Wendy--this post motivated me to finally get off my non-participating duff and post something here. I've lurked for a few years at egullet, almost exclusively in the pastry/baking forum. I enjoy reading it a great deal. I've never previously posted for a couple of reasons. One is that there are a *lot* of professionals who post here, and I'm not a professional and sometimes that is intimidating. I'm an enthusiastic amateur (who has a FT job and a 2 1/2 year old child and other hobbies besides baking). I love to bake (a lot!). But I don't have the time to trouble shoot recipes the way many here do. I'm not suggesting that people who post here regularly have all the time in the world. I recognize that taking the time to trouble shoot recipes probably means they're not doing something else they might really love. I've made some choices and prioritized other things higher than baking. So what I do I do? I live vicariously through the posts and trouble-shooting and queries of ya'll. But sometimes the incrowd/outcrowd/not responding to queries that seem annoying or really basic can also put somebody off of posting. Almost everybody here seems very friendly, so please understand I don't want my first post to be a complaint. But the (sub)thread here about people asking (sometimes rudely demanding) recipes and Wendy's response made me realize how much I actually wanted to post a paean to Wendy. It doesn't surprise me at all that you read every post and work hard behind the scenes, Wendy. The thing that has been consistently apparent to me in all of my lurking is your friendly, inviting tone, regardless of whether the person asks a goofy question (e.g. "The recipe says I have to separate the eggs, whip the whites separately and fold them in at the end. That seems like a lot of work; can I just add the eggs whole?") or a challenging one (e.g. "I love these caramel covered marshmallows. I've got my marshmallow and caramel recipes down, but I'm not sure how to make this come together. Any thoughts?"). Thanks a lot for your hard work keeping this forum so friendly and inviting, Wendy! (Oh, and the banana cake recipe ya'll worked so hard on? I made a few mods of my own (preferred a different mixing method, and, IIRC, I used cake flour instead of AP, but I can't remember what the recipe originally called for--I think those were my only mods, but it's been a year or so since I last made it) and I really love it. Great banana flavor with a delicate crumb. Just what I wanted in banana cake. Thank you!)
