Annie_H

Early lock-down I over-ordered from a restaurant supply. Three cases of bones--beef and chicken/mixed.-- Necks, carcas, feets. Case of mixed greens. Big lobster pot outside on the deck for simmering stock. Twice. My freezer was empty. Filled up quick. I wanted a good broth if one of us needed to go into the guest room with symptoms. 5 pounds of ginger and 2lbs of turmeric and a case of lemons, 😂. I had nothing else to do, 😜. Those two batches of broth were so good and full of flavor without much but fresh ginger, garlic, turmeric, and a bit of rice in the pints first so it would not over-cook. No greens. A tBsp of white miso to the cup at serving. Options if we felt ill. Made so much soup for elderly neighbors. Went through a big back-log of RG beans quick. I hope a distant memory.

Saturday I made a big batch of Texas style chili--no beans. 2Lbs of cubed steak tips. Separate big pot of RG black beans and a mixed grain for lunches and a small side with the chili. Three chili quarts with beans in the freezer. 3 pints without beans for tacos, chili soup, but not as quick as just plopping a quart in a pot. 3 times a year, jan/feb, may/June, sept/oct, I make a big master stock when we have a shitty weather weekend. I braise a couple dozen boneless skinless chicken thighs packed with leeks, celery, onions, etc on top. Chicken dinner. Next day, usually a Sunday, blanched greens go in 6-8 quarts. Beans or rice, then chopped chicken and veg, then stock. Labeled 'storm soup'. Literal being good for a power outage or just a shit-show-emotional-storm work day. Straight from the freezer, 30 seconds under the sink faucet, into my baby grain pot...done. Extra credit is a slice of boule from the freezer for some croutons, a sliced avocado, a few frozen dumplings, or tuck in a few more vegetables from the crisper as it thaws/cooks. Frozen peas, corn. Miso. Three inches of paste toms from the tube. Great left alone but I always have something in the crisper that needs using. If I'm running late I can call DH and have him take out a 'storm' and get it going. Always a few in the freezer. Now we have the chili for cooler weather. Usually just what we need on shit-show days. I like that the blanched greens/veg does not get over-cooked being the last to thaw/heat. I've been filling my parents freezer for years with similar but recently only pints.

Another misunderstanding and I'm sorry for that. I mentioned some exceptions exist in groceries. We may have the same selections since Sunset is a Canadian company unless they are sending all their produce to the US. They have greenhouses in Mexico but also in Ontario so they can sell all year. Our growing climates are similar as my garden is at altitude in the Catskill mountains. I may actually get a first frost before your area. Out of season, all the winter months, I purchase Kumato, Wild wonders, and Campari tomatoes. My parents live in a food desert. Or so I thought. About ten years ago, we passed a couple great farm stands and a CSA a mile from their home. We had been traveling with two big coolers and boxes of fresh produce from NY. On a drive to a few antique stores I stopped by one of their groceries and it was packed just like a WholeFoods. Full line of Bob'sRedMill, etc. Same tomatoes I brought along. Nothing a splash of good vinegar can't fix if they need perking up over the holidays. Their fridge does not reflect what they have available to them.

Lovely field of tomatoes. But where did I say that you purchase tomatoes from a grocery? I assumed by your comment that you visit markets and buy from farmers, not refrigerated grocery tomatoes. That was a blanket statement about those that buy any ol' tomato at the grocery just based on a cheaper price. Like my parents did for years. A few of our grocery chains like Stop-n-Shop, sell local Jersey produce this time of year. Not a chain I frequent but they have TV adds on the local news. Seems like you googled to find the first person to agree with you but did not read your own Martha link. The same person quoted in the first paragraph says further down, ..."If your tomatoes are on the edge of becoming overripe and you don't want to lose them, Lofts says you can keep them in the refrigerator for a few days to halt the ripening process." Though not entirely true. Refrigerator temps will 'slow down' the ripening process. The only way to halt the ripening is to freeze them. And, ..."If you're only planning to eat half of a tomato, Anina von Haeften, co-founder of Farm to the People says to store the other half in the fridge. When left on the counter it will dry out. "If you plan on using the other half in the next day or so, the flavor and texture shouldn't be affected". I don't consider this off topic. The original poster asked how she should store her ripe tomatoes for two weeks. A ripe avocado in the fridge will be good for a few days, but not two weeks. Out on the counter it will go south much faster. When I do comparables I often am slicing a dozen or more tomatoes at one time. The best BLT or tomato salad will be that evening. The rest of the slices go in the fridge for a next day salad or chopped for a fresh summer sauce with pasta. Or frozen.

