SLB

Gorgeous, they look like works of art for sure. But, I admit it -- I'm looking forward to hearing whether the food confirms the Stradivarius nod.

I have been surprised at how dramatic the difference can be.

I will say, since this thread I've used my Mixteca pot directly on the flame twice with no diffuser, and while I'm still anxious about the way it's a little wobbly on the grate, I've been astonished at how much faster the beans come to a boil. With the diffuser, I did often have the feeling that the beans took a weirdly long time to cook. I was definitely cautious with the heat, though, probably letting it stay on low for longer than necessary. Also, for what it's worth -- I did a long-form cure of the pot when I first got it. I appreciate that Rancho has reported that it's not necessary with this pot, and I'm not trying to argue with anyone on the meaning or the science; but for whatever it's worth, that clay on mines was *dry*.

I know, the pan I had my eye on has, sigh, vanished. That said -- none of the items I've been checking out were anywhere near 90% off. A lot of that stuff is never ever on any kind of big sale anywhere, tho, so it's nice to have even a small discount.

I'm on lockdown from buying much of anything, with a carefully carved out and highly scrutinized exception for the Chef's Catalog Clearance opportunity, but my last hurrah was a side-mouth ladle: http://korin.com/Side-Mouth-Stainless-Steel-Ladle?sc=28&category=17780921 It's soup season!

Anybody know if the prices will get slashed further as time passes? I've got my eye on an all-clad d5 pan, and could tolerate a little more, uh, savings.

Thanks all. I was just thinking that my salads need a serious injection of imagination. This is great!

Thanks. As I indicated, it's not a phenomenon that I've come across, interesting that it's so common. In any case, both my pyrex pieces were new a good decade before the mid-90s, and both have been dropped more than once; hence my thinking on the matter. Wishing everyone a shatter-free season of good eating. SLB.

I have never heard of a pyrex dish breaking, under any circumstances! I confess I'm stunned at the possibility. Also, kind of intrigued. However. My Emile Henry baking dish has a long, infuriatingly in-your-face crack in it. I don't have any idea how it happened, and I still use the dish, which maybe is foolish. But it was one of the most expensive things I had ever purchased at the time, and it was so pretty . . . and I am still annoyed about the crack. I just did not think of the pan as precious, you know? I thought all that money meant that it was a strong tool! [In retrospect, I don't think it cost like a fortune or anything, I just bought it when I was a broke graduate student, and probably shouldn't've been buying anything]. One follow up -- the diffuser in my photo is not the SimmerMat, but rather is the one by Ilsa. I do own the justly famous SimmerMat as well, though, and want to note that my Mixteca pot does NOT balance comfortably on its knobs, at least not on the design that I have. It sits fine when the simmermat is inverted for use on the glass cook-top side. I think Jaymes had said she was foregoing the diffusers all around, and the point has been made that this clay pot can take the direct flame; but I did want to make sure to point out that my pot sits on the Ilsa in the photo, just in case anyone was about to buy themselves a SimmerMat. <edited for gender mistake!>

I know this pot can go right on the flame (unlike some of my other clay pots). The only reason I use the simmermat is because the base of the pot is relatively small, and it needs to be keenly balanced on my grate (which has an open space in the middle). It's tipple-y, and makes me a little nervous. Also, it does not help that I never totally levelled my stove. Don't ask, I know it's raggedy. And it's just a slight tilt. But with a narrow base, and 3 quarts of material, and an expensive beauty that will break . . . . On the soap -- that was me, Steve, I don't know where I saw that or why I thought that. Duly corrected! But -- you got any tips on the musty-must, tho? It's kind of like a wet clay smell, but it persists long after the clay should be thoroughly dry.

Nice pix! I have the pot, and cook once a week with it. It's beautiful, and the beans are good. The distinction that I most notice in the clay-cookery is that you won't mistakenly cook the beans until busted, they'll stay whole longer than in a metal pot. [Some of us grew up on beans cooked until they're busted, possibly because that's how you make an old bean creamy . . . but that's another thread]. Anyway. I will say, Steve is recommending that the pot be washed with soap; I bought it from another vendor, and had gotten the sense that I should not use soap or dishwasher detergent. I did not for several months, and the pot developed a musty odor that I can't seem to get rid of. It's not a terrible odor, and doesn't reek of rot or anything like that; but it's not exactly pleasant. I now wash it in regular dish soap, and wish I'd done so from the beginning.

