Pam R

I didn't want to alarm anybody in my original post, but Mom also put a turkey roast (rolled boneless breast, skin on) into the oven that day -- frozen. It also turned out beautifully.

We do a lot of this at work. We make soups and freeze them in pint or quart deli containers. Some of the best ones are split pea, vegetable/beef/mushroom/bean and barley, pureed soups like carrot or sweet potato or rested bell pepper. Of course, chicken soup freezes well - the noodles aren't great, but rice or matzo balls freeze well. As long as they're kept in a really good freezer, they will be fine for months.

Thanks for the info, Eric. The label sounds good to me. I'm going to try two flavours on this order -- the pomegranate blueberry and the mango/blood orange. We don't sell a lot of drinks (though the GUS and Dr. Brown's sell well), so I chose the two flavours I'd like to try, should I have to drink all of them!

One of my suppliers is carrying Boylan Soda Pop. To pad my orders, I will often get a few cases of interesting drinks, like GUS sodas. In the past, we've ordered a couple of diet drinks and regular root beer. For those of you who like cane sugar, they still use it. But now there's a new heading on the price list: Mash. But I don't see it on the website. Have you tried a Boylan's Mash? Comes in 4 flavours -- Grapefruit Citrus Zing, Lemon Peel Ginger Root, Pomegranate Blueberry and Ripe Mango Blood Orange. They sound almost too trendy. Is it a water? Is it carbonated? Is it good?

Rona, I don't know the answer, but in Grand Forks, the post office is right by Columbia Mall -- (Click here for PO box locations and phone numbers and prices in GF). Or, there's one in Pembina, a couple of blocks from Hwy #29, but I can't tell if they have PO boxes. I just tried phoning the Grand Forks post office to ask about setting one up from here (or there) - nobody there today. I can try again on Monday.

There's a picture of one in the Feb. 11 Time magazine. 3-tier white wedding cake, splitting in half. The angry bride is standing on top, and the groom is falling down the side of the cake, along with all of his possessions (clothing, basket balls, golf clubs, etc.). There are also a few broken hearts in there for good measure. It's hard to tell what some of the decorations are made of . . some of them may be cookies.

Flat, huh? That doesn't sound good. As a kid, part of the fun was that when heated, the bubbles started popping while in the cup -- and in your face. Hrm. Doesn't sound like fun now, but back then it sure was. I picked up a 12-pack of the cherry/chocolate last week and I'm drinking the one now. I like it, but after this box I don't think I'll need another one for a while.

Gorgeous is right! Have you . . used it? I think I'd be scared to cut on it . .

Would seem so, but it worked really well. Very tender and not at all dry.

Sorry, no pictures. I didn't have my camera yesterday and I ran errands on my way to work this morning -- by the time I got in she had sliced and packaged the roast (for frozen dinners). I've never used a pressure cooker -- maybe somebody else knows about it and frozen meat. There is never any living with her. Dammit when she's right.

If you look at Fleischmann's website, at the bottom right hand corner, the green unsalted spread in a tub is non-dairy. eta: I don't think I've ever seen their sticks here, and I don't know about them.

Earth Balance and Smart Balance are vegan (parve). Fleishmann's has one that contains no dairy products, but I haven't seen it in a long time. Then there are brands like Migdal, Farm's Creamery, Mother's and Mehadrin -- with the exception of Farm's Creamery, they are made for the kosher market. Non dairy-cheeses is another topic, but tofutti makes slices and cream cheese and sour cream. There are others, but I haven't tried them.

Right - if it says Parve it contains no whey. Many margarines are dairy and it used to be hard to find one that wasn't. Rebecca, you can only have so many angel food cakes. Sometimes you want a brownie or a pie crust.

OK. We took it out when the internal temp was 145. Cooked for 3 1/2 hours at 450 and 400 for another hour. This is a shoulder roast, not a rib roast and we're not looking for rare or even medium rare here. I didn't realize that she had covered it after adding some water to the pan. We sliced a couple of slices off the end -- it worked. Really, really well. Moist and incredibly tender (could be one of the most tender shoulder roasts I've had). Lots of juice which will make a great gravy. I'm astonished.

It's not dried out yet, but it's still cooking. It went into a 425 oven, and has developed a nice crust. The very centre was, er, chilly about an hour ago. For the record -- I said don't do it. Mom/boss wanted to try it.

We get most of our meat frozen. There are just no alternatives. So this morning in the kitchen at work we had a discussion (argument maybe?) about cooking a frozen roast -- that is, pulling it out of the freezer, seasoning, placing in a hot oven and cooking it right away. So now there's a 10 or 11 lb. beef shoulder in the oven. Have you done it? What were the results? Would you do it again? Any hints?

I haven't been thrilled with any of the whole wheat pasta I've tried. Any recommendations for a good brand of dried whole-wheat pasta? If I can find it at the local grocery store, great -- but not necessary.

I don't know about the 'odd taste and greasy mouthfeel' issue. Sure, some of them are horrible. But some of them are pretty good. There are certain brands that I wouldn't touch. But I think a lot of people who don't like margarine would be surprised be the results when using it. In fact, I'm not sure I could tell the difference in some recipes if there was a side-by-side test. I'm not talking about an item where the butter would be the star or highlight of a recipe, but in some baked goods or savoury applications, I think it could be hard to tell. On toast, I would never choose margarine over butter.

But what will you use to bake the cake and make the buttercream for the dessert following the steak main?

I don't think she's alone. I think there are people who feel that certain recipes work best with margarine. I want to hear about those.

Butter is kosher -- but if you're using meat in a meal, in any course, then dairy products can't be used at all in any dish or course of that meal. If it's a dairy meal, butter is fine.

I feel like I'm outting myself here. As you read through the forums, you might get a general sense of anti-margarine feelings. Many might suggest using butter, lard, olive oil, or another fat instead. All great suggestions, but there are times when that doesn't work. This obviously does not apply to the majority, but for anybody who keeps kosher or needs to adhere to the kashrut laws for any reason, butter or lard just won't work. If a meal will contain meat at any point, no dairy products can be used -- at any point. And there are some recipes that don't lend themselves to olive oil use. Next, lactose intolerance. Same issue as above - can't use dairy, fluid oils and/or lard won't work in a recipe. Margarine (or shortening) is called for. Surely we can see that margarine has a place in some (not all, just some) kitchens. If it helps, I'm fairly picky about my margarine. I've posted this in other topics, but my choice is always Earth Balance. It's non-hydrogenated, no trans-fats, good for vegan diets and the sticks are great for baking. Please tell me I'm not alone. What recipes do you use that call for margarine -- and don't work with anything else? What situations call for it?

I just got a copy of Vegetable Love last week - haven't cooked anything from it yet, but I have started going through it and the post-it notes are going on lots of pages.

We sell chicken bones, wings, necks, etc. So I just grab a bunch when I want soup/stock. If we had feet, I'd add them for a really gelatinous stock. But I sometimes add some legs (younger, for roasting) and simmer until the meat is just done. Pull the meat off and return the bones to the pot. For something like a knish filling, you'll process or grind the meat and add some potato and caramelized onions -- and the cooked to death stuff works just fine.

I did a side-by-side test. A pot with chicken bones, necks and wings vs. a pot with soup chicken (mature, stewing). They tasted almost identical. But, we use chicken with the meat to make soup at work and then use the meat to make chicken pot pies, kreplach or meat knishes.