Darienne

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.

Hi there, new eGulleter, You don't say where you are from, but your name speaks of the Southwest of the USA. Welcome to eGullet.

My Mother hated cooking. And when I got married, I didn't know how to cook. My DH taught me how. And I hated cooking until just about 8 years ago and then one day...I suddenly discovered COOKING. Well, first of all I discovered cooking with chocolate. Since then there has been no stopping me. But I still don't know how to cook a regular North American meal: a hunk of meat, some potatoes and a vegetable. And DH still does the short order cooking, like bacon and eggs. Added: my Father couldn't even heat up a can of soup.

I have a life-long habit of finding mentors as I go along. Won't try to figure that one out. The answer might be disturbing. First mentor was Andiesenji for candying fruit and peels. Then Kerry Beal for chocolate. And paulraphael for ice cream. And Jaymes and Chris Hennes and pierogi...and some who have disappeared...trying to recall the names...Theobroma?... And Kim Shook for baking. And also And Heidi Husnak for just about everything. And JohnT for African. And Shelby. And AnnaN. Too many to name. Sorry for those names which have escaped my declining mind. And PanaCan. And of course Lior, who was so kind to us during a family tragedy. That I will never forget.

Curious qualities these goodies have. I find that when I am making my signature (purloined to be sure) almond-sprinkled chocolate-coated toffee, I have to box it up right away and seal the boxes with stickers, or the little pieces of candy can migrate to my lips and hence to my body. So curious...

Congratulations, Alex. Soon it will be 7 years for me. And an actual lifechanging event it was for me. Wonderful forums and wonderful folks.

So sorry to read your post, sparrowgrass. What a disappointment.

Hooray for Shelby. This will be both educational and great fun. Beautiful okra flowers. Okra? Not so much.

I'm with Franci on those cinnamon rolls. I am almost glad that I've never tried to make such a thing. You know why of course.

And Porthos, I fear your 'anality', if that is a word, is minor to mine. Our printed grocery list is one complete page in 5 columns in size 8 type. And we have one list for Ontario and another one for Utah. She who lives by the list... (I could add that my calling was in literary research...whatever I could find grant money to do.)

I can add to the grocery store supply question. We live outside Peterborough, a city which is now off the beaten path. Our grocery stores fall at the end of the majpr distribution chain for items. Toronto and its surrounding areas (the GTA) always get supplied first and then Peterborough will get the remainder...if there is one. But still, it's not bad. You can find Poblanos and eggplant in Peterborough as an example. We live just outside of a small village near Peterborough. It is even further out on the supply chain as to being almost non-existent...a bit like Manitoulin Island. Never, ever would you find Poblanos or eggplant in our village grocery store. People simply don't eat such things...or they go to the city to buy them and hope that the Peterborough grocery got them in this week. Still, I wouldn't change it for the world. If one of us has a serious stroke, for instance...we are pretty much doomed. You can't get an ambulance to pick you up and get you into the city hospital in under an hour at the best of times. But we are less likely to suffer city stress and noise and lights living out here in the middle of nowhere, walking on the farm every day with our dogs and seeing the sky, the birds, the deer, the trees, etc. I could add that Poblanos have been available for only about four years now. Before that the selection for Mexican food was dismal and a trip to Toronto was needed for piloncillo, chiles, spices, cheeses, etc. Tomatillos are still not available at all in Peterborough so I grow my own.

Franci, your current baking spree is simply wonderful and overwhelming. What fun! Watch out lest a gang of unruly and hungry eGers turn up knocking at your door!

Thanks so much for your offer, Deryn, but please do let it lie for now. I emailed the Brampton firm a couple of weeks ago and have not heard back from them. I will call them next. Just been too swamped to get around to it. There's a Food Basics in Lindsay, 1/2 hour from the farm, and we'll try there next. Thanks again for your research on my behalf.

I've posted this dessert, Malva Pudding, before in the Foods from Africa forum. Thanks again to the eG folks who helped me on that dinner. I've made it again (for the fourth time) today, mainly to see how it freezes. It says it freezes well. To me it was a fascinating experience. The cake is baked and then the syrup, about two cups, is poured over the top and each time I just stand there and watch this incredible amount of sugary liquid disappear into the cake. I photographed the sequence this time. Just out of the oven Poured the syrup onto the cake and by the time I picked up the camera, much of it was already absorbed. Most of the liquid has disappeared into the cake. Success is mine. Some time later, I opened the microwave to use it, and discovered the melted butter which was destined for the pudding was sitting there. So, the pudding did not get frozen whole, but rather we had to have a goodly sample to make sure that it was still edible without said butter. It was delicious.

DH bought me another brand of Bomba Calabrese today. Looks a bit like the one Chris posted a while back. I opened it. Took a small forkful. And the most excruciating hot pain screamed into the back of my throat and up into my ears. I couldn't function for about 10 minutes. Fortunately we had milk on hand and I drank some. Never had anything like that happen before. And hope never to have it again. I can't imagine that the Bomba is really that hot all the way through. That MUST have been some kind of weird occurrence. I wonder. I'll get back. But not today. BTW, my friend, the gifter, says the Gigi is carried by Food Basics in her area. We don't have a Food Basics in our area.