Darienne

Thanks for the head's-up on the ice cream recipe. Haven't tried it yet. Still struggling to get in the apple crop.

Hello and welcome ecclescake. I'm in East Central Ontario, Canada, and I've never had an Ecclescake. Alas. I'd love to go to NZ. Friends who have gone there wax so eloquently about the landscape and the people.

We just use plain white vinegar. But then my knowledge of French Fry habits of others is really slight I guess. DH just said that all restaurants have white vinegar and that we've never seen malt vinegar on a table except in the USA.

Just discovered a tiny cookie at a friend's house and bought some. Can't remember the last time I bought a box of cookies. Costco. Leclerc Praeventia Dark Chocolate Chip 70% cacao with red wine extract. Apparently made in St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec but also listing American addresses in PA,TN and AZ.

Hello ElsieDee and welcome to eGullet. First time I have ever heard of malt vinegar on French Fries being associated with being in Canada (or Brantford for that matter). We are Ontarians living on the outskirts of another Brantford-like town. And we do have a terrific chip wagon...the Hippy Dippy Chipwagon..clever name...???...but scrumptious fries and so generous. And we NEVER use malt vinegar.

Thanks for the information, Chimayo Joe. We have friends in Moab who travel to GJ regularly and I'll mention this to them. Next time we are through, we'll try it.

We drive through St. Louis twice a year and would love a good stop-off reason. I'll vote for SLC.

Further to Jaymes' post...what about Carlsbad? We haven't been there in a very long time, but we were there rather regularly around the time when Carlsbad made major changes in the city...a notable one being changing the canal from a dumpy dirty thing into a public park and river walk. Big change. But as noted...it was a long time ago. Las Cruces was a rather nice place to go. Albuquerque is huge and sprawling but not terribly classy. Which doesn't mean anything really... Taos is sooo expensive. Are you thinking NM? I do love Moab but the food scene there is just about NIL! Big time NIL! Rafters, hikers, bikers, jeepers, climbers, etc...they don't care what they eat as far as I can tell. Any thoughts?...or are they private at this point? And are we pestering you? Remember, it's cause you are liked and respected.

I just discovered this thread. Think I must make some Toast Dope and even more so, some Toast Dope Ice Cream. Can anything top this summer's Apple Pie Ice Cream???

I am delighted to know that the 'sad' news is really 'good' news in the end. Rob was one of the first people I got to know on FB :wub: and I, along with many others, was so glad when he returned to the flock. And wish him all the best in the new endeavor.

A fig right off a tree...I can't imagine...but I can dream. :wub:

Welcome to eGullet. Hope you enjoy yourself here. It's a wonderful experience.

Lemon curd you say? Must look into that one. If there is one thing I love, it's lemon curd. Thanks for the head's-up.

Why would anyone sneer at the Magic Bullet? I use one every morning to make my morning breakfast shake.

Thanks Deryn. I never thought it was your recipe. But I have made the 3-Minute Chocolate cake on a number of occasions, just for the fun of it. This one was not a disaster...bravely we choked it down... ...but I won't make it again.

Report (for what it's worth). The original untweaked recipe has 3 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of sugar. Subbing for the butter in the 'tweaked' recipe is 1 tablespoon of oil plus 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream and the sugar is reduced to 3 tablespoons from 4. Using whole-wheat flour ??? I don't know what taste difference that makes. So the cake didn't taste as good as the original. Butter makes it better. Always. Everyone knows that. And basically the savings in calories comes from eating only half the cake...which is what we do anyhow. The recipe person say: 240 calories. My 1/2 recipe is 195 calories and tastes better. Also her recipe at 240 calories would obviously omit her 'optional' chocolate chips, the 'light' vanilla bean ice cream and sliced strawberries or other fruit. As far as I can tell...it's a boondoggle. Oh...but thanks for the thought, Deryn.

Somehow I have missed the last dozen or so posts on this thread and so missed seeing Deryn's chocolate cake recipe:http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-recipe-doctor/2009/05/5-minute-chocolate-mug-cake-makeover.html We'll try it today...with some substitutions which will up the caloric intake. We don't use 'fat free' cream or sour cream and I'll sub yoghut for sour cream (which I can't keep in the house because it calls to me at all hours...) I'll report back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLkTuWdKrqY This is the first thing we ever saw from John Pinette (warning: it may be offensive to some folks). About eating at a Chinese buffet. And sadly he died in 2014.

They look terrific to me.

I'm no storage expert, but I'd say a Rubbermaid container would be just the thing. Many of our food ingredients are stored in Rubbermaid containers in our cellar and we've done well by them over the years. We live in a more than century old farmhouse and our cellar is just that...a cellar, not a basement. Storage was a problem from day one and Rubbermaid has come to our rescue. Good luck with the cake.

PanaCan, As usual, your stuff is gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!!! :wub:

Nope, but I'm glad to follow along with you.

My DH and I love Indian food and living in Canada, it's easy to find the ingredients and restaurants if you want that. I have found that many Americans have no access to Indian food and that's too bad.

ElainaA is correct. This is a great thread. eGulleters are discouraged from writing about their personal lives, but I for one find it fascinating to learn the backgrounds of folks whom I have 'known' for a few years without knowing much about them.

Thanks for the Crepes. Your story is horrendous. And I'm so glad that it's long over and here you are amongst eG friends, cooking your heart out.