Oops! I seem to have forgotten that I started this thread, but the responses have been very helpful. I think I will definitely to go El Camaguey and buy a tortilla press, although I don't think it has a stainless steel surface like Ann's, which would be nice. I do keep dry masa on hand, but I also keep fresh masa in the freezer - for making what I thought were empanadas, but which are probably quesadillas, at least as they are made in Mexico, and deep fried. As for flour tortillas, since I've found the whole grain tortillas in the market, I probably won't be making too many of those again, although I might want to experiment with some of the whole grain flours I have. I don't especially like tortillas made with all white flour, and corn tortillas are my favorite. When I first visited Vancouver for a long visit (1978 or so), I was shocked that I could not find fresh corn tortillas in the grocery stores (I did find frozen ones, but did not consider that acceptable). At that time, I practically lived on soft tacos (that I made myself, often with tofu), and so I had to make an adjustment. I think I bought some whole wheat crackers instead. I think I will try to find some Hispanic markets, although there aren't any in my immediate neighborhood. There are some in neighboring Mar Vista (where Scott lives), which is less than 2 miles from here. There are several places to buy fresh tamales, but they don't sell tortillas. Anyway, I think I will keep looking and also get the tortilla press. Lars

I used to make malts. Kept malt powder on hand for them. Funny story. I took care of an old man named Ken for 8 years. He could be very difficult and was set in his ways. He used to send me to get milkshakes for him. He always said, "No malts! Milkshakes! I hate malts." So I would get a malt for me and a milkshake for him. One time when I was ordering them, I forgot and said, "Two strawberry malts." Then I realized what I had said....but I let it go at that. When I gave it to him, he said, "That is the best milkshake I have ever had." From there on out, I just ordered malts for him.

Yep....I make my own beef jerky. I own 2 dehydrators, both with fans.....purchased at Thrift stores. $7 ea. The one has 8 racks, that stack on top of each other, the other has 5. Yep, slice the fat free meat, marinate, put on racks. Yes....I started making it in the oven before I bought the dehydrators. Just use foil, low heat....takes 8 hours and I noticed NO difference in the flavor. BTW takes 8 hours in my dehydrators when they are full. I just use salt, soy sauce & worcestershire sauce. Liquid smoke is optional. JMO Of the two dehydrators I own, The American Harvester is the fastest.....nicest! I googled consumer reports before buying it...it had GREAT reviews!

Grainlady told us about that--the oil is in the parts that are removed to make white flour, and it goes rancid pretty quickly. That's one reason for milling it fresh. When I remodelled I had to through out a bunch of flour and work on quadruple cleaning the canisters to get the rancid smell out. My theory is also that all those whole wheat breads that have honey or other sugars in them are trying to cover up slightly rancid flour. When I mill wheat, inc. hard red, the flour tastes sweet and the bran, etc., just tastes a bit earthy. I think the company stopped making whole wheat panko! Maybe because of the quality issues Sleevendog mentioned. I loved it. Even my picky eater, who won't touch whole wheat bread, liked the chicken fried with WW panko. Mine was perfect. Neither soggy nor sour.