andiesenji

Back in the 19th century when the GEM pans were introduced, forerunner of the "muffin tin" the cakes whether made as "sponge" cakes, leavened with beaten egg whites or what we know as "muffins" leavened with baking powder or a mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar, were called pattycakes. That was what they were called when I was a child in the 1940s and I never heard the term "cupcake" till years later. "Muffins" were what we now call English Muffins or being in the south, corn muffins. Muffins were not sweet. My great grandmother (born in 1844, died in 1949 nearly 105) kept journals about cooking and baking and recipes she collected. She often mentioned "pattycakes" when writing about little individually baked cakes, some plain, some filled with custard or jam for afternoon tea and some "breakfast" pattycakes which were usually more substantial and probably like the muffins of today with ground nuts. Before the Gem pans were invented, small cakes like these were baked in rings placed on a baking sheet and the excess that escaped around the rings had to be trimmed off before the cakes could be iced or frosted or were baked in small cups or ramekins. My great grandmother had a recipe for "Fairy pattycakes" that noted they were baked in 3 and 4-inch rings and the smaller ones stacked on the larger with a jam filling in between and the entire construction iced and decorated.

Rutabaga chips or "crisps" - as they are called in the UK are also very good. I prepare a medley of -one each smallish- potato (recently got some purple potatoes) rutabaga, sweet potato and (half a) yuca (aka cassava) by peeling and slicing very thin, soaking in ice water for 45 minutes, drying very carefully and deep frying them. They should be consumed soon after frying as they retain the crunchiness for no more than a couple of hours and then tend to get tough. Each is just a bit different in flavor to make them interesting and I season them only with salt and pepper but if you like the various other seasonings now popular they work too.

Rutabaga is really nice in stews with pork belly. You could add also some raisins towards the end to have nice balance between the earthiness if the rutabaga and the sweetness of the raisins I like it and the sweetness contributes nicely to other vegetables and is exceptionally good in spicy combinations. If you like curry, try cutting the rutabaga into "matchsticks" or "batonnets" and preparing them this way and use a serving as a BASE on which you serve chicken curry - or whatever curry you like. This root vegetable has the advantage of being LOW in carbs - 1/3 the carbs in potatoes.

Argan oil could ruin me if I used it as much as I'd like - it is a really great ingredient. Do you know what the difference is between the cosmetic and the culinary types? The culinary type is from roasted Argan nuts - that are inside a fruit. The pressed raw oil that is used in cosmetics does not have the flavor that is so desirable. I made a pound of butter this morning and to half of it added some Argan oil after pressing out all the liquid. It is delicious! If I ever make a pound of butter I'll try it! Butter is really very easy to make if you have a stand mixer - my demo uses a Thermomix which breaks the cream in 4 minutes instead of 8 to 10 minutes but otherwise it is exactly the same. The flavor is so much better than commercial butter. And you don't need a butter mold, just shape it by hand. Butter process.

Not just in foil, I first put it in a glass container with a vacuum-sealed lid and wrapped that in foil. There were no problems with the dehydrator and it runs off a solar panel so no electric cost. It was as moist and soft as the commercial stuff but did not have the flavor. I bought the best garlic (a hard-neck variety) from an organic grower but the flavor just was not as complex as I like.

Here's a link that was post a year or so ago. Black Garlic process. I tried it in my Excalibur dehydrator - the results were just so-so so I am buying mine because I do not need a large supply.

Argan oil could ruin me if I used it as much as I'd like - it is a really great ingredient. Do you know what the difference is between the cosmetic and the culinary types? The culinary type is from roasted Argan nuts - that are inside a fruit. The pressed raw oil that is used in cosmetics does not have the flavor that is so desirable. I made a pound of butter this morning and to half of it added some Argan oil after pressing out all the liquid. It is delicious!

It's not real new but I have been using a lot of Argan oil (the roasted culinary type) - I used to use it with couscous, etc., but lately have used it on so many different things. A "finishing" oil on pasta (especially good with duck and truffle ravioli I made a few days ago), on omelets, on braised rather bland vegetables and even on baked potatoes. The flavor seem to enhance so many things. It's not cheap but to me it is worth every penny...

I'm aware of all these and so are beekeepers but the big problems are from the "engineered" plants such as the GMO alfalfa (which Monsanto began planting in widespread locations a year before it was approved) and which kills bees when they feed on the blossoms and pollen from the plants has killed other plants, such as milkweed on which monarch butterflies feed. I just want to KNOW what is in my food. And I like to know if a farm is using "sustainable" farming methods. I support organic farmers, local, when possible.

