That looks yummy!

FWIW, there was roast pork under all that broccoli and salad. :)

One great thing about riding a tandem with large panniers is you can carry your own picnic and never notice the extra weight!

And the pleasant aromas wafting up from the bags serve as inspiration for the stoker. ;)

A good lunch makes any bike go faster. Before the lunch.

Interesting, I've been there many times, but I've never heard of "Key Largo" vegetable blend until now. It seems to be a combination of vegetables that don't grow in Key Largo :)

I had a pretty indulgent past four days (birthday). Lots of cake, hamburgers, steak, hotdogs, beer, wine..... all the good stuff. Anyway, after all that I feel the need to eat something better for me.

I found this recipe for a salad with quinoa, black beans, mango, veggies, oil and seasonings. It's good, but i'd make it hotter next time. Maybe more onion or garlic next time too.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/08/s...uinoa-and.html

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8262/8...80bc3b20_c.jpg
DSC02624 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Speaking of quinoa salads, I made this "massaged kale" salad last week and it was very good. I rarely like raw kale, but this is a great use for it.

I think they grow at Kroger's

My wife made massaged kale a while back. YUM! It's growing season at the farm here and kale is a speciality. Kale chips are great, too.

I've been given a gift card for bed bath and beyond to buy some kitchen tools. Any suggestions? What tools would you rather not live without?

I had purchased a pricy OXO mandoline only to discover that it's pretty awful. I'm going to return the OXO and purchase a less expensive bernier mandoline instead.

Do you have some good knives and the means to keep them sharp? A solid, 4 sided , steel grater (steel is real) a nice Dutch Oven (style) enameled, cast iron pot? Some nice cast iron frying pans? I use all of these things regularly.

The best knife you can afford knife and sharpener. But that can be a silly amount of money so start with something on sale. Normally I'd suggest an 8 inch chef knife. These are OK to start.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/produ...10224&RN=4963&

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/produ...10259&RN=5038&

Look for a good paring knife while you're at it.

A good maple cutting board.

A quality, thick bottom stainless skillet.

A small cast iron pan for toasting spices and frying eggs (learn how to season it.)

Mortar and pestle

Microrasp for zesting lemons and grating Parmesan cheese

An inexpensive digital scale

stainless measuring spoons/cups

Spice jars. More spices equals more flavour profiles.

Most useful tool? A simple metal scraper for cleaning up and moving cut food to the stove. I use it every time I cook.
http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/ui...nchScraper.JPG

+1 to fender1's cast iron pot.

The most important tool in my kitchen. 40 year old carbon steel Sabatier knife. 10 inch. I have collected a set of these, from paring up to 12 inch. You can keep the stainless steel knives as far as I'm concerned.
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6edc4987.jpg

Some real gourmands here. Great looking food stuffs. I generally don't take pics of my food. Well, sometimes while it's in its formative stages. ;)
My Chinese cucumber seedlings now growing in the mini greenhouse I built.
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...ps185d312b.jpg
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...psee186bf3.jpg

Which grow up, of course, into this.
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...psc2b7593c.jpg
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...ps37641220.jpg

And as for tools, this is one of the best investments I ever made. Solid copper (1/8 inch thick) French sauté pan. Nothing forms a good fond like heavy copper.
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...ps017bef17.jpg
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8de166b0.jpg

Blade envy...I've got some Super Record stuff to trade for that.

Those cukes look awesome.

Lots of good suggestions here for tools. That Sabatier is awesome, but I certainly don't recommend a carbon knife for most people. Most people do not know how to sharpen a knife or have the discipline to properly care for them. But, I agree that sharpening stainless is a pain.

I have a Cuisinart mandoline from BBB and it's quality.

I also use my food processor and blender quite often.

Yes. The carbon steel requires a bit of extra upkeep, for sure. But they're so much easier to sharpen. I can't sharpen a stainless blade for anything. But then, I was never great at sharpening. Always a tough chore for me.

I'll tell you Colonel, I never really liked cucumbers, at least the tasteless, flaccid store bought ones. These Chinese cukes are crispy, sweet and very tasty.
Needless to say, when July rolls around , we can't eat them fast enough. I always grow too many.

HA. That's tempting, Clubman.

I was attending Hotel School and was executive chef one summer at the Boulders Inn, in New Preston CT, so I bought a whole kit. During that summer of 1976, luminary guests included actors Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Richard Masur (One Day at a Time).

Anyway, back to knives. I have a whole chefs set of 8-10 Henckels 4 star no stain, all German made. They are good as new, nearly 40 years later. They hold an edge for a long time and have a lifetime warranty. Also, the steel will not discolor like a carbon knife, nor is it as brittle and hard as regular stainless.

Every few years, I send them out for a professional sharpening ($3-$5), but a steel and Zip Zap are all that are needed to keep them in shape. A set like that would probably cost over $650 today.

If you only want to have one kitchen knife, I recommend a Japanese style Santoku knife with an 7" blade. I have a Wusthof from Germany, and a Henckels from China (about $20). Both are excellent for all chopping and slicing tasks, except meat off the bone.

Pots and pans, nothing beats copper clad Cuisinart stainless steel. Heats fast, gleams with Barkeepers Friend, and will also last a lifetime. Also, it will not discolor in the dishwasher like anodized aluminum.

Heatproof silicon spatulas are great for non-stick cooking too.

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/f3sys7rkg88...2010.37.16.jpg

Agreed, carbon steel is the way to go! Unfortunately, this revelation only came to me about 5 years ago when I found a chef's knife at a yard sale. I had previously thought my assortment of Wusthofs and Henckels were the cat's meow, but this crusty old blade blows them away. Now I only use the stainless if I'm feeling lazy or so rushed that I might not be able to wash & dry the carbon knife in a timely manner.

Coincidentally, the same yard sale produced my first Griswold skillet, which came as another revelation. Now that I've amassed a small collection of cast iron, I can see a huge difference between the quality of vintage and modern examples. I don't think I'd recommend using that gift certificate on modern cast iron, go C&V!

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...903_143654.jpg

Every year around this time our first batch of tomato plants start to wither with lots of tomatoes still on the vine, so we've got a bit of a tradition:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8116/8...c902060f_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8543/8...8188e0b1_c.jpg

Oh, and Creusets. Get a Creuset and you'll have the perfect tool to make the most delicious stews.

Hard to imagine, Cobra. First batch already. My plants are about 6 inches high so far. But the spinach and peas are going strong in the garden, if small little sprouts. Been a long winter but finally the garden season comes 'round again. Those fried tomatoes look fabulous.
last crop last Fall.
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...ps26c45d99.jpg

Wow, tool talk really got the thread moving. Thank you for all the great suggestions everyone. Our current kitchen is pretty cramped, thankfully the new house has some space to fill. I did end up buying a knife, not nearly as nice as any of the others posted here.... but a big improvement over what I had been using. So, now I need to learn about sharpening. I also got a different mandoline, one that actually works and a large measuring cup.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8404/8...d0991f1a_c.jpg
DSC02640 by mkeller234, on Flickr

What kind of mandoline did you end up with? I have an old Matfer, but it need a set of blades, and the cost of those has me looking for a new unit.