Toliver

binkyboots, Welcome to the Addicted-to-Roasted-Cauliflower-Club! It's sublime, isn't it? The last batch I made I actually used two sheet pans to try and maximize the brown bits (overcrowded=less brown bits). It worked well, for the most part. Let us know if you try any of the variations.

Owen, Is this what you're talking about? Clickity Click here for the Google page I got. The first (non-sponsored) listing has gobs of inserts. Pass the info onto Brooks if it's what you're looking for.

Why bother buying this stuff? I could understand it if you have arthritis and want to make your own ointment (there haven't been very many studies on it but capsaisan may reduce inflammation due to arthritis when applied topically). I suppose you could always add this stuff to chili or your own home brew, etc, to give yourself some heat. But then why not go ahead and use chile peppers in that case? You could also add this pure capsaisan to liquid fertilizer and spray it on your plants to prevent animals from chewing the leaves, etc. Otherwise, the uses may be limited.

Regarding Marsala, I was going to make Rachel Perlow's Chicken Marsala and needed Marsala. Who knew there was a sweet & a dry to choose from? The store I went to only had one kind of Marsala, which fortunately turned out to the the dry version. Whew! I think I lucked out on that one... By the way, the recipe turned out great.

Why don't you dip the onion rings in flour first, then dip them in the batter? That's the "normal" process when you batter meat and such (dip in flour then egg wash then the breading mixture). I think the light coating of flour would give the batter something to stick to instead of just the slick surface of the onion.

Sorry for the double post but I have a (stupid) question about those decorative bottles of vinegars, peppers & oils that you can buy. Are they made to be used? Or just to look at? I received as a gift about 5 or so years ago a rather large bottle of olive oil with peppers and such inside. It's never been opened. The bottle is sealed with wax. The oil inside is now a more golden brown color that when it started out. Should I assume it's rancid and just never open it? I almost cracked it open one evening when I ran out of regular olive oil, but didn't. Also, what about flavored vinegars? Again, the bottle is sealed, it looks very pretty but I've had it for a couple years. It still looks nice, but I'm worried about the herbs and such inside decomposing. Am I better off just not using them?

There are differences in the flavor of the various paprikas. Here is an eGullet discussion on paprika initiated by a confessed paprika addict. While the paprika in the Indian store may be fresh due to high turnover, it doesn't necessarily mean you should use it in all dishes that call for paprika since the flavors of paprika can vary from one type to another and will influence how your dish will turn out. Experiment, if you can, so you can taste the differences yourself.

We're supposed to have the same sort of weather pattern here (Southern Central California) so the weather prognosticators seem to be in agreement (or are working off the same forecast ). Cooling a little than getting hot again. The bit about introducing the nitrogen in the irrigation system makes perfect sense. I've seen similar home-systems used in the same manner. Thanks for taking the time to post this information! This is a great blog.

Exactly like mine. No digital doodads or whoozits. Two dials, one for cooking time and one for cooking temp (high, medium, etc). The interior light did go out and seems to be hermetically sealed within the innards, so I make do without. Besides, I know what's cooking...I put it in there. I am looking forward to seeing your "out & about" pictures.

Salt? Egad, not that much. It's pecorino. Well, I had to ask. Yes, the "burnt" garlic spinach stir fry recipe I mentioned was from a cookbook that wasn't, obviously, very good. The cookbook has since been relegated to a well-deserved dark drawer somewhere. Thank you for the info.

That's a great answer! Thank you and thank Bombdog for all of the info. It's very enlightening.

Thanks for posting the picture of the knives next to the ruler. Of the blades I saw on Amazon some got down to 2.5" but no where near as small as yours. The short blade must make for...intimate paring, for lack of a better word, giving you a good sense of control. Wait, "Wieldy", I think, is more appropriate. Thank goodness your microwave still works. I have a microwave and a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker both going on 18 years and both still working (knock on wood) quite well. May mine last as long as yours!

So is early heat a bad thing when it comes to growing grapes? Does it change the way the grapes are tended and eventually harvested? Does it effect the eventual sweetness (or lack of it)? This is quite interesting. Thanks for posting the blog!

Here is the "hot links" section of the Chile Pepper Magazine web site. There are links ranging from sauce companies to chile seed sellers to festivals. From one chilehead to another, I hope this helps.

