Panaderia Canadiense

No difference, really - it's more that I'll keep pulverized sugar on hand because it's useful to me vis a vis icing for cakes and other assorted pastry uses, while in any recipe calling for white sugar, I'll substitute panela because I have almost no practical use for granular sugar (aside from coating crystallized ginger) - and I've found that it often improves the recipe flavour wise. Incidentally, if I could source micropulverized panela, I'd buy it in a second.

My point was granular white sugar, and if I missed yours, please accept my apologies. I probably also shouldn't post when I'm grumpy. Incidentally, my confectioner's sugar is 100x, and I have to keep it in a hermetic bucket with sachets of silica gel to keep it from going rock hard and clumpy on me. I do keep confectioner's on hand (it's a necessary evil) but I don't generally have granular white - for health, ethical, and flavour reasons I prefer panela (raw sugar), but sadly panela doesn't work well in meringues. I can however purchase some granular white and try using a simple syrup in place of the powdered sugar, to see if that improves results (moving more towards Swiss style meringue, but so be it if that's what works). The cream of tartar is a necessary stabilizer at this altitude - whipped whites without it get almost too airy and collapse very easily in my low atmospheric pressures - the exact thing that makes breadmaking so easy for me makes meringues of any sort a real challenge (which is also why y'all will never see me make macarons). I also have to stabilize all of my whipped creams, or they lose their volume very quickly. As for maple syrup, I hoard that jealously! I have visitors from Canada about once every two years, and they bring me a gallon that has to last that whole time (very tough for me, since I'd drink it neat given a large enough supply!)

Janeer, check my location. I live about 30 km from some of the best cane-producing land in the world. Not having white death on hand is a personal choice.

My inclination would be to cut them into strips, roll them in tempura batter, and flash fry them.

Oh my - I have loads of shell ginger. Can you outline your recipe as those flavors are among my favorites. I'll do you one better - I'll give you the recipe outright. This dish is from the coastal province of Esmeraldas, and is normally served alongside garlic-seared Langostino. I have never encountered rice prepared this way outside of the coast, where it is always made with the extra shredded coconut and peanuts. You need: 2 C thick coconut milk, preferably with the meat blended in. 1 C white rice 1 tbsp Curry blend; I use Garam Masala when I've got it, and Ecuadorian red curry powder when I don't 1/2 C finely chopped peanuts (optional) 1/2 C shredded coconut (optional) A pinch of salt Shell ginger leaves - how many will depend on the size of your leaves and the size of your spoon. How? Mix the rice with the coconut milk, curry, and salt, lid/cover the container, and leave it overnight in the fridge to swell up nicely. At least 12 hours is necessary to hydrate the rice properly - any less time and it comes out crunchy; 24 hours of soaking is ideal. If you want, you can add 1/2 C of shredded coconut to this at the soaking stage; it gives an interesting texture to the final product. Once the rice has soaked, mix in the peanuts, then place about 3-4 heaping spoonfuls of the mixture on the back of the leaf, in the center. Now, fold the leaves as shown in the diagram and place them, folded ends down, in your steamer basket. You can pile the bundles up if you wish - but be aware they'll take longer to cook if you do this. I have a tamale steamer that I use for this kind of thing, and it holds about 10 bundles per layer, which is more than enough. However, you can use a collapsing steel steamer basket just as easily. Now it's time to steam - if you've got a single layer of rice bundles, about 25-30 minutes or until the topmost bundle is springy to the touch should do it. If you're piled more than 2 bundles deep, add 10 minutes for each layer above 2, and check the top bundles by poking them for springiness. Now serve them! Ideally, rice bundles should be piping hot when they're put on the plate; you have the option of leaving the wrappers on and letting your guests peel them, or of peeling beforehand. The rice will be moulded into the rectangular shape of the bundle. The aroma of this dish cooking is absolutely intoxicating.

