gfron1

Sure, and many Indian markets have paneer in their freezer cases.

Exactly. At this point...just print the sucker!

And this is how things roll...just got an email from the editor saying top brass didn't like "essays by" on the jacket and they're debating whether to pull her off all together or use a different word. I suggested "contributions by." Their concern is that "essays by" sounds too academic. We had to make it clear from the beginning that she wasn't a co-author...she's a friend, she's said from the beginning that she doesn't care what acknowledgement she gets. We'll see what this last second change results in.

It will firm up because you're doing it straight off the pot while its still hot. It sets as it cools.

Sharing the jacket with blurbs: AcornsCattails_Jacket (NF).pdf

The setting up too quickly is what you should expect. But realize, I prefer my PDF a touch softer, AND not all thermometers read correctly. Using your thermometer (since its what you know and have experience with), back off one or two degrees. Who knows what the real temp is, and it doesn't really matter. You know that 107º is too firm for your liking, so go to 105º and see what you think. But as was said, for moldeds, often times you just blitz first (or I use a warmed depositor).

Yes, what pastrygirl said. It will be tacky to the touch and will show fingerprints. It is durable, meaning it won't melt off onto your plate, but it will show any damage that is done. For a home baker I would use one of those large tupperware cake domes so nothing gets on it or touches it, plus the dome would retain some of the coolness.

Got a hot tip from a couple of tables from Tucson last night. Both were emphatic that Carriage House in Tucson is the top spot in the city right now. Again, I haven't been, but they were both so excited about it that I'll probably make a trip in my downtime before I move.

Bwah! Nah, I have nothing better to do. I mean really just lock the door and shut the lights off. They're killing me these last few weeks. At capacity lunch and dinner every single day! Looking forward to that last toast.

I haven't been but friends are raving about Salud de Mesilla in...well...Mesilla.

Breakfast in Tucson at Prep & Pantry

My front matter says specifically China for what its worth. I still don't know how that would work. My only contact is the editor, who acts as the contact for the publisher, who is housed under the distributor (Perseus) which is where the printing directives are actually performed (If I understand the explanation from my editor). So to go through all of that to some person in China asking for a couple of cell phone pics...not quite sure if that's realistic. I guess I can ask and see what my editor says. I think we would have better luck with one of our Chinese eG members taking a field trip but I'll ask.

that would be really cool. I think its all magic now since its being printed in China.

an eG friend just shared this with me. So true.

It went by without much fanfare, but the book is off to print. My editor doesn't email me daily anymore so I'm lonely Now my focus is on the tour and sales.

For something a bit different, look at Dancing Lion. Not as productive as some of those other names, but his style is interesting.

I used titanium.

Just open and smell. If its musty, toss it. Yes, it can go bad, and more likely it will lose potency, but it'll be obvious with a quick whiff.

I stress repeatedly to use local experts who know the local flora, and spend a bit of time on safety and hazards. The focus is on the forageable items that are most accessible, most useful and most safe. The book is consciously not a foraging guide. There are plenty of those out there and most are regionally focused. I offer entry level foraging tips and rules that anyone can safely do. And I focused mostly on items that have online purchasing options and all have substitutions. And you ask if it was difficult. The culling of the list was difficult, not the writing of the remaining. The remaining ingredients are maybe 10% of my repetoire, but what was appropriate for this level of a book.

Ha! We already caught the pâte issue - an autocorrect where the computer wanted meats not confections. As far as the temperatures, throughout the book I talk about the ideal v. what will work and in most cases what the difference will be. Since the book is written for a mass audience it is assumed that most people will have old school thermometers, not digital, and certainly not calibrated. But as was covered here on eG with the PdF discussion over the weekend, a degree or two isn't disaster, and its an opportunity to figure out how the cook likes the final product (soft or firm). My chocolate friends will cringe when they see the how to temper and how to mold chocolates sections. The instructions are completely accurate, but those of us who take it more seriously will ask why not more specificity...why? because the point of the book is to get people to not be intimidated by foraging, by making PdF, by making chocolate...by cooking. And there are those who will say, but that will lead to failure. I disagree. I think I've found a comfortable line with which recipes can handle some fudging and which need exact.

I think I've said this before but I'll say it again just in case. Editing on the laid out pages is so much easier than from the manuscript. Even after all the edits and reads by friends and professionals I am finding things. Which is good because the book goes to the printer on Wednesday. The key in my edits is that I can't do anything that changes formatting or page flow. There are recipes that I want to just rip out and start fresh, but that's not realistic at this point. And quite frankly, there are only two that I think are hard to understand.

I use Jean Marie Auboine's recipe. In that one we very lightly toast/warm the beans to re-ignite the oils, then steep them whole in the cream, straining after an hour steep.

Yay! They look right. Instead of adjusting the sugar, you should plan ahead to get different purees. Currant is a low-tone flavor that needs some spikes to get past the sugar. But if you did a lemon currant or something with high notes you may not notice the sweetness as much. The other thing is the acid. That's why people add it to their coating - cut into the sweetness. I'm also curious why you want to reduce the pectin. My guess is that these are too firm for you. If that's the case, don't cut the pectin but stop cooking a degree or two earlier. I gave you the standard instructions but I prefer my PDF softer and cook 2 degrees less. But, great job!

Thanks for the interview donk79. The 'yes, but' factor here is that Emory, Grey and Arizona oaks (among others) require no leeching. The cracking, shelling and sorting is not fun, but in a good day I can get enough to last the restaurant for a season, so no worse than pistachios IMO. It did provide at last a minor lead of Tunisia.

It's not much of a wander @IowaDee. Most of know of pig feed or the mythical dangers that are being mentioned. But there are concrete examples of well-established foods and drinks. I'm wondering what else is out there. I know there has to be more since acorns are everywhere.