after time, can cause variations in the amount you need to add to achieve consistency in the final product. In other words, in my experience, bread recipes are just a guide (although the amount required on a humid vs dry day or with flour that has taken up moisture would probably never vary by as much as a cup, much less 2). You certainly are entrepreneurial - selling bread when you really don't have much experience with making it. I doubt many of us would try that. Good luck with your new enterprise.

Thanks, Beth. I have never had to move trays round in my Excalibur but I usually use a slicer to ensure all the contents are a uniform thickness and am also fairly careful to make sure that nothing overlaps (to ensure good air flow). If you are hand-cutting or have things of different thicknesses, make sure to place the thickest slices in the middle slots (in the Excalibur) or toward the bottom for the bottom up dehydrators. Rotating trays is easier/faster (in my opinion) with an Excalibur type of dehydrator (because each tray sits separately in a frame) than with the Nesco but having to rotate trays is not that big a deal either - unless you want a 'set it and forget it' machine or want to go on holiday while stuff dries. Most of this is 'common sense', particularly for people who cook a lot and understand the basic nature and use for various foods. I am not sure you need a dehydrator 'cook' book because, other than for perhaps jerky recipes (which are all over the web - and which may be of two types: extruded with a 'gun' or simple slices of meat), most items dried in a dehydrator tend to be single ingredients. You just need to understand the basics such as what temperature to use for each type of food, a general idea of how long that type of food may take to dry, how to know if it is dry (most foods should be dried to a crispy, 'cracks easily', state except if they are leathers or jerky), and how to store foods after drying and rehydrate later (if that is desired - you don't rehydrate some things - jerky for instance). All that information can be found easily online and most is fairly reliable. You-tube videos also abound. Some fruits require a quick citric acid dip to keep their colour. Some foods don't dehydrate well (anything too liquid or with a high fat content) and others are fiddly to do (large blueberries and grapes, if whole, need to be pricked, for instance). But, once you get the hang of it, most is intuitive and won't require a book to guide you. Don't try to dry meats in the same load as vegetables/fruits - since they require different temperatures. If you dry, for instance, potatoes, at too high a temperature, you will probably create a hard crust on the outside and the interior will never dry properly and will not rehydrate properly either. To dry something like sweet potatoes, it is best to puree them and spread them very thinly on a solid surface (rather than the mesh - you can use plastic wrap) and dry until crispy. At that point, you can break it up and put it in jars (with an O2 absorber if you want to store for a while). You can dry many leftovers - thick soups usually work quite well, and mashed potatoes spread thinly (again on plastic wrap or equivalent 'solid' surface) usually dry just fine too though you will, as with the sweet potatoes, need to turn them over at some point to ensure they are dry on both sides and all the way through. Cheese doesn't fare well in a dehydrator (it melts - ask me how I know) - but a bit of cheese in a casserole or soup is not a problem. Cheese by itself does great in a freeze-dryer. You can do (scrambled) eggs but I don't care for the result as a meal. Those do much better in the freeze-dryer. High fat items can be a problem for drying in both dehydrators and freeze-dryers. Avocadoes are not great dehydrated in my opinion (but good in the freeze-dryer). Warning - if you really get into dehydrating foods, it can be addictive - and can be a progressive disease ... for me, it lead to having to also acquire a freeze-dryer!

I can't speak for radtek, but, if one doesn't like the heat generated or the fan noise that could be why some use them outside or in the garage. Some foods will also generate quite a bit of aroma while drying - onions, garlic, perhaps even jerky - which may be pleasing or not depending on one's personal taste. The amount of humidity in the air when you are dehydrating can also make a difference to the drying times. And, of course, there is also the size of the beast - which may not exactly fit into one's idea of décor for days at a time. None of the above bothers me personally but I can see why some may choose to use the basement, garage, or even put the machine outside on the patio or the deck.

Elsie - If those are the two models you are choosing between I think I would opt for the square one (from Costco) with the higher wattage. I think its capacity is larger, more will fit on each tray better than on a round one and it is a newer model. The reviews seem to be good - a number of people seem to have bought it for jerky and been very satisfied.

I got mine a few years ago in the States but they are available in Canada - for about the same price in Can $ that I paid (which was in US dollars at the time). You can buy a 4 or 5 tier Excalibur as well as a 9 tier - a bit smaller but if you are alone and not doing a lot that is probably enough. The 4 tier is on sale right now on the site below - and it is a great deal! You could look for 2nd hand ones but you might have trouble finding many since Excalibur owners generally love theirs and won't give them up easily. Anyway .. I just did a quick web search for a dealer in Canada and found this - should give you an idea. http://www.greenhealthcanada.com/Excalibur_Dehydrators.html

I have read it now. Thanks to all who helped me out there. I am utterly amazed at you, Kerry! Where/when/how will it be for sale?

I love my 9 tray Excalibur. I also have a Nestle (round, stackable) and dislike it. It heats from the bottom whereas the Excalibur heats/fans from the back so it hits most of the trays evenly all the time. You have to rotate the trays a lot when using the Nestle. I never do with the Excalibur. Mine also has a timer on it and a thermostat so I can set different temperatures for different kinds of things. Very useful to have the latter if you are drying meats one day and fruit/veg another since they should be done at different temperatures. My suggestion is that you look for one like the Excalibur (if not that brand) - there are others these days that do the same thing and they may be cheaper. I can recommend a site which hasn't actually been updated in a while - not sure if it is defunct but it is still there - dehydrate2store.com. I learned a lot from the videos, etc. there a while back. Ask here or in PM if there is something else you need to know about dehydrating and I will try to help you out, Elsie.