My butcher sold my bunny to somebody else! :angry: (grrrr....) So, it ended up being a roasted chicken breast, melloco and avocado salad, and some steamed beets. And I was so looking forward to the fatty fatty goodness that is rabbit braised and covered in cream.....

I use confectioner's sugar (I generally don't have granular white on hand), which I generally have been adding at the beginning along with a pinch of cream of tartar, and I never let my meringue stand (ooh, that's just asking for disaster!). I'll try adding the con.sug later in the process and see what that gets me. Is there any particular point in the whipping process that's optimal for sugar addition?

Carolyn, do you happen to know which species / type of bamboo is used for its leaves? It's quite a common crop down here for the wood, and if what I'm looking for is the leaves of giant cane, I can try making zongzi the right way for a change (I've been using banana leaves, which makes them come out more like banh jiao). And if you think Canna is neat, just wait until I get my hands on some Heliconia and Shell Ginger leaves. Coconut-curry peanut and rice dumplings will be had by all!

Yogurt, yes. Pickles, yes, provided they're either very spicy or very sour (sour Daikon, nukazuke style, is a great accompaniment if you want to hit all the continents at once....)

Fufu is very easy. Peel and break green plantains into chunks, then get out your cast iron frypan (the deep one). Into that, put a little oil and enough water to cover the plantain chunks to about half. Lid on, then steam on low heat until the chunks get tender. Increase the heat to boil off most of the water, and at the same time, use your spatch to crumble the chunks into smaller chunks. Add spices (generally cumin, hot pepper, cilantro, and a bit of garlic or green onion), toss until the crumbles are tender and golden. Now, if you're not me, you can also scramble an egg or two into the Fufu with a dash of cream. If you're me, you leave that step out.

That's probably it, you know. I hadn't thought of it in those terms!

I want to know your technique for stuffing the heart of the head - do you peel back leaves and then scoop out the center?

I'd also serve chifles de sal with it (green plantain chips), but that's my Latin American influence showing. Honestly, with the Jasmine rice, it's probably perfect. ETA - or you could make Fufu (fried crumbled plantain with spices) as a bed....

Simple trout maito here, with gold rice cooked in boullion and shredded wild mushrooms, and romanesco. Method for the trout detailed here. (click)

Here's the method for wrapping whole fish (or really, any meat) in Canna leaves; my neighbour went fishing and brought me back three lovely rainbow trout on Friday evening, which became last night's dinner. I'm using Achira leaves, because that's the kind of Canna I've got in my garden - and I have to say, I prefer Heliconia leaves for this, simply because they're much broader. With Canna, you need two leaves per fish, and you need to take into account two things. First, Canna is salty when you cook it (so don't salt your meat the first time round), and second, you'll end up with a lightly smoked flavour that comes from the leaves themselves (so balance your seasonings accordingly). 1. Select and wash your leaves. It's a good idea to measure your fish before you cut the leaves - that way you won't end up with a fish longer than the leaves. Shoot for 3-4" longer than the fish for maximum ease of wrapping. 2. Break the spines of the leaves with a rolling pin - this makes them easier to fold and bend. Don't skip this step! 3. Choose the broader of the two leaves and lay out your fish. 4. Lay out your fillings. I used a Valencia orange, thyme, rosemary, oregano, paico (epazote), and flat parsely. Incidentally, that's my non-stick gift Santoku, and despite my initial misgivings, I love it. 5. Stuff it all in there. I also rubbed the skin of my fish with Aliño to add a nice garlic-onion-cumin flavour. 6. Lay the narrower of the two leaves overtop. 7. Roll the sides inwards and secure with toothpicks (if you have some fancier solution, you can use it, but I like the toothpicks) 8. Roll the ends inwards and secure with toothpicks (this is why you can't skip step 2) 9. Onto the pan they go! 10. I baked these at 350 for about 45 minutes; they can also go on the grill for about an hour, or in the steamer for about 30 minutes. 11. The unwrapped bundle. If you're careful about how you peel the fish, most of the skin will have stuck to the leaf at the bottom; in one of the packets, it had also stuck to the top leaf, which meant that it skinned the fish easily in the process of opening it up.

