FauxPas

Here's a recipe in French. (If you need help with translation, just give a shout-out, there are several here who can help!) http://allrecipes.fr/recette/10884/merveilleux-individuel.aspx The link came from this PRI piece: http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-12-04/got-sweet-tooth-belgian-pastry-chef-brings-merveilleux-new-york

Are those forsythia blossoms?

I'm a southpaw and there are definitely some things in kitchens that are designed for R-handers more than L-handers - serrated knives have the serrations on the wrong side for things like bread-slicing, manual can-openers are a super-pain, ladles pour the wrong way, measuring marks on cups or pots often can't be read while holding in the left hand, and spatulas are always slanted the wrong way (is this the problem with the batter-folding that you mentioned, by any chance?). I bet i organize my home kitchen differently than a R-hander would. I prefer my spoons and ladles and tongs handy to my left hand while cooking. I stand to the right when using the controls on a right-handed appliance like a microwave or a toaster oven, while a R-hander stands comfortably in front. If I'm chopping a bunch of veggies, I want to direct the end results to the left in most cases, not the right. If you have a tight kitchen and it's set up for right-handed work, a southpaw might find it more awkward to do the same tasks. Their ideal work flow will be a bit different. There are some nice kitchen tools for south-paws. If I worked in a kitchen I would probably bring some of my own knives with me. Check out web sites like Lefty's in San Francisco or Anything Left Handed in the UK to see why these might be beneficial. http://www.leftyslefthanded.com/Lefthanded_Kitchen_Tools_s/3.htm http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/videos/kitchen-tools.html#sthash.hsPIUqer.dpbs Try working in your kitchen with your left hand for a few minutes at several different tasks, I bet you'll see how some things differ. I don't think you'll find many left-handed appliances, by the way. And I'm not sure why your L-handers seem to be bad at chopping or cut themselves a lot, but you could encourage them to try bevelled blades for L-handers? (thought I wouldn't think this would be necessary, in most cases) http://www.amazon.com/Shun-DM0706L-Classic-Left-Handed-Stainless-Steel/dp/B000FR5TB8 http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/acatalog/chef_knives.html

Looking forward to your participation in the forums!

It's a pretty good price. I bought one for about $69 through Target - the Aroma. I think they would be fairly similar though the Rosewill seems a bit better. The Rosewill has 8 heat settings, the Aroma has 7. Also mine is only 1500 watts, while the Rosewill is 1800. And the Rosewill allows you to set either by wattage or temp, the Aroma just gives you a setting of Warm, or 1 - 6. The Aroma single cooktop was my introduction to induction cooking and I love it. I might get a full-size induction cooktop soon, as a result. If you are interested in trying out induction for the first time, $50 is a great intro price. More reviews at Amazon, where the price is a bit higher (note that people say the pot that comes with it is pretty crappy): Rosewill 1800 watt induction cooker

Also, if Canadians are interested in this oven, I see that HBC (The Bay) has it on sale for $224.99 Cdn. http://www.thebay.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/thebay/combo-steam--convection-oven-0016-cso-300c--24

Your bread looks quite appealing! It seems some toaster ovens give overcooked areas but yours looks nicely and evenly baked, is that the case? I tried out the oven for the first time last night (have been travelling), and I love the Steam Bake function. I made a meat loaf in the full-size oven the night before and wanted to reheat some for a second dinner. The Cuisinart's Steam Bake was perfect for reheating - nicely heated throughout and no drying out. The bit of steam really kept things moist. About 15 minutes on Steam Bake at about 300F. Really want to try some fresh salmon and artichokes.

I often do this as well - sometimes I dice them before freezing and then use them in fried rice or chili or soups or a cooked salsa. If I'm really rushed, I throw them in the freezer whole. They can be cut up later. Also, here is info from UNL Extension: https://food.unl.edu/preservation/freezing-peppers (I also freeze raw tomatoes whole - just wash and cut out the stem, they can be peeled later.) More guidelines for freezing veggies: https://food.unl.edu/preservation/freezing-vegetables Raw onions also can be frozen, though I have never bothered.

