I would expect that if it’s on a charcuterie board, there should be things that are preserved: pickled, dried, cured, smoked.  I have yet to see a vegan approximation of a salumi that would make carnivores happy.  Doesn’t mean it’s not out there, though, just haven’t encountered it yet.

I’ve been using a blade grinder but would like to get a burr grinder. The blade ones tend to kick up a lot of pieces, that float around the chamber and don’t get ground unless it’s really full: so creating your spice rub for a pork shoulder, fine, a teaspoon of whole coriander you may never get to a powder.  And…

Fair warning -- not only is this one twice the size of the November update, it’s about ten times as long to install. Your phone will likely seem to stop about 30% of the way through “optimizing” (before reboot), but it’s working.  You can keep using your phone through all this, though, so it’s not particularly…

Singing the wrong songs. I’ve been building my “Don’t sing at the airport” playlist for a while:

Room service used to be something luxurious: chromed cloches covering banal food on a cart with a burgundy tablecloth, every drink in a glass, wrapped in plastic.
The last few hotels I’ve been in — if they have room service at all — drop a paper bag at your door with cardboard containers and plastic silverware. A Hyatt…

Popeye’s onion rings. They often weren’t even listed on the menu, but they were perfect: crisp, tempura-like batter with a hint of spice, tall slices of onion that somehow managed to not pull free of the breading when bitten.

Popeye’s cajun (aka Dirty) rice. Less gloppy and more flavorful than the red beans and rice,…

I’ve done it, just just a tiny amount on a hot toaster pastry, you could brush it on.  But a little butter brings the missing dairy notes to that awful pastry crust.

It’s surprising how well savory (fresh) herbs work with fruit: sage, rosemary or thyme go to lots of things like apple, pear, pineapple, grapes, fresh figs... generally something very sweet with some acid will bring out the woodsy flavors of those herbs.

Sauce against the bun only makes sense if it’s an oily ingredient (mayo, chimichurri, aioli, sour-cream-based dressing, etc.) to prevent the meat or tomato juices from turning the bun to paste. Keep really wet items like tomatoes as far from the bun as possible, like under the lettuce. I wouldn’t mind seeing some…

While I like the taste of a pretzel bun, the textures are a problem: it’s dense enough that it’s likely to break rather than smoosh around the burger, and that same density generally means that juices aren’t absorbed, they run down your hand. Now if someone could make a pretzel/brioche hybrid, that might be ideal, and…

The only good news is that Tree of Heaven is considered invasive, if the bugs get rid of that, we’ll be better off... until they go after other plants.

I’d been told it was to give some room to bend without breaking if you dropped the jug.  Certainly they pop out when you do that... but I’ve seen them split too.

I haven’t tried to take advantage of it, but Westin offers workout gear (swimsuit, shoes,  shorts, etc.).  That’s pretty cool (but unlikely to be stocked to fit wookie-sized people)

It’s not just bears — the Boy Scouts call chipmunks “minibears” because they will chew through anything to get at food.

I can’t.  If I’m going t eat non-vine-ripened tomatoes, I might as well buy them at the supermarket.  Those last days of ripening in the sun is where all the flavor is.

A little bit of smoked paprika is a secret weapon. Mario Batali may be cancelled, but his trick of stirring a little into greek yogurt, then putting a teaspoon of that mix under each lambchop is just genius.

We got a jar of peanut butter through TSA on the outbound flight, but was denied it on the way back. Apparently, if we spread it all on sandwiches, we’re fine, but somehow, all that peanut butter together in one place creates a critical mass of hazard.

I would want to re-run the test, probably with another lab.
The *protein* has nothing to do with the PCR testing — PCR duplicates DNA, not protein, so the cooked protein is irrelevant. That being said, cooking is going to denature and destroy DNA too. But if they can test canned tuna, they should be able to test this…

It’s basically, “Hey, it’s Shake Shack without the ridiculous prices!”

You can cut the sugars (although at least a pinch is good) if you increase the ratio of oil to acid. And if you’re putting something fruity in there (e.g. roasted red peppers or a bit of fresh tomato — but then we’re departing from vinaigrette), you probably don’t need the sweetener at all. My biggest advise is to do…