Darienne

HBK could use Canadian pennies. They are no longer in circulation. Hmmm...I might think that one over.

Well, Kim, it's my photo and my name and my avatar graphic so it must be me. Yes, I do remember now. And that apple cake looks incredible and who needs apple recipes more than I do? Sorry about Mr. Kim's finger.

Of course, the first I had to do was to go back and look at your dog. (It's a dog person thing...as all dog persons know.) You and your gang are doing one incredible job and I am so impressed with your hard work and ingenuity. We do have some points in common in our kitchen living: galley kitchen (would never have another kind), diy (Ed built the entire thing from what was an apiary), done on the cheap/inexpensive, big fridge in the garage...however big one in the kitchen too. But then DH has remodeled/renovated the ENTIRE house. Don't ask. I have some extras which you might consider at some point: very shallow cupboard built into the wall interior, perfect for spices. A wood floor...I'd die before I ever had anything else in my kitchen again. But then we have a 'Century' farmhouse and all the floors are original and/or new pine planking. Distressed the natural way...large dogs and careless humans. White ceiling, cupboards, counter and walls with colorful accents. Huge windows. Lots of light. I am obsessed with light...always have been. Again, well done so far and all best in the rest.

Wish it were MY recipe. It's simply a copy-cat recipe and I can't even find the original site anymore. I just have the recipe from somewhere....????

From Kim: Darienne – do you remember these cookies? They are from David Lebovitz’s blog. You made them at some point and I was fascinated with the idea of them. I made mine with those ‘smokehouse’ almonds. The original recipe calls for just using the almonds ground, but I added chopped almonds and this time I added one whole almond on top. They are truly unusual and delicious cookies. I think Jessica ate a half dozen before I could get them in the bag for the freezer! Sorry Kim. I have no memory of making them. But then I have become a bear of very little memory. They do look good though...maybe I should make them.

My DH has this dry cracking hands problem worse in the winter. Might add that he NEVER texts at all. He uses heavy-duty Rubbermaid gloves when he has to get his hands wet in the kitchen. I'm going to look into some of the products mentioned above for him. I've seen Bag Balm in the store but never bought it. I'm pretty old also but have never had this problem although I have dry skin and ironically, he has oily skin.

Oh yes, Shelby...when it's no longer fun...it's really no longer fun!

Made the cake. Of course I had to modify it slightly...a layer of chopped pecans under the sugar topping. DH thinks everything is improved by chopped nuts. Delicious cake. :wub: The lemon zest absolutely makes the cake for me. Thanks Ann_T and of course David Rocco.

May I please join your family, ElaineA.

My confectionery partner, who is so busy that she can hardly take the time to breathe, has lent me her adorable Tomric chocolate mold of little boys and girls ( http://tomric.com/moulds?product_id=3496) and I think I'l make a number of them for little gifts. They look so appealing in pairs backed on gold cardboard, wrapped in cellophane. And I'll probably make chocolate coated, almond filled toffee as usual. Boy, is it popular. (We do give confectionery and cooked and other gifts all year long to quite a number of folks, so that Christmas gifts are not a big item. I love making the stuff and then can't keep it around the house for fear of eating them all. This fall we gave away bushels and bushels of apples and apple butter and apple leather and dried apple rings. )

Going to try for the apple cake today. The few apples left on the tree turned out to be yet another two dozen...will this never end?...and I never got at it. That will be three apple cakes this fall. (Not to mention the long list of other apple items produced. Still have Hard Apple Cider left to make.)

Thanks, HBK. But remember...you can run...but you can't hide. Today for lunch we had one of the original veggie burgers...falafel. Made from a mix, granted, with additional spices suggested by my Middle Eastern standby, Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, 1968, which even predates my interest in cooking. On flat buns (Costco, One Buns) with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a sauce made from tahini, lemon juice, etc. Not deep fried, however. Also yesterday found an article on the "best" veggie burger available in the USA and if you couldn't get there...well, here are 16 top recipes you can try. Bookmarked said recipes. Oh, it's all coming together quite nicely.

Cake? Apples? Rustic? Easy? I'm in. We have just a very few apples left from the thousands (and thousands) which our nutsy Macintosh tree produced this year and which we drove ourselves like navvies to process. So, this cake for tonight I think. Thanks. Found the recipe online. AnnT: lovely looking cake. Just what kind of pan is it baked in? Oh, not to mention that crunchy sugary topping which looks devine.

