Darienne

Googled 'cuy'. Guinea pigs. Are there cuy farms? Are they in cages? Are they free roaming? Is the pelt used for anything? Any other facts we might be curious about?

Breakfast this morning for overnight guests. Could not resist taking a photo of the Pannukakku and already they were beginning to fall. A great success and the guests went home with the recipe.

I do have a lot of 9"X13" pans of both pyrex (the discontinued kind, of course) and metal. And several of several sizes of metal pans. And many pyrex ditto. Most of the pyrex bought at our favorite second-had store in Moab. But many of the pans are currently occupied in the freezer...I make more than one of whatever I am making and then store them away for visitors. Or later eating. And still...no 8"X8" square metal pan. Very strange. But it's coming... And yes, I hate the silicone stuff...all mine is given away, mainly to second-hand stores...except for the one.

OMG. I'm back again. I can't believe it. OK. I have no 8"x8" metal pan. I don't know why. I just don't. However, I do have one of those horrible green floppy silicone abominations which is 8"X8". (photo of horrible green pan) And I keep on talking about buying a proper metal pan. In fact, just yesterday I finally put it down on the grocery list. "Buy a proper 8"X8" metal pan". However, today I needed a pan, oh, about 8"X8" to roast a smallish amount of corn in the oven for this dish, Southwest Potatoes, I was serving tonight and right...brought out the silicone pan. Oiled the corn, into the oven it went. Then it was ready to bring out. On went the oven mitts and then Mrs.-Stupid-who-never-learns-it-seems lifts out the pan by its corner...just the way you could lift out a metal pan...its corner...and the corn all falls out on the oven door. Thank heaven for the door or the corn would have been in the compost bin tout de suite. BTW, the Southwest Potatoes are hardly traditional Mexican food, but boy are they delicious!

A question about the carambola. I've eaten them in Ontario and in Utah and found them in both places not really to be worth the eating. Bland. Pretty tasteless. But then I suspect that buying them from your market might be a different experience? Ed wants to know what currency you use and how it compares to any other which you might want to suggest.

I am with Tere. I think I need to go and lie down now after that exhaustive tour. Wonderful! We are definitely coming.

Truer words were ne'er spoken.

PanaCan, you are incredible. Nothing short of that!

It is gorgeous. Absolutely breath-taking.

Thanks to Shel_B, I made my first Jerusalem Kugel tonight. Unusual dessert. DH wanted less crust and more sweetness. We put Salted Caramel Sauce on it and then DH liked it better. I'll have to do more work on this one if we are going to have it again. Make it thicker. Add sliced almonds. Look at other recipes. Visitors are expected for dinner tomorrow night and I think we'll try it with homemade vanilla ice cream. The front edge is ragged because we already started sampling the Kugel.

Hooray for PanaCan. If I EVER get to Ecuador...you can expect me at your door. I'd love to go there and to meet you and your family. (Don't worry...it's unlikely to happen...but then you never know.) This week will be fun with you.

Hi there, PanaCan. Loved your last blog with you and your family eating from food trucks. Oh my, would I love to do that. East Central Ontario has only chip trucks. Not too exciting. So we wait for the next blog. Hooray!

Good heavens, I seem to have returned already. I was streaming along, making two Moussakas and all was going well. I was just finishing up the double batch of Bechamel sauce to pour over the tops of the casserole dishes and realized that I had forgotten to add some salt and pepper. Salt added. OK. Pepper added. Oh.... I had just replenished the ground pepper container and had neglected to tightly fasten down that little piece of white plastic with the holes in it which goes under the cover. An entire container of fresh ground pepper right into the sauce. Frantic scooping out ensued. Could I get enough pepper out of the mixture quickly enough to stave off the damage and loss of time, energy and ingredients? I did. I succeeded and the sauce was back in business...a little peppery perhaps...??? But now I am wiped out and have to have a cup of coffee and spend some quiet moments on the time-gobbler.

Will follow and love the blog? The dried fish...not so much.

No photos because the pie is wrapped in plastic, as ordered, to cool in the fridge. Martha Stewart's Best Coconut Cream Pie . Never made a coconut cream pie before...hope the DH finds it rich enough.

If I were attending such an event, I would probably take a South African dish, Bobotie, which I made for the first time a few months ago for a South African meal with the help of several eGulleters. The combination of meat, apricots, raisins, almonds, and the spices took eaters by surprise and the popularity of the dish was amazing.

Moussaka is a favorite in our household. And Ed makes his Mother's Macaroni & Cheese which always goes quickly because it's so delicious.

Found my post. You are absolutely correct. I can't recall what the dogs thought about it. Sorry. Gosh. I am surprised. Thanks, Anna.

OMG. One day.

Not the same day I would hope....???

Just read through Chef Ramsay's recipe and I think it's now slated for the coming week. Thanks Anna.

My very feelings.

Thank you so much Franci. I'll try the above next. I was not thrilled with my yesterday's experiment although DH loved it. I thought it was bland although as noted, the salt helped. But then...DH and I were raised in very different families with very different food...and it is, of course in our world anyhow, his taste which reigns supreme. (I can always eat the stuff I like best when I make it just for myself. )

The chocolate additions, while they sound very nice and useful, are not what I am looking for. Might try them some day though. Re-read the posts. (Thank you all again) Looked at a dozen more recipes for pastry cream, creme patissiere, mousseline...and of course got more and more confused. So, in the end, I more or less solved the problem in my usual bumbling way. Took Martha Stewart's Creme Patissiere recipe, changed the 1 cup milk to half milk (whole) and half half & half. Added a 4th tablespoon of sugar, subbed 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, added 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and away I went. DH loved it. It was rich enough and thick enough and he thought it was divine. I thought it was lacking. Stirred in a smidge of salt. And presto. It picked up. Sliced some banana on it. Good. Stirred in some sweetened coconut. Very good. So I may not have made anything which would pass any test, but as long as DH loved it, nothing else mattered. Thanks for the help and more importantly, for the support. ps. Sorry, I should have added Martha Stewart's recipe.

Dear Tri2Cook, I think you have hit the nail on the head. I had never heard of mousseline before and have now found a few recipes and I think you're right. It will work and DH will be pleased. Thanks.