plllog, that's one more reason why I make my own jam. I have have blueberry/Cointreau, or Meyer lemon marmalade with vanilla beans, or Black Forest or Chocolate and Raspberry or Ruddmd's peach with lemon and habaneros, or Nancy's maple apple or my very favorite, Readinglady's Old Fashioned Pear Preserves, which take 3 days to make but are just sugar, pears and lemon. Yum....

I have been trying to give up buttering toast, scones and biscuits, and I can do that with a spoonful of really good jam.

Annie

LOL Annie! That's another reason I can. You can get very decent peach jam in the store. But peach maple jam with ginger . . . For that you'd pay a premium price at a gourmet store and I can make it for chump change at home. Especially since I have a line on free syrup! If only I had room in my yard for a peach tree!! :)

But I enjoy canning. It is one creative hobby that you need very little dexterity for. Hack up stuff and boil water is all there is too it. I find it very satisfying to get such a good return for my time investment.

Part of my love of canning, comes from living in an area known for the high quality fruits and vegetables. The Western Michigan fruit area is very well known.

I worked for a very high quality food company here. The preserves are especially good and will compare with any made throughout the world. The fruit content is as high as you will find. The preserves are sweetened with beet sugar and the product called Spoon Fruit is sweetened with concentrated fruit juice and is more tart.

I am no longer affiliated with the company but I do believe in the quality of their products.

Nancy

I can attest to that brand Nancy sent me two jars back a few years ago.

Shamefully, I can't recall which they were but I think one was a Cherry Grilling sauce. Excellent product.

What blows me away is what people charge for home canned goods at the farmers market. To me it's ridiculous but they always sell right out! Maybe I should rent a stall and sell my chile sauce! LOL

Sharon, take a few of your dill pickles along too, you could make a fortune!

As for selection, I live in a tiny town in western/northern Michigan with one small independent grocery store. They sell two kinds of chocolate chips, LOL, so the only jam I'd get would be Smuckers or the store brand. They do have THREE kinds of catsup, Heinz, Hunts, and the store brand, LOL.

I guess it's a good thing I don't like pre-packaged or frozen or convenience stuff much, because I'd have to drive 50 miles to buy most of it!

Annie

oh Sharon....you should.....you should.....

Annie, I totally get it about how location affects things. There used to be bean fields around here, and plenty of small farms. They're all three storey buildings now. My mother grew up in the country, and my father's best friend had a ranch where we spent lots of time during Summers, but my area has turned into part of the Big City where making jam is more expensive than buying the stuff imported from England.

Thank-you for reminding me of the blessings of the citiness, however. I've been snarling that I can't get my favorite D'Oni Bold As Love honey habanñero mustard anymore at my local stores anymore. They still have a lot besides Heinz and French's!

plllog, you can sure have your cities. I love to visit Peppi in Chicago, I had a great time eating sushi with all the "California contingent" when Elery and I went to Laguna Beach, and I enjoyed lunching with Brenda in Texas. I gotta tell you, though, that in about 3 days, I'm always ready to come back home, where the roads all have two lanes, one going each way, and where I wait behind the woman on the horse at the bank drive through and condiments are Heinz and French's.

I can drive 40 miles to the lakeshore and watch the sun set over Lake Michigan and know there's not another human for miles, but if I drive 50 miles south I can go to the theater, the ballet, world class restaurants, import markets. Grand Rapids is the second largest city in the state. And then I can turn around and go right back home!

Now, if they would get a Trader Joe's any closer than 4 hours away, I'd appreciate that a lot!

Annie

Grainlady, I've never heard of powdered tomatoes and butter. Where can I learn more about those? Also, do you share your Magic Mix? Thank you.

I would be interesteed in info on powdered tomatoes and butter also Grainlady.

