andiesenji

I use Cambro containers and label with a P-Touch label printer. Easy and quick to use and there are various widths of tape in different colors so you can do some color coding if you wish.

I've made a similar dish with celery root layered with purple potatoes. I got the idea from watching one of the PBS food shows showing a Peruvian woman making a similar dish, although she used yuca (or yucca) instead of celeriac and the translator noted this is a dish that goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years. I made what is supposed to be a Peruvian cheese/chile sauce to serve over the dish at table. Ordinarily I would have added it to the dish prior to cooking but wasn't sure what the traditional method would have been.

Stroopwaffle with cafe con leche (unsweetened as the stroopwaffle is sweet enough as it is). I ordered a box after posting the link and they arrived this morning. Perfect!

I have experimented with making stroopwaffles several times, using various baking irons for sugar waffles, etc. I have not had much success getting the recipe correct. I haven't been able to find a true recipe for the snack and I have absolutely no idea how they are able to split them into two layers. Every result is either too delicate, crumbles easily, or the filling causes the waffles to become soft and tough.

Last month I made a batch of sambal badjak in the TMX and it turned out as smooth as any other method I have used. I soaked the chiles first but the spices were dry until I added the palm sugar and the coconut. I didn't have candlenuts so substituted macadamia nuts and the TMX ground them smooth. (I did not include the trassi as I am allergic to shrimp) I've ground dried peas successfully. I haven't tried dried beans because I grind them in my Nutrimill. However I have ground soaked garbanzo beans in the TMX and then turned up the heat to cook the paste, then added roasted sesame seeds and ground the whole mass smooth while cooking it. Turned out nice. For nut butters I have ground cashews, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and I have reduced fresh young coconut to a sloppy paste, exactly the consistency I wanted. I've ground whole spices, including a whole nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon bark, cardamom seeds and star anise successfully. (but a bit noisy) And I have made several batches of marzipan with great success. I suggest that you review some of the methods used by avid TMX users on Forum Thermomix The folks on that forum are very friendly, mostly in Australia, and some have a lot of experience with the TMX and also like to experiment - a lot!

I have been putting mine through the dishwasher for years. I "sandwich" them between two wire cake racks. I have thee different "brands" and (except for one that was burned because someone who didn't know any better stuck a sheet pan with the thing in the barbecue) they have all survived okay - some have some discolorations. Mine each have a hole drilled in one corner and hang on a shower ring from a hook on the back of the pantry door. It's easy to pull the ring off the hook and carry all of them to the baking area.

For me, it is the little Dutch Stroopwafels. http://www.caramelcookiewaffles.com/ There is not enough sugar to seriously affect my diabetes - as long as I limit myself to just one. I have seen them with chocolate but as I am allergic to it, the classic ones are the best for me.

There has been extensive discussion on earlier threads regarding this subject. A great deal of information, sources and photos have been posted on this thread: Kitchen Remodeling I have undertaken 5 kitchen remodels over the past 44 years, one being a DIY but my husband at the time was a master plasterer and had many friends in the building trades and all of the work was done by very experienced people and all necessary permits were pulled and the work inspected. It took three months because much of the work was done on weekends and at night. I had set up a temporary kitchen on the covered patio as that was the only place not occupied by piles of material, new appliances and tools. The last remodel in '94 was actually an 800 sq ft addition to my home so I would have a much larger kitchen with more natural light. The original part of the house where the old kitchen was sited, has double-thick concrete block walls and the windows opening were not large so the place was like a cave. My main requirement was lots of windows. I had a kitchen designer but had considerable input because I knew exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it done. My contractor had excellent references and a guarantee of completion by a certain date was written into the contract, mainly because I had purchased all of the materials ahead of time (renting a nearby storage unit to house everything) because I wanted no delays because an order did not arrive on time or was the wrong color, size, type, grade, etc., etc., etc. I am extremely picky and would not "settle" for second best simply because it was expedient. I had done that on an earlier remodel and was never happy with the result. It took less than five weeks from start to finish and would have been done a few days earlier had we not had an unseasonal (for the soCal. desert) rain that slowed the curing of the concrete foundation. I love my kitchen and wouldn't change a thing and it still looks good after sixteen years.

