Lisa Shock

Use the expensive masking tape (yellow or green) and cut out a triangle, place it in the center of the mold, leaving some tape sticking up out of the mold to use later as a tab to grab. Paint uncovered sides with tempered blue cocoa butter and allow to set. Carefully peel up tab and discard. (This can also be done with carefully places acetate sheets.) Splatter with black tempered cocoa butter, allow to set. Paint center with pink tempered cocoa butter, allow to set. Fill and cap per usual.

They're pretty basic, just take your prepped mold and splatter tempered yellow cocoa butter with stiff brush (just like paint). Allow to set up. Then put a dot of white, pink, purple and blue tempered cocoa butter in each cavity, swirl with a finger. Then proceed to make the shells with dark chocolate, fill and cap.

You can make them in flan rings to guide the rise upward a bit.

I like to cut up cold pizza and use it in a frittata.

Instead of being in the sauces section of the book, it's the final recipe in the Pork section. There are no direct instructions, it just mentions that it's used as a cooking fat and seasoning agent. It also points out that seasoned pork fat adds additional flavor to Italian soups and sauces.

I'm going to have to try at least 1/3 of these. However, the lard pesto, not so much...

So, I got an old copy of the textbook used at the CIA, The Professional Chef from 1964, and it has a really weird pesto recipe. I also have the 1974 edition, and the same recipe appears there as well. Here are the ingredients: salt pork, rind removed 10½ ounces fresh pork fat 10½ ounces celery leaves 1/3 ounce parsley leaves with stalks 1/3 ounce rosemary ½ teaspoon sweet basil ½ teaspoon marjoram ½ teaspoon oregano ½ teaspoon thyme ½ teaspoon The instructions simply say to cut the pork fat into small dice, mix everything together, then twice run through a fine grinder. (my words) I am assuming the last 5 ingredients would be dried. Notes say that pesto is often used as a cooking fat... I recall hating pesto as a kid. My mom never made it, but I had it while eating out on occasion. I am thinking that this recipe may be why I never liked it -I also dislike bacon. Anyway, I am curious, is this a legitimate Italian recipe from a particular region, or just a bad attempt at cultural appropriation?

Have you tried asking the restaurant? Most people are pretty open about discontinued recipes. You might have to hunt down a retired chef, though.

Here's a recipe for high water produce, it does use up bread -if they can get sourdough, baguettes, or some other crusty old-fashioned artisan type loaf. It's not going to be very good with the cheap bread. Panzanella Salad Serves 20 1 loaf of Italian bread, sourdough, etc. cut into 1" pieces -include the crusts (about 8 cups) 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (olive oil, if you can get it) 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup vegetable oil (olive oil, if you can get it) ¼ cup vinegar 1 teaspoon prepared mustard (whole grain is better, but, regular yellow is fine) 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon dry basil or about a ½ cup of fresh leaves cut into small ribbons 1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly cracked really shines here, if you can get it) 1 clove garlic, minced or use ½ teaspoon garlic powder 5 large ripe tomatoes (core, squeeze juice into the salad dressing, dice into 1" chunks) 2 large cucumbers, peeled if waxed, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, sliced into ¼" half-moons 1 onion (preferably red) small dice, or thinly julienne 2 bell peppers, seeded and diced (can be omitted, substitute another tomato or more cucumber) Optional: One 12 oz can of garbanzo, white, or pinto beans, drained Place bread on a sheet pan and sprinkle with oil and salt. Bake for 20 minutes, until partially dry. Allow to cool. (Bread may also be prepared on a stovetop: combine first 2 ingredients and saute for 15-20 minutes, flipping frequently, until partially dried.) (Bread may also be grilled: slice, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt while turning, pull from the fire, dice and cool.) In a large bowl, everything will wind up in it, mix oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, basil and pepper. Add vegetables as they are prepared, being careful to retain as much tomato juice as possible. (Core the tomatoes, then squeeze out the juice into the dressing, then dice.) Toss the vegetables to coat with dressing. Add bread cubes, toss. Serve about an hour later, tossing again just prior to service.

Are you letting your macaron cure for a while prior to baking?

Croutons Bread Vegetable Oil Dry Oregano, Ground Rosemary, Thyme, or Herbs de Provence Onion Powder (optional) Cut the bread into ½ inch squares. Place on sheet pans in a single layer. Use a squirt bottle to randomly distribute a couple tablespoons of oil per sheet pan. (can also use a spoon to drizzle oil) Toss a couple tablespoons of dry herbs on top. Herbs may be used singly or several can be used at once. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the optional onion powder over the tray. Bake in a low oven until fully dry and crunchy. This is a good item to bake after something else; you can just use the residual heat of a cooling-off oven and save energy $$. Cool and store in sealed containers. Will keep for about a month if kept dry and sealed. Serve with salads and soups, or use as a casserole topping.

