Lisa Shock

My hubby won't eat any yellow food and doesn't want it around. He claims that yellow is the color things turn when they are starting to rot. He will however, eat corn. He says "it isn't yellow, it's golden." This can make cooking a bit challenging at my house; no golden delicious apples, no yukon gold potatoes, no yellow split peas, no yellow tomatoes, no parsnips, no wax beans, and, curries had better be brownish, green, or red.

Silly me, I just found this thread! It looks like you really are doing your community a great service, and will probably help countless others by posting your experiences online. Anyway, I cook once a month for a small group of seniors, so I can sympathize a bit. I am lucky that my group is small, so I can usually modify things to their personal tastes. One dish they (and my parents, I'm in my 40's so, my parents are, um, older) like is navy bean soup and various variants like dry lima bean stew. These were budget dishes from their Depression-era childhoods and bring back memories. The good news is that they are nutritious and also easy on the wallet. -Although better served in the winter, not in August. And, I don't know if this sort of dish was ever common in Canada. I saw the baked beans early in the thread, and this triggered memories of my dad (who rarely admitted to being able to do any cooking beyond grilling) spending an afternoon lovingly sorting through and rinsing dry beans, finding the spices, frying fatback, assembling a huge pot of ingredients, then tending it every half-hour til dinner time. Of course, my younger brother and I hated the beans and ate the biscuits and salad mom made to go with the beans. So, they were rarely served. Dad got his way with this dinner maybe 4 times a year.

I have to agree that WATER is the best option, followed by making your own and freezing it -and possibly vacuum sealing it as well. I heartily agree with Ruhlman on the topic of canned stock/broth being inferior to water.

That's what my first thought was, but I was under the impression that the Tunnel of Fudge cake was pretty gooey inside. Shows you how much experience I have with the Tunnel of Fudge cake. ← TOF cake is goey inside, but it could be tweaked to not be that way very easily. All of this really just relates to the chemistry of cake making, in particular the ratios of sugar to flour and fats. (plus whatever starches and binders are in the canned icing products) And, I think, the overall quantities are more important to the final cake than what got mixed up first and then added to what. -Thus the modern TOF cake recipe with a seemingly normal mixing procedure, but an extraordinary amount of sugar and fat. I really don't think there's any magic in making the icing first -if you're baking from scratch. The adding commercial icing to the boxed cake mix started with a ploy to use more product for a contest and then the idea spread after Ms. Helfrich won the Bake-Off. I remember reading about her and her idea in several magazines at the time of her win. I also wouldn't doubt that makers of the canned icing probably ran tests on it as an additive for their boxed mixes, in order to sell more product. What could be better? People would start using a can of icing in the cake and a second one on top of the cake, thus doubling sales!

This was the trick developed by 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off winner Ella Rita Helfrich when she developed the Tunnel of Fudge Cake. Her original recipe used a boxed icing mix in with the other ingredients. Pillsbury no longer makes the icing mix, so most of the recipes for this cake that you see online are modified to replicate the icing mix.

Along the lines of using cakes that do not need icing, how about a display of cakes made with those fancy bundt molds that look like castles and cathedrals and such? You could make an impressive display of cakes made as pound cake in various flavors: vanilla, chocolate chip, orange, raspberry, lemon, coffee. My personal favorite unfrosted cake is RLB's Chocolate Domingo cake from the Cake Bible. You can make the cakes in advance at your leisure, freeze them, and then just take to the event. From your description, they will be thawed out in an hour or so. To increase the available space, look for cake stands with bases small enough to fit within the hole in a cake, and have cake around the base as well as on cakes stands. Fresh flowers and lemon leaves could help with the decor. Pitchers of sauces could be served alongside: anglaise, raspberry coulis, caramel, etc. The sauces need to stay cool, but can be served in pint pitchers that you display in bowls of ice.

Are you making the juice yourself or buying it? If you are buying it, you may want to have it checked. There have been problems with imported juices being adulterated and containing little or no pomegranate juice. Some experts believe that more pomegranate juice is being sold than orchards are capable growing. Here's a link to a Nurse's Blog entry on the topic.

Yes I wondered about that. I'll have to figure out what to watch for on the bottle. Of course it raises the question of what wine goes with falafel? ← Unfortunately, most wine labels don't mention if they are vegan/vegetarian. There are some lists of vegan wines online. Also a winery's website will tell you about their wines. Barring that, an employee at a wine store should be able to guide you. All of the major wine distributors now indicate which wines are vegan in their wholesale lists and catalogs, and it's a fairly common request nowadays.

I always add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to the water before adding the potatoes which I cube in advance. The vinegar keeps them very clean and crisp looking, while cooking perfectly. -And, yes, I use a waxy potato like the red ones, and I peel them to avoid the dangerous and often bitter glycoalkaloids. One variation I like is to take some: peeled and diced potatoes as many as you want/need (waxy type, not flaky bakers) regular sour cream (enough to cover your potatoes) (do NOT substitute lowfat sour cream!) curry powder or wet curry spice mix like Patak's (amount varies by type and your taste) sugar (a dash to a tablespoon to balance the curry powder) sliced/julienne raw carrot sliced/julienne raw celery Mix the sour cream and curry powder and let is sit for a half hour -enough time to peel, dice, and cook the potatoes. Slice/julienne your carrot and celery. While the potatoes are sitting in a colander cooling, taste the sour cream and see if it has enough curry goodness for you. Add more curry powder if needed and add a little sugar to taste. When the potatoes are cool put potatoes, carrots and celery in a big bowl and fold together carefully. Sorry that this isn't much of a recipe, but there are a lot of variables involved.