Aloha Steve makes an excellent point. We like Chinese (especially Szechwan) food, African and Middle Eastern food and Indian food best, followed by others, like Mexican, Italian, Caribbean. Can't think where, if at all, that French food really fits in. I like ethnic foods too. However, if I want to prepare something for someone who really needs a bit of comfort, I go back to the classic cassoulet, which I consider the original "comfort" food.

I made an excursion to the first real cheese shop in Arizona - on 3/12/10. (some might consider it a raid!) The name is Petit Fromage and for such a small enterprise, (one good sized refrigerated case at one end of the store) there are some amazing cheeses. (I bought a few, plus some cultured butter and two kinds of goat butter). It is inside and part of: D'Licious Dishes 5345 N 7th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85013 (602) 274-3663 And which has some very appetizing foods to either eat there or take home, lunch and/or dinner. Scrumptious stuff. I decided to spend an extra night in Phoenix on my way home from New Mexico just so I could visit this store and am very glad I did. I sincerely hope that Petit Fromage makes it because Phoenix really needs a dedicated cheese shop. Cheeses purchased 3/12/10 Cave Aged Gruyere Switzerland (Kaltbach) see below re: brunch. Idiazabal Spain I have long been a fan of this cheese and this one is exceptionally fine. Perfect with pears and I have other ideas of how to use it. And from right here, in the USA, Feliciana Nevat which I consider the perfect snacking cheese. Holy Cow - Vache Sante' lovely crumbled on a salad. both of these from Chef John Folse - Bittersweet Plantation Dairy in south Louisiana. http://www.jfolse.com/bittersweet_dairy/products.htm also; Mantuanella Farmstead Butter Italy: http://www.mantuanella.com/eng/products.asp Cabrima Goat Butter-salted Product of Holland Cabrima Goat Butter-unsalted Brunch today (3/14/10) an eggy-eggy omelet with crispy-browned sausage topped with a few thin slices of the gruyere. The gruyere is delicious as a snacking cheese, with fruit (apples, pears and grapes for me) but it has enough character to stand up to the asserted flavor of country sausage and eggs. Just delicious. Eaten out of hand, it has the little crunchy bits that only appear in an aged cheese and contribute to the flavor. (An eggy-eggy omelet is my little invention when one has a guest but only two fresh eggs. I found two hard-boiled eggs in a container filled with water in the coldest part of the fridge, beat the two fresh eggs with some heavy cream, chopped the hard-boiled eggs coarsely and added them to the beaten eggs, poured this picture over nicely browned chunks of country sausage and when nearly done, added the gruyere.) My guest ate every scrap of her half of the omelet. (Me too.) If you are in Phoenix and have a bit of extra time, do visit this shop. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. You can taste every cheese before you buy and it is all cut to order unless they happen to have a piece already cut. The date it is packaged by them is on the label, which I consider a big advantage.

With the exceptional amount of rain we have had in the California desert this year, the white yuccas are getting ready to produce some spectacular blossoms, which are edible, the only part of the plant that is safe to eat. My ex-neighbors who now have a larger property that includes a hillside that is loaded with yuccas, have offered to share as much of their harvest as I want. In earlier years, when my knees were still operational, I would gather them on public land, as far from the roads as I could get, because they do seem to absorb residue from traffic. They are crunchy, slightly sweet. Some people say they taste something like an artichoke but I get more of a celery flavor. They have to be blanched for 20-30 seconds then chilled in ice water before going into salads. (Also have to be washed well to remove all insects.) Most edible flowers are useful as a garnish but yucca blossoms are a substantial part of a salad, combined with greens or vegetables and even chicken or meat. I have a cookbook that includes a recipe for a salad with yucca blossoms I don't recall the title but think it is one of the books by Lois Frank, probably Foods of the Southwest Indians.

Oh, thank you, thank YOU! I feel exactly the same way. I love duck but it has to be totally DONE! I shudder every time I seed a chef on FoodTV slice rare duck breast and gently place the fan of slices on top of a tablespoon of some kind of greens. I have been eating (and cooking in various ways) duck, both wild and domestic for nearly sixty years and in my opinion there is a great deal of flavor development as the meat reaches the point where the skin is crispy, and most of the fat has rendered out, and yet it retains just the perfect amount of juices that are totally non-bloody. Wild duck that has not been hung long enouth, or cooked to a sufficient done-ness, has a decidedly game-y flavor that has a slightly fishy note that to me is most unpleasant.

