Kerry Beal

PMCA coming up soon! Going to have a booth again. Gotta have frogs and mice - encourages people to send me the samples they promise! Tomorrow morning I need to struggle down under the front hall into the crawl space and dig out the boxes to package them in - the back wasn't quite up to the task this evening.

Try a Dutch store.

Don't know - I know for sure I don't have room in my luggage for mine! Chocolot might be prepared to bring hers. I tend to do a lot of my chocolate work in the evenings at home - since I have a handicapped rug rat that is noise sensitive and a hubby who isn't a big fan of noise either - I'm more inclined to use the quieter airbrush here. I share the Fuji turbine with my hubby who has his own hoses and guns for regular paint. When I need a crap load of stuff done fast - I'll often head into @Alleguede's shop in Toronto and use his Fuji. That is also useful when I want to use the Selmis to fill the molds. Most of the time I don't really need to produce that much stuff at once. Even in a fairly small operation the time savings in painting your molds with the Fuji would allow it to pay for itself pretty quickly. I was down in the lab this evening preparing my frogs and mice for the upcoming PMCA using the Paasche - took a couple of hours to paint a dozen molds. I could have done it in less than 30 minutes with the Fuji. I splatter red, yellow, then black - then spray jade green jewel tone, then matte light green behind.

Jim - Fuji put together a 'chocolate package' at my request - it has a 'quiet' turbine - relative term - and T-75 gravity feed with the smaller cup and the 0.8 needle. At the workshop there will be a draw between the interested folks to buy the package at a greatly reduced price - about 65 percent off I believe.

Amazon.com,uk Compressor - not sure if reaches 35 PSI though

Here at Chocolat-choclat

The canned Badger air is not food safe. I'd get a Paasche external mix H-5 brush over the badger - and a Harbour Freight compressor that can put out 35 PSI. Paasche external mix

I'm willing to bet the cookie factory we are going to tomorrow makes those Mocha Jo-jo's .

Ah - then someone else might have to weigh in - I was thinking airbrush - @Chocolot will know - she has a few of the guns as well as the Fuji.

I'm a fan of the Paasche external mix brushes with the H - 5 sized needle

Can't speak to the quiet or reliability but the first one is up to 60 PSI which is more than enough. The second is probably overkill.

No kitty or doggie bag - no leftovers!

Out to lunch yesterday with a friend yesterday - Anna opted not to join us. She'll be sorry when she sees the pictures. Placed called the Brux House. Grilled calamari, lovely crispy chickpeas adorned it. Parsnip soup for me Moule frite for Francis. After lunch and a long gab we wandered through the market.

Yesterday in our travels Anna N and I took my poor injured CSO off to the repair depot. When we arrived the whole staff were outside and there were firetrucks out behind the building. Since we had no marshmallows we decided to attend to our other planned stop and lunch before our return. I had noticed that there didn't appear to be a fan noise when in convection mode. Apparently the fan was not repairable so I was sent away with a new unit. (so now I have another tray!) New unit seems to have the default for toast set as 4 instead of the 3 of my previous unit. And on this baby 4 gave me smoke. Repeat piece on 2 was about where my old one would have been on 4.

Two out of 3 have arrived. Waiting for the one for my DLC-7

Don't do it if you have one of the older ones - new ones aren't built well.

Canadian Tire has the CSO on sale again.

Looks lovely - here's the recipe I use Chocolate SalamiRecipe By: The British LarderIngredients:80 g unsalted butter200 g bitter chocolate, 70%100 g icing sugar200 g digestive biscuits80 g flaked almonds80 g dried cranberries80 g pistachios2 egg yolks80 g Port Wine2 ml vanilla essence80 g Condensed milkPinch of saltCocoa powderDirections:Crush the Biscuits into small pieces, but not crumbs. Add the almonds, cranberries and pistachios and sprinkle half of the port wine over the mixture, set aside. Put the chocolate and butter in a metal bowl, place over a pot of boiling water, allow to melt. Once the chocolate is melted add the icing sugar, salt, egg yolks, the rest of the port wine, vanilla and the condensed milk, mix well and continue cooking over the bain-marie for a further 4 minutes to cook the eggs, stir regularly. Add the biscuit mixture. Mix well. Let the mixture cool for 10 - 15 minute, as it starts to thicken and it's easier to work with. Shape in to a salami shape with a double layer of cling film. Let the salami set in the fridge. Remove the cling film and then roll the salami in cocoa powder. Its now ready to serve and I like to wrap it again in the paper and tie it with string to mimic a classic salami. Thermomix Method Crush the Biscuits into small pieces, but not crumbs. Add the almonds, cranberries and pistachios and sprinkle half of the port wine over the mixture, set aside. Melt the butter for 2 minutes at 50°C speed two. Add the chocolate and melt for 3 minutes at 50°C speed 2. Add the egg, salt, icing sugar, condensed milk, vanilla and the rest of the Port wine and set the timer for 6 minutes at 50°C speed 2. Let the mixture cool for 10 - 15 minutes before you mix it with the biscuit mixture, continue making the salami as above. Makes 2 x 420g chocolate salami's Food Fanatics Tip Remove the salami at least one hour before serving from the fridge. This is a great item to serve as a petit four with coffee. Let the guests cut their own slice, somewhat unusual but a great talking point! Also makes a great home made present.

Thanks Kata - that looks useful - and welcome to eG!

I still find the odd plated meal in my freezer that I made for my dad in that last couple of years before he died. Happy memories of his favourite foods when I run across them,

To an extent the meaning of 'bless your heart' might also reflect the subject matter. In response to 'I had a tough morning shoveling the driveway' vs 'I really need to stop forgetting to put the lid on the blender after my 3rd frozen marguerita'

For trephining for sure - or maybe making a hole in watermelon to pour in vodka? Or holes in cheese?

Locked call room!

Used the induction hob to make a Thai Red Curry with chicken, pineapple and lychee. Cauliflower rice roasted with a bit of olive oil for around 20 minutes at 425º F convection bake in the CSO.

Boneless skinless Chicken breasts to make Thai red Curry And it's on Cauliflower Rice