hummingbirdkiss

this helps very much thank you I wonder if anyone has pictures of how they ended up bottling home made vanilla ..I would love to see if anyone wants to share??? this is beautiful stuff btw I am so happy with the end results! I want to try somehow adding maple to one next time

ohhhhh I so agree ..I actually adore fresh duran and all the things you can make from it ..when it is fresh you just cut it up and pop it in your mouth and eat it I poped it in my husbands mouth one time and it came flying back out however I think some people love it and some hate it but it is important to loose your duran virginity on a nice fresh one I think! make a smoothie ..YUM!!! I have been asked to leave the room when I came in with one in the past ..not a potluck fruit I swear ..trust me on this!!!

I have followed this thread and made some very wonderful vanilla four differing kinds as a result ..thank you so much!!! ...I am ready to start using them and also they are ready to bottle for sharing... only I am exhausted because work is picking up (season for wheezin .I am a nurse) and I just can not find a link to the small bottles that I once saw some place I thought in this thread help? I just need a source please for reasonable amber extract bottles and perhaps some labels as well? I love to make things to consume ..but I am not at all creative in packaging ..I wish I was! please pass me your tips for this vanilla to make it look as nice as it is!! just not to spendy please!!

Gravy??? in any form jarred instant...canned...why buy it unless you are in a restaurant and it is part of your order? gravy is so easy to make! "taco seasoning" that is the worst to me I dont get it you can pull together fantastic tacos with as few as three individual seasonings garlic, chile and cumin voila! oh yeah and have control of the saltiness I never got Kool aid either a packet of color with some flavor in it???

"Hummmingbirdkiss (or anyone)....what brand of wheat-free tamari do you use? San-J? Are there any other good ones out there? To me, one of the hardest allergy/sensitivity combinations to accommodate is gluten and soy. I don't mind, it sometimes just takes a little more creativity. But I digress...." I have a friend with Ciliac so when she comes over I just go to what my son lovingly refers to as the "Patchoulli StankOld Hippy Store" (brat what does he know????) and purchase a small bottle wheat/gluten free tamari from there ..in bulk section and have no idea what type it is ... I am sure most healthfood stores would have it however

This is my tried and true for almost any diet except low sodium ..everyone loves it ..interactive appetizer I dont know what it is called but my friend who is from Korea introduced me to these as her version of California rolls very easy ...very good goes great with ice cold sake and beer or whatever take nori wraps rub them with some toasted sesame oil and then toast over a burner for a few seconds..sprinkle with a combo of sesame seeds smashed with sea salt and cut them into squares pile on a platter and set aside (Make way more of these than you think you will need trust me they go fast!!!) on another platter arrange piles of julienned carrots, pickled diakon, green onions, egg pancake, crab meat or thin strips of marinated grilled meat of some kind chilled heap the piles in a nice pattern on a beautiful platter then in a bowl mix together your favorite soy sauce with wasabi, fresh grated ginger and rice wine vinegar ..to taste put a spoon in the bowl each person takes a square of the seaweed and piles (I put chopsticks out) a tiny bit of each thing they like in the nori square a tiny bit of the sauce wrap it up and one big bite at every party I have put this out ..it got the most attention for the shear fun of the gathering around and bulding your own part of it ...(I keep back up piles of veggies and stuff in the kitcen in baggies so I can keep refreshing the platter)

my amature opinion on this technique for making baklava is ..I just love it!..it is perfectly easy and a really nice pastry to make!!! right now the thing is tormenting me on the counter right this second. and I can not even imagine ever buttering every layer it was self buttering!!!....I am no expert in these matters of baking this ... but I have consumed probably more than my share of baklava in my life ...all shapes sizes and varying degrees of goodness..this tops the charts for me right now ..there is a very nice crispy to melt in your mouth consistancy to this ..and it is way too tempting for a sugar junky like myself to have just sitting around on the counter ..I just keep tasting!!! everyone who has passed it this morning already has tasted and the eyes rolled back with delight... I put it together exactly as directed by Chef Crash ....quantities the same ...but I did use 1 part honey to one part simple syrup ..in my syrup with a tbl of lemon zest and orange flower water I mixed half and half walnuts to pecans ..cardamom along with more orange flower water a pinch and a half of salt and vanilla sugar ground into the nut mixture all butter thanks so much for sharing with us! I am very happy with this and hopefully when the guest of honor shows tonight we have enough left to offer her at least a piece!!!

I artfully use Knorr or Maggie boullion cubes and Sazon packets instead of home made stock ..a lot!

thanks for consoling me you guys are a tremendous help first I am going to emmaculatize my house then make a perfect somethinng with all these ideas it will be fine I am sure I need a valium however I believe it is going to be 15 people now

filo or puff pastry for the strudel??? what do you think is better?? I have both! I am going to use the marinated fruits for my black cakes in the filling with the apples I hope that works ..it seems right

those look/sound so good I have never heard that word before thanks I have to see if I can find a recipe!

what is "Financiers"?

you guys are so awesome ...these ideas are just what I needed ....this was sudden and so sad a very good friend of mine's father passed ...and we are an emuslified family of people who were far from family when our kids were growing up .....shared holidays ect ...and I love him dearly and will miss him forever ..such a lovable germudgin this man was...... we need to gather ourselves for a moment to honor him ...with out it being the memorial they are German so I am loving the idea of streudel Rob thanks for that I have puff pastry in the freezer and a treeload of apples maybe ...I will do an antipasto type tray of savory things and then a chocolate cake and a strudel... there are so many good ideas they were just not coming to me at all ... I feel very sad right now thank you again and feel free to keep them coming I can review this after work and plan better later

I have some very grief stricken folks coming for afternoon coffee tomorrow and want to get up early and bake something really nice for them.. but I am stumped ... I usually bake a day in advance for things like this and most of my list of regular tried and true recipes taste better the next day ..except cookies and I guess I could make those what is a lovely comforting ... baked item I could make in the am serve them in the afternoon? I have all kinds of stuff at home and can run to the store early .. I am going to serve dessert wine and coffee I am completely brain dead from a long work week and can not come up with a single idea help?

