Deryn

rotuts - there is a similar valve on the Puck oven and supposedly you need to release the steam from that one too before opening.

rotuts - I agree about the 'construction' concerns with the Puck oven and yes, I know there is no 'steam' however there is no 'steam' per se in the IP either and it can do pretty amazing things. At any rate, I am not rushing to buy his 'pressure oven' either but it has been back on my mind lately. It is basically an IP in a different form and with slightly different 'accessories' (as well as having heating elements exposed) as far as I can tell. (edited since I didn't see ElsieD and rotuts additional posts - you may be right - still trying to research that - I admit the 'bumpf' including the demos I have seen on TV are NOT specific and may indeed be very misleading!) fledflew - Thank you so much for that comprehensive report. Apart from the size issue, the remote aspect for me is probably another deal killer. If it did both manual and Bluetooth/phone app equally well, I would be still interested (especially if the size was a bit larger) but the anticipated Tovala customer base I guess definitely won't include someone like me who likes to just push a button or two on the machine (a la my microwave) and doesn't own a smartphone at all. And since I don't eat the same thing all the time or even if I did it might not be in the same amounts at one time, etc., preprogramming sounds a bit more work than I would want to go to these days - unless I could do a few generic programs like 350 degrees for 15 or 30 minutes and just keep hitting a button to make that for 1 hour or 2, etc. There is something about that almost entirely remote concept (especially when it includes a line of pre-packaged foods) that just sounds a bit too 'back to the future' or Jetsons to me. But, I am sure they will have a large techie audience and I hope they do well with that market. Someone else will come along who will take their concept maybe, fix the issues many of us see and I will be watching for that to happen - and hope it is soon.

I think that may have been a good decision, rotuts (to cancel, that is). Frankly, I think that company is nuts to not consider eGulleters as potentially a worthy part of their target market but it seems they don't. I wish them well but somehow I get the feeling they are more enthusiastic than smart when it comes to design - and could also perform poorly down the line in the customer service department as well. I am probably in the market myself for a 'countertop' type oven of some sort so I was genuinely interested in this product as well. And, if the CSB was a bit larger I would have been all over it long ago. But there is a possible contender for me now in the Pressure Oven (which, for a long time, I discounted) from Wolfgang Puck. At least the Pressure Oven does seem to fit a 1/4 sheet pan, plus it has a rotisserie. Given that I am still very enamoured of my IP, I am beginning to think of the pressure oven as just a different form of that - one which also allows broiling and roasting - and keeps the 'juices in' as well due to the pressure aspect. Not sure I really 'get' how pressure cooked 'toast' works though. One other concern for me with that appliance is whether it is well constructed (haven't actually touched one myself and I have read a few less than wonderful reviews about that aspect) so I am still hanging back still. Would love an 'in wall' steam combi oven but that is prohibitive for this house in this location - just not a smart move while I am here - and I worry that it may be very difficult to service way out here as well. Anyway, so far there is no perfect product as far as I can see and since none of these is 'essential', for once, I am taking my time to decide on what will work best for me. Tovala has just lost out though for sure.

I usually store recipes where I found them in the first place. Most are in cookbooks, which I currently keep between the banisters on the stairs to the 2nd storey (an idea I saw somewhere else on the net - and very useful since all my bookcases are still in NC). Others are simply bookmarked online. Some are just in my head.

Whole Foods usually stocks lots of different misos including the one I bought (non-soy, which came from the refrigerated section), Thanks for the Crepes. I trucked mine back from NC to NS and it did fine on the journey, cool packed.

Skype might make a 'remote workshop' class possible. Or some other similar 'app'. I too wish I could attend the actual workshop/conference - had hoped to make this one - but life still just isn't making that possible yet. Again, apologies for off topic. Maybe after this conference is done, we could start another thread to discuss the 'remote' idea. Meanwhile, I hope everyone has a terrific time at this year's conference - and thanks to Kerry, as always, for doing so much to plan and hold it, whether I can be there or not.

I buy Kadoya sesame oil (it has a nice deep, long lasting flavour), and, because I should not eat soy products, I buy organic non-soy misos. The one I have in my fridge right now is Miso Master chickpea miso (made in the US).

