Kerry Beal

This morning's offerings for the Wiki Clinic - big batch of mini cheddar muffins.

Sailor's delight.

I was asked to make a birthday cake for Thursday - 'cause you'll be baking for the clinic anyway' - so I decided I'd do an icebox cake using the biscuit from the bourbon biscuits. So I'll need whipping cream because there is only what is left in the bottom of the quart that I had in the fridge. So went out after work and bought another quart - well there was already another quart in there. So I'm in a positive whipping cream balance and will have to figure out what to do with the remainders before we head home. I've got mascarpone cheese - cause I had to buy it - bet I'll end up taking it home. Going to try to use up some cheese tomorrow by taking cheese muffins to Wiki. Not sure what we will do with the cauliflower.

You didn't, eh?

Thought the white stripes might give him away!

Scorpion for the adults. Kimchi pancake for the kidlet - of course the adults have now had one too!

But wasn't that a 'salad' rather than a dessert?

Watched this little guy waddling home this morning after a heavy night of fishing or catching frogs I suspect. The CSI view. Couple of Summer Tarts with raspberries for the two places I need to work today.

They are fiore de sicilia flavour. Of course it's been so hot here that I put them in the fridge before I dipped them - they all cracked! But they'll be eaten - I have no fear. Anna and I see lots of those flan plans in thrift stores - don't think we have one up here though - but with a nice buttery base they'd be quite wonderful I think.

This is very tasty!

Stopped into Winkel's Independent Grocer. Yes - you can still get 'Flan' mentioned by Darianne over on the Desserts of the 60's thread. Two sizes seen today. Caught the bridge before it swung (usually involving a 15 minute delay) on the way back. Came home to our 80+ degree F condo - now trying to figure out how to work the GD thermostat to get the AC to work. Went to Espanola just for the bottle of Campari - can you believe in 4 weeks we've pretty much finished one? Now relaxing with a Paul's Swizzle.

The drive to Espanola was marked by a large ungainly dog running across the road - that turned out be a bear! Thought we'd grab lunch at the Bruschetta Bus 'Poutineria' which is in the parking lot of the Giant Tiger - but for some reason it was closed. Asked the lady in the LCBO for suggestions and when she said "well there's McDonald and KFC" - we knew we'd asked the wrong person. So while riding around trying to find Roger Rabbit on Park Street - we stopped the postie who was putting mail in the super mailbox and she suggested instead that we try the Maranatha Bakeshop. Blink and you'll miss it right on the main drag. In business 27 years - pretty much everything homemade - won't win any awards for decor - but the food was spot on. We both ordered a sandwich - but apparently I'd ordered a 'meal' - Anna just a sandwich. I got a really nice green salad with excellent poppy seed dressing. Anna and I were commenting on how we so rarely get the kind of dressings on salads that we knew and loved growing up. A Club for me with fries for us to share. BLT for Anna. Tons of nice bacon - perfectly cooked - all on homemade bread.

Being up to see this explains why I forgot to take a picture of the Fine Cooking Bakeshop Muffins with raspberries and almond. Had LIL (lady in labour) at that uncivilized hour. Trying to figure out which actor wearing which hat it looks like - initially I was thinking Donk from Crocodile Dundee. Dipped the meltaway bars before we headed out to Espanola.

So you are an ice harvester? I'd be interesting in hearing more about that. Seems one of the older professions that coming back into vogue.

Dressed with coconut milk and palm sugar - would have done some sesame seeds had I thought of it.

Glad we could come along!

Anna opted for the kimchi potato salad dressing on her potato - more traditional for me. Not a perfect rendition - the mango came from frozen - but still pretty tasty. I'm working in a different sticky rice as I think this one is really sushi rice.

Harvest time in our massive garden.

Lunch for me - sorta pizza on bread.

That is correct - you can add it anywhere below 33.5C (but lower means it's thicker when you pour it into your frames). And you don't need to do any other crystallization.

Exactly! And not only the cocoa butter content in the chocolate - the coconut oil that is used is going to be a factor in recipe development I think. The coconut oil that I use most at home is (gasp) hydrogenated and as firm as shortening at room temperature - very different than most of the coconut oils that I see in bottles. The stuff we were using for this had been in the warm car and was semi solid when we scooped it out. One other thought about the meltaways - if you already have an established recipe using a particular chocolate and a particular coconut oil that gives you the texture that you want - then 1% will probably be all you need. The main reason that the EZtemper is such a joy for making meltaways is removing the extremely fiddly techniques required to temper them. No more very liquidly mixture pouring off your slab onto the floor - or dealing with an ice bath and having to stir constantly to make sure you don't get clumps and watch for that exact right moment between liquid and solid when it's time to pour them out. I need to do one of those Ron Popiel commercials!

Kimchi potato salad and chicken in the CSO - life doesn't get any better than this! This little character was looking at me last time I poked my head in the fridge.

Bitter Mai Tai - 3 out of focus pictures - this is the best!

In an old OR back of the ER - I frequently check out what I might find in there. A couple of years ago they were cleaning out old the old OR stainless - I've still got a box of things that would make some cringe - but I could make a turducken with no difficulty at all!

Broke one of my favourite beakers just before I came up here!