You bet I use some jarred and canned products. Especially since I can no longer put up my own canned items, I have to use bought. I use all canned tomato products these days and am glad to get them. I can no longer make my own jam and jellies either. I'll never forget my first taste of homemade pear preserves that had been cooked low and slow for most of the day. Wonderful! Also wonderful is homemade grape jelly and blackberry jam. Just have to use it from a jar these days. I rarely use catsup or chili sauce, but when I do it comes from a bottle. I keep canned corned, navy beans and black beans for soups. I can't stomach to open them and eat them heated straight from a can though.

So glad I can get jarred condiments such as all kinds of mustards, mayonnaise, pickles, etc. I'm so glad I can get pancake syrup and don't have to make it. There are very few salad dressings I can eat off the shelf. Homemade is so superior. I was glad when I found pickles in the dairy case. I no longer like those on the shelf.

What I won't buy are packaged things like Hamburger Helper and Scalloped Potatoes, that is unless I get a wild hair and think I'm going to try something one more time. I'm always sorry I did that. If only I had never eaten homemade scalloped potatoes, etc, I wouldn't know the difference.

I also cannot eat frozen dinners. Honestly I wish I could because it sure would come in handy when I'm in a hurry.

Rarely I do use a can of cream of ...., just not often. Actually becoming a foodie has become a PIA because I'm so picky now and can't go back. I didn't ask to be a foodie, it just gradually happened and I'm really sorry it did.

I buy packaged, canned and frozen "goods", I buy so-called junk food, I go to McDonald's, etc., but none of this is the basis of my life.

I cook a lot and mostly with fresh ingredients, in season, even some from my garden, though I'm happy to eat frozen veggies, since there's much less waste of food with the frozen stuff. I also eat frozen dinners. I will use some canned veggies, mostly tomatoes; I do draw the line at canned peas, as near as I can tell, there's no reason for canned peas to exist.

I make my own bread, salsa, and sometimes jams and jellies and pickles. I buy fresh from the farm eggs and lots of organic stuff, too.

But I'm not consumed or ashamed by my choices.

"But I'm not consumed or ashamed by my choices."

I'm not at all ashamed nor consumed by mine either Momj47! I don't "do" McDonalds, simply because I don't like their hamburgers, but I sometimes do other places such as Quizno's, Wendy's, and "gasp", even Subway. It doesn't smell bad to me. It's just handy sometimes.

Tomato Powder... There are many on-line sources, so compare prices. For a small jar to give it a try, I'd suggest The Spice House:

http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/tomato-powder

The 1/2-cup size jar would be enough for the curious. I now purchase it in #10 cans.

To use:
--Three parts water and 1 part powder for tomato paste.
--Four parts water and 1 part powder for tomato sauce.

It has a wonderfully rich flavor.
------------------------------------------

Powdered Butter... Also available from many on-line sources. I purchase it in #10 cans as part of home food storage. Check prices and sizes appropriate for your use.

Honeyville Grain: http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/powderedbuttercan.aspx

Emergency Essentials: http://beprepared.com/product.asp?pn=FS%20D100&sid=ppblog&bhcd2=1275932664

Most brands CAN be reconstituted into a spread, but some can't, so check labels. If you want to use it as a spread it rehydrates in water and I add a little coconut oil or olive oil for a smoother texture. It does NOT taste like butter from the store - very bland flavor. Once rehydrated, keep it in the refrigerator. I generally use it as a powder in baked goods and homemade mixes. There is also powdered margarine and powdered shortening available, but I've never used them.

Emergency Essentials (www.beprepared.com) has recipes using all their powdered ingredients if you need some ideas.
------------------------------------------------------

Magic Mix... You can find several versions of the recipe on-line. It was developed by the Utah State Extension Service and is a combination of powdered milk, butter (I use coconut oil), and flour or cornstarch (I use cornstarch).

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/pub__3295363.pdf

MAGIC MIX
(source: I Can't Believe It's Food Storage - by Crystal Godfrey - pg. 73)

2-1/3 c. dry powdered milk
1 c. all-purpose flour OR 1/2 c. cornstarch
1 c. (2 sticks) butter (or coconut oil), at room temperature

Combine dry milk, flour or cornstarch, and the fat-of-choice into a large bowl. Mix with an electric hand mixer until it looks like cornmeal. Keep mix tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 8-months. Yield: 5-cups.