Happy Easter, Panaderia - to you and yours, and to all the wonderful Ecuadorians who posed for the pictures you posted here or who helped you explain so much to us all over this past week!

gfron1 - I agree - that made me wince too. I much preferred when Grant talked about him and mentorship, etc. and was nice enough to say that if the apprentice doesn't eventually surpass the mentor then the mentor has not done a good job - and that he would be happy if Curtis did better than he has himself. As to the Trotter thing though, I am not sure Curtis was too much to blame for the lawsuits. Oh well .. there is always bad blood somewhere as people climb up their professional ladders I suppose but one needs to be somewhat careful about biting the hand that fed you (even if it was only gruel). I did think he was very appreciative of his own staff though - and that was clear. There is probably a lot more to the story than I know about so I cannot really judge. But, all through the whole documentary (at least where the work was going on for the restaurant, etc.) my thoughts ran to you and I did wonder how similar you might find the task yourself. From my point of view, the whole process sounds both exhilarating and scary as heck - especially when one doesn't already have all the coin in one's own pocket and is beholden to banks and 'shareholders/partners'. Stressful I am sure. Thanks for the link, Alex. I had to check myself that the restaurant still appears to have 3 stars before I posted initially because the documentary refers back a couple of years too. It seems to stop there and I am not sure when it was actually made. It only showed up on Netflix in a place where I noticed it today. I hadn't heard of Grace before either - but that is not unusual since I am stuck in the boonies and don't get out to grand dinners often these days - so I checked to see if anyone else had posted here so I could add my thoughts there but didn't see anything prior. I think his food looks like what I would enjoy - it is interesting and looks delicious but not over the top modernist - very approachable. If I could bring myself to go near Chicago again, I think I would book a table and go to Grace - I was impressed. But, unfortunately, like St. Louis, Chicago is a place I will avoid if I can. A bit of familiarity may have bred a lot of contempt in me or maybe I am just too old to deal with the 'thrill' of all the traffic and figuring out where the heck I am going and hoping I won't get mugged in the process. In both places, while driving alone, I got lost in the wrong section of each town once and that was once too many times for me. Happened in a couple of other places too - don't ask me to visit New Haven ever again either, for instance. Wish people would locate in towns I can still abide - even NYC if not at the end of island (upper West Side I could handle) but I also understand why they don't take me into consideration when they plan their new restaurants. The day they all open in Ottawa, Ontario or Asheville, NC, I will be there with bells on! Not much chance of that though I would guess.

Ok .. it is obvious I need to haul out all my father's old Spanish dictionaries and grammar books - and learn the language. Thanks for the link to the Manitoba site, Panaderia - it is fortunate it has pictures though since the only word I really recognized was Macadamia (which is one of my 2 favorite nuts!). I will have to think carefully though about whether I want to ship in large boxes of anything from Columbia (perhaps that is best left to larger, more established companies who already have a good relationship with Customs) .. but I will definitely look for the peanuts and/or macadamias where ever I go from now on. Wracking my brain for the kind of nut you are talking about - I can taste them, see them but can't name them either right now. Not beer nuts but larger, round, with a crunchy sweet coating? Someday, not in this blog perhaps (but when you are rested up in a few weeks), perhaps you could share your hot cross bun recipe with us all, Panaderia, please. I know Easter will be over by then, but, in my house, I can make fanesca and/or hot cross buns any darned time I feel like it. And now you have me craving hot cross buns - a decent version of which I have not had in many years now. Meanwhile, take it easy if you can. I am sure you won't admit it - and you are young yet - but the blog added a lot of work to your already busy life, and had to be tiring this past week. Thanks again to you (and your wonderful parents) for sharing so much with us all.

