CaliPoutine

*bump* I picked this up back in August because I was really curious about it. I mean, come on, who would pay 18.00 for a cake mix? 3.99 sounds more reasonable. These mixes are manufactured by Nordicware and are advertised as "all natural". I picked up two more of these mixes at Marshall's last week. Both were on clearance for 3 bucks. One is the infamous tunnel of fudge and a cinnamon swirl. I planned to make one of those last night but then I saw that this butterscotch mix had a use by date of Jan 07, I thought I better make this one instead. This is the first mix I've ever seen that has a two step recipe, cream butter with a sugar packet, add dry packet alternately with milk. The streusel is mixed with 4tbl of butter and placed in the middle. I'm please to say this did NOT taste like a mix. NO chemical taste whatsoever. I wont buy them again because for the amount of butter( 12tbls in cake, 4 in struesel) and eggs( 4), I could make a from scratch cake with just a tad more effort. ( measuring the flour, sugar, and levener). I skipped the optional glaze( more butter, brown sugar, rum) and instead just dusted with confectioners sugar.

I'm not a big brownie fan( I much prefer cake), but I'd like to contribute my boss's white chocolate brownies. I absolutely love those. I did make a brownie about 6 months ago that I really liked. It wasnt so much the recipe, but the technique. The brownie must be baked in a metal pan and when it comes out of the oven, you plunge the pan in freezing cold water. They were very fudgy. I believe the technique is credited to Alice Medrich.

Anne, The bagels at The Sage on Hallandale Beach Blvd are amazing. I'm sure a lot better than the ones at the Farmer's Market. I even brought a dozen bagels back to Canada with me. I had some strawberries while I was down. Bought them at publix, 2.50 for a quart. I bought some berries today too. They cost 1.99pint and the sign said Product of USA. Not sure where they come from, maybe Florida. They were sweet and juicy. I'm anxiously awaiting our Ontario berries. They usually hit around June and they are fabulous as well.

I saw that too, I think I'll make a run to Grand Bend to pick some up. I see some fish taco's on my menu.

I only drink milk with breakfast, dessert or peanutbutter. Nothing savory. Oh and it must be ice cold.

Cool, what do you do with them? When I lived in Palm Beach County I would pick them up at Rorabeck's for anywhere from $12 to $17 a flat depending upon the season. I also had a bigger bunch to feed at the time. We moved down here to Broward in October, and I am still hunting for a place like Rorabeck's, but haven't settled on one yet. There is a place next to the Greyhound track on US1 that looks promising, but they were closed when I stopped by last weekend. ← That place on US1 is always closed on Saturday. The owners are Jewish and they observe the Sabbath on Saturdays. They are open on Sunday though. You might find the berries at the fleamarket on the weekend. Check out carini's, they have great pizza. They are on the corner of Atlantic Shores and US1

Hi Everyone, We just flew in to Ft. Lauderdale!! I'm going to stay away from the computer for this week. I'll respond to everyone's comments when I get back to Ontario. Thanks for all your responses.

Salmon( although I love smoked salmon) blue cheese most olives brussel sprouts raw tomatoes chicken skin dark chicken dark tuna ground beef

Please keep in mind as well that I have 3 dollars per person to spend. In order for me to meet that cost, I have to get the main protein for under 3 bucks a lb. Also, keep in mind that dairy products as well as poulty are very expensive here. I spent 6.27 on eggs alone, I spent 4.49 on 1 gallon( 4L) of milk. I spent 2.99 for 1 quart( 1L) of half and half( for their coffee). The chickens cost 60 bucks, give or take a few. The zucchini cost 12 dollars. I spent 12 dollars on 2lbs of baby spinach, 3 dollars on bacon, 2.50 on mushrooms, I bought 8 lemons at 50 cents each. 1 red onion, veg shortening was 3.69, butter is 3.79lb, etc, etc. Everything adds up. I go to 3 different stores trying to get the best deals so I can stay within budget. I also have to buy 4 cans of juice(1.77each). I bought 3 tomato and 1 apple and they complained that there wasnt enough tomato, the reason I bought the apple was because I was told they do like it. I guess I'm just not used to ppl complaining about my food, I suppose I need thicker skin.

Thanks!! Your post means a lot to me.

