pastrygirl

Buy ice cream and work on the perfect hot fudge sauce or chocolate cookies for ice cream sandwiches.

I don't think so. It doesn't have that lemony taste, tastes like pea vines or how fresh cut grass smells, and sorrel looks like it grows more like lettuce with individual leaves rather than many leaves on a stem. Maybe some kind of watercress? I'm sure I can just saute it up with some garlic, but I'm curious.

I didn’t forage these, I bought them at a farmers market, sold as “wild spinach”. But all the pics that come up when I search that term show lambs quarters or pigweed with serrated leaves, while these have smooth edges. So what do I have and can you suggest a recipe? Backs of leaves have a slight purple tinge, if that helps. Thanks!

I'd keep it, or save it separately. Depends on your commitment and budget

add a can or two of unsalted white beans, some water, and some greens, and turn it into soup

grits?

Thanks, Jeanne, I just needed someone to agree with me I'm not usually so all up in other people's business, but I have time on my hands and this isn't far from my new commissary, so I walked by and yes, the cakes are just out in the open being breathed on by customers. I'm also curious and envious as a business owner because she seemed to open so fast. Other businesses always seem to be waiting on inspections and pushing back their openings, but she paints, buys an oven, has her dad build a counter and boom! I admire the DIY but am skeptical of how easy it looks. But if there was no major renovation then no building permits were needed, and social media makes everything look easy ... I looked at the health dept inspection records and here is how I think she's getting away with this- it was an old corner grocery that closed last fall. The baker does have it listed with the health dept, but still as a grocery store, risk category 1. Bakeries are risk 2 - once you crack an egg or open that carton of cream, you're higher risk (meat handling is level 3). There's no inspection report for that location, and I do know the health dept is overwhelmed with the vast # of new restaurants and limited inspectors, so it hasn't been inspected as a bakery & is not going to be a priority. I checked, and lack of "protection from contamination" is only a 5 point, non-critical violation. It's a little bit gross, but there are much grosser things. If a kid grabs a fistful of icing, they can jut cut that slice off. Full disclosure, I haven't been inspected at my new kitchen either, and I'm hoping they forget about me for another year so I can avoid extra fees as long as possible! So in that way I can appreciate trying to fly under the radar, and I've made my own mistakes in labeling and packaging and being new to business. But as a chef, it would still be a higher priority to cover that stuff up.

My thoughts ... why are you so against cocoa? Cocoa is simply chocolate with most of the cocoa butter removed and without added sugar. I think in a cake where you're already adding fats and sugars, cocoa powder makes sense. Maybe explore cocoa powders? They are not all created equal, I prefer Valrhona. I think if you want to showcase the flavor of a particular chocolate bar, that may be better done in a ganache filling or icing where you don't have all those other ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, eggs, etc) masking it.

@ElsieD, I've only seen roads like that in Costa Rica and Bhutan - though in Costa Rica it was pouring rain and in Bhutan there was usually a sheer drop-off on one side. So Canadian single-tracks are still a step above! I hope you have a safe journey

I don't believe in magic pills and I appreciate the skepticism in @paulraphael's post, but I'm still interested in trying keto for a bit. I don't have any sweets orders for a few weeks so mini cupcakes won't be jumping into my mouth and the idea of cheese at every meal is very attractive 😂 Anyway, if anyone is still following this diet, what macro breakdown do you use? What I found online was 5% carbs, 20%-35% protein, and 60-75% fat. Is the higher protein only for body builders, or does it not matter as long as the carbs are low? I work out with a personal trainer once a week and am trying to go for extra walks & cardio, but not trying to build muscle per se, just work on whittling my muffin top. And do you allow yourself a higher carb day once or twice a week, or stay strict 24/7?