I just watched this documentary on Netflix and then read up a bit more about Curtis Duffy here (Story about Curtis Duffy of Grace Restaurant, Chicago). Talk about a tragic lifestory which produced what looks to be a great chef (who I had really only heard of in passing before to be honest). The whole thing left me with a lot of mixed emotions but also drooling at the food he manages to produce from his 3 star restaurant in Chicago. His childhood was turbulent to say the least - his parents died by murder/suicide when he was still a teenager. The person who became his safe place to be, a pseudo-mother for him, over the years was his middle school home economics teacher. He worked his way up via Charlie Trotter's and Alinea before branching out on his own. I found his story compelling to say the least - and a great glimpse into the restaurant industry (at the highest levels) as a whole. Has anyone else seen this film and/or eaten at Grace? Would love to hear what you think (of either or both). If you haven't seen it, I recommend it for foodies, and especially those interested in opening restaurants some day.

Aside from just driving across the prairies (numerous times), I have only spent about 3 weeks in Manitoba (Winnipeg in January mostly) so I guess I have not spent enough time there (or perhaps it was just not 'peanut' season?) since I have never even heard of Manitoba-style boiled peanuts. Or boiled peanuts as being a 'thing' anywhere in Canada for that matter. The first time I ever tried boiled peanuts was when I moved to NC and took side trips to shop in Greenville SC, and along the highway that leads there I succumbed to one of the many homemade signs that advertise them at roadside stands and stopped. This may be sacrilege to many of you in the south but I wasn't that enamoured of them. They are interesting and ok but didn't leave me craving more. The Manitoba peanuts you get in Ecuador, Panaderia, sound much more delightful! Perhaps you could get into the export business and if they are that good, I would be happy to market them here! I could probably get them to go over well as I know the locals here have sweet tooths! p.s. Those breads you made for the Church are to die for! You are so talented and hard-working.

I do wish I had known (well, I knew but didn't really think too much about it) about Ecuador as being a land of little people before I bought my house in Nova Scotia. I never met the person who designed and put in the kitchen here but I think she must have been very tall ... I swear the counters in this house are either higher than normal or I shrank. I should have just bought in Ecuador where the world appears designed for hobbits like me - and saved myself having to use a table or a stool to do much around here. I am glad though that you found the exception to the (Ecuadorian kitchen design) rule, Panaderia, because obviously for you doing all that baking on a lower counter would have been very difficult.

My apologies to the 'host' and to everyone. Apparently my post was way off topic - wasn't meant to take the conversation in the wrong direction. It was, despite what it may have looked like, about 'cooking' but I appreciate why it might not look that way. Please feel free to delete it but I hope you don't lose the whole thread. Paul needs concrete advice about following a particular route back to what he has always loved - and since I am not a chef, I cannot provide that.

Welcome back, Paul. I suggest you say that to yourself as many times a day as it takes for you to believe you are 'back'. I have been reading this thread and the excellent replies that many of our best eGullet-ers have posted but haven't had a clue how I could contribute so I stayed out of the conversation. In addition to not knowing what I could contribute though, I was still trying to figure out what the problem really is. I have now come to the conclusion though that even you have no idea what the problem is so no solution will work till you either understand what it is or just take one step forward in any direction that strikes you as FUN (or needed) in the moment and test the waters. I have great sympathy for your pain. I watched my father who was in excruciating pain almost every minute of every day for all of my life (I was well into my 60s when he died at 95) and a bit more than that - and I winced every time he did which was exhausting at times. It was the most horrible thing I could imagine anyone should have to deal with - and yet he still managed to function as a fully capable and happy human being despite it all. He was adventurous and despite having only one useful arm tackled anything and everything he ever wanted to - with gusto. He figured out another way every time there was any kind of obstacle. And he learned to cook at 70 when my mother died - and did a very darned good job of it too. He cross-country skied, he did hill-climb races and rallies in cars he restored (reaching through the steering wheel to change gears), he was the only really good and honest lawyer I have ever met, he learned at least 10 languages all on his own out of books, he was a woodworker par excellence .. if he wanted to do or try something new, he never let a little thing (as he would term it - not me) like a useless arm (and it was the 'right arm' which made things even harder) and constant painful spasms stop him. I really never heard him complain. He was a hard taskmaster when we were kids and I took a while to understand why that was ... we were able bodied and didn't have the pain to deal with so we weren't going to get away with wasting what talents we had if he had anything to do with it. That was tough to deal with as a youngster, but I am certain it made me a much better, more productive and less whiny adult so I have nothing but thanks for him. As the years went on, I realized that I admired him more than I could ever admire anyone else in life. He took no pills for pain - a scotch was welcome at the end of a long day however. Dad never took 'no' for an answer. Nor should you. You are the answer to YOU. I sense that you are delaying making that first step by tangling yourself up in analysis. It is like watching a frantic rabbit lost in Wonderland ... which way do I go .. which way do I go. It hurts to see you do that .. and I don't even 'know' you. Pain is horrible. Depression is nasty and can be debilitating. Get whatever medical help you may need for those conditions - but then give yourself the best medicine possible - ONE step forward, no more looking back! While you focus only on yourself and your pain, horrible as it may sound (because I know it hurts .. I am so sorry that is what you have to live with), you are not only shortchanging yourself but your family, especially your children. Do something .. do anything .. show them that anything is possible. Please. You will find what it is you seek eventually, if not today, if only you start moving in some direction. Always look forward ... not back. Keep dreaming of that relais - you can have that dream in reality! So today ... one small step. Put down the books. Pick up the knife. You are talented and if you have the passion, despite the pain, you can make anything you want to happen, happen! Or, if you are still not sure what is now your passion, remember that many have changed careers mid-life - find something else and focus on that for a while. All will become clear in time - as long as do something and don't just sit and think about what to do. (I hope I have not sounded too harsh - not meant that way).