I belong to a FaceBook group of suburban gardeners who meet a couple times a month to trade excess produce and other garden related items. It's very loosely organized. You just show up, put stuff out on the tables, and then walk around and look at other people's stuff and take what you want. No real concern about value. Never any talk about money. Lots of talk about gardening and pickling and such. Lots of recycling of canning jars. We also often do a small potluck lunch, since we were usually snacking anyway... I can't help but think that for some people, a food swap could be a good thing. I know that some farmers have contracts which forbid them from giving/selling their crop (milk in particular) to anyone but the processor (dairy) they contract with. Even then, most farmers I know do have small gardens and occasionally excesses of some items. I mean, if one person has too much zucchini, and someone else has 3 pear trees, and another person has too many grapes, having a central place to meet and donate/take extra food might be useful. Honestly, in some cases, I'm sure that people could just leave bags of extra food out by their mailbox (maybe in a wooden chest to discourage wild animals) for anyone to help themselves to. I understand that rural living means more difficulty in finding people to participate in groups, but social media could be very useful. I also belong to a fairly well organized not-for-profit that gathers volunteers who own ladders to pick fruit (mostly citrus here) from trees in people's yards where it's just too much for them. The volunteers get to take some home, but the bulk of a day's work goes to local food banks. (we try to spread it around, most food banks don't need 400lbs of lemons all in one day) I guess I am lucky to know people who play well together. Both groups have been around for a few years and none has succumbed to petty dictators or anything. Maybe it's the whole thing about not dealing with money that keeps some greedy types away, I dunno. But, I suspect that a lot of the problems with hunger involve distribution and logistics, not an actual shortage of food. Maybe they need to think about community food swaps instead of farmer's markets.

Flexible Pasta Salad recipe by Lisa Shock approximately 50 generous portions 1 lb dry garbanzo beans, white beans, navy beans, or other light colored beans (black or red beans can be used, but, they stain the pasta if stored overnight) water to cook beans 1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional) ¼ teaspoon salt 4 lbs dry pasta shapes (ditalini is best, followed by elbows or small shells -larger shapes can be used, but, they don't pack well and waste storage space) water to cook pasta 1 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup vinegar (cider, white, or wine) 1/3 cup vegetable oil (good olive oil if you can get it) 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon dry basil (or a quarter cup minced fresh basil) 1 large onion (grated or minced finely) ½ lb carrots (peeled and sliced into small shapes) ½ lb celery (washed and sliced into small shapes) Optional Add-Ins cherry tomatoes tomato wedges raw mushrooms (washed and sliced) broccoli (cut into popcorn size florets, peel and slice stems into small shapes) cauliflower (cut into popcorn sized pieces) cabbage (finely shaved) kohlrabi (sliced into small shapes) kale (finely sliced) bell pepper (seeded and sliced into small shapes) olives (drained, sliced or chopped) canned roasted bell pepper (cut into small shapes) canned artichokes (sliced into small shapes) capers (drained) peas (fresh or frozen) snow peas (trimmed and blanched) sugar snap peas (trimmed and blanched) green beans (trimmed, blanched, cut into small shapes or frenched) use your imagination... Cook the beans in water with cumin (if using) and salt. Drain and chill. If using garbanzo beans, feel free to discard skins. Cook the pasta in water with the salt until it is almost done. It should NOT be crunchy, but, it should be firmer than one would normally cook it if it were being eaten hot. Drain, run cold water over pasta for a few minutes, drain again and chill. Mix vinegar, oil, salt, and basil in a very large bowl or pan (everything will wind up in here). Add the grated/minced onion. Stir well to mix, then add carrots and celery. Add the cooled beans and pasta, and toss well to mix. It will seem like there is too much dressing. But, the pasta will absorb it. Place in a storage container, and chill for at least 1 hour. This will keep for up to 5 days. Serve as-is, or with optional add-ins. If making and serving on the same day, tougher add-ins, like broccoli or kale, and canned items, like capers or olives,can be mixed in at the same time as the carrots and celery. More delicate add-ins should be mixed in at the last moment or placed on top.

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out. Advance testing is always useful. Also, I only volunteer to make things I have made before -I like to be able to plan out my schedule accurately.