I am very sad to hear this news. Just a few days ago, I was reading his old food blogs here - the trip to Cape Cod and the one to Mobile, AL. As with all the food blogs, I feel like I just spent some time with him and his family even though I never met them at all. For anyone who might want the links, there are actually 3: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/24980-a-day-in-the-life-of-fat-guys-household/ http://forums.egullet.org/topic/91991-eg-foodblog-fat-guy/ http://forums.egullet.org/topic/135213-eg-foodblog-fat-guy-2010/

You probably do want a pickling salt or a kosher salt or a plain sea salt if you don't want iodine or anti-caking agents. Pickling salt is often sold in large quantities. Pickling salt can be very fine-grained to make it dissolve more quickly so using 1 cup will contain more salt per volume than 1 cup of a coarser salt. This may be why it can appear to be saltier than other salts. Here's a good explanation: http://foodinjars.com/2010/08/canning-101-on-substituting-salt-in-pickling/ So, if you want to make sure you have the right degree of salinity in your recipe, you might want to try and measure by weight rather than volume or at least make sure you are using a similar salt crystal to the one in your recipe - or just trial and error until you work it out for yourself! Then again, it depends on what you are cooking - a slight variation may not make that much difference.

I used to like Sarson's - a UK malt vinegar. I haven't had it in a while though as far as I know, it is still made the traditional way. Some are just acetic acid with caramel and/or flavouring added. It can be purchased through Amazon or a few of the British/Canadian specialty shops online.

I've always wondered about the recipe on the back of the Heinz Gourmet Malt Vinegar bottle - it's called Peach Chicken. Here's a blog entry showing the orginal recipe (which uses 1/4 cup of malt vinegar) and a modified version of the recipe. Unfortunately the modifications include skipping the malt vinegar altogether! I can see why the blogger wanted to avoid using canned peaches, but I think I would try a version that keeps the malt vinegar in the recipe. http://iowagirleats.com/2011/08/10/peachy-chicken-no-bake-peanut-butter-cookies/

Your veggies look lovely and thank you for discussing the clean-up as I did wonder about that. I think you might have helped me make a couple of decisions here and I just went and ordered the Combo oven! Thanks to you and rotuts both! I had to decide between the 10% or free shipping. I went with the free shipping as it was higher than 10% - $22, I believe. I had to do rush shipping as we are heading north for the summer next week and I want to take the oven with us. Thank you so much, guys, and I hope to report some lovely meals helped by my new toy!!!

I'm seeing this unit on sale again for $199.95 at Williams-Sonoma. I'm really interested but having a hard time justifying the purchase. Can anyone add more cooking experiences? On sale at: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cuisinart-combo-steam-and-convection-oven/

Trader Joe's also has Morello cherries, though they might be too soft? I don't know what they would be like after baking, though. Here's a link where they are being used in a cherry pie: http://www.themanlyhousekeeper.com/2012/02/20/tested-what-makes-a-great-cherry-pie/

I just made a version of Molly Stevens' "World's Best Braised Green Cabbage" and it was really delicious, a very pleasant surprise both to myself and to several people who said they don't usually like cabbage. It's cabbage cut into wedges, with carrots and onion, some S&P, a few red pepper flakes, chicken stock and oil - all cooked for about 2 hours at 325F or so. If you are interested, this is the version I did: http://www.kitchenriffs.com/2011/03/easy-tasty-braised-cabbage.html

Kerry's recipe sounds perfect for what you want, as well as the other suggestions! I was just going to say that there are lots of lemon and orange loaf recipes and they tend to freeze very well so you can double recipes and so forth. You can bake some cookies and take a loaf out of the freezer if you want to offer variety for one meeting. You can add things like cranberries or dried fruit. I like mini-muffins because regular muffins are just too big at times. And muffins don't have to be sweet, they can be savory. Ham & cheese, corn or cornbread muffins with peppers (not necessarily hot peppers!), sun-dried tomatoes, etc. I used to make peanut butter and banana muffins - I think I started with a version of a peanut butter muffin and substituted banana for some of the oil. I'm not really giving anything special here, I'm afraid. (I was going to mention scones as well.)

