Ac Baker

Yes, made with two layers of metal, with an air-gap and steam holes.

I'm just about to renew our TV licence (UK thing).  I think the only "old fashioned" TV the household watches e.g. something which is being 'broadcast', at that time, is the TV news on our Channel 4 that my partner watches as often as not.

I agree with the others who have said, video is a very useful medium in its own right.

I've recently found a lot of really interesting videos on YouTube about Rastafari I-tal farming & food, for example.

Also it's a shared family joy to watch particularly beloved, relevant or challenging video content, especially when my Disability or the weather preclude other activities.

But knowing when to turn off the video - stop 'binge-ing', avoid getting 'hypnotized', and muting the ads! -  is definitely a valuable skill too.   We tend to watch the 'old-fashioned' way e.g. one episode per week of our favourite shows.  

Anna Hutchins wrote:I guess I can't speak to cherry plums, but I know on my peach (which is a stone fruit) that if the background color has changed to yellow and they has a slight give to them, I can pick them and they finish ripening nicely inside.  That's very useful when you're fighting with squirrels for them.

Oh, interesting.  Yes, in this case they were fighting birds, but yes!

I have another cherry-plum question.  Apparently a neighbour has a mature cherry-plum tree in their garden.  They gave me about half a pound of partially ripe fruit a couple of weeks ago.

Turns out, they have ripened in my fridge.  I thought stone fruit didn't ripen off the tree?

Is this a misID? But they have little plum stones in them!

Being part of our local food mutual aid network has updated my perspective on what counts as "struggle food" for me.

The local mini-market donates a lot of their products which are past what they consider a 'saleable' quality.  So anything our communal kitchen doesn't want, but which is too good to compost or throw away, the scheme volunteers can have.

This summer, that's included a lot of fruit of "jam" quality, usable if ugly veg, some sliced bread now and then, slightly stale spice mix packets, in the main.  So I've got much more fruit than I can grow, this way.

When I'm struggling for time, energy, or inclination, a bowl of plain porridge: rolled oats cooked with water, is my ultimate struggle food.

Julie Menier wrote:Email seedshareuk@gmail.com
to register interest, ask questions, share what crops you'd like to contribute.

Good morning.  I've sent in an email.  I'm very keen to support, but not sure I'll have much spare seed after the bad year we've had in hot, dry central England.

I must try to get some tepary beans!

We used to average 150 frost free days, which is short enough.

My best tomato plant this year by far was a volunteer from the partially decomposed garden compost I trenched our runner beans with.

So I'm definitely thinking about trenching & direct sowing for tomatoes next year!

My first thought is deep mulching, to try to even out variations in rainfall & temperature?

I have made a quite acceptable gluten-free sourdough starter & bread using our most common gluten-free strong bread flour mix (brand name is Dove Freee). The key factor in that mix is the thickeners to replace the gluten, which is not to everyone's taste: xanthan gum ( https://www.freee-foods.co.uk/product/gluten-free-white-bread-flour-1kg/).

I did a 24 hour cool fermentation.
I enriched the bread with bloomed chia seeds. I moulded it in a bundt cake tin.  It's a stiff batter, not a dough.

So I think what you're proposing should be feasible with time & practice.  But depending on your taste, you might want an alternative thickener to help trap the air for a lighter dough.

I'm another neglectful sourdough maker.  I haven't bought any new equipment, I use inherited double-skin loaf pans if I want a loaf, I do an overnight cold fermentation because I need my sourdough culture to thoroughly digest the fructans.

I dried a successful starter in a hot week on a muslin cloth.  So if I have starter trouble, I just begin again with a tiny bit of that rehydrated & fed.