First wrong issue is purchasing from a grocery. Most commercial tomatoes are bred for storage and horrid. If it sucks from the fridge, it sucked before that. Many exceptions the past dozen years. Winter grown tomatoes from hot houses in norther US and Canada are very good. I grew up not liking tomatoes. Mother always bought the cellophane three pack and into the fridge. Horrid. She made a classic simple Diner salad with a quartered tomato, some iceberg, a few slices of red radish. Smothered in bottled cheap ranch dressing. Myth busting for years all over the kitchen. SeriousEats on tomatoes I agree 100%. Not sure why people can't wrap their head around tomatoes being climacteric. They ripen off the vine like avocados, bananas, etc. Unlike berries,---strawberries, blueberries, apples, etc...that need to be picked ripe. I know my way around a tomato. I'm involved in two breeding projects. I grow year round. My Metallica would not exist without my grow-outs. One of my favorite tomatoes. I have a half dozen other tomatoes to full F-8-9. One large pink cherry is so good but does not produce enough seeds to ever be sold publicly. I share with tomato breeders and friends all over the globe.

Too bad about the texture. RickMrtinez is usually good about rich flavor and texture. I would replace the quinoa with roasted chick peas, black beans, and wheat berries. A half finely grated raw red beet. I went through this issue a half dozen years ago when family visited. DH asked if I could make a vegetable burger when our nephew and his new wife---vegetarian leaning towards vegan, visited with a load of family guests. I made a sheet pan of sliders. Mostly meat, 1/3rd vegetarian. A trial batch a few weeks earlier, DH said, "why am I eating this?",🙄. He asked for it but forgot. Very good but now rely on a tried-and-true pizza night where everyone can request whatever they like. Almond four tortilla for a crust, yada...

^^^2 and three gallon is a good size for DwarfProject tomatoes. 1$ buck per pot+shipping. I started Fall kale, collards, and salad greens in the two gallon a few weeks ago. Sun access is changing so in fabric pots I can moved them to Fall sun easily. I'll have greens through the holidays. I empty my used pot soil into a big trug to be re-used. Next season I add a handful of clean fresh wood chips, then spent soil, then fresh clean soil before planting.--spent soil may have some weed seed that does not sprout being deep in the pot. Add some good organic slow release vegetable food to the top few inches.

You should try a few of the DwarfProject tomatoes next year. Compact plants that start with very thick sturdy stems. They do not 'bolt'. Or get spindly. Top out at about 4 ft. and produce less fruit per plant, but require less room so you can grow 8-10 plants in the same space as three indeterminates. Switch to a half dozen fabric pots, even touching. I'm guessing you are buying plant starts from a garden center only growing three plants. If you want to try starting from seed, I'll send you a few varieties. I send out seeds every year so it is no big deal. Even better is they ripen at various times---early, and late, over a long period of time, so always a nice ripe one to be enjoyed. fabric pots are cheap and last for years if rinsed/bleached, dried, and stored over-winter. Tomatoes do not like clay or plastic pots at all. Fabric stays damp. Roots reach all they way to the fabric.

Those are green-when-ripe tomatoes above. They will never turn red. GreenGables most likely and a few tomatillos. I grow many varieties. I just give the plants a number and keep a few master copies in plastic sleeves to reference once picked. So I need many methods to process for the freezer. With the wide surface area by roasting I can reduce the water content quickly rather than a big vat on the stovetop that takes hours.

No, never have. I know many do but I don't see the point. We like a big thick fresh slice on a sandwich so I don't bother. Our favorite farm stand will often give us a bushel basket of their 'Jersey' sauce tomatoes this time of year when we stop to get a few dozen ears of corn for the freezer. DH will do the deed of blanching and skinning for a big sauce but we don't seed them. I would not bother since its going in the blender anyway but he doesn't mind the chore. I prefer to roast various ways as I can add a head or two of garlic, some sliced onion, a few hot peppers,--into the oven and forget about it. I'm usually multi-tasking. He is a one random task at a time kinda guy. Sometimes single layer on sheet pans. Sometimes in the turkey roaster, cut in quarters and piled in full. Depends on how many I have ripe at one time.

