Lisa Shock

Even mixers now have heating elements and can do this task. I agree, though, that a spice grinding device with toasting capability would be useful. Forget the nuts, they are too dissimilar. I'd look into putting an induction hob under the container in a spice grinder.

So, I went to the lab last night... And I used a large industrial immersion blender and LN2 to make a test batch of frozen sugar water! The blender, I am having trouble finding a picture online, sits on a steel cart, on wheels. (kind of like a large Hobart in size, but more boxy looking) It has a rectangular body, approximately 5 feet high. A hydraulic pump raises the blender shaft. The shaft is permanently affixed, and made of stainless steel. The tub they usually use to mix chemicals has a 50L capacity. We used a smaller Cambro tub from my house. I used sugar water to mimic a sorbet and give a few of the properties of ice cream. I used a rectangular tub, which was not optimal. We made about 3 gallons of sugar water at 26°Bx and it was at room temperature, 72°. We started the mixture spinning and pouring in LN2 as it spun. 2 liters of LN2 gave us a watery slush consistency, so, we got more and continued. At that 2l LN2 mark, we noted that small icicles, each about 2cm long, were forming on the shaft. They fanned out horizontally. My lab partner speculated that they were pure water, but, I tested 2 of them and they were full strength sugar water. After adding more LN2, the icicles became much larger. The corners got filled with frozen ice, while the center kept spinning. We got all the way to the center being like softserve, and stopped. The shaft had a coating sticking to it of about 1cm thickness. The ice in the corners was very soft with fine crystals, like a good sorbet. The machine had no problems. We did have some issues with splashing, as my cambro was relatively small. Next time, we will be using a larger container, preferably one which has a circular shape for more even freezing. Not having a paddle wasn't such a big deal, as the cold was coming from the inside of the tub. In traditional ice cream makers, the cold comes from outside the tub. I am waiting for a big sale on milk, and I am about to purchase the 22qt round Cambro tub. More test results as they happen.

I'd love to get a review copy....

I'd contact your local ICES group. https://ices.org/contacts/us-representatives/

I know of a medical facility that installed travertine. It was a nightmare. It was never clean. They got a company to fill in the holes, but, then it looked awful. I have ceramic tile at my house and like it. It's not super shiny, it has a medium glaze that is almost tacky to the touch. The tiles are 12" square. My grout is black, and was of a type that had a sealant mixed into it. Yes, it is tough to stand on all day, but, you can get chef mats. I like the fact that my floor is cool, here in Phoenix, it's usually pretty warm outside, being able to have a cool floor is comfortable for me. You can always put rugs and mats on top.

Walker's shortbread from Scotland. Barring that, some other shortbread made with butter. Look for simple ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, salt, maybe rice or corn starch/flour and that's about it.

I have gotten some good things from The Webstaurant Store, and shelving.com. I am sure there are others out there. You should also ask around, there's probably someplace near you selling used equipment and tables, etc. Once in a while, they will get a marble slab or some other custom goodie. There are also online sellers of used items, mostly common stuff, but, you never know. I built myself a storage unit for my liquids, in a tight space, from an 18" x 18" x 6' Metro rack from one company and some side panels to clip onto it from another.

I make peanut butter with the immersion blender, in a milkshake cup. Same with crumbs.

I agree with Kerry about the moveable stainless tables. Look at the restaurant supply places online they carry ones that have cabinets built in below and on top. You can customize them. When I redo my kitchen, I am pretty much just putting in a commercial kitchen: all walls 100% tiled floor to ceiling, tiled floors, the curved tile joining walls and floors, floor drain (if possible), small 3 compartment sink with a dishwasher under the right-hand side draining area, hood, appliances, then all counters/cabinets will be moveable steel items. No affixed cabinets at all, no wood. One large work table will have a marble top.

Even at work, where I had access to a Cuisinart, we'd try to use the stick blender as much as possible because it's so much easier to clean.

I forgot to mention that I own a hand-crank grain mill, and, my Kenwood mixer has a grain mill attachment as well. Both of these are adjustable to give varying degrees of fineness to the flour.

