Octopus: My brother's method, which I have tried: Pre heat oven to 325 F. Take octopus and marinate (coat thouroghly, and do add a little oil if the marinate doesn't call for it), and wrap in heavy foil. You don't need to wait before cooking as below: Place octopus and all in oven pan (to avoid foil leakage issues). DO NOT add water, the octopus will generate and cook in its own. Roast for 1.5 hours, and remove from oven. My brother's recipe is Greek, so we've been using Greek seasonings (lemon juice, olive oil, capers, chopped olives, oregano, ground pepper...). When you remove, the octopus can be eaten as is, or chopped into cold salads, and further dressed. YUM. You can probably find uses for the broth generated, too - cook into rice etc.

Grainlady - thank you. That link is wonderful. Just full of good guidelines. Nancy - that's good to know about running cold water through the chicken. With fish, I put it in a bowl of ice water - and that defrosts it within a couple of hours, but I hadn't thought of a way to apply water to chicken - thanks. Sometimes I defrost in the microwave if I'm going to use it right away - like steaks or chicken breasts. But I didn't think I should do that with a whole chicken. Also, sometimes with chicken breasts, I plan to marinate overnight - in which case I think it's a no-no to defrost in the microwave (which would partially cook it) and then marinate. Are their some soups you wouldn't microwave? The one I have is potato-fennel - and I thought I recalled something about the texture being effected by either freezing or microwaving. Thanks. Lynn. Lynn.

Thawing foods on the counter is not a safe suggested method. As the outside of the meat thaws it can maintain an unsafe temperature (danger zone is 40-45°F to 140° F) and bacteria can easily grow on the surface while the inside is still frozen. Bacteria grow most rapidly in this range of temperatures, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. Try one of these three methods instead: 1. Refrigerator. The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food by placing the meat in a baking dish to catch any drips. 2. In a water-proof bag in cold water. The food must be submerged UNDER the water, not floating on top. Change the water every 30 minutes and cook the food immediately once it's thawed. Do not let the food sit in cold water for prolonged periods after they have thawed. Do not thaw meat directly in the cold water. As it thaws it will draw moisture into the meat like a sponge and will change the texture of the meat. 3. Meat thawed in the microwave should be cooked immediately after it is thawed. Don't refrigerate it and cook it later. Check the link below for more information. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Basics of Safe Food Handling

Like anoriginal says, the bugs were already there. The female weevil lays eggs in the wheat kernel and it can sometimes survive the milling process. The eggs will hatch if they’re in warm or humid conditions, or have reached their maturity. The flour bugs eat the grain and then seek to mate… while eating more grain. How do these pests get into our food? Occasionally, some may find their way inside from outdoors; however, the majority of these pests are in food products brought into the home. The initial infestation can originate at the processing plant, the warehouse, the delivery vehicle, or the retail store (chances of becoming infested increase the longer a food item is stored at the same location). Beetles and moths have four stages in their development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. All stages may be present in the food, but the eggs are so tiny they are seldom seen. The larval stage is most destructive, but the adult stage is most often seen. DOES FLOUR GO BAD? The short answer: Yes. The long answer: The more processed the flour is, the longer it takes to go bad. Whole grain flours should be kept in a refrigerator for the short term, about 2-5 days. If you need to store whole grain flour for longer than a handful of days, the freezer is the best place. If the flour will be used within a month or two, it should be kept in a sealed container. One to two months is considered “quick” in terms of flour usage, so you can keep your flour in a container that is NOT sealed (i.e. the same thick paper bag, rolled down) but the chances of the flour going rancid increase. If the flour will not be completely consumed within two months, it should be stored in a sealed container. Freeze newly purchased grains and flour for at least three days to kill any eggs. Some sources recommend freezing for up to one week. (Note that freezing will kill the eggs, but not remove them.) As a general guideline, don’t buy more grain than you will use within four months. Store grain in a tightly sealed container, not a bag. Weevils are HUNGRY little devils and can eat through bags. (See my storage recommendations above). Adding whole bay leaves and garlic cloves to the area seems to deter flour bugs from setting up shop in your pantry. Garlic may leave a trace flavor in your baked goods, so if you don’t want that, go for the bay leaves instead. You can also apply tea tree oil to a few cotton balls and place them throughout the pantry. WILL EATING BEETLES HARM ME? Other than give you the heebie jeebies, they’re harmless. In fact, the heat from baking kills the eggs and any beetles that may have made their way into your batter. So while the odds of us eating weevils – or have eaten weevils in the past – are high, the mortality rate is low.