Little Colleen

I like a buttermilk type batter, with a bit of orange zest. Alternatively, a little vanilla extract and some freshly grated nutmeg is nice too. I do agree with Alex, though...berries on the top rather than in the batter itself does retain the purity of the pancake itself and I am increasingly leaning that way.

lol...i doubt there is any efficient way to scoop out the stuff in the heads... but if you enjoy the way you are having it now it sounds perfectly good...perhaps you could come up with a more appetizing way of describing it than "sucking their brains out", though.....

Black Tree! I can't believe that hasn't been mentioned!

I work in the medical field & was reading about this recently...I can't give you the answer but I can tell you who can. Dr. Hugh Sampson (allergist) at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital is presently doing research on this topic and is working on developing a blood test that he hopes can be used commercially to determine who can safely tolerate heated milk (since not all milk-allergic kids can)....also allergist Dr. Rbt Wood and research nurse Kim Mudd at Baltimore Johns Hopkins are also working with this problem, and have even been able to increase exposure such that some kids have eventually even been able to tolerate milk that hasn't been heated. I am sure if you were to contact these people they would be glad to give you some info; most researchers are more interested in being helpful than secretive. Interesting ... they think it has to do with the way the proteins change shape as the milk is heated such that the immune systems do not recognize them as an allergen. If you do find out what temp/time combination is essential I too would be interested in hearing....!

Not a problem! That's perfect! That is to be desired; it will be liquified when you heat it for future uses. It is obviously rich in protein; so much better than purchased stocks for just this reason.

A gluten-intolerant friend of mine makes desserts such as meringues (you could add fruit there, such as pavlovas..) and macaroons.....a chocolate fondue would be great also -- fun with a group and you could have a mix of poundcake and fruits to dip....

I have had that happen recently, and after a few patient hours I threw in a little sugar - this usually speeds things up. As well I sometimes add a splash of balsalmic vinegar which colours (and flavours!) things up nicely.

this is interesting. I just made some yesterday following my grandma's recipe, which uses a pressed pastry, tamping & docking. I have been making them every Christmas (it's a must) for a long time now, and altho there is some bloating they are not bad this way. I will try the weights, don't know why I never thot of that except that grandma didn't do it that way... Otherwise I like to use something else, like layers of phyllo but that's pretty fussy given the number you are making.

no offense to anyone, but a "chef" is hardly on the level or Dr or Prof or President... Usually prefixes like that are used for academic respect, to be a great "chef" is more an art is it not?

caramelized onions are a no-brainer -- easy, delicious in many variations with many different things (in a tart, on a pizza, atop a meat/chicken etc). On the sweet side, whipped cream on anything, and chocolate in any form with anything.

no, the magnetic stir bars do not really exert much force; however they do come in various sizes and can be turned to stir at different speeds, so you can spin them fast enough to create a pretty deep vortex in less viscous liquids. I would imagine the most viscous thing you could stir might be an average-viscosity gravy for example, nothing heavier. They do just lay on the bottom and spin pretty effortlessly, and if you try to spin them too fast they just jump around inside the liquid uselessly.

I have used just this very thing at work....I'm a chemist. I've often thought it would be great to have one at home, in the kitchen -- particularly for the magnetic stirring. I doubt if the surface is any better than anything else available to the home cook however.

A baker I know insists that only bottled water be used for making bread (something about chlorination being a problem for the yeast?). So I do the same at home, but otherwise use tap water.

I keep curry leaves frozen, never had any problems or shrivelling. Excellent option.

Wow! we love fennel. One of our favorite salads is fennel and apple shaved or cut very thinly, tossed with some tarragon, lemon juice and oil. This salad also transports well. We also slice it up and toss with some oil & salt and roast it for a side veg (esp with something like pork), or use it in a broth for mussels. My Italian friend says they just eat it raw (like celery).