So apparently she's working on it and will build a case out of tempered glass. I still don't understand how the health department allowed her to open like this. Huh. 🤔

.... I definitely appreciate your desire to keep food waste out of the landfill. Despite my skepticism, it seems like a great idea to be able to process your own scraps. If you can afford it and it makes you feel good, than why not? But on the other hand, if your garden consists of a handful of potted plants on the patio, will you end up with far more of this compost/soil amendment than you can use? Say you have a gallon of food scraps per week, and it shreds/dries them down to a quart. After 3 months those pots are going to be heaping. What are you going to do with the other 40 quarts generated the rest of the year? Will you still be stuck with extra food scraps (though "composted") that need disposal?

@Lisa Shock the weird photos are screenshots of Instagram, cropped by me to protect the innocent. They may well be worried about cross-contamination and allergy sufferers, they just don't seem to be worried about insects or the unwashed public.

Does your local health authority require a barrier between customers and food? A local baker keeps posting pics of her cake shop with the cakes all out, uncovered, on the counter. No barrier, no glass domes ... I can't see how the health department allows this. I think it's only a matter of time until flying insects, jumping dogs, or curious children destroy a cake. Is this weird to anyone else? From her Instagram - nice work, but do you really want flowers dropping pollen on your cakes?

The freaking ginormous wedding cake I delivered yesterday - bride wanted "big & impressive" ... mission accomplished? 😂 I won't go into all the things I could/should have done differently, though I'll admit I almost forgot one layer of supports. I did enjoy gold leaf-ing, which I had never done before. The transfer sheets were easy to use, and when I wheeled it through a sunny spot on the way to the venue, the gold was beautifully, blindingly brilliant.

Aren't they urine specimen containers? Oh, Kerry! 😆

I was wondering about that too. The pieces look fairly large, up to an inch or more - too big to stir into potting soil, and if I used them as bark chips on my flower beds, how would they look & smell after a few months of rain?

There are different blades? All I've ever known are the metal ones.

That's entirely possible. Ideally the motor is strong enough to handle 3 qts of whatever you want to make. They're usually fine fully loaded with bread crumbs, mayonnaise, or anything not super stiff and heavy. A large batch of something sticky and dense like marzipan is a challenge for most machines. I'm sure you'll find the limits of yours - and hopefully there's a re-set button on the bottom for when you do.

Does this sound like assisted suicide to anyone else? Which I support, but I'm having a hard time reconciling my reactions to this vs Tony Bourdain. J-P was older (late 70s?), obviously sick and in pain, Tony was younger and less obvious, but don't we all have the right to relieve our pain, whatever it may be? Either way, rest in peace and thanks for all the knowledge.

Try Valrhona Orelys for a brown sugar flavor, or Dulcey for a dulce de leche type caramel flavor in your ganache.

Bring on the challenges and questions! Rules & regulations are going to vary by state - apparently in WA you can't be both the maker and the retailer, but in OR it's opposite, I have no idea about ME. I don't buy a lot of edibles, but there's definitely a huge range. There's a company here who actually uses good dark chocolate, I think a lot of producers use whatever is cheapest thinking consumers only care how high they'll get. But the serving size is so small it's hard to imagine that food cost is a problem. I still don't want to eat bad candy, even if it's just a bite - I recently got some CBD candies to help with cramps from hell; they had a burnt aftertaste, were kind of sticky and the hard candy had flowed and changed shape. Not a product I'd be proud to put out, OK for medicine but crap as candy. As with any other food product, I think packaging and labeling are going to be the biggest challenges just because there will be extra layers of regulation, testing, and info required. Aside from finding kitchen space, that is - here there are limited areas where cannabis can be produced or sold (X hundred feet away from parks and schools), so cannabis kitchens are even more limited in availability. So consult your lawyer regarding state of Maine requirements, otherwise we have lots of confectionery expertise here.

I've heard of people using cotton swabs aka Q-tips to get into tight corners. Just make sure you have the softer paper sticks, the plastic ones might scratch.

They look surprisingly ... rustic 😂 But I'd still eat one!

And here's the winner: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-44519335