Not to hijack this thread but I am enamored of the new OXO wooden spoons. Their tapered handles made me think "now why didn't anyone think of this before?" You can really get some good stirring action with it. They also make a wooden spatula. eGullet-friendly Amazon link to the OXO wooden spoon The picture doesn't do the spoon justice. Go to your nearest Bed, Bath & Beyond to see them for yourself. Lisa, the paring knife you have looks quite short, which they just don't seem to make anymore. I did a search on Amazon and found a lot of "bird beak" paring knives but they don't look anywhere as short as your knife. Yours is a classsic!

jinmyo, that is just gorgeous! What is the garnish? Looks like salt but I'm thinking it must be some sort of grated cheese sprinkled about. I've made a spinach & "burnt" garlic stir fry in the past, but I am curious how you made your garlic spinach. Is the garlic added after the spinach is cooked or before? Last night: Rare filet mignon (you could cut it with a fork!) A baked potato slathered with butter and salt & fresh ground pepper. Roasted cauliflower with sweet bell pepper & red onion, which turned out very well. Lots of Iced tea (yesterday it was 97 degrees here! )

Glad we can play tag--I actually know this. Before refrigeration curing, of course, was the main method of preservation. It was apparently called "corning" because the salt pellets used were about the size of corn kernels. These days brining is done instead of dry curing, but the name remains. I think this is partially correct. The term to "corn", meaning to preserve in brine, is British in origin. "Corn" the cereal is not. Likely "corn" in this context refers to salt granules. \Corn\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Corned (k?rnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Corning.] 1. To preserve and season with salt in grains; to sprinkle with salt; to cure by salting; now, specifically, to salt slightly in brine or otherwise; as, to corn beef; to corn a tongue. 2. To form into small grains; to granulate; as, to corn gunpowder. 3. To feed with corn or (in Sctland) oats; as, to corn horses. --Jamieson. 4. To render intoxicated; as, ale strong enough to corn one. [Colloq.] Corning house, a house or place where powder is corned or granulated. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. Gosh I love this website! I learn so much. Thanks for the education on "corned beef". Regarding salt in pasta water, some chefs on the Food Network (Sarah Moulton, for one) have said "Salted water takes longer to come to a boil". So I bring my unsalted pasta water to the boil (it's supposed to come to a boil faster with a lid on, too) and once boiling, then I add my salt. I think he meant you shouldn't use a bottle of olive oil that's been open for longer than six months. He was addressing the possibility that after 6 months of the bottle being open you could have rancid oil. Or at least, it won't be as fresh tasting as a new just-opened bottle of olive oil would taste.

People have no right to be stupid. It ain't in the Constitution. I looked it up. Sadly, I know someone who won't eat white food. It came about when he worked in a fast food place as a teen and something happened. What happened, he won't say. He's been to therapy and it hasn't helped. I try to discourage him from eating out.

I believe the "corn" in Corned Beef is derived from the use of pickling spices, which include peppercorns, in the creation of this dish. Perhaps it should actually be called 'Corned Beef. Lisa...where are you when we need a good food historian?

I do see the pictures now. Go figure. Perhaps someone in the IT department upstairs at my workplace forgot to feed the squirrels powering this interent doohickee. I see the pictures on the web pages you linked to, as well. Why I see them now and why I didn't see them then is a puzzle. Of course, now I am suffering hunger pangs after seeing your diner outing. And I am also shedding an appropriate tear or two since Vidalias haven't made an appearance out my way, yet. Until now, I've attributed the lack of sighting to a poor harvest instead of local produce managers who aren't very good at their jobs (I originally had "heads up their asses" but thought I should rephrase that to be more polite! ). Girl, you need to eat more. Your blog is utterly lacking in snacks.

Lisa, Like jinmyo, I don't see any pictures from page 2 on. I tried that link you posted but nothing loads at that website either. There's a message at the bottom of my browser when reading your blog that says "(20 items remaining)" as if it's loading images but it just keeps saying that and no pictures ever appear. You, of course, will see the images since they are in your computer's cache. But, alas, I see nothing.

Rachel, My mom has the same one. She uses it as a Jello mold. She puts marischino (sp?) cherries in the round "bumps". Very '50's! Lucy, That picnic basket is a treasure. What a great find! I hope you got a good deal on it, too.

Go to the current posts on the "Dinner" thread (in the Cooking forum) and go back one or two pages. Jinmyo did a sort of marinated Daikon dish and posted a picture of it. She also posted her recipe a couple posts after the picture. Purchased Saturday at my local Farmer's Market: Sweet cherries Green beans baby bok choy green leaf lettuce Two pieces of Linzer Tort, a slice of Carrot Cake and a poppy seed danish from the German woman who sells baked and canned goods. I saw peaches and tomatoes, too! I wasn't brave enough to buy either because I thought it was far too early in the season for them to be any good. [AESOP] Said the Fox, "I don't want those grapes anyways. I'm sure they're sour." [/AESOP]

I had bought the 6-pack of red/yellow/orange bell peppers at Costco and decided to experiment. I thick sliced one orange bell pepper & a yellow bell pepper and mixed that into the cauliflower and roasted it in the normal manner. Man, did it look pretty! If only I'd used a red bell pepper and a green bell pepper I could have made it a tribute to Italy. The pepper turned out soft (as roasted bell peppers are wont to be) but sweet. It was an interesting contrast to the cauliflower which still had just a little firmness to it. Next time I will try adding some red onion to the mix. [MARTHA]Roasted Cauliflower...it's a good thing.[/MARTHA]

Alas, the Keebler Elves killed Lemon Coolers when they bought out the Sunshine Cookie Company. I've been cursing those damn elves ever since! If you really have a hankering, there is a knock-off recipe in one of the "Top Secret" recipe books.