Hmmm, I don't really understand what you're trying to say to me. Do you think I'm being critical? I am trying to SHARE my love of good, healthy non-processed foods. I did not grow up in this area, I grew up in a Jewish family in Ft. Lauderdale. The way we eat and shopped is very different from anything I've seen here. In my personal opinion, its not healthy to eat red meat and potatoes 5x a week. I'm trying to give the Seniors a different way of eating, or give them something familar( potatoes) in a different form( perogies). The sole reason I made the bread pudding was because I knew they would love it. Like you said, I'm not doing this for the money, but honestly if I could practice law in Canada, I would. Thursday was a very stressful day. I chose too many labor intensive dishes because I WANTED to give the Seniors home-made biscuits instead of the same store bought buns they eat each time I cook. I wanted to give them a nice roast chicken and mashed potato dinner because chicken is normally very expensive and I got a good deal on it. I put way more time into this meal than what I was paid for. Additionally, I did poll the seniors regarding Lasagna or spagetti. They chose lasagna. I was trying to find something that I could do the day ahead to free up the ovens. Oh and the next meal that I cook will be ham and scallopped potatoes. I know many ways to cook potatoes, I just chose not to make them at every meal. If you want to criticise me for that, then there is nothing else I can say.

We'll be in S. Florida on Tuesday. I'll have to look around for some from Plant City. Would they be availble at Publix?

You're right, there was pepper on the zucchini, but the pepper on the chicken was on the skin which I mostly removed before plating.

Because I don't want to cook potatoes every single time. I did take the chickens out, they were put in a walk in fridge on Monday after sitting on the counter for a good 6 hrs. They were cooked on Thursday.

Actually, the car doesnt smell yet. The plates are nice to serve on, but as I also found out yesterday, they can't go in the microwave as they are rimmed in gold!!

This is a long post..... Yesterday's meal was known as a comedy in errors. I left my house at 11, stopping at the grocery store in my town. Zucchini was on sale for .99lb, they carry russet potatoes( which I prefer for mashed) and I wanted to get some day old bread for the bread pudding. I ended up with 12lbs of zucchini( too much). I figured half a zucchini per person so I bought 25. That was way too much, next time I'd go with maybe 9lbs. I checked out and was walking out the door when I realized I forgot the bread. I ran back in to get the bread. I then went to the grocery store in the town where the meal is held. No Frills is a lot cheaper than my towns grocery store and they just provided me with a store charge card. I bought the rest of the groceries and made my way over to the church. I needed buttermilk for the biscuits I was making. I brought some from home since we're leaving town on Monday and I didnt want it to go to waste. On my way to the church, my open quart of buttermilk spilled in my backseat. I schlepped all the groceries into the church and was ready to start on the bread pudding when I realized I forgot the eggs. It was after 1pm by this point. So, I ran back to the store for eggs. The puddings took forever to cook. I've learned a good lesson from this meal. Don't use a recipe you've never tried before. I thought the biscuits were a disaster. I got the recipe from a book called "Process This", basically a book about using your food processor to its fullest potential. The one good piece of equipment the church has is a cuisinart( but not big enough to handle all the dough as I soon come to find out). Anyway, these angel biscuits use a combination of yeast, baking powder and soda. They also use buttermilk and shortening. The crisco is supposed to be frozen for a few hours( whoops, didnt read that). So, I just chopped it up and put it in the freezer while I was getting everything else ready. The original recipe made 36 so I needed 1.5 times the recipe. My cutter was smaller so I got way more than 36. I could have only used 1 recipe, but oh well. They didnt rise that much and I thought they were ugly, but the seniors loved them. The salad was very popular too which surprised me because I used balsamic vinegar. Sorry for the picture, they dished it up before I could get a good photo so you get leftovers. I diced up a red onion and sauteed it in evoo, bacon fat and some mustard. I added balsamic and a bit of honey until it tasted right. The rest of the salad was 2lbs of baby spinach, a dozen hard cooked eggs, sliced mushrooms, and 1lb of bacon. There was hardly any salad left. The chicken was a disaster with a capital D. After the biscuits were on their way, I left one of the volunteers in charge and I went to pick up the chickens. They were defrosting in the walk in at my other job. I picked those up, my boss's thermapen thermometer( I forgot mine) and her pepper mill. I guess I didnt realize how big 6lb chickens were because in my dreams I imagined 4 would fit in a roasting pan. LOL, think again. I barely got 3 in a pan and they were touching( do you see where this is going?) I cooked 8 in total and while I was prepping them I was dismayed to see their necks still attached. I had NO time to deal with them as it was almost 3:30 by this point( the meal is at 5:30). I stuffed them with lemon and onion and put fresh rosemary under the skin. I rubbed them with evoo, then sprinkled them with salt and pepper and fresh thyme. They would not freaking cook!! I turned the oven up to 425, then 450 and parts of the chicken were still registering 140f. I tried turning them over, then roating the pans, then I said fuck it and turned the oven up to 475. Then the smoke alarm went off for a good 10 minutes. Some of the legs were 200f, while other parts of the chicken were barely 162. Talk about frustrating. I finally pulled them out at 5:20 and they rested for about 10 minutes. I cut them up and then a new volunteer helped as well. I cut my finger and that slowed my progress while I wrapped my finger in a towel and then a too small surgical glove. Are you tired yet from reading this? I'm exhausted!! I was dismayed to see bruises and blood on some pieces of chicken. I dropped two of them while they were frozen and I wonder if that was why or maybe they were rejects because they were so cheap at 99lb. If I saw any blood or bruising, I didnt serve it, into the trash it went. The volunteer, she did the exact opposite of me. So, two plates of chicken came back into the kitchen with complaints. I was ready to cry. No one EVER complains about my food. The veg went over well. I must have sauteed 7 batches in a single layer but I swear, I am not feeding these ppl frozen veg. I sprinkled each batch with parmesean. They loved the dessert too. I pulled some recipe off Allrecipes.com. It didnt look right though, 22slices of bread for 7 cups of milk and 15 eggs. I just disregarded the recipe and kinda did my own thing and crossed my fingers that it would come out. I made some custard using Birds custard powder. I ran out of custard, but I didnt give a crap at this point. I was exhausted and just wanted to go home. The co-ordinator told me that 2 ladies approached her and said " Does the cook have to make the food so spicy". I laughed because I dont use much spice at all. I think they are refering to the sausages. I bought mild Italian last time, I guess it wasn't mild enough. Oh and another person said " I'm not coming next time because she is making lasagna". Last time I cooked, I polled them. I gave them a choice between lasagna and spagetti and meatballs and they picked lasagna They picked it, but they really dont want it. They just want meat and potatoes. She told her that I'm not making the lasagna until the end of April. The co-ordinator told me that we should make an announcement at the next meal telling them in advance when we'll have the lasagna so they can decide ahead of time if they're going to come. I can NOT wait to get on that plane for my vacation!!

