andiesenji

I buy honey crystals in the "economy" size from Prepared Pantry because they have free shipping for all orders over $50.00 and I always buy more than that. (Usually a lot more!) http://www.preparedpantry.com/sugars-sweeteners-honey.aspx Is is lighter than sugar and takes up more volume if measuring that way so I sometimes have to test a recipe first (usually preparing half a batch of bread dough or cake batter to test) to see if I have to adjust the amount of sweetener. (They also have molasses crystals which impart a wonderful flavor to baked goods.)

I have two or three cookie recipes made with honey. This one is excellent and there is a follow-up comment about tweaking it to make it more like the Polish pierniczki and there is a Hungarian version that adds a dollop of raspberry jame (similar to a thumb-print cookie) prior to baking. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/honey-cookies/Detail.aspx It has a cake-like texture and is perfect with tea, in fact the Hungarian version are called tea cakes. (I used to have a housekeeper from Hungary who was a mine of information about central EU recipes.) There are a number of honey lebkucken recipes on the internet but I came across this one last year and prepared a batch. Note: There is a week delay while the batter is "maturing" before the cookies can be formed and baked. Unlike the first recipe, these cookies do have brown sugar as well as the honey and the flavorings tend to overwhelm the honey flavor but the cookies are excellent. http://www.grouprecipes.com/34908/lebkucken-honey-cookies.html and there is this one. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/almond_honey_butter_cookies.html

I have a filter system (Puremaster) on the main water line coming into my house because the water here contains a lot of minerals and it tends to collect in the pipes, in kettles and would leave water spots on glass and stainless steel. In particular, I used to notice that greens cooked in the water would often develop a grayish color which was unappetizing. Since the installation of the filter system I have noticed that coffees and teas taste better, there is little or no buildup of precipitates in vessels in which water has been boiled and the "strainers" in the faucets do not have to be removed and the particulates washed out - as was a monthly chore prior to the filtering of the water. Another reason was that when I had the tankless water heaters installed, the plumber recommended a filtering system to prolong the life of the water heater. The tank type water heaters rarely lasted more than 4 years because they would "silt-up" so rapidly that within three years, a 50-gallon heater would only have 2/3rds of the original capacity and weighed considerably more than when first installed. My studio is separate and has a separate water line so there I have a Crown Berkey water purifier which produces excellent water. It has to be filled by hand but that is no problem to have water that tastes great and will be handy in case of a disruption of water supply after an earthquake. The inline water filter will help but to be extra sure I will use water from the Berkey.

No tea yesterday but I made up for it today. First thing this morning I brewed a pot of Mangalam Assam full-leaf. It has the malty flavor so pronounced in Assam teas and is rather sweet. I brewed it in the TeaMate - water was 195° F., first steeping was for 3 minutes. Subsequently I brewed a second pot -same temp, for 8 minutes. I added milk and half a teaspoon of raw sugar to each cup. all of this tea consumed by noon. At three I delved through my "collection" of teas (56 as best I could count) and chose Tea of Good Tidings, yet another flavored tea from The Republic of Tea. This one used to be a seasonal tea but is now available year-round. It includes: Finest black tea leaves, juniper berries, natural flavors, orange peel, cranberries, cloves, rose petals, almonds, vanilla, black currants, blackberry leaves and cardamom seeds. Brewed in the TeaMate for 3 minutes, the aroma and taste of this tea simply reflects the season. The fruits and spices can be sensed but do not overpower the flavor of the tea. Enjoyed with milk and honey crystals.

In my opinion flax seed meal (or whole flax seeds) is one of the most underrated ingredients and one that can be used in so many foods. I began buying it in the small vacuum packages at my local health food store but was using it so rapidly that I began buying golden flax in bulk from Barry Farms and grinding my own meal. (It is a bit too oily to produce a fine flour.) I add it to bread, rolls and quick bread doughs, pancakes and waffles. It is a terrific addition, after toasting in the oven, to pumpkin bread or carrot, zucchini, etc., loaves and also add it to my fruit cake batters. I add it to my hot cereal prior to cooking - I often toast it first. And I add it to the brown rice mixtures I like. I agree about the celery root, which I use often. Cooked celery itself is extremely underrated. I often prepare braised celery when I have some meat braising (long and slow) in the oven. Even with stripping out the tougher fibers, it takes close to two hours to get it just right, so it maintains its shape but takes on a buttery internal texture. I first brown it gently in butter with a little olive oil, just until the outer portions begin to look just a bit translucent, then add enough white wine and perhaps a bit of vegetable stock to just cover the bottom of the pot, cover it tightly and put it into the oven at 275-300° F.