I could not imagine puttind a dollar amt on this cake but I can see making a standard one and selling it to people who long for it and dont want to make it although in a million years I can not imagine not enjoying this process .it is fun!...my son came over and I had bits of the cake on the plate all warm and his eyes were rolling!!! I love that!!! he is the keeper of the cake recipe and my most gifted in the kitchen offspring!

first the perfectly ripened fruits you dont know where the fruit starts or the booze ends ..that is what they should be when you bake your cake! coarse chop ..I did not have the heart to puree them! commercial browning is the only way to go for me I am glad I tried to make my own ..but never again on that one this is the exact color your batter should be and the cake ...the cake tastes really good warm ...too good so it was wrapped up quickly with only 1/3 missing from one cake! I am so happy I made this and could share it with you ..it will be really nice for Thanksgiving ...in a couple of weeks I will make the Christmas one and it will be completely different!

Yesterday was supposed to be my black cake day ..but I was derailed by having to have a tooth extracted ..and that I might add was horrible however he gave me percocet so today with the right music and mood I am going to make the best black cakes I have ever made! I feel confident..and buzzed! I am not sure what will happen ..I promise to try to document my efforts with a photo montage.. the side of my drug bottle says "avoid alcohol as it may intensify the effects" um that does not exactly sound like a warning!!! I just hope I dont pull a Judy Garland mixing tastes of these fruits with my pain pills wish me luck I am lined up and ready to go

ok this recipe can be made completely Kosher completely veg and is totally wonderful at room temp I love to make KuKu's KUKU

ok question I am going to make a large pan of this for company coming in two weeks ..if I want to make it this weekend and freeze it how is the best way to wrap it so it stays as absolutely wonderful tasting as possible ..or should I just wait and make a few days before the visit I have not made this before but the person who is coming is so completely in love with this pastry she buys it wherever she sees it ... she will absolutely adore that I made it for her....so I really want to make it perfectly! also what is really better for this walnuts or pistachios? and should I use some honey or just the syrup as above ..that recipe sounds so great and easy...I would love to just try it as is .

I dont know how you can put a price on black cake ..seriously I can not imagine because of the work and thought involved and with me they are not exactly the same every year and that is a bonus ..but if you want to sell them I guess they need to be.....it is common practice for people to make them in the islands and they take orders and sell them there and there are always the special people who do the best cakes that you just HAVE to have for your wedding!!! here in the States I have seen them online for sale so you could look there and see what they are going for..although tempted to see what a commercial one would taste like I have an aversion to mail ordering a black cake ..because of the tradition and history of it in my life it is a labor of love and I love to make them and share them ...although I make a lot of them at one time and mail them out to everyone so the quality I am sure would be fine for whatever they sent Thursday is my day off and is going to be black cake day ...I need some new pans I want to do more mini ones for gifts this year so I need to find some tiny round cake pans ...I dont want to go into a Mart store but I am imagining that is what I will have to do in order to get what I need so is anyone else making any for Christmas this year? I will post the process this time ..my spring batch came out too light as I mentioned the browning just did not cut it from scratch and I did not know how to post pics then either ..so this time I will take pics for sure I just noticed in my recipe above I forgot to add a couple of tsps of allspice ..how can I make a Caribbean recipe with out allspice??? duh!!!! (Host's Note: At Hummingbirdkiss' permission, I have edited her original recipe to include the allspice. You can find that recipe HERE.)

my friend does it with soy or almond milk/cheese all the time the flavor is fine but the cheese is kind of wierd consistancy wise ..but if you have no choice it is fine ...can you put meat it in or does it just have to be dairy free...I would use a greasy meat like a good sausage or bacon to help hide the lack of dairy..also add lots of veggies and call it good

that is a good question I never know until I mix it up and make it how much to put in ...I will measure and be careful to document the results this time .. I tend to start with 1/4 cup however then look at the batter when it is really dark I stop I am glad you love this thread me too ..I love this cake and then entire process of making it!

Time for me to bump this because of a lovely lady I have comercial browning on hand.thank you thank you !!!!....home made browning made brown cakes not black cakes .they tasted great but the color sucked..and yes color is important. ..I just need to find a CD I can listen to I am kind of holding out for the new Santana cd... am going to make my frist for Thanksgiving black cakes in the next couple of weeks ....I just tasted them and my fruits are seconds from "there" the moon and the weather feels right!! anyone joining me?

tell me please how far ahead can I make this? and the best way to store it? thanks

my pictures and food will never be as beautiful as what you guys post here!!! wow!!! but my dessert is really good! pumpkin custard made with coarsly cracked mix of toasted peppercorns, black mustard seeds, coriander and cumin ..the some sweetened whipping cream with madras curry on top ... that bite of the seeds with the custard is outstanding! next time I am guilding with a frozen pineapple dessert chutney and cillantro...it seems very right!