Magic Mix Fudgesicles
http://everydayfoodstorage.blogspot.com/2008/06/yummy-yummy-magic-mix-fudgesicles.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_4545136_magic-mix.html
Including cream soup recipes, mac/cheese, tuna casserole, Alfredo Noodles, pudding...

My original recipe using Magic Mix:

Cocoa Mix Pudding
1 packet of hot cocoa mix (1-1/4 oz.)
1/3 c. Magic Mix
3/4 c. water
1 t. cornstarch

Bring to boil and pour into a serving dish.

-Grainlady

Thanks, Grainlady! You always have such interesting things to share! I'd never heard of any of this.

BTW, there is one bottled salad dressing I actually like. I'm not a salad dressing lover and usually like my own concoctions better when I do want dressing, so this is only for the picky. The one that I like is Trader Joe's champagne pear vinaigrette from the produce case.

OTOH, I'm just fine with Heinz ketchup and French's mustard. :) And D'Oni honey habañero mustard. And Silver Palate green peppercorn mustard. And, yes, hoisin sauce from a jar. Sun Luck, maybe. But for toast, mind you! As a condiment. I'd make fresh if I were making Chinese food. I don't know why I just don't like salad dressings.

I don't think there's any thing to be ashamed of, Momj47! I think it's great that Annie can grow her own beef and make her own catsup, but I also think it's great that I can get Little Scarlet jam at my local store, and strawberries year round. I ate a lot of premade food, both fresh and frozen, during my neverending kitchen remodel. Since I've been able to cook in the new kitchen, I've been making almost everything from fresh, including herbs (though I'm fond of dried herbs for a lot of things), because I couldn't look at a packaged anything. Now I'm getting back to normal, which is mostly fresh ingredients with some packaged this or that either for variety or convenience.

I agree, there is nothing to be ashamed of, and that wasn't my point.

There have been some pretty caustic remarks on the CF, over the years, about people who used prepared or packaged foods, as though this represents some sort of character flaw.

I use instant mashed potatoes (as long as they are Hungry jack, since it is the nly one I can't tell from fresh). I have bottled dressings (fat free) cause it is easiest for my Weight Watchers. I occasionally buy boil-in-bag brown rice cause it is faster. I usually make everything from scratch, but some times it is just not practical, so I have no problem with occasional shortcuts. It beats going out for fast food, which I hardly ever do. Probably even less than hardly ever. I even eat ahead of time when i take the grand babies to McDonalds to eat and play cause I just don't like fast food. (On a rare occasion, I can do a Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich, although the points would kill my diet if I did it more than once a year or so, LOL)

Oh! I guess I have a pretty thick skin, Momj47, because those comments just make me shrug. Sharing and learning about each other is interesting. Being judged isn't, so I ignore that. I don't like packaged things whose ingredients don't sound like a recipe, but there's room in the world for people who like chemically stabilized buckets of cookie dough as well as the ones who grow, thresh and grind their own grain, keep their own bees, and trek into the wild lands of Guatemala to pick their own cacao beans, ferment them, dry them so they can carry them home, clean and shell them, and grind the nibs, so that they can make chocolate chips from scratch.

Most of us use packaged butter or shortening from the store, bagged flour and sugar from the store, and chocolate chips from commercial chocolate merchants from the store.

Any way you get there, chocolate chip cookies are favorites everywhere!

Beyond the usual condiments...

A store in my area has their own line of sauces, dressings and marinades from recipes created by local chefs. The product line changes often and they sample something each day in the store. All the ingredients are things I might already have, no chemicals. They taste so good that I don't even try to duplicate at home and just buy them to enhance everyday meals.

Marinated beef for fajitas is another thing, it always tastes better and is more tender than my own.

plllog, they don't bother me either, I'm just too old to care what anyone thinks about my choices. I've seen comments on other forums warning people not to ask questions on the CF if you are not a "serious" cook.