I thought I knew the only person on the planet that dis-likes celery. Very good friends now but when we first had them over for a bbq brunch 20 years ago, I noticed he picked out the celery from potato salad. Hates celery. I've not been without in my lifetime. If one is missing in a grocery order, it is a backup as one is already in the crisper. Loving the Kumbu recipe. Must make asap. But I use nori in my furikake. Might have been my first solid food. My mother kept celery, carrot spears, blanched brussels and broccoli, in a fridge jar of water with pickles and bit of pickle juice for me. I would dip in mustard. So she put some mustard in the jar.--dipping made a mess. I start the ends in water Jan/Feb every year. Plant in a deck pot with other herbs. Grows like parsley. Big leaves and thin stems but intensely flavored.

My first choice as well. Blanch, peel, and make your sauce as you normally do--the way you like it. Then freeze. ASAP, before they over-ripen. Freezing whole works fine as well if you need to buy some time. Once tomatoes peak in ripening, they start to deteriorate quickly. If you were heading off for a two week vacation and did not have time, freeze whole. Make your sauce when back home at your leisure. I'm about to get hammered with a tomato harvest in about two weeks. Some will end in gallon zip-locks whole. Some will be sliced and roasted on sheet trays. 250ºF low and slow 1-2 hours. Into the freezer. Cherries I've been harvesting for a while now. Frozen whole in gallon zip-locks. Some of the big harvest will be sliced and frozen for a big batch of sauce I'll make in October. I only refrigerate if I have a couple beauties at firm peak and need to buy some time-just a day or two. It slows down the ripening a bit but two weeks no way. They will rot, but rot a bit slower that sitting out at room temp.

Good timing to fill the crisper drawer. I did get a cold pack but put that away immediately--ribs, chicken thighs, merguez, etc.. Pantry olives, cornichons, etc. No snacks--chips or chocolate. (that was dumb, 😜) Veg getting a good drink in the sink before storing away. Sadly my giant squash garden plot has been destroyed by possibly deer or some other critter. Bummer.

I've been aware of hereditary arthritis for about ten years now. I've gifted my mother with handy easy-to-use kitchen gadgets for years. Why we have been on a 80% vegetable anti-inflammatory diet for more than ten. I'm good with a mandoline for a quick cucumber/red onion pickle, or a celery/fennel salad/slaw. When I have a crisper drawer thinning with a dozen vegetables, a bit of each, the LittleProPlus comes out. Small footprint at 5 and one 1/4 inch wide. One on e-bay right now is NIBox. 150$ free shipping. When I was looking for back-ups for storage, I found them for 50-75$. But I was patient. FWI, the Amazon listing above for the 'chute' is a second party seller. Not connected to Cuisinart. The specs are all wrong. Only three reviews and two received dirty used chutes. One good storage trick, especially on a counter,--invert the top and place the pusher nesting. Height space saving. My 'sweet baby' takes up no room at all in my pantry.

We've been happy with our Whirlpool. Went without a microwave for a few years but about once a month we forget to take out the pups food from the freezer. We use the thaw button and the circled button that we hit once for 30 seconds, hit twice for one minute, yada.... It is in the pantry but it has a small footprint---14 inches wide and a curved back end to fit a counter corner. Have had it about ten years now and would buy again. Paid around 120$ at Lowes. Prices all over the place but seems to be 150-175$. One hit, 30 seconds, is great for warm water for softening miso or blooming yeast for bread, softening butter... I purchased my wall oven two+ years before we got around to install. The model with dials were being discontinued and replaced with a beeps, bells and whistles model. So thankful I did that. Microwave is a background less used appliance but the oven is used every day.

Furikake sticky rice with shrimp and salmon. Cucumber salad.

