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Thanks for replying. What you have pictured there is Baamieh (what Melamed also refered to as Shabkia in Iraqi). Zoolbia looks like this: Actually this photo shows both delicacies but Zoolbia are the short, fat, oblong cylinders. It is the technique for making these that I am searching for. I understand making Baamieh because it is similar to other funnel cakes.

Having just celebrated the Persian New Year with my wife and her family, we had to have the traditional pastries, including Zoolbia and Baamieh. I love these pastries and want to try to make my own. I've found the recipe online for the basic dough along with a description of how to form Baamieh. But nowhere can I find the technique for creating Zoolbia even though they are nearly the same. Can anyone help me to understand how to make Zoolbia? Is the dough piped through a piping bag using a very large tip? Or is it formed another way, maybe pressed into special forms?

I doubt it. The natural oils in teak would not allow much water to permeate the wood, IMO. I built a teak cutting board some 14 years ago and still use it daily today. I've washed that board often without the least sign of warpage or splitting. I just oil it occasionally and the patina on that board is georgeous. Your split could have been repaired by cutting the board apart at the split and regluing it.

To unwarp the board, you have to rip the board into a couple of pieces, plane the edges and reglue the pieces again. The process is easy but it's really handy if you know someone with woodworking machines like a table saw and jointer (or maybe have access to a school woodworking shop). Use the table saw or a circular saw to rip the board along the pieces where the board seems to be warping most, or if the board is warped over its entire width, cut into three pieces. Using a jointer or hand plane, joint each piece so that the edge is 90 degrees to the face. That's the reason a jointer makes the work easier because the fence of the jointer references the work to the blades and makes the work easy and precise. When the edges are jointed, reglue and clamp the pieces again. Your board will be a couple millimeters reduced in width after the operation but it will be flat again. andiesenji suggested sanding the board. This would be arduous backbreaking work with no guarantee of acceptable results especially if the board is made of hardwood like beech, maple or some exotic.

It's possible to buy over-stove fans with integrated activated charcoal filters for just such a situation. The air is recirculated in the kitchen but the activated charcoal cleans out the bad smells and alot of the fine particles. Aslo, modern fan technology makes the fan whisper quite.

... Then slowly add 1 cup of oil (while machine is on)... Oil should be added very slowly at the beginning. As more gets incorporated, the rate at which you add oil can be increased.

I think it's a safeguard to prevent the possibility of steam condensation or the boiling water itself from spilling over into the chocolate. Water destroys the emulsifiers in chocolate and causes the cocoa butter and cocoa solids to clump together, seizing up the chocolate. If the bowl is high enough above the water, any condenstation will occur lower down from the rim.

Yes, it does. The results also depends on the shape and size of the pot, the amount of water in the pot as it begins to cool, the shape and size of the egg, the location of the pan as it cools and the ambient air temperature of your kitchen (assuming the pan is left to cool in the kitchen).

Don't want to highjack this thread because the info here is so useful so I'll just say that I read that cooking eggs is a 'simple' heat transfer problem. I have seen the following table: <55C = risk of salmonella 56-63C = soft white and runny yolk 65-70C = soft gel white and runny viscous yolk 73C = hardened white and soft gel yolk 77C = hardened white and soft yet hardboiled yolk 80C = hardened white and onset of green colour 90C = tough white and dry crumbly yolk Source: Peter Barham "The Science of Cooking"

This is covered somewhat in eGCI course on Hard-cooked eggs. The only aspect of hard-cooking eggs not covered completely there was the green tinging of the yolk. The discoloration occurs when the yolk temperature rises to 80C or higher. At this point the egg is overcooked and effectively ruined. The yolk is runny at 63C, begins to gel at 73C and hardens at 77C. How can you tell the cooking time needed to bring an egg yolk to a desired temperature? From the following formula: t=0.0015d**2loge[(2(Twater - T0))/(Twater - Tyolk)] wheret is the cooking time in minutes, d is the diameter of the egg in millimeters, T0 is the initial temperature of the egg in C and Twater the temperature of the water in C. Reference is Dr. Williams, Exeter University, first published in New Scientist 1996. Whoa! The implication of this is that the cooking time of an egg is proportional to the square of the diameter of the egg. A small egg (40mm) takes 60% of the time of a large egg (50mm) and an egg from the fridge takes 15% longer to cook than an egg at room temperature. If you can maintain a water bath at a constant 70C, you can cook a medium egg (45mm) in 8 minutes. This will produce a firm white and runny yolk at 63C. Longer times in a warmer bath will produce a more even cooked hard boiled egg as another poster has already pointed out.

Norway - Salmon, Bacalao

Earlier in the blog Chad wrote: And later Cruzmisl wrote: I'm contemplating buying a Tichbourne K6 and read these comments with interest. The problems I have with the Henkels I own today is that my hands are so big that my knuckles hit the cutting board when I use my larger butcher knives. The width of the K6 blade looked like it would solve this problem. I thought I'd "try out" a K6 for its size but I am in no position to just pop over to Mississauga to get a loaner. So, I made my own K6 today in the workshop. I took a picture of the knife from the Tichbourne web site, printed it full size and made a wooden model (pictured below). It does not emulate the weight of the knife or the balance but I can test drive the knife in other respects. I kind of like the size of the knife so I think I will persue buying one in the next little while. The only thing I don't understand from the comments above is cruzmisl's comment that his knife split food rather than cut it. The only explaination I can think of is that the knife he had was not as sharp as it might have been.

Many years ago, I found a small teak pepper mill at a flea market that I managed to get for around 20 cents! That little mill is hands-down the best bargain ever. It must have been made in the early 1960's and it is still going strong today. It grinds perfectly, not too large, not too small. I'm one happy camper!

IKEA has great cheap kitchen accessories. If you're in the market for cheap teflon cookware, the 365+ line is high quality and low price. Carp, Which boards are no longer available? IKEA still sell end-grain cutting boards in 50x50cm size. Their GROLAND butcher block is cheap-as-chips at $200.

I use fine valve grinding compound only because it is readily available to me. I suggest that rouge is better because the rouge mixed in suspension with lanolin charges and conditions the leather at the same time. I don't know what the suspension agent is in valve grinding compound but it appears to be oily in nature. I don't think it conditions the leather like lanolin would. It does get absorbed into the leather with use so that the power imbedded in the leather remains on the surface.