Jenni

I think the main difference between a white sauce and a white gravy is that the white gravy usually uses drippings/rendered fat from the meat (or from another meat, for example, like sausage) and can be made in the same pan used to cook the meat entree. Of course, there are different ways to make the gravies but it supposed to be about economy and efficiency (why dirty another pan? Why throw out that chicken fat from the skillet when it can be used for gravy?). Whereas a white sauce is usually made in a separate pan and normally doesn't use a rendered fat. Generally they use butter for the fat. Of course, there are exceptions but I think this is the main difference between the two. Ah, I see.

Woah, just sharing my opinion, not like I'm forcing (or even asking) you to change yours. No need to take it quite so seriously guys.

Forgive me for being pedantic, but I definitely see them as two different things, though I enjoy both. Cocoa powder has a really deep cocoa flavour, but chocolate has cocoa butter and so seems to me to be richer. I usually make cocoa as a warming bed time drink - the cocoa flavour is intense, but it's not too rich. Hot chocolate on the other hand is a breakfast/ snack/ dessert/ treat, because it is so creamy and rich.

To me, a smoothie is made with whole fruit, thinned down a little and whizzed to a pulp. If you're just mixing liquids, that's not a smoothie, IMO! Dairy is optional, but can be nice. Personally, I often make smoothies just with fruit, and not using bananas. Every damn smoothie in the shops seems to have bananas in it, and I find it just makes them all taste very similar. Also, a banana-free smoothie seems more refreshing to me. I don't think I'm the only one who gets fed up of banana either, as Innocent (a UK smoothie company, for those who don't know) now make a smoothie without bananas. It's very good, see here.

You could also make something that needs assembly at the table, for added convivial-ness. Some kind of meal involving wraps maybe? Chinese pancakes with fillings, tortillas and mexican accompaniments, make-your-own-dosa-at-the-table...

Agreed, there is hot cocoa and there is hot chocolate. Has anyone tried a hybrid of the two, where you use some chocolate and some cocoa powder? Kinda like when you make chocolate cake and you want to use chocolate and cocoa to get the characteristics of both.

I have to ask this - I've always been facinated by white gravy. What makes it gravy rather than just a white sauce? In the UK, gravy always seems to be brown, though I could be wrong, and white sauce is a different thing.

Ah, it's all making sense now. How do you find the flavour? I find it adds a real nuttiness to whatever your adding it to, very tasty.

Apologies, must have missed that. Any chance you can post a picture? I'm confused that an unrefined sesame oil should be so clear.

My Dad buys dried mushrooms (shitake, porcini, etc.) and grinds them up to a powder to add to various dishes to deepen the flavour.

Hi Jenni, Clear: I should have specified both untoasted and colorless, like water, that kind of clear. The bottle says: 'medium heat', thus not for deep frying. Yeah, that's what I figured. Use it just like any other cooking oil, but don't deep fry with it. It's funny that you say it's clear like water though. I buy my sesame oil from two sources - my Indian grocer (it's used quite a lot in Indian cookery, massage and also for lamp oil) and also my local health food shop. Both kinds are untoasted, but they are still definitely not clear. Maybe it's because I only buy the non-refined kind.

If your yoghurt isn't getting as thick as you want it when you strain it, try pressing down on it by adding a weight to it. That's how I strain yoghurt when making certain Indian dishes.

I use sesame oil for most of my cooking. I am assuming by "clear" you mean untoasted. I don't think it would be suitable for deep frying, but it works fine for me in stirfrying, sauteeing, and so on.

It's been pretty chilly in the evening this past week, so tonight called for some comfort food! Soft polenta with a little olive oil and ghee added is perfect for this kind of weather, because it is so creamy and unctuous. We also had stuffed mushrooms - the stuffing was tomatoes, red onion, capers, olives, dried herbs, Trini seasoning peppers, halloumi and plenty of salt and pepper. Extra halloumi slices and sesame seeds went on top. The whole thing was baked in the oven till tender. Finally, home-grown green beans rounded out the meal, and they were especially good when doused with the juices that the mushrooms released.

I love the skins

Depends on the family they're growing into, I think. I am 19, and I grew up in a food/ cookery loving family. I love to cook, and my brother does too. I see other friends, who grew up with familys who served them fish fingers and chips, or frozen pizzas for supper (we never did that, always homemade stuff) and they're not that into cooking. They like food, but would rather buy a sandwich and bottle of fizzy drink for lunch and get a takeaway for supper than cook.

I consistently make too much food. I always know that I'm kinda making a bit too much, but I just worry that someone will be really hungry and will feel let down if they can't have seconds.

I agree with what everyone else is saying about telling your customers all the really good points about your products. But, do you know what works even better? Giving them a taste! You could even buy yourself a bar of cheap chocolate and break it into pieces, and ask people to eat a piece of yours and then a piece of the cheap stuff (or the other way around, up to you). When they compare the two experiences, they'll see what you mean!

I've got a cheapish juicer and it makes lovely grape juice.

Not that I recall, from years ago, but I think the dough was a little harder to work, and again you can influence that with oil etc. (In case it was unclear, my pph that followed the one you quoted above concerned why I believe egg pasta is so common at home: preference for the richer flavor and more luxurious texture.) Thanks, that seems to be a reasonable deduction. I wonder if there are specific techniques that make it easier, or do you need years of skill and practice?!

I know that plenty of kinds of noodles and pasta don't contain eggs, I just wondered if it was more difficult to make such pasta - most home-made pasta I have come across seems to be the eggy kind.

Once again, a sloppy picture. I was really hungry and desparate to get it on the plate and eat! Urad dal with fennel and mint, plain yoghurt plus an avocado pancake and tomato and corn salsa from, you guessed it, my upcoming book. I will say it again - recipe testing is the biggest perk of writing a cookery book!

Not sure how authentic this recipe is: http://spanishfood.about.com/od/drinks/r/chocolate.htm I guess if you speak Spanish it's best to google as Jaymes advised.

I try to buy organic teas, because the leaves are dried and therefore per teaspoon of tea you are going to get a higher concentration of whatever they are spraying them with than if you used the leaves freshed. I also use a lot of herbal teas, and I think it's important to buy them organic, especially if you (like me) are using them for their medicinal/ therapeutic qualities. But then again, I am a bit of an all natural hippy, so I may well be shouted down in this discussion! Also, I would say that unless you see organic on the packet, it isn't organic. You can't assume anything.

The type of rice noodles I make are a particular South Indian kind. As I said before, they are quite delicate and not really appropriate for stir-frying and so on. I make them by mixing rice flour, a little sesame oil, salt and hot water into a batter and cooking it till it becomes a dough. I then put it in my idiappam press - here is a picture of one. They are available from Indian grocery stores. They come with several different size plates, and you can make deep fried snacks with them too, as they can press out a variety of different shapes. Anyway, the dough goes in the press and is extruded into noodles which are piled up in little mounds with grated coconut sprinkled between the layers. They noodle mounds are then steamed for a few minutes. These are just one kind of noodle, and I am really interested in making other kinds of rice noodle. I am also interested in making other kinds of noodle that are made without eggs (I don't eat eggs). Does anyone know how this is done? I have a pasta maker at home, but I don't know if egg free pasta is trickier to make.