ness

Now that's a reel. All the new ones are so pimped out and plastic-y.

It's the red and white one, right?

Thanks. They sure stand out better than morels. I'll be careful.

Dang -- I missed this thread. I think I'm gonna try and get out this weekend and look for some. Got 2-1/2 inches of rain last night -- don't know how that affects things.

I will not click on that or any link you provide, my good man. I'll just say, if K-State has that club, I can only imagine what unholy cocktail of man and beast are welcome at good ol' Mizzou.

Well, I suppose it's time for ol' ness to weigh in on this one. I hate Mizzou Carry on

That would be pretty cool -- to make mead from your own bee's honey. I've made stuff on-and-off for years, but never did a mead for whatever reason.

I'm going to end up with carbonated, bottled cider, which is more complicated. I'll go into more details as I go along. For a basic cider, just let it ferment until it stops -- about 1 to 2 weeks. Give it another few weeks for the yeast to settle out. Then siphon off the sediment into a new container. You could still get some additional fermentation, so you don't want to store it in sealed containers or bottles until you're sure it's done. It's gonna be pretty dry, and you might want to splash a little fresh cider into the glass and then top it off with the hard.

Ozark anglers gotta eat too!

Me too. I love seeing all the different types in the stores now. Some are way too sweet for me, and some are pretty tart. But they've got a nice crisp, clean flavor that's really darn good. Making hard cider is the easiest way to get into home brewing. More to come. By the way, by the time I was walking out the door for work -- about a half hour after that last picture -- the foam had collapsed back down the neck.

Less than 12 hours in, and it is taking off. The foam is almost up into the fermentation lock, which could expose it to air and possible contamination, so I took it off and replaced it with a blow-by tube submerged in water. It'll settle down into a slower ferment in a couple days.

Hard cider, that's what. 5 gallons Louisburg Cider Mill pasteurized cider 2 pounds brown sugar 3 teaspoons yeast food 2 teaspoons pectic enzyme Wyeast 4766 liquid yeast culture All the equipment (carboy, funnel, fermentation lock, wine thief) gets a hot soapy cleaning and a thorough rinsing. Then it's washed again with a water/bleach solution and another thorough rinsing. Brown sugar, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme and 1 gallon of the cider goes into the 5-gallon carboy. Shake it to get it dissolved and aerate the cider. Then add the remaining 4 gallons and stir it to combine. Draw off a sample and check the specific gravity. This came in at 1.058, which is a potential alcohol of around 7.25%. This will ferment for a week or so before the next step.

Absolutely. I cooked my stuff outdoors for around 2 hours yesterday at a 325-ish temperature, then brought it inside. Pork went into the Crock Pot ® on low for a few hours, wrapped ribs in foil and put in the oven at 250. Both came out great. But...the loin was just too lean. I should have gotten a butt and cut it in half since it was for just a couple of us.

I heard once that the water pan was for a heat sink, not to add moisture as I always assumed. Some folks use sand instead of water in the pan. Regardless, wrapping that in foil is a must.

Any chance you'd share the recipe? I love pot stickers, but only tried to make them once. And that was with store-bought won tons. They were nothing close to what I was hoping for, so I never went back.

You're a lucky guy

Originality prize goes to BilletHead. Geez Gavin, the man's got a new smoker....why go all JD on it??? Chief -- you hit on it earlier when you said something like 'once you learn to use it'. There's more than one way to skin the cat. Me, I'm learning to do this with a kettle. The last two times have been dang good. Hoping for more this time.

Looks like a nice, well-built rig there Chief.

Just me and one of my babies today. Small loin, one rack of ribs. Gonna start it outside, go for a couple hours, then bring it in to finish while I play some golf.

Birds have picked my black raspberries clean. Picked a few cherry maters and some more peas yesterday. Also picked a mess of Dragon Tongue wax beans.

Don't leave me hanging, bro....

Mind in the gutter, as usual. I'm just a recently divorced American male trying to reach out to the huddled masses yearning to be free. Especially when they're nice and pretty fun to talk to, etc. I'm not much of a broccoli fan, but I did this simple -- steamed it in a little water, heavy on the salt and pepper. Hit it with some butter, and then the sauce.

Dang. Dang. Dang. Dang. Dang. Sorry if I missed anyone. What a great run on here! So I'm at the grocery store tonight, list in hand and meals planned for the next few days. I always swing by the meat department to see what kind of stuff they've got prepped (kabobs, stuffed chops, etc.), or to see what seafood they've got out. I've become pretty friendly with one of the ladies at the counter -- she has a real knack for engaging the customers, talking about whatever the day's offerings are, etc. It doesn't hurt that she's pretty cute, has a great smile and this sweet foreign accent (which turns out to be Czech). OK, I admit I don't just go by the meat counter to see the food. So, tonight Veronika (with a K!) was pitching these chicken breasts -- butterflied, with roasted red pepper, swiss cheese, and asparagus inside. She'd sold 15 so far today, and there was only one left. I bit. You know how it goes. (I'll figure out what to do with the rotisserie chicken I already had later). Decided to poach it in chicken broth seasoned with onion and garlic powder and bay leaves. Brought liquid to a boil, then added the chicken breast. Simmered for a few minutes covered, then turned off the heat. After about 15 minutes, the breast registered 165. I removed the breast, strained the liquid and added it back to the pan where I had made a roux. Added some parsley and finished it with a cold pat of butter. Pretty light but flavorful sauce. Served it with some steamed broccoli. Tasty.

Sad to hear about Jim. Didn't know him but always thought he offered a level-headed approach to things here. Phil, glad to know he had things right before he went.