Over the years I've learned what I can/want to make and when I would rather/should buy prepared ingredients and foods.

In the old days, when we had a party, I'd slave for days making everything from scratch. It cost a fortune and I was exhausted by the time I was done. I don't do that anymore. I enjoy making what I'm good at making and I enjoy buying what others are good at making.

momj47, I'm not sure why someone would say that about the CF. To the best of my knowledge, every question gets answered here. Over the years I have seen some questions asked by non-cooks and extra care has been given to make sure they understand the method. I think we all have little short cuts in cooking, nothing wrong with that.

In general, you will find a bunch of 'foodies' here. Just like over on the kitchen forum, where you have many that are TKO. That knowledge base and interest level is what makes these forums work.

BTW, I'm rapidly becoming TKO myself. I love the KF and have already learned much!

Nancy

I'm not sure either, but I know, from experience, that there are forums, both gardening and home where novices get pounced on and driven away very quickly.

I've been on the CF since my kitchen was done 6 years ago and enjoy it so much - great answers, wonderful recipes and great forum friends. It's my favorite place.

I agree Momj47, I don't care what anyone thinks about my choices either (including, as I have mentioned before my use of canned peas. Can't have a hot turkey sandwich without my canned peas.) What food one eats, or ingredients one uses shouldn't matter as long as it makes them happy. When I like something that someone else doesn't like, it doesn't bother me in the least if they voice their opinion.

Like Nancy, I'm also surprised. The members here have always been happy to answer the same questions over and over and over again, year, after year. No one is ever told to do a search first or that the question has been asked before.

Ann

not only that, Ann, but when someone mentions that they are new, or that they are afraid that his or her question might be silly, the folks on the cf tend to bend over backwards to make sure they feel welcome and will stick around.

Jo

I really do think we are living in somewhat of a golden age when there are lots of good tasting, healthy pre-made and pre-packaged goods available to people who can afford them and want them for their lifestyle. When I had more money I sure appreciated all the good organic and low fat frozen entrees available for quick lunches on my busy schedule. There are also some great salsas and sauces available nowdays, (thai, indian curry, chinese sauces, marmite and nutella, cous cous, instand refried beans, etc.) as well as frozen baking goods. And great choices often in the deli section. I contrast this to when I was just starting out cooking and eating on my own in college and had to really struggle to find anything organic or healthy in the grocery store, let alone the fake meat of every variety and healthy no sugar added juices that I can now buy almost everywhere. Those are just a few examples of the good stuff that's out there. Sure is a godsend for my aging mother who isn't really up to cooking all that much anymore.

Mom, the only forum I got "pounced on" was the Tomato Forum, where it was made very clear to me that I was just too stupid to grow tomatoes at all, and it had to be dumb luck that I'd manage to grow them for....oh.....forty years or so.

I quit quickly, before my tomatoes realized how stupid I was and quit growing altogether!

I stumbled onto Cooking from Harvest, where one member always complained that people should do a search, and called new members "dummies", "morons" and "idiots".

So, I think we're very pleasant at CF as a general rule.

Annie

I think that from time to time we need to remember that this is indeed the "cooking forum"...We are and have always been more than glad to post recipes posted many times before, answer questions about basic cooking ideas.
99 and 44/100 of the cooks who post here want to talk about food, how we cook, what we cooked last night, who came to dinner and what we fixed, what to do with 15 pounds of moose roast or 25 pounds of bananas.
What we are NOT about is..."This is how I make it, do it this way, and if you dont' want to I will be insulted"....we aren't about ( at least in the discussions side) is here's a picture of my flower pot or my lawn mower, or comments about the best chefs making something one way or another.
The CF has been a good place to come to talk about what is a major interest for people who post here.
And like anyone with an obsession we are all always delighted to help others who want to learn.
But I find I am a bit intolerant of those who offer no answers to questions, who never enter into the "community" of the forum by offering birthday greetings not sympathy nor cheers when appropriate.
It seems we are a family.....with all that word implies.
Linda c

Oh, good grief!! How do those forums survive?

