Botulism isn't usually a concern if its cured with nitrates/nitrites. The 'Prague' is adding nitrites (and nitrogen) to the meat and has a preservative effect, which makes it stay pink. They use these in pepperoni, and you have probably seen pepperoni and other meats that are not even refrigerated, like some specialty sausages and even summer sausages. Because you don't have good control over the amount or salt and nitrites/nitrates in the Morton Tender Quick, it tends to be suitable for those who are not too concerned if its overly salty, or just want to give it a simple single try. When I make this brine, its usually the meat that gets weighed and the brine amount its based on the salt and Prague (nitrites/nitrates) and water. Here, I do use measuring devices, as its important to get the right amount of salt, and after curing if its too salty its hard to remove it. Prague is also got pink color and salt added so its not just pure nitrites/nitrates. If it were, it would be about 1/8 the amount that is in a tablespoon of Prague. They do this so that its easier to measure or weigh the nitrites/nitrates, and you are less likly to over do the amount. Soaking the meat for that long (2 weeks!? )is too much time. No matter what the books say. I use a meat pump, an oversized hypodermic needle and syringe and inject the brine into the meat. Because a brisket is quite thin, it needs very little brining, maybe 2-3 days tops. A very low, slow cooking is essential for a tender result. In this forum are many sources for the nitrites and nitrates and other curing supplies as well as links to recipes. Corned beef is also made into pastrami, by coating the outside with the same pckling spices and baking very slowly like 6 hours at 250 degrees. Usually the nitrates are used for longer, slower air curing, and nitrites are used for fast curing like sausages and corned beef. They also identify these as Instacure #1 and Instacure #2. Here, I don't use a pickling spice mix per se, but instead grind up peppercorns, mustard seed, coriander, bay leaf, celery seed, dried garlic, onion, and a few other spices (done in a small blender type coffee grinder) THis spice mix is also added to the brine. Suggest that uou remove it from the brine now, and rinse it off well, then either simmer to cook it very slowly for several hours, or bake at a very low 200-250 degree oven, covered, for about 4-6 hours. The internal temp should eventially reach about 160. I have even made a great pastrami from very lean eye of the round, which in itself tends to be quite tough. Not sure if you actaully tasted the brine before it was soaking the meat, but if it was overly salty, it may result in that same end result. Years ago, before I started making cured meats, my mom had gotten a recipe off a package of Morton Tender Quick to make a hamburger type pepperoni that was wrapped in aluminim foil like a big sausage and baked. It did turn out quite interesting, but was a bit salty. I still have that almost full bag of Morton Tender Quick here, for nearly 30 years now, and have not used any since. Lots of good info on nitrates and nitrites at this link to: http://www.butcher-packer.com/pages-document_general_info/product-743/nitrite-and-nitrate-curing-salt.html Here is a link that might be useful: Butcher Packer

I often buy those boxes of peonies and highly recommend potting them in one gallon size nursery pots NOW. I would not plant them in the garden until the fall after they have established good roots in the pots. Al

Many seed companies just recycle last years seeds. The garden centers ship them back to the distibutor and they test to see of the seeds are still germinating. If they get good germination rates, ( not sure what the percentage is), they just repackage them for the next year with a new date on the package... so your seeds may actually be older than the package states. It kinda defeats any knowledge of how long seeds actually last, but also encourages me to keep seeds a long time. If the seed companies are recyling seeds each year, I can too. On a side note, I am growing peppers from seeds I bought last year and from seeds I saved from a pepper last year, and the ones from the pepper are growing WAY better. Maybe because they are fresher, or it could be the variety. Just food for thought.

- home made Asian peanut sauce**I would probably freeze it, but I don't see why it wouldn't keep for a week or so. - canned coconut milk **coconut milk freezes quite well, but again, I'd say a week or so. - canned chipotles in adobe sauce **it's pretty easy to tell when they go bad, 'cause mold grows on them (don't ask me how I know this) but as compumom said, it's just as easy to freeze them. - bread and butter pickles - once the bottle's been opened - chicken broth **I should think a week or so, you can extend that by taking it out and boiling it every 3 days or so, but again, it freezes quite well. - canned anchovies **unless they get mold on them or something, almost indefinitely if they're the type packed in salt. - canned tomato paste **it will separate/grow mold/smell sour if it's bad, it's easy to tell...but again, freeze! - jarred roasted red peppers**mold will tell you if it's bad, otherwise maybe a couple of weeks. - frozen chicken breasts once thawed in the fridge -**this depends on the "sell by" date when you put them into the freezer. Generally, however many days were left to the sell by date is the number of days you have left once you thaw them. So, if you froze them on Friday, and the sell by date was the following Monday, you should have 3 days, assuming you used proper sanitation and thawing methods. If you thawed them on the counter instead of in the fridge, the time decreases. - cooked chicken breasts**4 or 5 days, I guess...they won't be very palatable after that whether they spoil or not. - fresh salsa of tomato, cilantro, lime juice**It will lose the fresh flavor fairly quickly, maybe a day or two, but won't really go bad for a few more days. It will smell sour when it's bad. - yogurt sauce with lime juice, honey**That should stay good for at least 4 or 5 days, maybe longer. The yogurt will separate and get watery looking when it starts to go. - fresh chimchurri sauce **You'll lose the fresh flavor well before it spoils...I'd freeze it. - home made gazpacho**oh, 5 days to a week or so. You probably won't want to eat it before it actually spoils as it will start to sour. - home made tomato soup **"Cream Of"-3 or 4 days, no cream, about a week...for either, it freezes well. - opened canned black beans**I can't say that I've ever had canned beans left over from anything, so I've never tried. But I'd imagine they'd be o.k. for a week or so. All of this assumes, naturally, that the food is taken out of the can and put into very clean, sealed containers. There are very few foods, if properly handled and refrigerated, that you won't be able to tell if they spoil by smell, sight or a small taste. And, unless you have a problem with your immune system, even if you do eat something that is slightly spoiled, you should be able to handle it. Most of the time, if someone gets food poisoning it's because food wasn't properly handled or stored, not because properly handled and stored food went bad.