I bought a Vent-A-Hood. It has high ratings for quietness, and has a special feature called The Magic Lung Blower, which traps grease without mesh or baffle filters, making cleaning easier. I have a commercial 6-burner DC-S stove, and I needed a hefty stove vent.

Good tips on remodeling--I’m in the process, so I can appreciate everything you’ve said. The amount of tiny decisions of every aspect of a kitchen remodel is daunting, but it’s the little things not-thought-through that you will live to regret in the end, like the extra step for the garbage disposal switch. I have benefited so much from dealing with an independent appliance dealer, who gives me personal and timely service, includes delivery & installation, and a sizeable discount for purchasing multiple appliances from them. The cost turned out to be less expensive than all of the big box stores. And, the serviceman that installs the appliances gave me tips on how to avoid troubles and keep them working long-term--in fact, I felt as though I had taken a seminar in “Appliances 101!”.

Thank you for the clarification, Deborah. I made these pancakes this morning with white spelt flour instead of the white whole wheat pastry flour, and just blended up rolled oats finely for the oat flour. Also used slightly soured raw milk for the milk. They were scrumptuous! Can’t wait to try them as a savory.

Deborah, could you please elaborate on “white whole wheat pastry flour”? That title is confusing to some. I assume you mean that it’s whole wheat flour ground very finely? And it is difficult to find that title on commercial flour sources. Does it go by another name? I grind my own, so I can replicate the texture.

Thanks, Kim, for that great conversion table. It looks like 4-1/2 cups of cooked beans would result from 2 cups of dried beans.

This sounds delicious. Since you stated that cooking the black beans from scratch makes for better flavor, please let us know what the amount of DRIED black beans to use is before cooking them. The 15 oz. cans of black beans would be “cooked weight.”

Your book sounds fantastic, Deborah--I can’t wait to see it!

When I received Larousse’s Gastronomique as a gift 15 years ago, I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. With all of its detailed information and food history, I have never gotten all the way through it, but I still read it for research and entertainment. The recipes are historical and reliable, and the photos are beautiful.

Inevitably, there’s so much to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner, that there’s really no time to make a big breakfast, especially for the extended family that might be visiting. It’s easier to prepare the Thanksgiving morning breakfast ahead of time, with an egg strata, some muffins or scones (frozen and pulled out), fresh fruit plate, and granola with yogurt--set out in a buffet. Then you can just put on the coffee and let everyone help themselves while the “elves” are working on the turkey and dressing in the kitchen.

I was recently served wine in the new stemless glasses, and didn’t like them at all. My first objection was that it was too “fat” for my hand to fit around and hold comfortably--it was a teardrop shaped wine glass, and my hand got tired of having to stretch around it to hold it. the second problem was that the glass was twice as big as a regular wine glass, therefore it was hard to judge how much wine you were actually drinking. Give me the elegant stem, any day.

What great ideas for salad toppers, and salad combinations! I make dehydrated raw veggie crackers and crumble them on salads also. They are crisp and crunchy, and add to the vegetable content of the salad.

It is so gratifying to see more films and books that are raising public awareness of what we eat and where it comes from, who profits, and how we got into the industrial food era. Really inspires the “Farm to Table” movement, home gardening, and a return to healthy eating. Hope I get a chance to see this film soon.