SLB

Yellow-meat watermelon, oh God. It's been too, too long. I think not since I left Mississippi in 1997. ETA: I think I'm gonna cave and get this book. My inflation theory is, same ole' meat, tricked out sauces. The LGD alone seems like such a great ambassador of the rest . . . .

I saw this and immediately wanted to make it for the kids in my life. And also -- ahem -- for me.

@Okanagancook, I'm in for the Salad Dressing Thread!

JoNorvelleWalker, what is your opinion of the Copper Coeur, now that you've had it for awhile?

Shelby, I've been swinging through here looking for what's doing in your preserving kitchen. I find the reruns riveting!!! Last year I realized that, basically, I want to come out and help your Putting-Up like with Ronnie and The Hunter.

@Annie_H, I might need that full recipe.

I love my Hedley&Bennetts, with one caveat: pay attention to weight. Maybe it's not necessary with the cross-back, but if the thing is on your neck, and you plan to be in it all day . . . some of them are a lot heavier than others. I seem to be sensitive to weight on my neck, and I learned this the 80-plus-dollar way. People like Tilit a lot, but my beautiful red Tilit fell apart quickly. I'm sure it was defective, but have no idea whether that is a common problem there. I have two linen pinafores (one is rough linen), which I wear for the hot weather. I echo something someone said upthread -- the drape will slacken as you bend over, so take care if you're near fire or something like that. And, let's not kid ourselves. Linen is not a textile that ages well. My "dress" apron is AOS. It's shiny black tablecloth material, with hot-pink stitching. And my dirt apron (in my life it's not for food, it's for dirt work) is from HandyMaam. I love this apron. It's priced totally crazy, like a lot of, you know, American-Maker-Hipster. But I do love it: https://handymaamgoods.com/collections/workwear/products/the-drapron I think it would work well for barbecuing or frying or work where the fabric needs to be thick.

Nancy speaks for me. It took me probably fifteen years to admit that I actually do not like añejo tequila in anything. If fact, I only modestly like it neat, and would always privilege the reposado option for that kind of thing. With the recent rage of "artisanal" tequilas, maybe I'll revisit the añejo universe.

Any New Hampshire insights? I'm trying to get myself back to the Whites in the next year, and I like to bookend my Very-Good-By-Comparison Camp Food with Very Good Restaurant Food.

I wonder if it's lobster bisque that I'm remembering; does it have a teeny hint of green curry (as in, bringing NYC-basic Thai food to mind)??? I don't remember it being creamed though, which I think is what makes bisque, "bisque". In fairness, I may not be remembering exactly everything, because it was a vacation sandwiched between awful work-crush; so, you know, drinks . . . . But whatever it was, that's what I had en route to Acadia, and then broke camp way early to get some more of on the backside.

I love, love, love Portland. And once left Acadia something like two hours early in order to permit time to get me a bowl of the Eventide chowder before a flight out. Thank you for sharing this, I'm going to try to get there before next winter. I need all that food you posted.

I'm not sure if we've discussed the heirloom beans grown by Charley Baer. He carries a bunch of common beans, but specializes in New England heirlooms, e.g. Soldier; King of the Early; Marfax; Yellow-Eye. The brand is known to people who frequent farmer's markets in Maine, Massachusetts, and NH; but now have a functional mail-order system (you used to call and have a delightful conversation with a woman who had an old-timey Maine accent, I could've talked with her for days). Anyway, they're going to be profiled this Saturday on a New Hampshire PBS show called "Preserving New England", I thought folks here might be interested. https://nhpbs.org/schedule/summary.aspx?progId=WeekendswithYankee605&fbclid=IwAR0qbZVITiWkvfsz60d0sHKuiQj-15g9qXA3gDjd3OyMLXsjj8JHjuDpZOI

I am embarrassed to report that one can find the answer to this question by googling "freezing raw potatoes". I have nothing to say about why I didn't think about that option until @FauxPas's kind response. Did I mention, it was late? It's been raining for three days, maybe that's it. I don't know about me, y'all. But that is another thread . . . .

So, my survey late last night found that all internet affirmations that latkes can be happily frozen are talking about already-cooked latkes which are then frozen. Is there some reason nobody freezes their latkes raw but pattied-up?? Does something bad happen to potatoes in the freezer???

Yep, that is the Ikea countertop; and I agree that it's actually a decent product although I would never drop the actual sink into one, which is what the folks who built this kitchen did on the parallel line of this galley. The rotting particle-board is the cupboards. I think it was made to require renovation every decade or so. Which is against my religion . . . but the truth is, my lower cabinets floors are going to straight-up fail any day now.