Thank you for that^^-- I knew someone here was set up with the proper high end method. And the link. Had no idea about the Tribeca store. Shopping stop soon for sure. Nice bowls being not so happy with my recent purchase. Like any outdoor grilling method,-- low, medium, and high end is available. Low end all around is such junk to be avoided was my point. I've just not skewered a thing in decades. (not exactly true--I do make an appetizer with a scallop surrounded by two shrimp. But that goes on the smoker with a couple toothpicks/small skewers holding them together.) Big surface area with a pork shoulder, two chickens, fresh corn on the far end, slab of salmon on cedar planks with the shrimp/scallops. We all have different needs for a crowd. Michael Simon has a good at-home backyard cooking show with two basic Webber grills. Not sure a BigGreenEgg is much of an up-grade. --If the chef knows what they are doing. A good friend and chef swears by this one or similar. folding grill. BC, (before Covid), two pre-teens, with friends and sleep-overs, prepping various stick/skewer dogs, burgers on skewers, shrimp, chicken, ...picky kids get choices. Wraps, dog buns, tacos... And they take it to their two week vacation CapeCod every summer. Beach friendly. High school now, still love it with different food likes and dis-likes.

So no time is wasted down a rabbit-hole-time-suck. The 'chute' was only made for this size and model. A pic without the chute part. Showing how the parts stack. --the solid white big chute goes on first, then the stem, then the solid disc, yada, yada. The slicer or the grater on top, cut side up. (the manual is a disaster without clear instructions). And a salad made this past weekend using the slicer disc. Cabbage, purple carrot, radish, fennel... Would be nice to have a few more different discs but if I push firm I get a bit thicker--push through the feed tube lightly I get very thin slices.

The model with the 'shooter' attachment and the juicers is no longer made. The part that 'shoots' needs 4 key parts to work if it fits on an existing base motor. Circled. The stem extension and the two discs and the flat solid disc.

MomofukuKo uses one in the middle of the bar seating. That is some serious hood. Probable some serious industrial air filtration as well.

I've been down that rabbit hole a few times. Last time was March-April 2020. I'd give it a hard no to indoors. Even though true biothane burns cleaner than charcoal, only an industrial hood could handle it. At least that was my research. They are meant for outdoor table dining. Not worth the risk of CO, carbon monoxide poisoning indoors. You will see them as cheap as 50$ but you get what you pay for. Reviews are horrid. Disintegrate if left out in the rain. And crack easily. The good quality ones start around 300$ I think. But tiny. The classic size is about 600$ but worth it if that style cooking appeals. I had the YAK on my short list and bought the Thaan 'style' bricks before committing. Used them on a grill I already have--a small grill meant to attach to a boat hanging over the side. They do burn long and clean but tricky to light. I use a propane torch and chimney starter. Definitely an outside job for that. We found it to be a very social meal. A few hours with friends outside with multiple small bites. But often too cold to sit out for long or too hot to sit in front of a 'hot box' in the summer. The YAK is dishwasher safe and a bit more portable. The one on the top right is made in Baltimore. Was backordered at that time but $$$$. Probably will last 5 lifetimes.

Friday night we had the 'great American dog', or the great Brooklyn dog. Sadly we used up the dog buns on shrimp, lobster, fried oyster rolls... so did not get the full dog experience. We thought Brooklyn was out of business but when our local Fairway hit their first bankruptcy they stopped paying their vendors so many pulled out. Still good. With eyes shut. Side salads to the table. Slaw, potato, pickles.

Mid-week pasta. I think Thursday night. Nice pasta shape that really held the sauce nicely. 2 for 9$ FreshDirect. My cart has a few now to stock-up. Cheap little tomato cartons for pantry back-ups---2 for 3$ Misfits. Meant for stews, chili, or background tomatoes but rather nice in a spicy quick sauce added to leeks, garlic, shallots, minced celery. Spicy with chipotle. Star of the show was the brocollini. I over-blanched, on purpose, for 2 minutes. Perfect. Meant to sear/roast with the merguez but 'don't fuckit up'. --I snacked on most of it in the kitchen. I've ordered more, double more.

Like I mentioned previously, having a good crisp base, I can toast/pan fry garlic/shallots in some of the seasoned oil as needed. *even better is a tBsp in a mortal/pestle with 3-4 fresh garlic cloves for RG bean. Tonight, black beans.

I made another big triple batch yesterday. A bit more spicy than intended but as a base it will last a bit longer.