Everyone here has welcomed me and been very nice to me. I am serious about cooking, but for daily meals tend to go very simple and quick. I do feel a certain amount of cultural pressure here to cook bigger and some feeling of if every ingredient is not homemade it's not worth talking about (cooked things like jam more than process things like cheese), but I don't think that it's inappropriate for a forum about cooking to have some pressure to cook.

plllog,

I don't know how you found out about my chocolate chip cookies but they are very good, if I do say so myself. Want to join me on my next Guatemala trip?

Jim

HAH! Jim, you didn't know I had recipe 'bots did you? Turns out the trekking isn't necessary if you don't insist on picking your own with your bare hands. I noticed raw cacao beans, clean, choice ones, at the store yesterday. Had a good laugh too. :)

Hey, I've had cacao nibs, RobinKate sent me some from New York, and Ashley made her own chocolate. It was fun, but time consuming. She ate it all, though, before it could become chocolate chip cookies.

She did take a trip to Costa Rica and didn't bring me back coffee, so I'm not mentioning Guatamala and chocolate to her. Jim will just have to bring back enough for all of us because I don't think I can grow cacao in Michigan...

Annie

"I noticed raw cacao beans, clean, choice ones, at the store yesterday."

Oh, no!!!!!!!! Now all the riff raff will be making cookies like mine.

Jim

Posted by lindac

"----------- What we are NOT about is..."This is how I make it, do it this way, and if you dont' want to I will be insulted ----"

I agree completely.

" we aren't about ---- comments about the best chefs making something one way or another. "

I dont understand why thats not cooking related?

"------- But I find I am a bit intolerant of those - ---- who never enter into the "community" of the forum by offering birthday greetings not sympathy nor cheers when appropriate. -- "

I am sorry that you feel that way. I certainly hope you are in the minority. Not all posters schedules permit the various non-cooking related activities enjoyed by some members, yet they contribute significantly more than the others.

"---It seems we are a family.....with all that word implies. -----"

For some yes. For others no. Anonymity in internet forum posting is perfectly acceptable.

dcarch

(Appologies to plllog for my off-topic comments)

I have lurked on this and some of the other forums since Spike days. I felt as if I knew all of you for a long time, so when I got the nerve up to post, I guess in my mind I almost thought you knew me! DUMB HUH ! ! I am not a fancy cook, so probably will not have much to add, however I sure have learned a great deal from all of you. Depending on my work load I will probably not be a true member of "THE FAMILY", most of the time DH has to remind me of birthdays, even my own anniversary! LOL My cooking has kept DH and family happy for 45 years, thanks again to some of you! So please forgive my faux pas, until I get a bit more comfortable, or go back to lurking.

Thanks
Red

Red, you're fine, however you decide to use the forum.

Some of us have become very close, closer than family sometimes. I've met or visited nearly 30 of the other members, I have a grand time eating and chatting and know I can call for a shoulder to lean on or advice which I may or may not take.

My daughter Ashley always called the forum my "imaginary friends", but they've been here through my divorce, dating, wedding, the birth of my grandchildren, the death of my father, some health scares and at every family party we've had. They've laughed with me, cried with me, encouraged me, gave me a swift kick in the pants when I needed it.

I seldom cook without touching some item or ingredient that was given to me by a forum member, or at least recommended by one, and many of my recipes are from here or started as a recipe from here and eventually turned into something I love.

Others are less inclined to "socialize" and that's fine too, the forums are what we make them. This place can be anything from a simple diversion to a resource to a group of close friends, whatever YOU are comfortable with.

The only issue is that we cannot make it what we want it to be, or even what it used to be, so if you find something you don't like, just scroll on past and don't participate in that. It never works for someone to come on and say "my way is the only way" or "I'm here now and I'm going to show you all the RIGHT way to do things", but never want to actually join in discussions about anything other than teaching us the "right way to do things". Many of us like to try new things, but it's very possible that I tried that way 5 years ago and didn't like it. Don't be insulted if I promptly reply with my own way of doing things, we all like different things and I'm picky as heck!

