CaliPoutine

I bought the diet berries and cream and I didnt like it at all. I much prefer the diet cherry vanilla. The diet berries and cream tasted really artificial to me.

I'll be there too. Unfortunatly, Robin is on call so she can't make it. I'm going to ask my friends ( the ones who came for dinner last year) if they can make it too. I'll have to pass on Sunday though, It's the Civic Holiday on Monday in Ontario, and Robin's family has a BBQ every Sunday before the Civic Holiday. I think I'm foodblogging that week as well.

Always Cake!! Especially Coconut or German Chocolate.

Yes, I can them. I use a commerical pectin from Canada that is specifically for low-sugar( or splenda) jam. The instructions say add anywhere from 1-3 cups depending on how you like it. I usually use around 2-3 cups. Its worked out really well for me. I've been giving the jams away for years and knock wood, no one has ever gotten sick. Here is the stuff I use. clicka edited to add: The sound of jar's popping is music to my ears!!

I always wanted to can, but living in So Cal and attending school full-time didnt leave me a lot of time or money. When I moved to SW Ontario, I was introduced to canning. My spouse's cousin "puts up" pickles every august. I wasnt too crazy about the pickles( I prefer half-sour kosher pickles) but I did get into canning jams. I've also canned peaches and tomatoes( never do that again). I recently made some fig jam using figs that were massivly marked down at the grocery store because they are just too exotic for this area. I live right down the road from a "pick your own strawberry" place so its quite economical to make jam. I also make all my jams low-sugar.

This seems a cultural thing. My wife is a Chinese too, but she grew up in the USA. She is not used to eating chicken with bones like I am. So she prefers white meat. And, of course, she found all kinds of diet theories recently to encourage eating white meat only to justify the preference. ← I happen to agree with your wife. My spouse thinks otherwise so its great when we get a rotissiere chicken. I eat the breasts and she eats the rest.

Ever since discovering San Marzano tomatoes, I've stopped buying jarred sauce. Its sooooooo easy to make your own. I chop and onion, a few cloves of garlic. Throw in some oregano. Dump in the tomatoes, simmer and then use the immersion blender. Now, if I could only find SM's locally, Id be set. ( I shlep them back from Ann Arbor).

How do you like your matzo brei? When we were growing up, my mom served it with sugar and jam. I know use some sugar free syrup. I definatly prefer sweet over savory. Btw, I picked up a box of Matza farfel and I'm going to make that for Easter dinner with Robin's family. That will be a new experience for them.

Wowzers!! I wish I could find that variety in London( Ontario). You have an amazing store Pam. Is that Friendship cottage cheese btw? I fall under catagory 1( I feel like such a bad jew admitting that). My family kept kosher for passover only and when my parents divorced, they didnt seem to care anymore. I wish I knew some Jews around here so I could finagle an invite to a sedar. I really miss them!! edited to add: I'm craving a dr. browns black cherry now AND is Yoohoo Kosher?

We fly from DTW( detroit) to FLL( ft.lauderdale) a couple times a year. We usually fly out in the morning and arrive in Ft. Lauderdale in plenty of time for lunch However, on our way home, I usually always pack us a sandwich and chips because often we drive back to Ontario after our flight lands( 3hr drive). I love boar's head deli and Publix has an extensive selection. I can also get some nice Jewish rye and a half sour pickle. I can't forget the chips either, a sandwich just isnt a sandwich without them. Oh and also, a black and white for a little sweetness. ( ok, im totally craving a big boar's head turkey sandwich now and its only10:38am)

Just checked and RLB's instructions do say to mix in a steady stream with the mixer running, when using a hand-held mixer. Then she goes on to describe a stop-start technique when using a stand mixer. I've always ignored the latter instructions and poured with the mixer running. I also dispense with the pyrex glass step mentioned by RLB and have never had a problem. Here's another good, long thread on buttercream. ← The reason I poured the syrup in with the mixer off was because I got the recipe off baking911 and thats what it said.

I think possibly you took too long adding all of the syrup, what with turning the mixer on and off again, and possibly by the end it was too cool to incorporate. I notice in picture #2 there seems to be some firmed up syrup stuck all around the sides of your bowl, which is a telltale sign that the syrup wasn't hot enough anymore to be incorporated into the mix, at least part of the time. I haven't noticed fred's observation about RLB's instructions.... from memory I think it says to pour the hot syrup in a slow steady stream with the mixer constantly running, but he may be right...I've been up for 38 hours now. That's how I do it anyways, pouring in while the mixer is going. As for that butter, just use it for something else. I'd smear it around the bowl first with a flexible rubber spatula to make sure there aren't any syrup crystals in it though, unless you don't mind crunchy butter. As for whipping the butter prior to adding it.... I think this is in the same category as using room temperature butter....to each his/her own. My power went out one night and I had to make several batches of buttercream by hand, and cold chunks of butter worked just fine. ← I think I need to clarify, that I took those pictures last night after I had the ruined mixture in the fridge since saturday. It didnt look like that after I made it on saturday. I couldnt deal with it at the moment so I just threw it in the fridge.