I eat old fashioned oats quite often, and like them a bit chewy. I don't think I have cooked them for more than three minutes in years. Shortcuts seem unnecessary.

Dairy is in the budget, so, I assumed it was being served. B12 is a consideration, however, it is in many vitamin fortified foods such as cereal, and the aforementioned dairy. The NIH recommends that people over age 50 get the bulk of their B12 from fortified foods and vitamin supplements because it is more bioavailable to older patients in these forms than in meat. I'd also like to note that chicken (which has a much lower environmental impact, and price, when compared to beef) is not listed either. I still think that I'd rather feed three times as many people with beans than leaving large numbers of people hungry in order that a minority could have a couple tablespoons of ground beef in their pasta sauce.

How reasonable would it be to suggest making stock of some sort for use later? (It could be frozen in precise amounts. You freeze it in a measured container, pop it out the next day and place in a baggie.) I am talking about old-school restaurant stock made by using vegetable trimmings and/or roasted bones -kitchen scraps that would otherwise be trashed? For using old doughnuts, please read through THIS thread on using cake scraps. There are lots of good suggestions there. Stuffing Serves about 12 (recipe is approximate as loaves vary in size) 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, butter, lard, etc. 1 onion, any type, small dice 2 carrots, small dice 2 stalks of celery, small dice 1 teaspoon salt 1 loaf of stale, dry bread cut into small squares (savory breads only!) Optional: 1 teaspoon of ground rosemary, or, crushed oregano Optional: 1 seeded & diced bell pepper, OR, one bulb of fennel cut thinly and diced 2 cups vegetable stock, or chicken/beef stock 4 eggs Directions: Heat the oil in a large saute pan and heat the onions until they have brown edges. Add the carrot, celery and salt, then stir and cook for another few minutes until they are heated through. If using optional ingredients, add them to the pan, stir and heat through. Place bread in a tall sided hotel pan, a half-pan usually works well. Bread should fill the pan about ¾ full, feel free to add a little more if the pan isn't very full. Mix in the hot vegetables, tossing to get even distribution. In a bowl, or large measuring cup, crack eggs into the cold stock and beat until the mixture is evenly combined. Pour liquid mixture over the bread mixture. Toss to evenly coat. Cover and bake in a hot oven at 375° - 400° for approximately a half-hour. Serve hot. Stores well, re-heats well, freezes well.

I was referring specifically to dry beans vs raw beef.

Yes, but people have been known to open the door on occasion. It takes about 3-4 years to start saving money on an LED fridge bulb. An average household LED bulb (you can get them for about $2 each at Costco) takes about 6 months to start giving back a return on the investment. There are several types of refrigerator bulbs. My current unit came with a relatively large Reveal bulb that was hot to the touch within 20 seconds of lighting.

I am wondering why the purchase of beef is in that budget, when protein from beans would be a fraction of the cost, and not require refrigeration/freezing for long term storage? There would be other savings in converting to vegetable based proteins: no need for the red cutting boards, less worries about foodborne illness, less labor to process (trimming, slicing), fewer knives needed in the kitchen, and less grease to be processed as waste. -It's all probably due to some federal mandate voted in by congress under pressure from the beef lobby to provide 'high quality protein'.

With some baked goods, like cake, you can sprinkle them with flavored simple syrup after they are cooked. This used to be pretty standard procedure for moistening cakes and/or adding delicate flavors like some fruits.

Replacing the lightbulb with an LED version will save energy and help the unit function as the LEDs do not give off large amounts of heat the way conventional bulbs do. Most stores do not carry the sizes used in fridges, but, most online LED bulb retailers do have them.

I should also point out that most of Martha's recipes have been tested and work well.

Hopefully she understands that the photo you linked to is not a picture of soda bread. Soda bread is a quick bread and those act VERY differently from yeast breads. She's trying to get an apple to become an orange.

I dislike coffee, and truly despise people who sneak coffee products into perfectly good chocolate foods, especially if they do not disclose their actions in advance. IMO, adding coffee to chocolate items is an admission that one is using inferior chocolate. (you're also adding a lot of caffeine, which can be a medical issue for your customers) Also, that place is one of the worst places from which to source a recipe. Look for a source that actually tests and re-tests their recipes, instead of a swamp that allows anyone to dump whatever they want online and call it a recipe. Good sources are: Cook's Illustrated, Saveur, Food & Wine, Serious Eats, Epicurious, and the Gourmet Magazine archives.