If you serve wine, make sure it's vegan. They are out there, but you have to look carefully.

Thanks! I guess it makes sandwiches that sliced tomatoes fit nicely on....

LeeLee has opened a second location on the SW corner of Cactus and 75th Avenue in Peoria. This location is larger than the original, has a large liquor department, a cafe, and, a full-service restaurant. Not only does this location have more & different foods, the aisles are wider so it's easier to navigate.

Does anyone know what THIS eBay item is? Is it really a cake mold?

Looks like Pastry's Best has suspended publication, apparently they are seeking a buyer.

I have a question about the oranges themselves. I currently live in Phoenix, AZ, but I haven't lived here all of my life. There are 'decorative' orange trees all over town, and I have been told to avoid the fruit. I even recall seeing something on the tv news about some kids who tried to eat some and had to go to the hospital because the oranges burned their lips and throats. Are these 'decorative' oranges Sevilles, or a similar type? How can I tell? If I process these into marmalade or use the skins to make liqueur, will they still be dangerous? I've been looking, but can't find a real guide to identification online.

Ok, I know I'm jumping into the conversation kind of late here, but, I've watched every season of this show and I always wonder just how much the challenges have to do with actually starring in a show? I have a friend who produces and occasionally acts as second/third cameraman for tv commercials (and some industrial videos), and all he does is laugh at how badly produced the FTV shows are. Much of the time, they seem to be emphasizing doing entere segments, from ad break to ad break, without stopping. As if they need to get all 11.5 minutes on film without mistakes because it's too expensive for multiple takes, or, (sarcastic gasp of horror here) too expensive to have cuts and mini-scenes. Face it, they can't be using movie-quality film, I'd be surprized to find out that they still film in hi-8 (the 80-s and 90s standard for tv news and some sitcoms) -digital must be cheap by now. I did a few voiceovers for my friend, when the real actors were too hung over to come in to work, and I know a little bit about tv production. If you make a small pause at the end of sentences or certain phrases, it's no big deal to re-do segments. You usually get good enough that it doesn't happen often, but no one pushes you to plow on for 11 minutes. I was often asked for other takes, just to hear some different interpretations of the script, not because what I had done was bad. If these guys can do it, FTV should be able to as well. Anyway, the challenges seem pretty far removed from the actual business of making a show. And, some people's experience seems weak for them to springboard into being on-screen instructors. Oh wait, this is the network propping up Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee. I guess anyone with a big smile or bustline can be a host as long as they shill for processed food packers. I mean, there are hundreds of culinary school instructors out there, and not one has gotten a show on FTV...I wonder why...

Thanks!

I am shopping for a new stove, and must have electric because there is no gas service in my area, and my hubby refuses to set an LP account just for the stove. A salesman at a fairly high end chain store, one that stocks Wolf and Viking, told me that cast iron and copper cookware can scratch ceramic cooktops, leading to their breakage. Two years ago, I got a wonderful set of copper pans, and I have a lifetime's collection of cast iron I love. Anyway, I noticed that most of the better electric stoves had ceramic tops. The coil stoves didn't have features like hidden oven elements or 2-oven configurations. Am I destined to have a cheap coil-top in my future?

You need to check with your local health department and see if they will clear your home kitchen. Where I live now, Phoenix, this would be illegal. (There's a law on the books prohibiting home-made goods from being sold in/from businesses.) Where I used to live, Santa Fe, would only approve you if you did no personal cooking whatsoever in your home kitchen and everything was stainless steel. (no laminate counters, no wooden cupboards, no wood at all in the kitchen) You also need the delivery vehicle approved, depending on your county's health code. Then, there's always local certification for each person using the kitchen with a food handler's card of some sort. If you are already ServSafe certified, you may be able to use that certification in lieu of a separate test. Pricing is based on the cake & icing itself, props, and other materials. -Plus estimates on time for: multiple meetings, sketches, making special props, sugar flowers, creating cutting diagrams, and delivery. As pointed out above, delivery can take hours all by itself. -And many places will not accept a cake without a cutting diagram. Making these sorts of cakes is expensive and time consuming. If you don't work your cost cards carefully, you can easily wind up in the red on one.

I'd be afraid that the cake would set up a bit before the berries burst, and then you'd have some unsightly watery pockets. Or if there's a whole layer of fresh berries at the bottom, you might risk have watery mush that won't slice or stay together well. I usually make a compote, that way I can control the flavor and make designs in the cake.

Slow is good, especially at first. You don't want too much of a friction factor heating things up. Scientific studies have been done on the speed issue: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/...20218094303.htm Remember that a % of the liquid doesn't really freeze (for crystals) until the product is packaged and sitting in the freezer with the mixer bowl type ice cream maker. I'd say that you want as little of that as possible, since those tend to be large crystals. I'm thinking that if you are willing to make a series of test batches with a thermometer, you could calculate the friction factor for several of your mixer speeds (just like in bread-baking) and then decide for yourself what works out best. This is motivating me to stat shopping around for a smaller machine with a compressor for my home. BTW, my current project is trying to replicate (without the garish color) Baskin Robbins' Red AppleJack Ice. I've had some good success with juicing braeburn apples and adding lemon juice and a dash of vitamin C powder with a 50/50 simple syrup.

BPA is water soluble, so transference via chocolate is unlikely. http://www.enn.com/health/article/37290 I personally have removed most polycarbonate items from my home, chocolate molds are problematic. So far, the main concern is small children being exposed since they seem to be most affected by it. Fortunately, most consumers for fine chocolates are adults. Chocolate is not recommended for children under the age of 1 year. http://geoparent.com/experts/health/babyallergies.htm