Okay, brilliant. Why didn't I think of that??? My cupboard is OVERRUN with jar lids!

I usually use dried, but I had never had the RG garbanzos before; it's possible I'd never had recently-picked garbanzos before too, I guess. They really did have more taste. I have not experienced this with every single RG bean that has a commercially-grown counterpart, but the garbanzos were stunners.

Dejah, your low-carb reports are thrilling! It's a diet that works well for me -- everything in me performs better with lots of protein; but I get spiritually exhausted with all the meat, all the time. This is, like, dynamite!

Oh, man, does that look good.

Thanks, y'all. Beebs, I do my baked beans in the oven all night at 180 degreesF. Your seasoning mixture sounds wonderful; that said, in my home there will always be a fattyporky service meat involved. There is a Jamaican style recipe from Craig Claiborne years back that involves adding rum along with brown sugar for the sweetness component. I recommend it.

Wow! NUTHIN'!!! This confirms my sense that dried beans don't infest commonly. Those lentils were from a store that has big vats of all kinds of grains nearby, so I'm going to assume t that the situation entailed a granary weevil checking out the lentil bin, and laying some eggs just 'cause. Carry on. I made the RG garbanzos this weekend, which I was not expecting to be particularly different from all the other ones since, well, old-world 'n all; but they were astonishingly delicious. Like, the taste was something else. Not that there is any rice or anything, since it all got tossed. But, still. A nice end to a difficult, costly-ass overhaul.

People, Help! I discovered an infestation in my lentil stores. I have never seen beans infest before, and I'm pretty sure given the density in a certain bag that the weevil (or whatever it is -- it's a black multi-legged but that is on the large side for a weevil). Anyway They bags were confined inside of a big rubbermaid bin, so I'm hoping nothing got out into the other bins. Not only have I never had a bean infest, I've never even heard of it! I did see the same black bug in a different cabinet in a bag of walnuts following a sweep of the area; I've never had nuts infest either. Have any of you had vermin infest your dry beans??? Meanwhile -- I have lots of beans in different bins in that original cabinet, and even though there is no evidence that the bugs got into those bags, it seems prudent to freeze everything for a few days. [the thought of tossing what must be a hundred bucks of RG beans . . .] But I'm afraid of condensation; should I air-dry the beans after they come out of the freezer, and then re-bag them? (I have had been get moldy-smelling, which I assume indicates that there was some moisture.) Any counsel??

Smithy, I assume that by "cereal" you mean dried quickie cereal like corn flakes. I myself can't eat a cold breakfast -- even as a child my cold-cereal came with bacon, my peeps believed in MEAT in the morning -- anyway, I have found that a quick bkfast food that hits the cereal-spot more effectively is leftover beans. I don't know if beans counts as a whole-grain, but WARMED other whole-grains have worked well for me at breakfast: polenta made from whole cornmeal; leftover other-grains warmed and tossed with something useful like a cheese . . . . I guess none of this is as easy as cereal, but I thought I'd mention it as a reminder. Anyway. Wishing you a wonderful jaunt, looking forward to the reports!

Yeah, what Shelby said.

I admit, I'm missing Smithy's reports from camp. What prompted it was a recent [relatively famous] blogger's post about peanut-butter brownies with chocolate ganache as frosting; and then me thinking how totally entirely perfect those would be for hiking; then me organizing to make them before I go trekking in New Hampshire next weekend where I will otherwise dealing with freeze-dried drek; and then me remembering Smithy *burnin"* in the camper . . . sigh. Smithy, where are y'all heading next season?

The pictures are extremely alluring. I need more recipes, please. Also, I like that street-vendor's wok setup, with the flower-like strainer thingy. Nice!

cdh, thanks so much for the re-fizz instruction. This is great!

G-Rice, YES!!! It was like Christmas! And JoNorvelleWalker -- I think you raised those kids of yours with some excellent values!

Lookie what arrived today!