Pam R

Brilliant! I use dry cottage cheese too, and I never thought of it. But it makes perfect sense -- just another type of dough. Thanks.

Anybody have a good, kid friendly cheese filling? Ayana's recipe looks great, but I'm not sure the feta would be a big hit with the 6-year old kids who will be cooking. Any other easy fillings that kids would like and be able to assemble (with help)?

You have to go under the assumption that each person will take some of everything you serve. When we do things like potato salad and coleslaw, we make about 4 oz per person. I'd rather there be a little too much than not enough.

Good question. When I've made them myself, I've never gotten them really crisp - though slicing them very thin and soaking in cold water before frying yields a very crisp chip. A few weeks ago I had some at a burger place, and they were light and crispy and seemed to be coated in some starch. What would you use? Cornstarch?

My convections at work have hot spots, but otherwise I like using convection. I have one at home which I rarely use because I don't do much cooking at home -- but it's nice to have it there in case you want it. You don't have to use it if you prefer not to, but why not have it as an option if you can? And when I bake meringues, I'd choose convection every time.

This weekend was the Pancake House one day and Stella's on Grant the next. The P.H. was fine. All I have to say is that Stella's multi-grain toast with their 'jam' may be one of the happiness inducing things around. It seems to me that I could probably make a similar 'jam' pretty simply, but this is much easier and it's a convenient location for me -- though the wait to be seated can be long. And the omelet I had was pretty good too. Has anybody been to Fresh Cafe? I've heard really good things about it.

The emails have started coming from Crampton's Market again. They're open for the season and have local fiddleheads (for the next week or so), asparagus, rhubarb and wild morels. I haven't made it to the store yet, but hope to get there this weekend to see what else they have.

Check with your state government -- start with the agriculture department. My province has test kitchens and labs that do all the testing and a lot of the tests are provided free of charge, or with very minimal charges.

I have never found kosher beef or lamb to be dry and tasteless when I cook it. I think it's more a case of the cook than the product. If you think about it, kosher meat is just brined (yes, some of the excess blood is extracted, but it can still be nice and juicy). Finding a kosher NY Strip isn't really possible in most places. It's a cut from the back section of the cow which is considered non-kosher. So, the same thing goes for a lamb. If you want a whole one, kosher isn't gong to cut it for you -- only the front sections are kosher. My kosher lamb supplier also does halal -- their kosher stuff is fabulous, so I'd bet their halal stuff is too.

Do you have Bulk Barns near you? The one here carries freeze-dried berries, and they've been very good about special ordering things for me, so they might be willing to sell it to you by the case, if you wanted.

Domino sells what they call brownulated sugar - it's a free flowing brown sugar. Is that similar to what you're looking for or was the product closer to a confectioner's/icing/powdered sugar?

I don't drink a lot of carbonated drinks, but I can't stop myself -- I have to try the new PC flavours when they appear at my local SuperStore. Last year it was blackcurrant -- didn't love it. Some other interesting flavours are cranberry, lemon, pomegranate, green apple, lemon -- most of them available in a sugar-free version. Some have been better than others. Last night I tried the new Lychee flavour. I like it. A lot. Anybody else trying these out? Do you like them or do you think they should lose the formula for some of them?

We're sorry to announce that after many years of service, demands in her personal life have left little time for eGullet Society volunteering and have forced Susan Fahning to step down as a host. She's promised that this means we'll see more of her posts in the forums. Please share your thanks for Susan's work and your food- and drink- related reminiscences here. I'll start. When I first started volunteering for the Society, Susan was the first person to send me a PM and offer her assistance. Over the last 2+ years we've worked together hosting the Kitchen Forums and working on special projects late into the night. Without her working alongside me, those evenings wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable. As many members know she was always happy to help people learn how to work with RecipeGullet and of course, for over a year now she's done a stupendous job as eG Foodblog Czarina. Susan has worked tirelessly on a number of projects and has contributed so much to the Society. Thank you, Susan. We're all looking forward to seeing you posting in the forums as an emeritus staff member.

I wouldn't dissolve the regular stuff. Ask them if they have a spreadable version. I've used Achva, Elite and Gefen. I can't find any of them online, but click here for Puriva halvah spread. That's just an example and more Googling came up with more examples. Or, another option would be the halvah threads (sometimes called hairy or airy -- I think that's due to translation issues). It breaks into long, thin threads of halvah that might be nice in a mousse.

I don't have a recipe, but I wonder if you could work out something with spreadable halvah rather than crumbled. I'm thinking it might work the same way chocolate does in a mousse.

Randi, I saw and ad for the McD's chicken sandwiches on a local TV station last week. I don't know if they're being offered everywhere -- sometimes Winnipeg is a test location (anybody remember McD's Pizza?), but it's probably on it's way if it's not near you yet.

Has anybody tried creme brulee with coconut milk rather than dairy? I'd like a non-dairy version.

That's the problem - nobody has seen it powdered before! At least not my customers. To be honest, I ordered the jars of amba, but for some reason I got the bags instead. I'll take a picture of it when I'm at work.

Finally made it to the store today and they were selling for $1.70 a piece. They weren't close to the ones I saw in Vegas, but not terrible for the price.

Thanks Daniel. I wonder if it's as simple as mixing some of the powder with water. I've asked some of my Israeli customers and they don't know what to do with it either.

I've had amba sauce or paste in a jar. Now I have amba powder and don't know what to do with it. I have a couple of questions. 1. What is it exactly? Mango? Curry? 2. What do I do with the powder? Can it be easily transformed into the jarred stuff?

From Western Living:

I haven't tried it but Eden Foods has an organic tamari on their list.

I went looking for artichokes a couple of weeks ago and nobody here had any. But generally, they're available at around $3 - no matter the season. Last week I was in a grocery store in Las Vegas and noticed the artichokes specifically because I couldn't get them at home. They were gorgeous - a good size and nice and plump - and I think they were just over $4 a piece. Haven't been to the store here since I've been home but I will be looking for them tomorrow.

Has anybody actually tried lamb? I have several lamb shoulders in the freezer . . .