Hi, I have some Delice de la Table seeds (it's a true French cantaloupe...and it's REALLY good). I also have some Amish musk melon seeds, Hale's Gold Melon, and Sugar Baby Watermelon, if you're interested. If you're still interested in trading, I'm interested in the Pipian from Tuxapan Parisienne carrots Mexican Sour Gherkins. Thanks! Kelly

Macky, your technique is quite similar to mine. I have two matching stainless steel kettles with large strainer basket inserts... this works well for large-scale freezing, since one basket can be cooling while the other is blanching. But rather than fill a sink with cold water, I place a kettle in the sink large enough to immerse the basket, and keep the tap running slowly into it. My well water is cold enough to make your teeth hurt! The cold water sinks to the bottom, and the warmer water is constantly flowing over the top. I stir constantly when the basket is first immersed, for about a minute, then let the veggies sit under the running water. Meanwhile, I strain out any fragments that might remain in the blanching kettle (the wide hand strainers sold in Asian stores work great for this), place the second basket in, and once the water resumes boiling, put in another batch to blanch. I remove & drain the batch that is cooling about a minute before the blanching is complete; by that time the water in the cooling kettle is cold. The other sink holds a colander for draining; but it's not that important to get the veggies completely dry. I initially freeze veggies in square plastic freezer boxes, then vacuum seal the frozen "blocks" into bags (this lessens the chance of debris interfering with the seal). A little water helps the veggies hold together during the transfer. I freeze greens (such as chard) covered in water; this reduces freezer burn. If you don't use a vacuum sealer, covering with water is a good alternative for extended storage. Place the veggies in a ziplock freezer bag, cover with water, squeeze out air bubbles, and seal. Be sure to leave enough room for the bag to expand as it freezes. In my experience, you don't want to use a cheap freezer bag for this, the seam might pop open or leak as it freezes. For me, vacuum-sealed green beans will last for over a year with good quality, if kept at 0 degrees F. A refrigerator ice box generally doesn't get that cold, so storage life would be reduced in the warmer conditions. A small chest freezer is a worthwhile investment if you want to freeze enough veggies for the year. Oh, one last note about blanching. For the best quality, it is best to work small batches. For me, one pound seems to be the magic number... the blanching times tend to match those listed in the Ball Blue Book, which is my reference of choice for canning & freezing. When freezing a new variety for the first time, it's a good idea to do a test batch & check for proper blanching, before freezing large quantities. One tip I've noticed is that when properly blanched, the beans (and most other cut veggies) will sink as they cool.

Hi. This is nothing to be worried about. When the candle burns the wax is kept at sustained heat longer than it was when it was poured. This makes the wax "chalky" when it cools. The color can change depending on the dye and or fragrance added to the candle, sometimes making a distinct layer, sometimes making only a subtle line where the liquid layer ended. In one respect, the ring can be helpful-- if you pour your own candles & the ring is more than 1/4" from the top of the wax, your wick is too big and you are burning your candle faster than you need to. Or, if the chalky part is bubbly, you might have too much fragrance oil in the candle-- not really a problem, either unless you're drowning your wick. BTW leaving a soy candle in a hot place (like the car) can also eventually turn the exposed parts of the candle chalky-- on the sides, it looks like solarization (& sort of is), but on the top, the candle looks "old". Unless it IS old, the way it looks should have no affect on the way it smells when it burns. Hope this helps.

I am also tyramine intolerant, and my gf suffered from "IBS" (the doctor didn't know what was wrong with her, so he just lied, IBS doesn't exist, like sciatica, it just means 'I don't know, now please go away' ) for years until we made links between artificial additives and her problems. I also get hypertensive crises from Chinese food, and really from anything that is off, or badly stored or prepared, but what really does me in is the crippling migraines I get from eating the wrong food. They are like a barometer reading, if food is the slightest bit suspect, I am on the deck within the hour. I am also the same with the delicate stomach, I am like that the whole time and have been for some years, although only tyramine will actually make me sick. I must admit, I hadn't made any connection between raw food and upset stomach though, that is very interesting. I know I have to avoid stews, it is just down to the cooking time and the low simmering heat, if the stew simmers too cool for too long then the tyramine levels will climb even in low tyramine foods, especially in beef and lamb stews. Annoying, isn't it? Anyway, don't need to tell you that I am sure. So, what do I eat? Breakfast is porridge, made with water not milk. Lunch is usually something egg related, omelet with shallots (and not onions), potato and sweetcorn, or egg and chips is a good one too. Dinner is normally chicken or white fish. I must stress I only eat whole chickens, the processed breasts and drums, stuff like that, they are "packaged in a protective atmosphere" and as far as I can make out are stored for up to 6 weeks before they hit the supermarket shelves. The whole chickens are much more fresh, but are a bit of a pain to process (not nearly as much of a pain as one of my headaches though), hence I often just roast them whole. Luckily, a lifetime of this has left me underweight, as a diet of roast chicken and chips isn't exactly what fat fighters ordered! Although most food lists say that meat is ok, lamb and beef are normally hung for several weeks to mature. Unfortunately, that is nowhere near fresh food by my standards. For vegetables, I avoid any legumes except garden peas, cauliflower and broccoli seem ok, and carrots. Watch out for ginger, garlic and onion too. Tesco (if they have invaded your local area) frozen mixed farmhouse vegetables have got no beans in them, they work for me. So, it's roast chicken with chips (chipped from potatoes, not frozen ones out the bag) or roast potatoes, chicken curry, stuff like that most of the time, last night was Pollack fillets with chips and a creamy white sauce with herbs and peas. For a cup of tea, which for me is a very important part of my day, I use oat milk (also sourced from Tesco - www.oatly.com ) which makes a nice cuppa... visitors don't even notice. The only migraine I had since starting this diet was from a cup of tea my nan made me... she still gets her milk off the milkman, and it had sat on the step a bit too long that day. I didn't even think about it at the time, one teaspoon of milk won't hurt, will it? Yes, it will, it will hurt a lot. For four days. The oat milk is a good substitute for making a creamy sauce too. For sauces, I use oil (not olive oil), plain flour and juices from whatever I just cooked and a little extra water. I admit, they are not as nice with just water, but my taste buds have adapted. For booze, I have found beer is just Russian Roulette. I love real ales, and malt whisky, but there is no way. Cider, I have found, especially genuine farmhouse cider, is fine. I drink it all the time (actually I make my own), with no ill effects. Well, except the normal ones, the ones you expect and deserve! Other than that, vodka or apple brandy, otherwise booze must be avoided at all costs. It sounds to me that like yourselves we have been feeling our way around this problem... I have been on the tyramine free diet for just 6 months, but I haven't had a migraine for the whole time. Previously, I had one almost every day for 20 years, so I must have got something right now. And you thought YOUR post was enormous! :) Please feel free to email me, I know how awful this tyramine thing is. It is like I have been trapped down a well the last 20 years, the doctors rubbished me and made like I was putting it on. One doctor actually snorted and told me migraines are a womans problem, then sat back and folded his arms. Another two doctors prescribed me MAOI antidepressants, which (now I understand the problem) I realise could have killed me. Just as well I didn't trust either of them, and threw away the prescription! But now at last I am free. If I can help anyone else, I would be glad to. This is the best food list I have found to date. http://www.headaches.org/consumer/topicsheets/LowTyramineDiet.pdf Best regards, and good luck Keith