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Check out Sosase colors. I really like them. They come out of the U.K. They are consistent and smell like chocolate.

Thank you, I very much appreciate the offer but we have a terrible custom system here. By the time I could get it out it would be old enough to have grown a beard and it would probably cost me double in customs fees then it had cost you to buy it.

If Velveeta is shelf stable, I would be happy to send you some. It is not as popular in Canada as it is in the US but it is available here. It would be my pleasure to send you a bit of nostalgia!

@pastrygirl excellent points. the frosting was not ' chantilly ' like : ie fluffy . it was denser , a bit like cream cheese frosting , if you will Ill be getting this again , as it hit various tasty spots. good will ice cold milk. net time , vanilla ice cream. no ' diet ' items involved in any way.

Just gotta say that "chantilly" is whipped cream, not American buttercream. The cake contains heavy cream, maybe that's what they mean. 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, this note amused me:

As long as we're waxing nostalgic, I would also nominate The Humble Velveeta. That's the only cheese that I knew growing up. It makes the gooiest grilled cheese sandwiches, is indispensable for some Southwestern dips, and makes some of the best macaroni and cheese that I have ever had. Unfortunately, that's one of the things that I can't find in Costa Rica. I've seen recipes to make Velveeta but I just kept bring myself to sacrifice $15 of cheddar cheese to wind up with $5 worth of Velveeta.

I'd like that same mountain! I'll add in brie and Pecorino Romano to what's been mentioned. And cheapass white American slices.

@C. sapidus between your lunch above and your usual breakfasts, I'd pay good money for a seat at your kitchen table! And onto my work salad- romaine, radish, green olives, pickled beets, ham, pepitas, and poppyseed dressing.

@Jim D. Same! The Luis Amado videos had me thinking you could get that level of coverage easily. Not sure it's the cocoa butter he uses or the technique.. maybe it's the magic of "television". Chef rubber has a lot of issues with consistency viscosity wise. I notice that jewel colors are all thinner and the blue and green artisan colors are much thicker. For me, the Med blue is one of the easier colors to work with. The light greens - spring green and key west green are the hardest. It could be the batches I've received though. @pastrygirl For the last batch I didn't worry so much about getting full coverage and I saved myself a lot of time and angst. Not sure why I wanted them all to be perfect. I have a local place that can probably order roxy & rich for me so I'll have to check with them. Definitely report back about the natural colors! The chef rubber natural line looks great on white chocolate but it's so very thin so it's a toss up on dark.

Bayley Hazen Blue Cheese from Jasper Hill from Zingerman's An American cheese modelled on British cheese Stichelton Just outstanding.

@pastameshugana The recipe I use is from the King Arthur Flour website. I follow it without deviation, the only exception for the petit popovers is a slightly lower temperature from the standard size. I make a small slit on the side to let any excess steam release at the finish of baking. Half of the recipe makes 9-10 of the petit popovers. The King Arthur site also gives instructions for using muffin tins in addition to popover pans.

As I have written often, any rejected/on hold protein gets tossed into the food processor, chopped coarsely and turned into ragu Bolognese. Frozen in portions and always a welcome "nothing to eat" supper.

I'd like a mountain with a package of cheese under each bush. All different so that I could just pick a new one each day. If I have to pick a favorite other than the ones that have been mentioned, I would add gorgonzola, asiago, and Baby Swiss.

My love of cheese started in France, so in that spirit: Epoisses from Bourgogne, Pont L'Eveque from Normandy, a tangy ash rind chevre from the Loire (especially a Valencay) and an extremely aged sheep's milk cheese from Corsica that I forget the name of.... Edit - or change out the last one for a local Roquefort!

I can’t argue with that selection but So many blues, it’s impossible to choose one but there’s always one available. And, as noted

I love all of the above, but I would have to include feta (more for cooking than eating) and some sort of blue cheese.

Fontina is nice.

Mozzarella is pretty indispensable too

Bay scallops, kielbasa, and plantains, all seared and removed. Sauteed shallots, garlic, jalapeno, and a roasted chile Poblano, seasoned with black pepper and cayenne, mixed everything together, and finished with Asian basil. Lovely mix of flavors and textures, if I say so myself. The discussion on scallops made me hungry for same.

A couple of years ago I tried a meat subscription service that had looked promising. My darling was unimpressed, and I found it difficult to use the meats in ways he'd like. He always found the steaks tough. Well, they are grass-fed steaks. I've had tender ones, but I never managed to do it with him. I cancelled the subscription after 2 deliveries. This package is a relic of that subscription. It sat in the freezer through all our health mayhem, and I promised myself I'd cook it during this trip. Given my erratic cooking, I think it's been out and back into the freezer a few times. Last night, I made up my mind to sear it and have a steak salad. Or tacos. I hadn't decided when I pulled it out (again). I unwrapped it. Huh. This wasn't what I'd expected! Well, it should sear easily. I blotted it, gave it a very light coat of olive oil, then dosed it liberally with Lawry's seasoned salt while I got a grill pan screaming hot. The idea was to sear the outside and have the interior still pink. It worked, kinda. Not as pink as I'd have liked. Dinner. Remember that I was either going to have a steak salad or tacos? Phooey on that. It was neither. Flavor not bad, but this meat was chewier -- not in a good way -- and more difficult to cut than any I remember getting from this company before. I'm glad I didn't subject my darling to it. I don't know whether the repeated thawing and freezing had anything to do with the texture, but it couldn't have helped. I ate some of it. The rest is in the refrigerator until I decide what to do with it. My canine companion knows what he thinks I should do!

<Cue Don Henley> Nobody on the road... Nobody on the beach... "Boys of Summer" is one of my favorite songs, and it echoes through my head every time I go for a walk here. It's the reverse situation, of course: the place is emptying out for the summer. A few hardy souls stay here year-round, but my hosts/landlords will be leaving in early May. By that time the snow should have melted in Minnesota, where they're headed. The owners of my favorite house here left this morning for their home in Washington. I'm not sure what to make of this place. It has a healthy raised-bed garden. As you can see, the tomatoes are done already but there're some good-looking vegetables and greens. I'm not sure whether these homeowners are still around, but I think they've gone for the season. This morning it was mashed avocado on sourdough bread, with a sprinkling of lemon and Spike. Chased by a mixture of kefir and juice. Yesterday as part of my effort to cut down on deli meats and cheeses in the refrigerator, I had this "wrap" for lunch. Not shown: Triscuits for crunch. Dinner last night was slightly more interesting, but also less successful. I'll give it its own post.

Comté, Parmigiano, Manchego/Idiazabal, Kraft American slices - just for starters.

Mt.Rushmore is a mountain in the US carved with the images 4 famous American presidents, who, for the sake of argument were great ones. If there was a Mt Rushmore of cheeses, what would you have on yours? I'd probably have cheddar, chevre, gruyere and parmigiano reggiano .

You might find the resources from Tom Cucuzza at The Sourdough Journey helpful. All of his information is based primarily on the classic Tartine recipe (80/20 BF to WW), so not a pure white loaf. He has a particularly good “crumb read” guide, which I’ve also linked below. Website: https://thesourdoughjourney.com YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@thesourdoughjourney?si=lpG0PIgnmKcMaOyA Crumb Reading Guide:: https://thesourdoughjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/How-to-Read-a-Sourdough-Crumb.pdf

Agree 100% on the quality of TJ rack of lamb. I will only buy New Zealand lamb. They harvest younger than we do, resulting in lovely mild flavor, tender meat. IMHO, American lamb frequently approaches gamey. The grandkids frequently request "lamb lollipops" and they hoover these.