AlaMoi

many folk who mill their own lumber count one year per inch of thickness for wood to fully "season" - got time? disks/pucks/slices/(many names) are especially prone to splitting. depending on what the end use may be, splits may / may not be critical. i.e. splits in a trivet are not a problem; splits in a cutting board are . . . I'd suggest a search 'how to dry tree slices' - there are many opinions - the woodworking type sites are more apt to have first person experience that a bloke who just makes youtube videos for the clicks . . .

so many tomato varieties have been developed to perform "best" in the "picked green, shipped thousands of miles, turn real red when gassed" which is the absolute last criteria any home gardener would apply . . . had about 1000 sq ft garden. lower back ''issues'' have made that 'just not gonna' happen anymore' . . . but, we're fortunate to have a plethora of Amish/Mennonite farmers/farm stands in the area. they do have early (everything) - but because they raise those crops in hoop houses, not ethylene chambers.... sigh . . . one family had relatives in the Carolina's - they always had the uber best early stuff because they ran a truck directly from 'there' to 'here' twice weekly. sigh . . . the patriarch died, they sold the farm into condos . . . no such ultra-fresh Carolina produce in PA anymore . . . freshness is a thing. example: sweet corn. we have one (was two, but cancer has curtailed . . .) stand that pick their sweet corn (white/bi-color) daily - the stems of the ears are still wet/moist on the table.... other stands offer dried up picked ears that have been picked&refrigerated "to preserve freshness" .... I put up aka freeze about 6-8 dozen ears/year. veddy simple - lop off tassel end, carve off kernels to tray, freeze. break up frozen 'layer' and move to freezer bag. beats the living daylight out of any 'frozen kernel corn' in the supermarket/

I'll support the 'gravy / sauce' use idea. fine chop/dice the giblets, very fast/hot pan sear add to any pan sauce/gravy for poultry. or like . . . 'biscuits&gravy' - usually has sausage in the gravy . . . . replace with giblet nuggets.... in the past I've had cats that thoroughly enjoy scarfing down the heart/liver/gizzard bits . . . but that's times past. any place you are creating/using a thickish white sauce, the giblets chunkettes will do themselves proud.

rubber wood is indeed 'lumber' milled from 'the rubber tree' - is is most commonly used in Asia, where - tada! - the rubber trees grow . . . it's not the best / longest lasting / most durable wood - but ok for light duty _if_ it is more than 1" thick. thin boards just not gonna' work out... the major draw back ... it's fairly porous - so it will require higher regular 'and-don't-skip-it' maintenance. probably monthly applications of mineral oil&bees wax "sealer"

if the crust itself has plenty of fat, the culprit may be the fat melting/being too soft when the pan meets the heat. the fat oozes out a bit, and glues the crust to the pie pan.... try freezing the crust after you lay it into the pie pan. 2-3 hours minimum. that keeps the fat 'intact' during the initial 'heat shock' in the oven. I have found that 'idea' especially successful when using the common grocery store aluminum stamped out pans - they have 'crinkles' from the stamping all along the sides that seem to attract "I'm here, stick to me!" seems the old fashion smooth pans are less susceptible to the "glue me here" issue.

not that this is the most earth-shattering news of the century . . . folks buy a "sourdough" starter. after some time of loving care, use and feeding . . . seems 'the taste' changes. what happened? flour / any grain actually contains wild yeast picked up 'in the field' one can make a starter from plain ole' AP flour . . . now that everything gets DNA'd - it has been shown/reported that the addition/feeding of a starter eventually results in the wild yeast 'taking over' the original culture of 'sourdough yeast' / etc. harking back to my kiddie-hood, I'm fond of buckwheat pancakes. and that requires a buckwheat starter - and that buckwheat starter requires a full week to 'raise-from-scratch' . . . . using Bob's Red Mill Buckwheat , , , right out of the bag. keeping some aside, it goes on as a starter for many many more loaves of 'home made bread' - including the famous 'no-knead'

no - the 8-16" thick "hamburger" is neither 'common' or 'normal' it's a 'feature' of specific places/eateries looking to make a splash. known if advance,,,, I'd not go there. inane management . . . .

giggly topic. we raised three kids. what they liked at 9 AM is likely to be refused by noon . . . .

absolutely - make it how you like it!!! even the French have the 'country omelet' where the eggs gets browned. the creamy/soft/no-color is simply one execution of the dish. the 'jerking' of the pan - now that's a really interesting aspect of 'making an omelet . . . in multiple videos, Pepin shows the jerk motion during cooking , , , then a fork used to create 'the first fold' followed by fillings/stuffings/etc then a 'tap&jerk' to imitate the second fold - with immediate roll out onto the serving dish . . . I have seen, and I use..., a technique . . . as it sets, add 'stuffings' then tilt&jerk so the filled edge 'rolls up' the pan side and 'auto folds' over the full pan size. some seconds later as it sets a bit further, roll the stuffed&folded flap onto the plate with the remaining port flopping over to present the ''' perfect ''' shape on the plate. a pan with a rounded 'corner' to the sides is absolutely essential, as is a slippery 'side wall' of the pan - done with butter. any sticky points anywhere top/bottom/side . . . gonna' make problem.

a recent 'article' suggested, and given the state of today's smart-phone-thumbs crowd,,,,the primary source of "news" is social media. social media used to be semi-dominated by trolls. today, social media is totally dominated by AI-bots. methinks the same is happening on many 'cooking oriented' sites - """authors""" are using AI to generate content. this morning, on a cooking forum style site, there is a new post, first post by new user, that is utterly swarmy AI garbage. now, the site owner (of multiple declining sites....) has no objections to AI bots posting - they're in it for the money and no other reason. forum type sites are dying - following a forum on a 3" cell phone screen is much more painful than following a 128 character string of tweets . . .

I'll have a drink at a resto, or wine, or beer . . . last time I recall "going to a bar" was 1969 . . . back then you plunked down a $5, or $10 and the barkeep deducted on service. actually, come to think of it, . . . having a drink with crowd, waiting to be seated . . . the tab was transferred to the resto eating tab . . . business stuff, when I was nominated to pay the bill . . .

yup. we go out to eat. that almost always provokes a "Even I can do better at this!" and we go home 'recharged' . . .

what he said ^ infused oils using anything - herbs/spices/leaves - that grew in soil - aka had soil contact - have the potential to erupt into botulism. that mechanism take time, the time is 'delayed' by refrigeration. hence the 'not longer than' storage theory . . . this my fav 'bread dipping' schufft: 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon fresh basil leaves, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste) 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt I only do 1/2 of the recipe (for two) so we can use it up before it may go wonky

bad idea. olive oil - EVOO or other - congeals when refrigerated - various compounds congeal at different temps. to "make it whole" requires extended 'thaw' times - the thawing attracts moisture and 'un-nice stuff' from the air. buy what you use within +/- one year, keep it in a dark glass bottle, keep it from constant light exposure, store in a cool dark place . . . as is the phrase. if you do "infused (olive) oil" then yes - use fresh, refrigerate left overs, and use before ~ two weeks.

-----uhmmmm, freezing is a mega-difference than refrigerating . . . I frequently see "Use or Freeze By: " dating on meat products. imho, yeah - held too long before use.... altho otoh . . . if I'm reading 05/11/2025 correctly , , , that's not outrageous "old" - so indeed, may be "just bad beef" there's a lot of bad stuff being sold . . .