Darienne

I like the wire basket idea used by wholemealcrank. When we were in a rented condo in Moab with almost no cupboards, closets, etc,...I kept a lot of stuff on the top of the kitchen cabinets, such as they were. Mexican in one plastic basket, Chinese in another, chocolate in another. It was very handy. It was also very ugly. The baskets didn't match. Hey! We didn't 'live' there. The cupboard tops were very low. I didn't care what it looked like. At home, our cupboards are too high for me to store such things safely, assuming I bought all matching containers. I have to stand on a stool to get anything down from there and a basket of any kind would be too dangerous. So my spices are all over the place, as is my entire kitchen.

The confection Sorry. Maybe this one will work. OK. Works for me.

Thanks cteavin for all the information. The basic concept of the nougat being sticky and the need to refrigerate/ cool/ solidify the stuff is not the consideration here really. The question stems from the fact that my partner in crime and I have only one day to work at any given project. She lives almost an hour away (almost 2 hours return) and whatever we do, we do it in one day. Therefore in the interests of getting whatever the confection done in one day, the idea of the soft nougat being dipped in chocolate is hereby scrapped. Deensiebat posted this incredible coconut/chocolate ganache half-way between a cookie and a candy yesterday and we'll probably go for that instead. I really like the fact that this cookie/candy can be sent in the mail without problems.

Thanks for the answer. I should have thought through my question. There was no way we were going to dip freezing cold nougat...I know about the cracking. I just wondered if a short stay in the freezer might somehow mirror the overnight process in the fridge. Why 8 hours? Why not just three or four? What does the extra time buy you? We were going to make bite-sized pieces. I think. Thanks.

Oh my! That's gorgeous!

Confectionery partner, Barbara, comes tomorrow and we are making some delectable item to give away. And she takes home two cooked cottage rolls. DH has apologized. No, of course, he didn't ask anyone about it before he bought it. Never again. End of story. Thanks for the help.

Another thing to do if you have any free wall space at all is to remove the wallboard and build into that small space in the wall interior. This is what my DH has done. (Contents are currently in transition and of course, this little cupboard doesn't begin to hold everything.)

Are you asking how to freeze them? If so I just put them in a zip bag and seal. If I had a FoodSaver I'd use that. My error. Nope, I want to know how to dry them. Thanks.

Indian curries and other dishes, as noted above, which are based on rice, lentils or legumes. Can't pick just one. Current favorite is Chana Punjabi.

Ooooooohhhhh. Now I know what I am making tomorrow with confectionery partner, Barbara. They look scrumptious!!!

Anita Chu (aka Pastrygirl) in Field Guide to Candy has a recipe for Chocolate Nougat dipped in chocolate later. Confectionery partner, Barbara, and I have decided to make this tomorrow. For fun. And because we haven't made it before. It's fluffier than European nougat, which we have made a few times, and serves as the center for such goodies as 3 Musketeers and Mars Bars. OK. Chu says to refrigerate the nougat overnight and then dip it the next day. We don't have overnight to work together. What if we put it in the freezer for an hour or so instead? I often do that with ice cream bases; why not with nougat? If if doesn't ripen to its full flavor, we will live with that. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Assuming I can still get my northern frozen hands on some chile worth the freezing, just how do I do it? I can look it up, of course, so I should say, how do YOU do it? Thanks.

For two decades of research I lived on ILL (Inter Library Loan)and it's there in my two libraries. I still do use it on occasion. I think the salient word was 'lazy'. Not to mention that the list of what I have never made is so long that I literally do not have enough time left in my life to make it all. Thanks.

A good idea Jaymes. I have access to two libraries, but neither is very up-to-date and I am probably lazy to go one step further. My goal was probably less learning...than it was the idle time of watching a bit of TV...which to me has become a wasteland anyway. To me the cooking shows have become unattractive (I really mean something worse) contests or of the Drive-ins, Diners, etc which could be fun now and then, but a steady diet??? No. The drama shows we used to watch, which are still on, have become nasty and violent. What is there left. But I digress... So my answer is probably Andie's suggestion of looking up videos when I want to make something. That's how I found the delectable Puero Pibil recipe. Thanks again.

Tuesday morning, early. It looks like ham, it smells like ham and it tastes like ham. And I loathe ham: looks, smells, taste, texture, and sorry...childhood memories of too much ham, and yes, with vegetarian parents. (long and confused story). No decisions about what to do. I've cooked both rolls. We might give one to friends. We might just cut it up and give it to the dogs although it's way too salty in my opinion. No, I think the neighbors are the answer. Maybe Ed will eat one. :sad:

Say no more, say no more. (shades of Monty Python). All is understood. And the chocolates are more important than the photos. Keep up the good work...but I do want to see what they looked like.

Yes-ish. Oh.

I like pork, but I loathe ham. Is this going to taste like ham????

Interesting stuff. Thanks, EN

Lovely victory. Photos, please!!!

Thanks Elsie. I'll pop them in the slow cooker and let 'em go on low all night. Normally you don't have to put water in a slow cooker...I wonder if I should add the water or no?

Thanks all. Canada is a food television wasteland for the most part I fear.

The ingredient list: pork, water, salt, sodium erythorbate, dextrose, sodium nitrate, sodium bicarbonate. So...DH did the shopping tout seule this morning and bought two of these things: cottage rolls. Neither of us has ever cooked one nor eaten one nor nothing nohow, and the information online is not to satisfactory. What do I do with it? It's been brined, yes? Ed wants me to do it overnight in the slow cooker. Good idea? Yes? No? It's meat so I don't thing they'll take it back. Help, please.

It's only 9:30 am where I live and already I feel a certain exhaustion simply from reading about all the great dishes you made yesterday. Surely you don't work at that pace all the time??? Or maybe you are a Kerry Beal clone. That woman is indefatigable. And you are too it seems. I think I'll go and have a little lie down...

Good one, James.