Kerry, recipezaar insists you can make a roux in the microwave. I've had this bookmarked for years, but still have never tried it. Probably worth a shot! I do a lot of cooking in the microwave but can't quite see that a good roux can result without some degradation of the fats. I have had limited success with using the Stir-Chef in a heavy-bottomed copper pot for the long, middle part of the cooking but did keep a close watch and removed the appliance and did the finish with my favorite wide, wooden paddle that fits nicely into the "corners" of the pan and scrapes the bottom evenly. It seems to me that it might be possible to cook the roux in the TMX to the point reached by Kerry and then transferring it to a regular pan and doing the finish that way. It would certainly remove a lot of the labor from the process and would allow one to do many other tasks while the machine was operating. I seldom prepare a roux just because while keeping an eye on it, I manage to ruin other things or forget to do something that is critical at a particular time. (It is annoying because I am usually very well organized.)

Amazingly, my Thermomix arrived today. I am shocked at the rapidity of shipping from Canada, however it was from B.C. so at least it did not have to make the diagonal trek... I have read the manual, carefully... I learn from the experience of others. Now I just have to decide on my debut performance with the machine. I have delved into the recipe book and have downloaded a printed a stack of recipes but am leaning toward this one: http://thermomix-er.blogspot.com/2009/08/thermomix-onion-jam.html I was actually planning on preparing a batch of onion confit tomorrow because I am down to the last little dab in the jar in my refrigerator. This sounds soooo good and so easy, although it is a rather small batch and I just purchased one of the enormous bags of onions at Sam's Club. (Same as the ones at Costco.) I will eventually have to do something with the "excess" onions but this gives me more latitude - I am envisioning several small batches with differing "flavors" or additions. So far I have simply been admiring the sleek design of the machine. Incidentally, I unboxed and set it up on the center island in my kitchen and when my basenji came in the house his hackles went up on his back, he folded his ears back and walked stiff-legged toward the "stranger," growling the entire time. Finally I convinced him it was not going to attack and he trotted off but is still not too sure what this thing is doing in the kitchen. This incident was almost as bad as week-before-last when a neighbor put a large pumpkin on my back deck.

Sounds like a winner! And lots of fun. However, for me a week wouldn't affect me much as I just "invaded" Trader Joe's Monday morning and loaded up on a good supply of necessities as well as a lot of goodies. I also hit the Winco for bulk grains, flour and pasta and my egg man showed up later that evening with a basket full of lovely eggs, including a dozen guinea eggs (something new for him). Plus I shopped at Smart & Final on Saturday for milk and cream - they carry the manufacturer's cream in half-gallon cartons. I am set for a month at least. I hadn't shopped for quite a while and only did this significant excursion because I had decided to order a Thermomix and wanted to be prepared for its arrival with sufficient supplies for the recipes I had already downloaded and printed.

Bulb fennel (Florence fennel or finnochio) is tricky to grow in the best of conditions - I know, I have grown it with varying results, mostly poor. Your plant is probably the common fennel with the feathery fronds which are lovely tucked inside whole fish, particularly the fatty type fish, or can be substituted for dill in preparing gravlax. You can gather the seed heads at any stage from soft and green to ripe and dry. Crush them fresh or dry them and crush and grind to use in breads, cookies, or in chili or other strongly flavored stews. Great with ham, very complimentary to sausage. Fennel is a versatile and very hardy plant, as delicate as the fronds are, they stay green even after frosts, as long as it isn't a hard frost - below 22 degrees here.

I brewed a second pot of tea from the Banaspaty Assam wet leaves, brewing it at 195° F for 8 minutes (in my TeaMate) and this brew is even better than the first brewing. It has an extremely long finish with absolutely no trace of bitterness.

I've purchased from Sunnyland and found their pecans okay but not as flavorful as I like. I do get a lot of pecans from one of my dad's friends in southern New Mexico, so I don't have to always buy them.

I had coffee to start the day but just brewed a pot of Assam from Banaspaty tea estate, FTGFOP1 Organic tea. I like it with milk and honey crystals - it has an assertive quality but is low in tannin. From Upton Tea Imports.

Where are you located? You have to figure in shipping charges. I buy a lot of nuts at a local middle eastern market that has prices that are a fraction of the cost in regular stores. I buy the big packages of walnuts and pecans at Sam's Club or Costco and if you live in an area that has a Trader Joe's, check for their specials - sometimes they will have a particular nut on special that is an excellent buy and the nuts are always very fresh. There are several excellent internet vendors but again, you have to check the shipping costs. I've ordered nuts from Krema http://www.krema.com/products.asp?dept=1009 I order from a California company http://www.fruitsstar.com/ which is cheaper for me since it is "local" and also from http://www.nutsonline.com/

One of the most comprehensive "collection" of various types of peppercorns and descriptions of their properties can be found at Pepper-Passion http://www.pepper-passion.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=45 I have ordered from this vendor many times and have yet to be disappointed. They offer sampler packs which gives a selection of different types at very reasonable prices. Salt Traders http://www.salttraders.com/Categories.bok?category=Gourmet+Peppercorn carries long pepper and also the Javanese comet's tail peppercorns and a pepper & salt combo (Pepper & Pearls) which is very nice. I am a regular customer of this vendor also. Both will send you email updates and notices of special sales/shipping and etc. For information about Chiles or capsicum varieties the best place is here: http://www.g6csy.net/chile/database.html Click on any letter and you will get a list of names with descriptions. The main page of the site is here: http://www.g6csy.net/chile/index.html if you want recipes, other information, etc.