Isnt a New Mexico Green Chili also known as an Anaheim?

I always split my beans before putting them in the jars. I like the look of the vanilla seeds in my baked goods. Additionally, I think splitting helps the extracts flavor. The vendor you bought from recommends splitting the beans as well. From the description on the auction page..... "Homemade Vanilla Extract Making your own vanilla extract is surprisingly easy. Just take several beans, split them open lengthwise, and place the beans in a pint of high quality liquor. The choice is yours, but the less taste the liquor imparts, the better. Vodka is the usual choice, but rum and brandy can be used. You can try making extract from Planifolia and Tahitian vanilla beans as well. If you choose to use 100% grain alcohol, add an equivalent amount of water. Shake the bottle once a day for about a month. Voila! Homemade vanilla extract."

I agree. Zero is, in my opinion, far superior to Diet Coke. BTW, I had my first Coke Zero fountain experience over the weekend. It was at White Castle, which I learned, has replaced Diet Coke with Zero . . . at least at some of their Chicago outlets. =R= ← Have yet to see Zero in fountain sales around here. I am much looking forward to that. ← They had it for awhile at Target( in the snack bar area, where you could and still can get a medium drink and a popcorn for 1 buck), but its gone. What happened to the diet coke w/ splenda. I loved that, it made a great float!!

I picked these up today. On clearance for 2 bucks each, olivewood, Made in Italy. For the Canadians, I got them at Hansen's( an Independent grocery store, you could probably find them at Loblaws)

Here is a pic of the jar I'm currently using. I started this on March 11-06. I date all the tops, this is smirnoff.

I forgot to mention that I add ice too!! I have since I was a kid. My milk has to be freezing cold as well.

I second the making of your own. Except, I wouldnt use cheap vodka. It's too harsh. I tried making extract with smirnoff and then Grey Goose and the Grey Goose was a lot nicer. I also like making extract with bourban. My boss buys this amazing vanilla, its the most fragrant extract I've ever come across, its not a brand name I've ever seen in the store( she gets it wholesale), I'll report back with the name, its very expensive though. She pays 75 (CAN)bucks for a litre. I prepare 5 or 6 small canning jars of extract at a time. They're usually ready in 3-6 months.

Between my spouse and myself, we go thru a 4L bag or 1 gallon jug a week. Milk is freaking expensive here in Ontario, 4.39 for 4L. I usually pick up a gallon when I go to Michigan, its usually on sale for 2 bucks. I only drink non-fat. Anything else tastes like butter to me. Oh and since I'm Jewish( but not Kosher), I never drink milk with animal protein. Only with cereal, dairy meals, or dessert.

This cake is based on her lemon loaf cake that uses butter instead of oil. You might want to give that one a try. I made that awhile back and I recall liking it better.