Panaderia, when I was reviewing the last couple of lines of the recipe you posted on LindaK's Salt Cod Diary thread, I noticed you say that you should just stand there and stir - and then that, after about 3 and a half hours, the fanesca is ready. Do you really stand there and stir for that entire 3.5 hours? If so, I am going to have to work out a mini-facsimile version of this recipe that can be made in the Thermomix I think. Or perhaps there is a version we could come up with that might work in the IP - since risotto can be made in a pressure cooker without stirring but on the stove should be stirred. I know that would be cheating but since I can't get all the authentic ingredients here anyway, whatever I do to approximate the real thing is probably going to fall short but one hopes the results would still be a tribute to the idea of Fanesca and enjoyable anyway. I realize that something this special, prepared during Holy Week, probably does require a sacrifice and is a labour of true love, but I am not sure my arms would hold out for 3 and a half hours any more.

My heart is now in the highlands (of Ecuador). I have run out of superlatives with which to vary the compliments I owe our esteemed Ecua-exCan 'baker'/travel guide/photographer/chronicler extraordinaire. Again, thanks for what I think has been the most fascinating and comprehensive eGullet foodblog (and there have been many amazing ones) I have ever read. Sorry you didn't find your lamb. I didn't realize that the whole of holy week was meatless in the Catholic faith - and I was married to a catholic (who obviously wasn't a good practitioner). Do you have a freezer, Panaderia? If so, I guess it will be full before Easter week next year.

For any place that purports to be a 'breakfast' place, I usually waste my dining dollars on their 'poached eggs'. I say waste because most of the time they are not edible (generally overdone in my estimation) but at least that saves me future bucks because I won't be back there. If Martha Stewart (or anyone) can pre-prepare poached eggs the night before a brunch and not mess them up, then surely a restaurant can also do so - although I don't think poached eggs are that hard to prepare a la minute either if need be. At any Thai place, my first order is often panang curry. Panang especially can vary so much from restaurant to restaurant and there is a sauce consistency, freshness quality, meat to veg ratio and specific taste (an edge of sweetness but not too sweet) that I prefer. However, I am not sure that serving a panang curry that 'I' like really tests the mettle of 'the chef' in that type of restaurant - it just determines if I will return to try more on the menu another day - when in all likelihood, there will be another 'chef' preparing the meal anyway. As Anna N pointed out, it depends on the type of restaurant and I would add, ones own personal tastes and expectations, etc.. On the other hand, you said 'the chef' so perhaps this thread is only about haute cuisine establishments where they employ only a single chef/exec of great renown? I have different expectations of a hamburger or pizza joint than I may have of Alinea or a similar well known restaurant. My 'standards' (as to the taste of any individual dish) may actually be higher for a run of the mill place that specializes in only one type of dish (i.e. hamburgers) than for a highly touted restaurant where I expect my taste buds and expectations to be challenged - perhaps by a tasting menu. Add to that that ambience, service and general flow/overall flavour profile of a meal, and entertainment value can also affect how I 'feel' about value for money at the end of it all - and whether I am likely to return to a very expensive place - but probably don't have much to do in the case of the 'joint' or even mid-level places.

