Darienne

And on the other hand, you have to actually pull out the restrictor if you want any appreciable amount for cooking...

I shall certainly blend rices and other bits and bobs from now on. Never heard of it or thought of it before. Embarrassing. Like Nakji, neither the DH nor I really like brown rice...and we don't like it cooked the same way...and blending offers so many possibilities. Thanks to you all.

And I hate how large packages of things like potato chips and corn chips are made of a material which rips like crazy and so you can't close the bag properly after you once open it. And I hate how drinks which come in a can cannot be resealed properly. Both of the above are deliberate in MHO. well, maybe not so "H"

Feedmec00kies, Thank you so much for sending me off to Wikipedia. Who knew? Wonderful stuff....well, except for the part about putting ketchup on French toast.

Thank you, Patrick. Interesting. Your answer sent me off into the archives. Isomalt is not in my near future, but who knows...

I miss being able to get REAL pumpernickel down the street. And sour cream that tasted like sour cream. And lamb at prices we can afford. When we were first married, it was the cheapest meat available. And, Chris, we DO have a real butcher. He is half owner of the grocery store in a little town near us and he just agreed the other day to grind hamburger for us specially after I read that report by Mark Bitten on today's hamburger. I do bring Dave confections a few times a year. Can't hurt.

Gorgeous. Is that decoration on top made of sugar and how does one get the neat little holes in it? Thanks.

That makes two of us who grew up eating salted French toast. I grew up in Montreal, PQ, and the salt came from my Mother who grew up in a Polish Jewish home. Is it an ethnic, religious, political thing? Never met anyone else who ever ate salted French toast. My favorite breakfast USED to be cottage cheese and sour cream over pumpernickel chunks, topped with salt and pepper. I haven't seen real pumpernickel for decades and the commercial sour cream leaves a lot to be desired now.

We have a Cuisinart Ice Cream machine and here is its dasher. And here is my question. Has anyone a really clever idea of how to get the ice cream off the dasher and into the storage container? I use a variety of wide and narrow soft and harder utensils and then give up. And lick the rest off, of course. Who has a good idea of how to get it off without resorting to the old-fashioned lick method? Added: Actually, the real dasher has even more little jutting in and out pieces than this photo shows...

Interestingly enough, I grew up in a home where French toast was salted, not sweetened. To this day, my French toast calls for salt...while the rest of my family does syrup.

Googled T&T at Steeles and got T&T. What is T&T? Thanks.

I'd be interested in a set of those trays if you can find them in Ontario.

Amongst the things that I am not, I am not a gardener. In my studio window I now have a large thriving container of ginger (thanks to Andie) and another pot of calamansi seedlings. This is a first. I have had an outdoor garden in the past...the far past. How do I go about starting an indoor winter garden for herbs? I'd like, if possible, mint, parsley, thyme...I don't even know what else you can grow inside. Do I need special lights? I live in Zone 5, in east central Ontario (that sounds SO boring, east central Ontario) but I do have large windows on the east and the south. Please start me off...

The Jade Blend was very tasty. Alas! The pretty green color was no more.

Dear Edward J. Could you please fill out the above? 1" PVC tube? How thick is this tube? Do you have a photo? Do you cut right through the tube? Somehow decant the buttercream before cutting? I am lacking in this kind of experience and don't quite get it. Thanks.

There are several rice,lentil, etc, blends for sale at our local Bulk Barn...a Canadian chain...Don't know whether it's a USA chain or not. The DH has taken to dropping me off at the Bulk Barn while he goes to the ReStore...a 'guy' kind of store...and I wander around looking at all the stuff. I am amazed at what they actually carry that I did not know about. I usually run in to get whatever it is that I am specifically looking for... Yesterday I bought a couple of cups of this mix, Jade Blend, simply because it looked so pretty in the bin, a blend of soft greens, ochers, and tan. But there were several other ones. The Jade Blend contains: bamboo rice, wheat berries, basmati rice, green lentils, split baby garbanzo beans, Daikon radish seeds. A single set of directions. It's for lunch today with Scalloped Tomatoes (accidentally bought tomatoes twice), and the rest of the roasted fall vegetables.

I am curious about the sugar solution. Never heard of this before. What is the theory behind it? Thanks.

If I can stand and walk, I'm in. However, I can help with computer-oriented tasks.

Here is a rather nice recipe from Alton Brown which I have made: Alton Brown's Mooless Pie

One more for me: Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East & North Africa. Habeeb Salloum.

I have just finished reading the entire thread. Wow! Wonderful! If only...if only... I just found the posting by Lindacakes on the current Artisanal Gift thread last night and thought to myself...I've had Black Cake once at Christmas at a Bajan Christmas dinner and loved it. (We brought a French Canadian Tortiere made by my DH, his Christmas specialty.) I could make a Black Cake. Our daughter's boyfriend is from Grenada and is an incredible cook. I thought what a wonderful surprise for him. So I bought the fruit, ground it up, and it's macerating in rum and wine and NOW I find out that I am too late to make it for this year. I told my daughter last night that I was making it for Derek. What do I do now? Give him a promissory note? Where are the other Black Cake persons?

This is so exciting pour moi. Thanks to Lindacakes and the internet, I am now starting my first ever Caribbean Black Cake for Christmas. It's basically for our daughter's boyfriend who came to Canada from Grenada. He will be so surprised. Now can he cook!!! Cuts everything in his hand the way his Grandmother taught him! Pounds and pounds of candied this and that macerating in bottles of booze for a month or two. What could be more enticing?

Would that I had had that recipe at the time. I did follow the instructions given. It said nothing about sunscreen . It was a wonderful tasting cake, with cardamom...my favorite in the world...well, I have lots of favorites . Perhaps I'll try it again. Today.

My first, and only, attempt to use a Bundt type pan ended up with my giving the cake to my neighbor who has young and uncomplaining kids, who are the recipients of everything I do which cannot be served to a grown-up audience. The cake had a sugary streuseley topping...all of which stuck to the pan...forever almost. Who knew? Not me.

OMIGAWD. I bet they taste incredible!!! Brilliant, Ruth!