Congratulations, Kerry .. and thanks, Anna, for letting us know. I would love to see the MC page/article but the link is doing funny things for me. It gets to MC First Page preview but nothing is there except a banner at the top that says, close when finished. When I close it, I lose the site completely. Is it me or is it the link? Maybe it is a subscriber/member only site? I tried to access it via searching separately and I got the MC home page but can find nothing about Kerry or EZTemper or the April issue searching there.

I commiserate about the poison ivy, Thanks for the Crepes. I too have a plethora of the stuff at my place in NC and it is a bear to get rid of I know. One may not be sensitive to it for years and suddenly become sensitive, so be careful. I keep bottles of Tecnu around at all times. Horrible as it may sound (because someone is still subjected to the risk - just not me), the best way I found to get rid of it was to hire people to come and rip it out, year after year, till some of it finally decided to move somewhere else I guess - there is much less now than there used to be. I didn't try the boiling water trick - it might work now with the bit that is left because it is more fragile than the thick trunks of the stuff I used to have. Those you had to cut with a chainsaw.

One of the delightful things about this village in Nova Scotia is that no one seems to spray or otherwise kill off the spring dandelion crop - although some ambitious souls do mow once in a while. It is magnificent when in full bloom - every front yard on the street is a lovely yellow for a month or so. And they are edible to boot.

Does Costco have a Kirkland frozen burger available these days? I haven't tried them (not my thing) but I have read that others thought their sirloin burgers were decent (although perhaps a bit bland) at one time. That said, when one talks about a 'frozen burger' is one talking about just the meat or the kind of frozen burger that is the epitomy of gourmet convenience and comes already packed in a bun and may also include cheese if not other 'condiments'? My comments have been premised on it being the former - just the meat patty. It just occurred to me that perhaps I was mistaken.

Palo - Can you please explain to me what the difference is to you between a pre-made but fresh burger patty brought home and immediately put in the freezer ... and a frozen burger patty brought home and put in the freezer - in terms of convenience? Neither really requires much if any extra work from you either before going in your freezer or when it comes out. Maybe it would work better if you told us what stores/brands of patties you have close by you and if someone here has tried them they could give you their insights.

Is it ok that, if you don't put the picadillo over rice, you don't have a complete protein from the black beans? Quinoa on the other hand is complete in itself.

I don't want to annoy you, palo, but if you insist on a frozen burger and want one you will like (which may or may not be the 'best' by anyone else's standards), why don't you make your own from meat you already know you enjoy (presumably because you can buy it locally and have made non-frozen burgers from it in the past), in a size that you know you like, etc. and then freeze them yourself? It doesn't take long to slap a burger or two into shape from a pound of meat and throw it in the freezer (which you obviously already have). That way you will also have a better idea of its provenance (when it was made, what it contains).

My father had no use of his right arm for over 65 years and as I recall the technique that lesliec suggested was what he used to get the top off the shaker (when my mother was not around to do it for him). By the time I saw him do it (when I was a child) I am sure he had had loads of practice. Not sure how it went till he figured out what worked for him. He was pretty good at it, but, perhaps he also didn't put the lid on really hard either.

Thank you Jess for continuing the saga into Portugal. Have a wonderful side trip. I loved Portugal but haven't been there for decades now. I am thrilled to hear that it is still possible to get much better accommodations (read, usually MUCH larger at least) there at a lower price than it is in much of the rest of Europe. And the food looks much as I remembered it - delicious. Back then even greasy spoons had white table cloths and served what I thought was excellent fare for a very reasonable tariff. My only complaint about Lisbon was the traffic and the fact that the street 'signs' were etched into the sidewalks - with a rental car and not a clue where one is going on a Friday night, it was so scary we abandoned our car, walked to our hotel and called the rental agency to go pick up the car. The rest of Portugal however was easy to drive.

Each episode is the same style but quite a bit different too because they are about different chefs. No, there isn't a lot of 'cooking' - but that doesn't seem to be the point of this series. The series is really a psychological examination of 'the minds of chefs', and 'how they got where they are' explorations of those who have made it to the top 50 restaurant fame list. Seems all of them are slightly bonkers but hey, aren't we all these days.

Your lunch curry looks wonderful, Darienne. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Bravo for doing all the work to make it from scratch at least once. Yes, I would advise you to try a few Thai restaurants over time if you can. Though the plating can be amazing at some of the higher priced establishments, the actual food can be a disappointment at some such establishments. I would suggest trying to get a recommendation or two from someone local who likes Thai food and has eaten it around those parts a fair bit before you decide where to go, because high priced may not necessarily mean 'better' or more to your taste. Maybe Kerry or Anna can help you out there. I say that because I think the best Thai I have ever had has come from a gas station. It doesn't look so pretty (no pretty carrot flowers) and it is really a take-out joint because they only have 2 seats and who wants to sit for a meal beside a washroom and the candy counter in a gas station - but the flavours are the best and the ingredients were as fresh as you could get them near where that 'restaurant' was located (in NC). I also know the cook and she knows what level of spice I like. And that, by the way is another issue - trying to describe what level of heat you want in a Thai restaurant, about which I believe there has been discussion on this board before. Most of the reason that I don't use recipes for Thai food is that I ate it so much that I had a good idea of what I wanted to taste and what the ingredients were that would get me there long before I cooked any at home. And yes, you should be able to freeze both the basil and coriander but those might do better if those green herbs are blended a bit and put in ice cube trays.

I can see how you managed to keep your weight in check (all that walking) despite all the amazing food you took in on this trip of a lifetime, Kerry, but, I bet you managed to pack on a few pounds in your luggage. Thank you again for taking us all with you ... for free too! I hope you can savour these memories for many years to come. Safe trip - and, I hope, little to no jetlag.