Yes, the Cooking Forum can be whatever you wish it to be, but I, for one, would love to get to "know you" better, since you already "know" me. You probably also know that Ann T will never eat carrots, that I hate and detest pizza, that LindaC uses paraffin to seal her jelly, that Sol bakes the most beautiful concoctions known to mankind, that Kathleen sets the most beautiful tables, that I've never gotten a bad recipe from Carol (Readinglady). It's a big ole' world, if you're interested in it.

Annie

Welcome Red!

I honestly don't think there are very many fancy cooks on the forum. A few, but by far the majority are just people who love to cook for themselves and their families.

Anyone who has been cooking for 45 year will have lots to add!

I second chase's welcome...and welcome you to the family, group of friends or whatever.
But then....you know all of us already....so maybe
it's not "welcome" but more of "oh there you are!!"
At any rate....glad to actually "see" you...and am looking forward to your contributions to our little group here.
Linda C

Thank you for the great welcome, I will try to pay attention and not step on anyones toes. Annie you and I already have in common the fact WE detest pizza.
Chase I hope I will have something to add but, I doubt anyone will want my Mothers recipes for homemade noodles or fudge as the noodles are tough and the fudge is grainy (and that is the only way I like either) LOL! Lindac, so nice to "see" you too. Although I will probably never cook for huge crowds like you do, I will glean all the information I can cram in this old head! I also am a little picky, love fresh coconut and raisons but not in or on anything, go figure!

Thanks
Red

I love black cherries. I was not happy that my black cherries didn't looked like black cherries at all this year. At first I thought I had mixed up my labeling of my seedlinhgs, then recently I found out from other forums that, if you had ordered seeds from Bakercreek, you may have gotten wrong seeds.
Please send me your spare black cherries, LOL.

dcarch

Red, you are a kindred spirit, one of the few besides me that doesn't like pizza. Grandma didn't like it either, she used to make one pizza and one "blank" crust and we ate that with butter and jam.

As for grainy fudge, we also have an old family recipe called "Jack Frost Fudge". If it "went to sugar" and became grainy, we ate it ourselves, if it turned out well, it was Christmas gifts for family. I learned to kind of like the grainy stuff, it's what I grew up on.

Yes, I knew you'd "know" us!

Black cherries the tomatoes or black cherries the fruit? My local u-pick tells me the cherries are "awesome" this year, I'll be picking in a month or so.

Annie

Sorry posted this in the wrong thread.

re. Black cherries tomatoes.

I was running to a meeting.

dcarch

LOL! Dcarch, I was wondering, but it made a nice little absurdist break!

Hi, Red!

P.S., the really absurd (as in surreal) part was imagining growing black cherries from seed, not realizing the subject was tomatoes...

Well, I like this forum! I rarely post, consider myself a great cook but am far from fancy or traditional with my cooking. I've gotten great results from postings when needed and have not been insulted once.

Hey, not bad!

I enjoyed reading this topic especially since I have a great deal of trouble using packaged foods due to sodium content.

I DO use packaged foods though!

I've never made my own yoghurt--never even tried to. Same with butter, cream cheese, aged cheese (I have made paneer by heating milk and adding lime juice), pasta and that is all I can think of that I need packaged food for.

I've made lots of things by just trying it out.

Ketchup wasn't that hard, no-sodium tomato paste, vinegar, garlic and onion powder (actually, I like the dehydrated granules), black pepper, cumin, dash of lemon juice, dash of water. I just read the bottle to get an idea of what went in the stuff.

And, yes, I buy the packaged no-salt ketchup quite often. So quick and easy!

There is no way I'm going to pay for packaged dressing; I make my own even though I almost always just use straight balsamic. My guy makes a great vegan Caesar dressing using nutritional yeast, almond meal, lemon juice, vinegar, no-salt stone ground mustard and an unbelievable amount of fresh garlic. Think of all the oil we are avoiding this way! I do love olive oil though~

Canned soups are a no-go mainly because of the salt. I can't actually taste the can but sometimes I can taste the plastic when I buy things in plastic bottles.