Today I made an excursion to the first real cheese shop in Arizona. The name is Petit Fromage and for such a small enterprise, there are some amazing cheeses. (I bought a few, plus some cultured butter and two kinds of goat butter). It is inside and part of: D'Licious Dishes 5345 N 7th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85013 (602) 274-3663 And which has some amazing foods to either eat there or take home, lunch and/or dinner. Scrumptious stuff. My dinner this evening consisted of small pieces of two of the cheeses, pears from Whole Foods market and grapes from Fresh & Easy market (I had never been in one and my van just sort of turned in on its own as I was driving down the street!) also some bread from Whole Foods. I decided to spend an extra night in Phoenix on my way home from New Mexico and am very glad I did. I sincerely hope that Petit Fromage makes it because Phoenix really needs a dedicated cheese market. I will write more about the cheeses after I return home and will post in the Cheese topic.

I was taken to dinner last night (Thursday, March 11) by friends who live in Phoenix. The restaurant has an odd name, House of Tricks but there was nothing at all odd or tricky about the food. It was all exceptional. I had the Mustard Braised Rabbit with Celery Root Puree, Glazed Baby Carrots, Black Mission Figs and Watercress, which was absolutely delicious. Had I been alone, I would have licked the plate - the sauce was that good! My friend had a starter, the Miso Marinated Foie Gras with Ginger Snap and Warm Black Mission Fig Chutney and her entree was Ahi Tuna Wellington with Shiitake Mushroom Duxelle, Wasabi Potato Fondue and Two Color Tobiko Cream. Her husband also had a starter, the Smoked Korean Style Baby Back Ribs with Spicy Red Chile Paste and Barely Pickled Cucumber Salad and for his dinner Ballotine of Chicken Stuffed with Brioche Foie Gras Stuffing, Cognac Demi Glace, Sautéed Spinach And Butternut Squash Puree It is located in Tempe, very near the University and it was extremely busy, reservations are recommended and are necessary. I didn't have a starter because I intended to have dessert (lemon panna cotta) and my friend had something with loads of chocolate. I would recommend this place to anyone who wants something different. It is a bit pricey but I have paid more for much less quality and in my opinion the food is certainly worth it. It is within walking distance of the Tempe Mission Palms hotel. Dress is entirely casual and there is both indoor and outdoor dining. The service was excellent, prompt but no pushing - sufficient time between courses for conversation and appreciation of the foods - lingering over coffee was certainly not a problem. I truly can't recall the last time I so enjoyed a restaurant with this decidedly not-at-all ordinary menu.

Bruce, I am not a gentleman, (actually a female, age 71) but I have recommended Pepper-Passion in other threads besides this one. I have ordered your sampler packs for myself and for my son-in-law who is also a pepper fan (fanatic), the peppercorn omni pack, small bags. My daughter likes different varieties of peppers also, but not to the extent that her husband does. There are times when I have no snack crackers or chips in the house and I find that heating saltine crackers in the oven for a short time, brushing the tops with melted butter and then sprinkling with black pepper, or my favorite, a medley of peppercorns, freshly ground, makes a great snack, with or without something else topping it - cheese, for instance. I make cheeses and one of the most appreciated by my friends is a fresh, goat cheese, rolled in coarse pepper.

A note about long pepper. Naturally, being the shape that it is, it cannot go into a regular pepper grinder. I don't like to grind it in one of the spice grinders because I don't want pepper dust. I tried a grater - similar to a nutmeg grater but grated more of my fingers than the pepper. I bought one of these- a Toenail Clipper for small dogs/cats and the long pepper, being a similar size, fits nicely into the opening and the guillotine blade shears off pieces that are the exact size I want, i.e. about the same size as a peppercorn and can then be placed in my Magnum grinder which produces exactly the size grind I want. Previously I used a mortar and pestle to break them up but was never quite satisfied. I got the idea from a friend who uses the same clipper to chop long hard calcium/potassium/magnesium tablets in half so they are easier to swallow. Bingo! I thought. That will work on the long pepper.

I like long pepper also. I have found that it is especially complementary to dishes that contain coconut and ginger - I add it to my badjak sambal, along with the small capsicums because it adds an additional level of complexity that I notice if I omit it. It is also very good sprinkled on papaya and mango and pineapple. I make a pineapple sorbet on which I sprinkle a little long pepper just before serving. I ordered the Australian Mountain Pepper from Salt Traders It is one of the "Bush foods" and I think actually is wild-harvested in Tasmania.

