Alessandra- Thank you! Johnno- Thanks for your dedicated following. I too hope daily for more input. Katie- Thanks for your efforts! Ari- Great question! The stove is Electrolux, induction cooktop with a double convection oven. I love it so much that I could do an entire post on it. Becky- thanks, the appliance cabinet was well worth the sacrifice of storage space.

I would agree with everything you've said except I don't think that a small kitchen makes you a better cook anymore than a large one would. It certainly forces you to use space more efficiently, but I get your point.

Alan My kitchen is far from huuuge— you should see some that I work in— but I guess that's all relative. Your comments always make me smile :)

thanks Azelia, you're welcome to come visit if you're ever in the US!

sponge cake? yes. basic? probably not. I adapted this recipe for a chocolate microwave cake by swapping out the chocolate for butter and reduced corn juice: http://www.playingwithfireandwater.com/foodplay/2008/07/microwave-chocolate-cake.html

Richard, thanks for the reminder, I'd completely forgotten to get back here with an update. As GregK predicted the legumes were the clear winners in terms of flavor, particularly those made with dried legumes. I wrote off the corn and sweet potato as failures— after 3 months they looked and smelled wrong and I didn't have the nerve to taste them. My favorites were roasted peanut (like salted peanut butter, but more complex and funky) and spicy black bean (very creamy texture, a few spoonfuls in a feijoada =amazing!)

Ask your local fish mongers... with enough leeway, they should be able to procure anything.

these blooming teas are not actual flowers— they are flowers stitched to tea leaves— so I'm afraid there are no seeds to be found.

Loren, It sounds like you didn't take them far enough in the microwave. The next stage after soggy and jerky-like is crisp and brittle, but only after they've cooled for a minute or so. If they turn papery, try applying a bit more oil. When I've made these on a humid day, they loose their texture, but that can be restored by a quick blast back in the microwave or a 325F oven. I hope you give it another try, with better results.

Thank you ChefDez

Colin, It's rare that I get feedback on my writing style, so I really appreciate this. My aim is to be informative and inspiring, but I will gratefully accept 'bracing yet balanced'.

yes, infused the honey/water, then added acid, tannin, yeast and nutrients. It's almost ready to bottle, where it will live for at least 1 year.

You should have no problem finding elder on the west coast, the berries would be starting to ripen about now. Thanks for breaking the silence.... love your book!

It's best when used on the same day.

Hi Dave, The shad roe 'katsuobushi' turned out quite well. I ended up leaving it in the miso bed for over 4 months, then smoked it and and hung it outside to dry (wrapped in cheesecloth) in a protected area for most of the winter. It did indeed turn out hard as wood, with a smoky/fishy/miso flavor.

Arian, I'm so glad you made this recipe! The first heating at 122F is not intended to cook the mixture, but to bring the ingredients to the same temperature so that they can be properly emulsified. The actual cooking at 150F for 40 minutes should indeed bring the parfait to the target temperature of 150F. Depending on the temperature of the parfait when it goes into the water bath, it could take less time, but even at room temperature, 40 minutes is still sufficient. Heston Blumenthal's recipe (as it appeared in The Guardian) calls for the parfait to be baked in the oven at 212F until it reaches 147F, but since the water bath was already heated, I thought it more efficient to cook it sous vide.

They're ground cherries (Physalis pruinosa) preserved in sake.

Thanks for catching that! Yes, it is 1 Tablespoon salt per quart of water.

brewing stores are a land mine of inspiration and I've barely gotten past the grain aisle. Love the idea of using mistelles in the kitchen... thanks!

thinly sliced daikon fermented in kefir whey (left over from making kefir cheese). really good!

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Patience with cooking? Yes. With other things? Not so much. Making marshmallows with Althea root is an intriguing project. Please do let me know if you get around to it.

Good question. I didn't get into it because it was too confusing. The sausage was being served to 'vegetarians' who eat fish, but no other meat. To my mind, that makes them something else (pescatarian?), though they insist they are still vegetarian. See what I mean?

With an immersion circulator, but if you don't have one, you can simply cook them in water over low heat, monitoring the temperature with a thermometer.

Sure... the fish spine was boiled, meticulously cleaned, then allowed to dry in a curved shape. It was affixed to the plate with a dollop of clear caramel (sugar cooked to 250F)