We made our own "power bars" for the first time a few weeks ago. We had made granola bars and similar things before but never with the intent to get protein, carbs and low calories all in one bar. They are great for hiking!

Yesterday, my guy made bagels from scratch for the first time, just for me as they had no salt and almost zero sodium. Did you know that a regular sesame bagel has over 600mg sodium?! The ones he made were topped with black sesame seeds and tasted very good. They were missing that salty taste but, oh well.

I think one of the biggest factors with packaged foods is that they are very inexpensive, especially mixes and things like rice a roni or hamburger helper. They can also make things go very quickly in the kitchen for those who have limited amounts of time to feed entire families.

There are lots of things we make that cost more than buying pre-made but there are also lots of savings involved in making things ourselves. We may not be rich but we make the effort to allow a good food budget so we can eat as much natural and organic things as possible. We try to stay away from preservatives but that is hard to do with packaged foods.

I'm pretty darned impressed by some of the things people make on the board. Pickled veggies and other home-canned items are the most intriguing to me. It was a good read.

Thanks,
Jennifer

jclepine, if you can make your own catsup and your own power bars and your own bagels, you can make pickles and jams, probably with one eye closed.

Jam is simple. Fruit and sugar, pectin if you choose. Boil, bottle, slap on a lid. Put it in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes and you don't even need to sterilize the jar first!

Pickles are just about as easy. Vinegar brine with some seasonings, add your veggies or pack them into jars, cover with hot brine, slap on that lid and process.

Both are so very safe that it's nearly impossible to do it wrong and high enough in acid that you won't make anyone sick.

go for it, and then you can send me those power bars. Ah well, I'd settle for the recipe.

Annie

Thanks for the encouragement, Annie! I do want to try jam and we've talked about going out this year to pick service berries and choke cherries, so maybe.

I'm not sure I can use brine though, because of my need to stay on a low-sodium diet...but, if it can be done without salt, I REALLY want to try pickling!

The recipe is my boyfriend's recipe and he is just like me, not many accurate measurements, different everytime. And, as a warning, everything we make is pretty darn boring, no salt and little sugar but I'm sure it can be spruced up to be enjoyed by anyone.

The basic recipe: 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup masa harina, 1/4 cup agave sweetener, 1/4 cup uncooked millet, 1/4 cup unsweetened, finely shredded coconut, vanilla, almond extract, an egg. Blend, roll to 1/3 inch thick (1/4 inch makes them crispy and harder), cut into rectangles, and bake at 350 for eight minutes on one side then flip and bake five minutes on the other side. Made about 12 bars.

Different renditions included adding raisins, cinnamon and cardamom, cocoa powder, using egg replacer instead of one egg (I'm 'egg-sqeamish') and buckwheat flour in place of the masa harina. He is thinking of making it with some oat flour and pressing some oats onto the tops--or was that the bagels? I think the ones for today's rained-out hike had some rye flour and they were really good. I prefer the ones with the masa harina.

I hope you like them!

J.

J, that sounds like something that would make a heckuva snack to stick in my pocket and take to the farm with me, for when I need a break from fencing or roto tilling or barn shovelling. Add my Stanley Thermos full of hot coffee and it could keep me going for quite a while. I'd definitely have to add the coconut, though, use a real egg and maybe add chocolate covered raisins.

I try to stay healthy, but I've got to have just a little dark chocolate sometimes. Besides, it's good for me.

and now you have me brainstorming. I'm betting maple syrup in place of the agave, some oats and the cinnamon would be an awesome combination too. Thanks!

Annie

I haven't had time to post much, especially a thoughtful post. I am just getting to this one.

Caveat 1: I've had three glasses of wine this afternoon. Caveat 2: Don't ask why.

And who peed in someone's Wheaties today?