I haven't tried this but according to something I read somewhere, one can 'revive' a dried vanilla pod by submerging it in hot water for a few minutes (though I would imagine that trick is most useful when one is just about to use said pod, and not good for repackaging/continued storage). I do hope you didn't throw out your dried pods though because with a mortar and pestle (or a small food processor/blender no doubt) you can grind up dried pods and use them in 'powdered' form.

The Aldi you explored, rotuts, definitely seems much more appealing, neat and clean than I recall the ones I tried were. I will definitely try them out again when I go back down south. I am not likely to linger long in the mayo aisle but if they have good sriracha (I think I spied a case in one of your pictures) that may entice me.

I have been (several times in recent years) in both Aldis in the Asheville area of NC (one has been there quite a while now, the other is relatively new but closer to where I live). A couple of years ago, back when I was less concerned about eating processed foods (though I still read labels for nutrition, HFCS, trans-fats, sugar content, etc.), I bought several packages from their 'holiday assortment' of goods (always piled high as the first aisle when one enters the store) - especially Christmas cookies from Germany and the like - and they all seemed to be decent quality. But, by the time I rounded the bend into the rest of the store, I found the contrast was almost startling - both in terms of quality and in display, so I didn't linger long but paid for what I had from the first aisle and left as I recall. I agree the meat and produce sections were dismal looking to me but I didn't spend a lot of time poking around there and I didn't go in with a specific meat or produce purchase in mind. I don't think they were carrying anything I would call organic at that time. Could just be the management at different stores is better or worse (some may be better at getting staff to organize the meat/fish/produce areas), or perhaps I just (every time) arrived on the day after a big sale or before their next shipment arrived, or it could just be that I am not really keen on shopping out of cardboard boxes thrown into coolers - not sure - but Aldi's is not my favorite place to shop at the moment. Since some of you are gushing about the stores though, when I go back south, I will check them out again and see if I still feel the same. I readily admit though that I am generally NOT a bargain hunter type of shopper - I go out of my way for what I perceive to be higher quality or organic ... and if I poke around a grocery store it is to find unique things most often, not to find the cheapest place to get something. I rarely carry a list because I am so used to finding, on arrival at a grocery store, that what I 'planned' on making will not be possible because the store doesn't have a main ingredient, etc. - so I go in looking for 'ideas' that will intrigue me ... and a fresh display of meat/fish and/or produce therefore is important to me in that decision making process. I am also not still feeding a crowd on a daily basis so I have perhaps a bit more leeway to be less concerned about price than quality. That said, I may never be able to see some stores the same way as someone who has different needs, etc. than I do.

You deserve a Gold medal for more than just the Breadlympic category, Panaderia!

@rotuts: Tapas. Sometimes ignorance can be bliss.

Lisa - Do you freeze those vanilla beans too? I heard that was not good for them. I have a couple of pounds and they are fine at room temperature so far but they are only about a year old right now. I use mylar bags and 02 absorbers for most of my dried herbs and spices (so I don't vacuum) - so far so good and that method saves freezer space - but I am sure freezing them in airtight containers/bags would also work.

Panaderia, have you tried the Caldo de Tronco? My dog loves the dried version of the main ingredient you mentioned, but, I am not sure my tastes would extend that far unless I didn't know what it was. I would bet that, properly prepared, it is delicious but sometimes I would just prefer not to know the recipe first. Sorry that you are not able to sell all your wonderful baked goods this week after all. Can you freeze them? p.s. Thanks for all your answers so far, especially for the insight into packaging, etc. in response to my last crazy question.