Just chiming in with a minority opinion... I have never owned a food processor. I have used them at work, mostly for grinding things because, well, knife skills. That said, I make a lot of things with my immersion blender: hummus, large amounts of pesto (I make small amounts on my cutting board), wet spice blends, puree of raw potato to thicken chile, etc. And, I have a good conventional blender which I use for raw cranberry relish among other things. If I made modelling chocolate on a regular basis, I would consider getting one, but, as is, I am happy. So, I suggest asking yourself if you really need it at all.

Good recipes go by weight. Sure, it's critical for dry ingredients, as volumetric measurements can give wildly different amounts, but, eggs vary as well and the amount of egg affects how a recipe will turn out. See the Kitchen Scale Manifesto. On something like a quick bread, too little egg will give a crumbly, dry texture. Too much winds up being like a fritatta.

The good olive oil is abundant here, we have an olive farm and olive oil production facility just a few miles to the South, in Queen Creek.

The President's Cookbook, by Poppy Cannon. I have some other White House cookbooks, but, this one actually has some recipes I am interested in trying.

Probably. So, maybe run a reduced size test that you throw away. Try a drop in a half cup of water, adjust to taste, then scale up. My guess would be something like 1 teaspoon will work for the whole batch.

I would try tasting a few drops in a quart of water and go from there adding a drop or two at a time. (eventually, replace the volume of water used to taste)

I think it's great. I wouldn't mind paying the price, especially knowing that this pan will be making meals for people 100+ years into the future. I have several pieces of Wagner Ware and Griswold, and their smooth surface really does make them more nonstick. I got all of mine from thrift shops, and each had some sort of rust issue that I had to fix and then reseason the pans. I also have a couple of Lodge pieces, and the performance just isn't there. I mean, I use my Lodge dutch oven to make beans and the 10" skillet for a lot of things. But, I use one of two different sized Wagner skillets if I want to make a fritatta. Honestly, I am always fussing over the seasoning on the Lodge pans, the Wagner and Griswold pans just get rinsed, warmed on the stove and put away. They just remain shiny and non stick. And, one of them is a much newer acquisition (with my reseasoning) than my Lodge skillet.

The people at AJs are a great resource. There should be a wine and spirits specialist in the store most of the time. Talk to them. If a distributor carries something, they will gladly order it for you at no additional cost beyond their standard markup. It is sometimes useful to know who the distributor is, so check out the backs of bottles carefully.

Your plates look wonderful. Years ago, I broke my neck and my hands did not work very well even after surgery. This was very frustrating. But, I practiced exercises almost every day. After a while, yes years, I gained more and more motor control. It's not the same as it was, but, I now have a finer sense of what I can do and what limits to try and push than I did in the before time when everything just seemed like unlimited potentiality. IMO, the trick is to keep pushing, keep trying the hard stuff and your brain will create new pathways, newly learned skill centers. It can be very frustrating sometimes, in the day to day minutiae, sometimes it helps me to look back upon the journey to appreciate how far I have come. That said, I would like to invite you to try the cold side; test yourself by working pastry for a change. It takes a great deal of self-awareness to ask for help. You are definitely on the right path. There's a lot of hard work ahead, but, it will be worth it.

What type of bags are you using and how old are they? Sounds like you're not able to get good seals, or parts of the bags are breaking down somehow or getting jabbed. I also have raisins vacuum sealed from an enormous wholesale package I purchased a couple of years ago, and they are fine. I take what I need and reseal. I'd also like to note that the overall humidity of the air here in AZ Sonoran desert is very, very low.

I'm glad you like it! This is always a good trick to have up one's sleeve. Serving house-made butter always impresses people, the thought of it and the flavor. I have done it for my popups with great success. I always keep an eye out for cream on sale.

No, I don't freeze them, they're just in a kitchen drawer. Seems to work just fine. I just have them wrapped in the bag they came in and place the bundle in a FoodSaver brand bag. So far, the drawer does not smell like vanilla, either. I do not open the bag very frequently, I have two batches of extract I use for much of my baking.

I have some Tahitian vanilla beans vacuum sealed. I bought a pound on eBay, extract-grade cheap, in 2007. I just open them, take what I need and re-seal. I do make an extra-long bag, so I can get several seals out of it. Anyway, the beans are still moist and fragrant.

There have been two extruder attachments for Kenwood mixers. I use mine occasionally. It's good for producing pasta quickly and in large volume.