At this point in my life I mostly cook for Alice and occasionally a friend. Mostly I cook as a creative endeavor and I do not need to get a meal on the table for a starving hoard on a daily basis. That was another lifetime. I can assure you that I didn't often cook from scratch after a full time work day. Before I had children coupled with a stressful corporate full time job I was a creative cook with a shelf full of cookbooks and Gourmet magazines. I confess to many a short cut to get food on the table after a 9 hour work day to keep kids and spouse from hitting the cookie jar before I got a meal on the table. Onward.

Life is different now. I still have a full time creative job that sometimes sucks the life out of me. I also still like to cook. I wish I could be domestic on a full time basis but it just isn't my reality. I buy condiments: mustards, tamari sauce, barbecue sauce (I have a local connection with a killer Deep South recipe), ketchup, hoisin, hot sauces, vinegars, capers, and a lot of others. I also buy peanut butter. I like the commercial stuff. I've made my own and also consumed many natural brands. They are all good. I like Skippy, it makes me happy.

I do not care for canned soups or veggies, with corn and tomatoes being the exception. I buy frozen fruit for smoothies. I prefer canned pineapple.

I never buy frozen prepared foods unless Alice plops them in the cart at Trader Joe's. In her mind TJ is okay.

As for the forum. I've been here many years. This is a wonderful group. Attitude is everything.

Hello Red,

Perhaps you can do me a favor.

You might have missed a post in a recent thread which was pulled. In it, someone here gave me a wonderful and unsolicited compliment, by claiming that you and I are the same person, that you are my altered ego.

Please tell everyone else what an interesting and creative that assumption is.

dcarch

Making homeade jams, relishes and the like is a weird thing when it comes to convenience. It is certainly not convenient or a time saver to make the stuff, but when you are done you have a ton of it and then have easy homeade hostess gifts on hand, plus now you've got some high quality convenience foods, there are so many things you can now doll up with your homeade condiments at the drop of a hat. Jam tarts come to mind, which I often make with store bought pie crust, my homade jam, and Redi Whip just because I LOVE those spray cans, lol! Sandra Lee eat your heart out!!
My friends had this super cool gizmo that dispensed whipped cream under pressure. You had to add cartridges of something to make it go, I can't remember what, CO2 maybe? It tasted great but looked kind of complicated to operate!

For dcarch,
I really admire your work, and your and the pictures are like works of art. I wouldnt have the ability or patience to do what you do. I guess I stepped on my tongue and received a firm slap on the keyboard via e-mail, or in the old vernacular "sent to the teacups." I know you, the way I know everyone else here by LURKING ! ! This is first time I have ever joined any forum, guess I am very paranoid about information on the web. I wondered what happened to that other thread, now I know! I have tried to find some common ground, and lindac, chase, and annie1992, have graciously welcomed me, as you can see from the posts below. If that is not enough then perhaps this is somewhere I do not belong.

" I have lurked on this and some of the other forums since Spike days. I felt as if I knew all of you for a long time, so when I got the nerve up to post, I guess in my mind I almost thought you knew me! DUMB HUH ! ! I am not a fancy cook, so probably will not have much to add, however I sure have learned a great deal from all of you. Depending on my work load I will probably not be a true member of "THE FAMILY", most of the time DH has to remind me of birthdays, even my own anniversary! LOL My cooking has kept DH and family happy for 45 years, thanks again to some of you! So please forgive my faux pas, until I get a bit more comfortable.

Thank you for the great welcome, I will try to pay attention and not step on anyones toes. Annie you and I already have in common the fact WE detest pizza.
Chase I hope I will have something to add but, I doubt anyone will want my Mothers recipes for homemade noodles or fudge as the noodles are tough and the fudge is grainy (and that is the only way I like either) LOL! Lindac, so nice to "see" you too. Although I will probably never cook for huge crowds like you do, I will glean all the information I can cram in this old head! I also am a little picky, love fresh coconut and raisons but not in or on anything, go figure! "

Thanks
Red