I've done it the same way one would add flavour to hard candies - add the flavouring while still boiling up the sugar solution. Mmmm, mint honeycomb.....

OK, following MJX's technique of the small whisk and SniderJW's whipping instructions (I've also upped the sugar to 2 tbsp confectioners' per egg), I'm approaching the ideal shapes. I think I'll need to get out the torch if I want the extreme browning, but my pie-loving clients prefer a more toasted colour on their meringues so it's kind of moot anyhow.

Hot Cross Buns, for Good Friday. I completely spaced that these are a very Canadian/British thing, and gave them out to my neighbours, who are used to Pannetone as Easter bread. They were, to a person, thrilled; now I have to make several zillion more for Sunday dinners around the neighbourhood.... On these ones, the crosses are in chocolate manjar de leche (what I had on hand, not wanting to make royal icing if I didn't absolutely have to - what, me lazy?!?); Sunday's will be crossed with sweetened cream cheese.

Rabbit, long-braised in white-wine mushroom sauce. The braising pan, deglazed with cream to form a beschamelesque gravy. Quinua and wild rice. Gigantic salad to end all salads. Hot cross buns. Cooking for three.

Quinua is not technically a cereal grain; it's weed seeds and hence falls outside of the grains and legumes prohibition.... I'd be making savoury Quimbolitos, which are steamed quinua dumplings filled with your choice; I like the leftovers from roast chicken tossed with feta or ricotta and some green onions, and a hint of cumin. But that only applies if you have access to / can grind some quinua flour.

Well, regardless of whether it's technically "safe" to eat, it skeeved me out so much that I'm not going to try it. The neighbourhood cats, on the other hand, seem to be cool with it. Fair enough - I'll just have to start buying "pollo campero" (country chickens), which are almost to a hen Churkeys (naked-necks), another large-breasted type with good flavour. It'll mean switching providers; I do intend to let the previous chicken seller know that I had a green-breasted cut from her, and that she needs to be aware of that problem in her hens and or staff. For what it's worth, Tikidoc, I've never seen a single Cornish Cross chicken down here; the breast I had a problem with came from a Rhode Island Red, and from reading the links above it was most likely due to somebody inexperienced trying to catch the bird. Factory chickens are fairly rare down here unless one buys at the larger supermarkets, and even then they're not CCs; they're Rhodies or Plymouths. CCs don't survive the tropical conditions well (they get sick very easily), which means that they simply aren't the large-scale production chickens of choice. ETA - Of course, if my yard was just a little bit bigger, I'd have Guineafowl, and green meat wouldn't be a problem for me at all....

Hi folks. Slightly troubled here in paradise - I cut into what ought to have been a luscious roasted chicken breast tonight and found a greeny-browny strip in the tender. Needless to say, I didn't eat it; the photo seems to show it as browner than it really looks; there is a definite disturbing green tint there as well. Any ideas what could have caused this? This provider of chickens is normally problem-free. This has seriously weirded me out, and now I'm really leery of the other breast that was in the package (currently in my freezer).

I have a couple of coffee bread recipes that urge me to add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between. I'm normally lazy as sin, so I rarely do this - they go in all at once; the other day I had the luxury of extra time so I followed to the letter. Yup, three times fluffier and lighter, for reasons I can't fathom at all.

I'll now be able to weigh in about PTFE-coated coloured knives. My supermarket just gave me a red non-stick Santoku (!) for buying $10 worth of shrimp....

I'm an active dry gal, and I absolutely proof every single time I bake (even in recipes that call for sponges). I've had bad batches of yeast that don't foam (normally in the summer, when they'd be subject to temps over 40C inside the transport trucks), and it would have been a disaster had they gone into the dough dry. Incidentally, I buy in bulk about 2 lbs at a time, and keep my yeast in the coolest darkest part of my kitchen - I have no fridge space for it.