The "killer bees" were from Africa, thus the name "Africanized honeybees" that were imported to South America for greater honey production. The DNA studies can tell the difference between bee species and can tell when bee DNA systems have been altered by the introduction of chemicals contained in specific foods (royal jelly). This is NOT the same as the problems beekeepers have with unrestricted use of insecticides and fungicides on crops that are not supposed to be sprayed or otherwise treated. A lawsuit has been brought against the EPA and one is in the works against the USDA. If there is a massive die-off of honeybees (and these insecticides are killing other pollinating insects) the U.S. economy will be devastated - California will be a DISASTER as will Washington, Oregon, in the west and the south will be in even worse shape than it is now, not to mention the "apple, cherry and berry states." I own property in New Mexico that is leased to a pecan grower - it will be worthless without bees, although he has established some Mason bees in the orchards, they are not as active as honeybees and are solitary, not hive dwellers. I have attended two town hall meetings and heard a republican representative makes the most IDIOTIC comment I have ever heard when questioned about this burgeoning problem: "People can live without honey..." This is a person who doesn't understand the first think about agriculture but sits on the Ag committee in Congress.

Loss of bee colonies IS affecting crops in California - Especially the ALMOND crops in the San Joaquin Valley. Two local beekeepers, who rent their hives to pollinate fruit orchards, have THIRTY % fewer bee colonies than they had five years ago and the hives are not multiplying because there are fewer viable queens to transfer to a new hive and fewer workers to go with her. Honey production is a profitable sideline but their main income comes from pollinating crops. California growers require at least one and a half MILLION bee colonies each pollinating season and right now there are less than 600,000 available for placement. Beekeepers are trying to import more viable hives from other states but several are in even worse shape than California (Texas and New Mexico - for the pecan orchards, for instance). The problem began on a small, fairly isolated basis but after some big corporations began importing a "royal jelly dietary supplement" that is supposed to increase honey production, for bees from China, it spread more rapidly, beginning in 2008. The local bee guys have never used it but DNA testing has shown changes that means their bees have been exposed to it. I used to see huge numbers of bees when I went out to view the desert wildflowers in this area but last year there were not nearly as many as I saw in the past. My rosemary bushes also do not seem to be attracting as many honeybees - most of the ones now working the flowers are "orchard bees" or "mason bees" ...

I agree. A local restaurant serves 3-egg omelets and I always have to spend time convincing the server that two eggs is more than enough and I am willing to pay the same price... I hate to see wasted food and I simply can't consume that much. I am reminded of Canter's Deli on Fairfax in L.A. They put enough meat on their sandwiches for THREE sandwiches. There is no way I can eat a sandwich with the pastrami piled 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick. They were "supersizing" sandwiches decades before there were "fast-food" places.

What frightens me is that GMO crops with the "built-in insecticides" kill honeybees and we NEED honeybees. What Monsanto has done to independent bee colony researchers should be CRIMINAL but so far they have gotten away with it. Without pollinating insects there will be famine on an unprecedented level.

I have the Magimix toaster - purchased because I COLLECT toasters, usually vintage and antiques, but some odd new varieties. I like a few smoked foods but not all. I often "cheat" and add strongly brewed Lapsang Souchong to give a slightly smoky flavor to certain foods that are ENHANCED by the smoky flavor. I have a BIG objection to GMO foods and I hate the idea that state governments and some in the federal government want to DENY us the RIGHT TO KNOW what is in our foods. It is already a chore to have to read the complicated labels on foods but being able to interpret the signals that what is listed is not clearly identified, is HORRIBLE.

I have a Cuisinart that boils even when set on low. I rarely use it. A few months ago I got a Tiger combination rice cooker, warmer, steamer and SLOW COOKER that unlike all the others is MADE IN JAPAN and it works great. (JAH-T18U) capacity is 10 cups so it has a smaller capacity than most slow cookers but is fine for me - It makes more than enough for two or three generous portions that can easily be stretched to four. The controls are easy and it cooks on LOW. I got it for $189.00 on an Amazon "gold box special" as I had it in my shopping cart. Regular price is 199.00 I have an induction rice cooker but I cracked the liner in my favorite slow cooker and thought I would give this combination unit a try since I don't want to purchase anything made in China. I've cooked beans in it and they came out perfect. Used it for a batch of very thick, meaty spare ribs, also excellent. I also used it for a batch of dulce de leche and it took a bit less time than my old slow cooker.

