tejon

I'm in! I have made them from a recipe found online, but hadn't seen one with yam as an ingredient before now. If I wanted to include yam in the batter, what kind of yam would I be looking for? Do I finely shred the yam, or pulverize it in the blender? What does it add to the texture and flavor of the finished dish?

That's where I would have directed you as well . Snowangel, I have been loving this blog. Watching you relish such gorgeous summer bounty makes me long for a trip to the midwest, if only for the corn and peaches. What a true bounty you have there.

Ginger can be a big help - think candied ginger, ginger tea, ginger candy, etc. Peppermint tea can also help soothe queasiness a bit. The biggest tip I got from my midwife was to take some B6 first thing in the morning and work on getting more protein if possible. Both made a huge difference, especially taking the B6, and neither will do any harm to either mom or baby.

Peppermint Schnapps and Mountain Berry KoolAid. Even more horrible revisited. Trust me.

I use them whole if it's a long cooked dish where the flavor will permeate everything. Otherwise I pound the pods a little to open them up, then remove the seeds and grind those as needed - the flavor of fresh ground cardamom is heady, wonderful stuff.

I can't pin down the first meal I cooked for my husband. We were friends for over a year before we ever dated and were both part of a group that got together every Friday night for dinner and X Files. I ended up cooking a lot of what went into the dinners, so by the time we started dating he had eaten quite a few of my dishes. I do remember the first meal he ever cooked for me, however. The meal was potstickers and a spiced rice concoction that he meticulously put together while I sat and watched. I felt so special and loved as he carefully prepared the meal just for me. And one of the fondest memories after we were married and I moved into his apartment was putting all of our cookbooks together, side by side .

I made these cookies today and they're almost gone! The subtle hit of cardamom hidden in what initially seems like a crisp sugar cookie has me hooked. I ended up making them with a Tablespoon sized scoop, and they came out nicely: Thanks for sharing this recipe - it's now one of my favorites.

Ah, lovely larb.

Actually, it is possible to have a peanut allergy and be able to eat peanut oil without any reaction. Same with soybean and corn oil. Some individuals appear to be allergic to the proteins in those items, so the oil doesn't cause a problem. My son is allergic to peanuts - he gets an immediate scary red rash around his mouth when he gets even one - but can have peanut oil with no negative consequences. I don't know that this is the case with your customers, but it may well be with some of them.

I'll lower the bar a bit: Mi Ama (Wonderful Columbian dinner put together by Chris Congac.) Chik-Fil-A (Waffle cut fries and chicken called my name, what can I say?) McDonald's (There, I said it. You may all mock me openly now.)

Wanted to add that a toaster oven is an incredible blessing when dealing with teens who want food NOW. Great for making all kinds of things quickly, without heating up the house.

That was the first thing I noticed as well. If the symbol were placed offset from the line of text, that might make it more clear that it wasn't part of the restaurant name.

I find my five year old with that very same look on his face, especially when he's right on the cusp of a growth spurt. Scary to even think what things will be like in a few years - I remember my little brother polishing off 10 plates of ribs once, then having desert .

I would love to see a children's blog from this group - though I'm not sure I'd want pictures.....

This has been a very interesting thread. Good to know there are others who love food but dislike some specific items. The article on supertasting was especially interesting - I'm guessing I fall in that category. Growing up, I ate only the blandest things because condiments and seasonings were just too much for me. I often pick up on flavor differences that no one around me can, for instance. It's more of a curse than a blessing overall - there are so many highly flavored foods that I just can't eat, foods everyone else loves. As I get older I am more able to tolerate more, and I keep trying, hoping to one day eat blue cheese and enjoy it, or sip coffee with everyone else. That's where I'm embarrassed: these are foods I don't have any issues with other than the flavor, and at times I feel like a small child in what I'm able to stomach.

I hope they spring back to life nicely once given a few feedings. When I've used frozen starter it took a few feeding cycles for things to start really going again. I found using a much smaller amount of starter to the flour and water seemed to help. I'd also love a condiment class! I have made mustard and chutney with mixed results (the mustard was dissappointing, chutney was/is heavenly) and would enjoy more information.

What is the consistancy of the mother most like - is it hard and rubbery, or delicate? Do you use the same mother for all types of wine (red, white, etc.), or does the mother grow accustomed to a particular ingredient like sourdough starter?

Another coupon shopper here . I have a dry erase board on the refrigerator where anything low gets written, to be restocked during the next grocery run. I do a loose menu plan once a week - main dishes for each night, staples for lunches and breakfast, and the afore mentioned list. Sides are usually determined at the produce store, once I get a look at the week's offerings. Part of this weekly trip is cutting out coupons to use, so I'm very specific there. The rest of the list tends to be much more vague unless there's some reason to be more precise. I also use an online coupon planning service that prints out what's on sale and which coupons go with those sales. Sounds pretty boring, but I usually save at least 50% on groceries. I'd save a lot more if I bought more processed foods, but I try to pass most of them by. Still, there are a ton of coupons for non-food items so it all evens out. The lists themselves take up a whole page. Each corner has a mini list - upper right corner gets the week's menu, upper left the list for our regular grocery store, lower right is the Trader Joe's list, lower left is the produce store. Aren't you glad you asked?

I've only sampled truffles once, and it was the tiniest sliver. Didn't really taste like much of anything, but that could be a reflection of the truffle in question.

I'm pretty much neutral on truffles - they don't thrill me, but I don't dislike them, either. As for things I'm embarassed to hate, well, the list is longer than I'd like. I used to joke that I could never go to cooking school because I can't stand fish or most seafood other than shrimp, olives, liver (or any offal, to be honest), caviar, or blue cheese. And I'm not too fond of mushrooms. Or coffee. Really strongly flavored foods are almost painful to eat, not sure why.

Another personal chef question for you: how difficult is it to work in someone else's kitchen? I know I cart around practically everything but the kitchen sink when I cook at a friend's house unless I know they have essentially the same utensils/spices/knives as I use. Do you find it more difficult dealing with a new range and oven each time, and knowing what to bring? The menu sounds delicious. Can't wait to see how it all comes out.

Thank you, ruthcooks. Since I have absolutely no ties to the south, I can admit I really prefer sweet cornbread

I love freezer and pantry shopping! I have come up with some of my favorite recipes when faced with an odd assortment of ingredients around dinner time. It's also an agreeable personal challenge - can I make a meal out of random foods without going to the store. I avoid the weekend grocery store rush by going really early Sunday morning. It annoys me greatly to come across throngs of people leisurely shopping while I am attempting to fill my cart quickly, according to my preplanned list. I am really enjoying reading about your experiences as a personal chef. It's something I have seriously considered doing and may still at some point. Nice to see what that looks like in practice and get some insight into the particulars. I especially enjoy your commitment to providing nutritious foods for your clients. Are there any foods you prepare or partially prepare at home? If not, is that in any way due to legalities? My aunt was a caterer for many years and had a horrible time upgrading her kitchen and keeping it within code so she could prepare food for outside sale there. Does cooking in someone else's kitchen get around this?

She will be missed. Godspeed, Julia.

Grams are a much smaller increment of measure than ounces, so measurement is more accurate. When I am making something where *just* the right weight is critical, I always measure by the gram (helps to have a digital scale that can display grams and ounces).