The New Whole Grains Cookbook by Robin Asbell arrived in a box from Amazon yesterday. I have purchased several new cookbooks this year but can't recall all of them right now. I did buy Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman but got it for my Kindle. I have several cookbooks in the Kindle, including some that I have in regular format but wanted to be able to take them with me without hauling a bunch of extra weight so this system is ideal for me. I have really enjoyed reading through Ratio. It is especially interesting to learn exactly how and why something happens with a particular cooking process. I have McGee's books but this book condenses the information into an easily understood and succinct format.

I did finally, after more than 20 minutes of fiddling, figure out how to get a list of my posted recipes. Still haven't figured out how to pull up the list of topics to which I have subscribed. I ordered the TMX from this site: http://thermomixbimby.com/where-to-buy-thermomix They are in Canada and are offering free shipping for the next couple of days.

Unfortunately I am allergic to raw alcohol, although I can use it if cooked long enough so I must stick to tea. I brewed a pot of Adagio's Oriental Spice http://www.adagio.com/flavors/oriental_spice.html?SID=836eda82bad473c542cc62f8ad4787b0 which produces a very pleasant tea for evening sipping. It is different from many spiced teas in that it does not include cloves, which tend to overwhelm some teas. Drinking this with half & half and sweetened with honey crystals purchased from Prepared Pantry (33 oz only $9.69 - it's about 6 cups and I use it a lot in baking) Fortunately for me, caffeine does not affect me in the least. I can drink copious amounts of tea and sleep with no problems.

This morning awakened early - a residual effect from the early alarm yesterday morning - and not being able to return to sleep, got up and brewed a pot of Mango Ceylon from Republic of Tea. I like all of their teas and this is one of my favorites. It is very aromatic and is sweet enough on its own that I don't need to add a sweetener, just a little milk, or in this case, half & half because I emptied the milk jug last night and didn't want to go into the very cold pantry to get a fresh carton from the big fridge. The overnight low was 36° F. and there is no heat in the pantry. Brrrrrrr.

I ordered from this place: http://thermomixbimby.com/where-to-buy-thermomix/thermomix-bimby-in-usa-canada I filled out the inquiry form and had an email reply within a few hours. I also phoned and the person to whom I spoke was very nice.

Congratulations, girl. Now when it arrives, wrap it up and put it away until Christmas. NOT! Right! Like that is going to happen....

I have all of those cookbooks - from my grandmother - and they all contain interesting recipes for foods that have been somewhat "forgotten" or fallen out of fashion. I can't tell you how many times I prepared the coconut haystack candies from the last book. Yummy.

One of my slabs was the top on a decrepit chest I found at a thrift store for $15.00. The chest was turned into firewood as it was beyond repair. The marble is a very pretty rose and white. There was a chunk broken off one corner but I just cut the end off to square it up.(with my rock saw) As noted above, it doesn't cost much to get a slab trimmed to the size you want.

I ordered the Thermomix this morning as they are offering free shipping until 11/15. Being a "thrifty" soul, I figured saving the shipping charges counts toward my frugality index!!

I ordered the TM31 this morning as they are offering free shipping to the US until the 15th so I figured I might as well take advantage of it. Now I just have to sit on the edge of my chair until it arrives....... I think my first try will be with my dulce de leche recipe - from my neighbor, as the amount (1-quart) should not be a problem in the machine. I really HATE this new format. I had such difficulty getting to my recipe in what seems to be a pale imitation of recipe gullet and wish there was some way to at least get that back the way it was. Doing a search for Dulce De Leche kept taking me to the discussion forum. Finally, after several tries I got to the recipe. This is an annoying waste of time. I would like to be able to pull up a list of the recipes I have posted, as in the previous format, but apparently there is either some trick to it that I have yet to discover, or it doesn't exist in any workable process.

I'm up early this morning as I am scheduled for a mammogram fairly early. To ease my way into the day I've brewed a pot of Keemun Rhapsody from Adagio, one of the "superior mao feng" grade teas. As noted by Adagio, it has a hint of chocolate with a faint smoky presence that makes it a perfect tea for autumn. It doesn't have the malty flavor of my favorite Assams or the deeper winey notes of a Yunnan but is just perfect for an eye-opening morning cuppa! A 12 oz mug with a tablespoon of milk and scant teaspoon of my Splenda/sugar blend produces a perfect cup of comfort.