And, we here at home, are waiting to see the photos, Kim. :wub:

So I read the complicated Hoshijo recipe out loud to the DH, who is also a cook (we share the kitchen, although sometimes he drives me a bit batty...) this morning at breaktime and he said...first let's go to the local health food store and the best chain grocery store and see what they have first. OK. He wins. Again.

OK. So after fiddling around a bit online, I finally found the recipe for Hoshijo's burgers, and one thing for sure...they are a lot of trouble. I'd have to buy a few things first. For anyone who can't wait until HBK posts the recipe. (I'm not always a good waiting person if I can figure out a way to do it myself. But thanks so much anyway. ) http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-food-cooking-chat/34840-help-me-modify-recipe-low-carb.html

Thanks HBK. I await your next post. btbyrd. Thanks for an interesting video on a burger which honestly doesn't grab me. I love black beans tremendously...but ...???

Dear Dejah, All best to you and DH on this diet. I found that trying the Atkins diet left me in a dreadful 'mood' or frame of mind...or something...and just couldn't do it. Thus I have no advice, but warm wishes.

Hooray for you. Off to meet Chocolot, whom I almost met several years ago, and to stay in her abode. Lucky you. And in Utah. Home of my favourite place on earth, besides my own farm home, Moab of the red rocks, blue sky and constant sun. Do say hello for me and have a good and safe travel and time in place.

It might be time to resurrect this topic seeing as its last post was in 2008. We've never been a fan of 'veggie burgers' and although I don't really know why...the very word 'veggie' sets my teeth on edge. Still this year, while doing the rounds in our local Costco, we were given a veggie burger sample. Yum. A surprised 'yum'. Bought a box. Ate them. Bought another box. And ate them also. Looked for another box. What's that you say? They're a 'seasonal' item and they don't have them in the fall. Rats. Now I have to find a decent recipe. I kept the ingredient list...although now I can't find it in that place called 'My Den'. Double rats. Any more good veggie burger recipes out there? Please. (I will try some of the above ones so thank you backwards.)

My personal favorite: Habeeb Salloum. Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa.

Well, my confections can never hope to equal the eG masters, like Minas6907, my personal hero...but I do try... The apple processing on the farm still carries on with my latest: Apple Cider Salted Caramel, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. I thought they were absolutely delicious. DH said...well, yes, they're OK. What do you mean...just OK? Well, they'd be better with toasted pecans in them and dipped in dark chocolate. The things I do... Thought: I mixed the pecan pieces into the caramel mixture before pouring it out, but the pecans all rose to the top. I would assume this is normal?

Alas. I spoke too soon. I never turned the heat up over 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Still the chicken and sauce broke through the liner and there is quite a burnt mess around the edge of the wrecked insert. It was a name brand...Reynolds. (Not that that means anything anymore.) Perhaps the fact that the insert was already deceased made the difference. Maybe the heat is not holding steady, but the chicken is not burnt anywhere. I don't know. Deryn was right. I'm going to buy a new 6 quart slow cooker and end this frustrating period. Good-bye Aroma Roaster. Still, I have to say that the chicken is the most delicious I think I have ever tasted. :wub: Will use that concoction again.

Finally, finally I get to use the slow cooker liner in my ruined slow cooker insert. I admit I haven't taken the food out of the pot yet, but so far, so good. Thanks all for all the help. Mexican spiced chicken (can't remember where I got the recipe and it's dead easy: salsa, chipotle peppers in sauce, chile powder, garlic)

Thanks, Smithy. However...as I read your post, I realize that much of what I don't like about squash is the texture. But then I don't like mashed potatoes either. I'm trying to think of a vegetable, which I do like, with a similar texture but my brain is not cooperating right now. Maybe I just don't like mashed stuff. I once tried spaghetti squash and thought it was dreadful. That would be taste also. But then, DH doesn't like Brussels Sprouts or cooked beets and I love both. He won't eat liver and I love it. He likes Butter Tarts and I find them horribly sweet...set my teeth on edge. But then I don't like wines...really only Manischewitz. So what makes sense? Who knows? I think a lot of it for me has to do with childhood foods. Although then, I have learned to like a lot of foods I had never heard of in my childhood. And I still hate runny egg whites. Sorry, I seem to be getting a bit far afield...