Well, they say confession is good for the soul and I must confess that I sort of go overboard with pepper, the same as I do with salts. Not everyone can taste the differences but I can and I like certain peppers for certain applications. However, you can get one pepper that you like and stick to that. Some have more complex flavors than others and they must be freshly ground. I rely greatly on Pepper-Passion as he explains the differences in the various peppercorns and what to expect as to flavor. I recently ordered some Mountain Pepper from Australia and it is quite different than other black peppers.

Cookies for sure! I have at least three recipes for black-pepper cookies I have made in the past, when I was doing a lot more baking than now. I know one was a pressed cookie because I had to grind the pepper extra fine so it would flow easily through the press dies. I also made these cookies Cardamom/almond/black pepper/chocolate pinwheels back when my Hungarian housekeeper was still with me. She mentioned a similar cookie made by her grandmother and I looked for a similar recipe and found this one. The cookies were scrumptious. I have yet to try this recipe, I saw it shortly before Christmas when all my holiday baking was finished. I saved the link to try them. Luna Cafe cookies I also used to make a chewy molasses cookie with black pepper, ginger, pumpkin pie spices and bourbon or rye whiskey. I don't know if I ever typed it into the computer but will look for it. It took a whole teasponful of black pepper.

I'm shocked that it is in Santa Monica. Wait till Hayden Panettiere and Pierce Brosnan get wind of this.

i just finished this, and passed it along to my former punker son. one of my favorite lines, not cheese related, was something to the effect of "lots of punk rockers are nice people, pretending to be mean. many hippies are mean people, pretending to be nice." having had his scary-looking friends around our home for many years, i can certainly vouch for the punk-rock side of the equation! i, too, want to zip up and eat cheese at the counter with the author. road trip, andiesenji?? It just happens that early tomorrow morning I am leaving for a road trip to New Mexico but I will spend Saturday night in the Phoenix area because at my age I am not so good at driving straight through. While in Phoenix I am going to visit a cheese shop that has been recommended by a friend (not on this forum), Petit Fromage is the name and supposedly it is the first true "Cheese shop" in Arizona. I'm looking forward to it. My daughter read the book and is planning a trip into the city to visit Cheesemonger's place of employment. Being a Berkeley grad, she is certainly in sympathy with his views. She has also passed it on to her son (age 17 today) who likes autobiographies by people with unusual and interesting occupations, especially when food writing comes into the mix. I wish more people would read the book and join the discussion. I have downloaded some more food books, some cheese related, to my Kindle for reading during my time away from home. I have some audio books for the drive but sadly, none of the foodie books I wanted are available in that format. I'm taking my mac and have wireless so will be able to keep in touch.

egale, you can get the "refrigerator/freezer lids" for Kerr/Ball canning jars, both regular and wide-mouth. They are plastic and ideal for brine, vinegar, etc. No metal to be affected or affect the contents. Plastic jar lids

Somewhere in my pre-digital photos, I have several photos of the "March of the Chocolate Bunnies" that was in a long-defunct department store when the Topanga Plaza mall first opened back in 1966. It was a long display under a series of glass cases but apparently they did not consider the heat from the lights above the cases. While some of the bunnies were still in their original shapes, others had begun to deform and some had assumed very funny configurations. In one case one bunny looked like it was "attacking" another and one previously standing bunny was doing a backbend with its ears touching the floor of the case. As I recall, there were at least twenty bunnies in the display and it attracted a lot of attention before someone in charge realized something was wrong and had the cases covered with paper to hide the damage.

Darienne, I know Peeps are sold in some parts of Canada because I know some residents who have written about them but they are not as universally available as in the US. One person wrote that there have been incidents at the border where people trying to "smuggle" Peeps into their country were questioned about their "purpose." However the suspicious Peeps were not seized and eventually made it to their final destination near Lake Louise. In some places they have reached cult status and travelers have take photos of Peeps placed in religious shrines (in SE Asia), on a top hat (in London) and other unlikely spots. I can't find the site that had all the Peeps photos a couple of years ago, but here is one with some fun "facts." Scroll down a way... all about Peeps There is a widget for Mac computers called Peep Attack which clutters the screen with pictures of different colored Peeps.

Is this the topic for which you were searching, Kerry? Chocolate and other molds