You can prepare these stuffed artichokes and after they are cooked, you can cool them, wrap individually in plastic wrap, freeze and store in a jumbo ziplock plastic bag. Remove from freezer 1 hour prior to serving - nuke in microwave for 2 minutes, handle with care to unwrap plastic. You can check with a probe thermometer to be sure they are hot in the center (175° F) if you have a low output microwave.

My neighbor says she uses an "old" nougat recipe but in addition to the nuts adds the chopped candied fruits. Her recipe makes a softer version than the usual torrone and she found this recipe for me. She has "half" egg molds but says the nougat is easy to stick together into a whole egg shape before it cools completely and she dips them into chocolate - they like dark chocolate - three times, allowing them to set for an hour or so between dipping to make a thicker shell and then she drizzles "strings" onto the top surface to make a flower pattern but when her kids were little did their names. She decorates them with the little colored candy discs that come in pastel "Easter" colors.

One of my neighbors (Italian) makes a "fruity nougat filling" made with the candied fruits that are in spumoni ice cream. It doesn't get hard unless exposed to air. The chocolate coating keeps it soft enough to slice - she makes eggs that are about 4 inches long.

One of my neighbors bought a Cuisinart, I think I wrote about it last year, she described it as a "whole tree full of lemons" the heat regulator was not reliable and then one SUNDAY morning, when they had guests, the door fell off. They took it back to the store as it was only four or five months old and got a run around until they made a lot of noise. They got the Waring Pro Toaster oven and Toaster combo because they have 7 children and this way they could retire the separate toaster and make enough toast for everyone. It has a hefty footprint but has worked very well for them and it has taken a beating from their kids. Her sister got one a few months after they did and had a problem with the toaster lever - took it back to the store (Sears) and no problem given a new one which has worked fine. Amazon has it.

Friser? Maybe you mean "plier" (plee-aa) but that is a folded edge like on a pasty. It's been forty years since I took a course in French cookery, and I recall few terms but these sort of stuck in my mind.

By the way. The bay leaves grown in Turkey are usually stored for many months before being shipped to other countries. McCormick sources all its bay leaves from Turkey and has a huge facility there. After shipping to the U.S. the leaves may be stored for months or years prior to bottling and then stored many more months before being shipped to retailers. I have been growing my own for forty + years. I brought one bush with me when I moved up here from the San Fernando Valley, although I was told it would not survive outside during the winters when we have very hard freezes. Obviously mine have thrived and acclimated to the altitude and climate. Occasionally some leaves will have brown edges from freezing but otherwise the plants have done fine and this winter we had single-digit temps.

I have two stands of sweet bay, bay laurel, Laurus nobilis etc. The leaves labeled "Turkish bay" are exactly the same. It is easy to dry the leaves, cut a branch, break the leaves off the stem and put them in a wire colander and leave them on the counter till dry enough to break easily. Then store them in a tightly sealed jar. I simply pick a few every week and always have enough in various degrees from fresh to dry - I simmer the fresh in milk for custards, etc., use the dry in meat dishes, pot roasts, stews, etc. Do not use California bay in cooking, it is a totally different plant and is not suitable for culinary use. It is often sold in Mexican markets because it is much cheaper than sweet bay and is often contaminated because it is gathered in places where the soil is contaminated. I just took these photos and picked these leaves. As they dry the flavor will become more concentrated and stronger. When fresh use three or four where you would use one when dried. This was supposed to be a "dwarf" variety - it is 15 feet tall.

I didn't post anything about knives, scraping chopped stuff, etc. I only posted about hamburger buns...

There are so many factors that affect the outcome that it is difficult to say. I have had one batch of vanilla beans produce a dark color and acceptable flavor within 4 months but the next batch, from the very same vendor and the beans with the same appearance and feel, took twice the time for a similar result. Temperature is also a factor. The flavors extract more rapidly at a higher temp but I have found that a cooler, longer period of infusing results in a "smoother" flavor.

I buy the oblong buns that are made for heartier sandwiches like French dip or "po boys" etc., And I shape the burgers the same way. Decades ago, when the Van de Kamp's restaurants were still open, they served a "longburger" exactly this way and it was very popular. One advantage, when one is adding tomatoes is that you can "shingle" a row of slices of medium-sized tomatoes and they fit and don't slice out, same with onions. Like Van de Kamps, I use full inner Romaine leaves as the lettuce, which also stays put.