pastrygirl

We're talking passion fruit? I prefer Perfect Puree, it is concentrated while some other brands are not.

One man's response to kitchen clutter: http://www.justincousson.com/passiveaggressive-art-gallery/

You're right, the few on eBay are listed for more. Glad I asked!

Cool! Sort of kitchen-y

Ok here's one - I'm not even sure it's a kitchen tool. It looks like it would crack nuts, but I didn't see anything similar in 8 pages of cast iron nut crackers on eBay. So two questions: what is it really, and if I try to sell it should it be $5 at a garage sale or $50 online? The wheel part that moves is about 1 or 1-1/2" wide. Thanks!

@pastryani My official minimum for any one thing is two dozen but I'm not always strict about it. Small orders are inefficient, for sure. I usually either suck it up or make more to freeze or try to sell to a different customer.

If the molds are filled and bottomed, a dot or two of chocolate makes easy "glue".

That is surprising, it looks bigger than 10g.

So you're saying one of us could go corner the market ...

Any chocolatiers to be found?

Scandal in Saskatoon! Who knew?

When I first saw frozen rice I thought it was ridiculous, but I've bought it a handful of times and it is super convenient! Lazy, yes, but if it gets us eating brown rice .... I like the TJ's brown rice but wish it wasn't so oily.

I use the ganache frames from dr.ca. They are stainless, but much lighter than a solid ruler, so you do have to be careful sometimes to make sure product doesn't run out the bottom. PDF shouldn't take an hour of stirring, half an hour, maybe. But even that feels like 20 minutes too long.

I charge by the dozen, $20-28 depending on item. I believe this is lower than some of my local competitors.

Do you have any difficulty finding ingredients? For sweet snacks, think about muffins with carrot, pumpkin, banana, zucchini (courgette), apples, or other fresh or dried fruits. You can usually use less sugar - if the recipe says 2 cups sugar (400g), try 1-1/2 cups (300g). Also granola bars with oats, dried fruits, nuts, and honey. You can make different versions like peanut + raisin or almond + dried apricot. Some recipes are baked, some use sticky ingredients like dates or honey so everything will stick together. I do hope the bakery chef will be able to help. Good luck!

Following up as far as healthy snacks, have you tried making healthier versions of snacks you know people like? Use less sugar, add whole grains or lentil flour for protein, bake instead of fry. Experiment in small batches first or at home if you can. And, different people have different versions of healthy. Low fat used to be considered healthy, now lower sugar and "good" fats are recommended.

Are you trying to create more European/American menus rather than Indian/Asian? What cultures do most of your clients come from? It sounds like you are comfortable cooking Indian dishes but need help with more western menus? I was an expat pastry chef for a bit, so I realize it can be hard to re-create foreign dishes with local ingredients and equipment, and its hard to know what a dish is supposed to be like just from a recipe or picture if you've never had it before.

Some sort of citrus-infused club soda (lime, lemon, grapefruit) would be nice and refreshing, but I agree, then it's not a margarita anymore.

No problem, if you do find cocoa butter color that can glow by itself, all the chocolatiers here would want to try it! Nice work anyway

Did you actually find something both edible and phosphorescent? To me, there is a difference between glow-in-the-dark and the interesting effect of looking at things under black light. If you can take it into a dark room or hide under the covers and it emits a glow of its own, then it is glow in the dark. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorescence

Sangria? Or use in dessert - make sabayon and serve over berries or stone fruit. Or poach/cook dried apricots in it to make a compote, eat over ice cream or pound cake. Poach pears with it or freeze it into a sorbet or granita.

So then how do you determine the baking time and when they are "done"? If the interior of the cookie is too moist, of course that moisture will soften the crisp outer shell. Seriously, another minute or two in the oven might be all you need.

my mol d' art melter - painting bunnies 2 at a time today

Oh I didn't realize she was moving. Maybe she will have even more toys!

I won't be there, but a couple of notes for y'all - Jean-Philippe had a nice chocolate/pastry shop in the Aria. Didn't try anything, but pretty stuff and some seasonal chocolate sculptures, worth a look if you're on that end of the strip. Melissa's studio is at the very rear of the building - her husband works with the pain clinic on the street side of the building, so look for that and go all the way to the back. What Ruth said about x-rays, they can't see through chocolate As for heat, hopefully you'll be going from air-conditioned building to air-conditioned vehicle and back and the middle of your luggage won't get above 75. Chef Rubber is worth the trip, semi-close to the airport but off in a business park. I'd allow at least an hour.