The whites were at stiff peaks and then I added the syrup with the mixer stopped. Then I turned it on for a few seconds, then added more sryup and then did the same thing. Then, it seemed ok. I started adding the room temp butter. I had taken the lb of butter and put it in a seperate bowl and mixed it for a minute. I started adding teaspoons. It just never came together and yes, that is a syrup at the bottom. I've had it in my fridge since saturday. No blow torch. Any other options? Can I just use the butter in a cookie recipe because basically thats all it resembles at this point.( plain lumpy butter) Btw, I used fresh farm eggs, could that be a reason why? I also used some vanilla paste.

Ok, I feel like a failure and I'm ready to cry. I was hired for an event on Saturday night. I had to provide 60 cupcakes. I stupidly made this frosting at 5pm and it failed( once again). The first time I tried the recipe from Fine Cooking( which btw, it didnt work for Marlene either). This time I tried RLB's mouselline buttercream. I removed the sugar syrup when it reached 248f. I poured it into the pyrex dish as instructed. Here is what my mess looks like. I ended up throwing it in the fridge and making the standard buttercream of butter and 10x sugar. These pics are from tonight, I tried to rewhip it to no avail. What did I do wrong? I've wasted 2lbs of butter( 3.79lb). Is there anything I can do with this mess?

Marlene, I'm glad to see that I am NOT alone. I tried that buttercream as well( the vanilla version) and It would not thicken up at all. I tried to pipe it on some cupcakes and it was too runny. I thought " ok, maybe its the recipe". So, i went looking at a buttercream thread and after reading thru it, I saw that a lot of ppl reccomend RLB Mouselline buttercream. I tried that( bad idea, on the day I had a cupcake tree job) and that didnt work either. It just wouldnt come together. So, I chucked it into a tupperware and made a standard icing sugar( confectioners sugar) and butter version. Oy, I just dont think me and italian buttercreams work well together.

You might be saving time( as you say), but it seems like you're sacraficing taste and texture( and portion size). How long do you spend at the center preparing your meals? How long did it take you to prepare the meal at home? From what Danielle has said, they seem very time consuming.

*BUMP* My spouse just brought me home 2( 1L) jugs of Canadian grade 3( so I'm assuming its very dark) syrup. Id love to do some baking with it. Anyone have any good recipes?

Id go with the above idea, but use very well drained crushed pineapple. First make a simple syrup with the juice and brush the layers with it.

Here is a cupcake tree I did for my wedding reception. We made the tiered stand ourselves.

Do you have a broil feature on your oven? Maybe that would work.

Giada de laurntis has an olive oil cake made with ground almonds. I served it with a citrus compote. It had a nice flavor and texture. clicky

I have a better cheaper idea. Start or join a community kitchen. My spouse's employer decided to start a community kitchen in the unused kitchen at one of their facilities. Here is the blog associated with this kitchen. clicky. Sure, its more time consuming, but its a lot cheaper!! We cooked 5 meals and the total for each of us was $6.50 for one serving each. We made Burmese chicken curry white bean and sausage soup( over of last months bon appetite) Southwestern bean burgers with chipoltle mayo Normandy style meat loaf Breakfast burritos. Because the kitchen is open to all residents( the target group is people with disabilities, but so far we havent had a response) the local grocery store donated all the food. We got a grant from a healthy heart program in the county and we used that to purchase equipment. I'm joined because I like sharing my knowlege with others and because the thought of making a bunch of food and freezing it was appealing because no matter how much I love to cook, sometimes I just dont feel like it.

"Just about the only palatable items are the salad and breadsticks. It's all downhill from there." I have to disagree with the above statement. The breadsticks are pasty white logs with the only discernable flavor being the salt they sprinkle on top. The salad is a bowl of boring iceberg. I'd rather eat at macaroni grill any day.

The sobey's ad we get only shows the steaks for 7.99lb. I wish they had the fillets, I like those so much better. How will you prepare yours?

Bump I picked this up yesterday for 25 cents. Its made in England. I thought it might be a butter curler. Am I right?