It's a claim from their website - that there are only two single malt distilleries. But you are right, I can see that. Not sure why they made that statement. I'm not at all knowledgeable about this stuff, but I thought buying my husband a bottle from a local distiller would be kind of cool and hope that it is decent quality.

I'm waiting for Shelter Point Distillery to start production of their Single Malt Whisky on Vancouver Island - they say they are one of only two in Canada. They grow their own barley on site and it sounds very interesting but I'm not knowledgeable enough to guess what kind of product they will produce. Any thoughts from others? They may release some this year and I will buy some for my husband to taste if available. (We live very near here for half the year.) . http://www.shelterpointdistillery.com/

Arizona - native Indian Fry Bread, from the AZ Navajo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread Sonoran Hot Dog! Mmmmm http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/fast-fresh/new-essentials-sonoran-hot-dog-00400000038780/ Prickly pear and saguaro cacti - prickly pear pad (nopalitas) and prickly pear juice/nectar are used quite a bit Mesquite flour, cholla cactus buds, tepary beans are used by native Indians http://www.arizonaguide.com/experience-and-share/featured-article/a-sense-of-taste-arizonas-food-culture

I wonder about that also. With regular commercial pectin, you have to use a lot of sugar so that is why some people started to avoid it. But low-sugar pectins are available. Maybe some people feel it's 'cheating' to achieve the right flavour and set by relying on a commercial product? I don't completely avoid the commercial stuff, I just don't use it unless I feel I need it. If I were going to make a port jelly or something, I absolutely would use regular pectin. I used to use it more when making larger batches and wanting to make sure that everything turned out right. Some fruits/recipes don't need extra pectin, of course. Mostly I do small batches these days - far too small to bother opening a package of pectin. I don't mind a softer set in some cases and I use enough sugar so that I don't have to cook the fruit too long. The commercial pectins are made from apple and citrus but the commercial production methods may be a turn-off to some people. But I've rarely run across people who actually know what that process entails. From: http://en.silvateam.com/Products-Services/Food-Ingredients/Pectin/What-pectin

Or you could brine them before cooking to keep them moister. Here's one version: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/brined_pork_chops_with_gremolata/

Here is an example of an easy jam/spread. I bought 6 Ataulfo mangoes from Costco and I knew I wouldn't eat them all before they were over-ripe, so I took 2 of them and made this today. It's just a couple of mangoes chopped, with a bit of lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of sugar and simmered for about 15 mins or so. After the first few minutes, I mash them with a potato masher. It won't be a firm jam, but it will be spreadable and the fruit flavour will still be clear. It's enough to last us a few mornings on toast.

Fruit butters are traditionally made with very little sugar and you can use honey instead if you just want to avoid processed sugar. Or you can make them without any added sweeteners. Of course, if you want the fresh fruit flavour and bright colour of a good jam, butters aren't the best substitute. Here's an example recipe for Strawberry-Apple Butter: http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2012/12/stop-buying-jelly-and-make-your-own-fruit-butter-instead-recipe-included/

You can exclude the sugar and pectin, but the result will be more of a fruit spread rather than a jam. And you'll have to cook it longer to thicken it. Here's an example that uses a bit of arrowroot powder to help with the thickening: http://livinghealthywithchocolate.com/desserts/truly-sugar-free-strawberry-jam-2806/ Sugar is a preservative, so if you make low or no-sugar spreads, you'll probably need to keep them in the fridge. I make small batches of fairly low-sugar jams. My fave is a mixed berry jam and I use about 1/2 cup sugar for 3-4 cups of berries, plus a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice. ETA: I don't use any pectin in this jam, I use a wide, fairly shallow pan to cook the jam which helps with evaporation. If you want a non-commercial pectin, you've probably already discovered that you can make your own from apples or just add high-pectin fruit.