I've been a happy KA fan for years. I use their AP, unbleached cake, bread (not recalled, thank goodness), and high-protein flours with success. I can't imagine what lvmadison means by a "better" quality of flour. In the thread on looking for a better flour, I asked what lvm didn't like and didn't see an answer. I have a batch of bagels made with KA Sir Lancelot flour rising right now. I made two batches of cookies over the weekend with KA AP and KA cake flour. My friends loved them and took a whole lot home to share with their spouses. Over Lunar New Year I used KA AP for long-life noodles which got many compliments and requests to take leftovers home. I really don't know what would make these recipes "better". Cheryl

I took advantage of that "$40 a yr membership" when it was first offered back a couple months ago. I have already earned back the $40 and now feel I am home free. It is an automatic renewal one yr later, need to be on your toes and cancel if you do not want an additional yr. I usually stay away from automatic renewals. I do more and more online ordering of 'special things " . For instance just recently CF had a discussion on Grade B maple syrup. I had finally gave up hunting for it in local grocery stores, I use it in a KA maple oatmeal bread recipe. I think it was annie 92 or grainlady who said they ordered it online and froze the balance. Yep there it was on line....and it freezes well. See all the knowledge here on CF!! Shirl

I never cared for her. In case you ever want to make the mash recipe: FULL RECIPE, THEN DIVIDE BY 8 FOR 1/8 RECIPE 1/2 cup dry black-eyed peas 1/2 cup dry pinto beans 1/2 cup dry kidney beans 1/2 cup dry split peas - a mix of green and yellow 1/2 cup dry garbanzo beans 1/2 cup dry black beans 1/2 cup dry soy beans 1 cup dry great northern white beans 1/2 cup dry wheat berry grain 1/2 cup dry pearl barley grain 1 cup dry wild rice Rinse the beans, grains and rice, then soak them overnight (8 hours or so) in a large pot, covered with about an inch of water. Do not change the water before cooking as you want to retain as many of the nutrients as possible. In the morning add or remove water as needed to cover the mixture with about one inch of water. Bring the water to a full boil and boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot, continue to cook for 20 minutes more. Ideally there will be just enough water to cook the beans, with very little extra. 3 medium sweet potatoes 4 medium white potatoes Scrub, quarter and then slice these into 1/8 inch slices. Then steam these lightly in a steamer, stirring every few minutes to cook them evenly. 3 pounds frozen corn 3 pounds frozen peas 3 pounds frozen carrots 3 pounds frozen green beans I add these to the hot beans and potatoes. It cools them off and stops the cooking process while barely thawing the vegetables. I like to cut the carrots up a bit, just because my birds prefer the different shapes and I think that they tend to be a bit large most of the time. 1/2 pound fresh parsley 3 medium zucchini 4 large tomatoes 1/2 pound of mustard greens 6 large bananas 6 medium apples 4 peeled oranges 1/2 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen) 1 mango (peeled and pitted) 2 papayas (peeled, leave the seeds in) 1-1/2 pounds of green grapes I run these items through a food processor to chop them a little. Do not process them too fine, the birds prefer the chunks of things. An alternative Is to slice them up by hand (this will add more time to making the mash). 1/4 cup dried pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup sesame seeds 1/4 cup dry powdered kelp 1/4 cup alfalfa powder These things I just put in whole (or powdered as the case may be). I mix this all together thoroughly and then freeze it in sandwich bags in daily serving portions. I take one bag out of the freezer and thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours, and serve it the next day. I do not recommend the use a microwave to thaw or warm this mash, as this may destroy valuable nutrients and according to some researchers it can also change the molecular structure of the foods. I�m not sure if it does or not, but it�s easy enough to avoid nuking these foods. You can warm it by placing it in warm water. Posted by: "Adrianne" : 2 - 3 rinses before the initial overnight soak. Keeps the water clearer, removes toxins that the legumes produce as they soak/germinate and increases digestability. I also do not use red kidney beans, and have cut back on the black beans as well, as they are more difficult to digest. I use navy beans for the white beans and substitute adzuke (also called aduki or azuke) beans, mung beans and lentils, as they are much easier to digest.

Thanks, y’all. I’ve tried making my own vanilla extract before, and I was terribly disappointed with the results. I used Trader Joe’s beans and good vodka. I can remember how long I steeped it before tasting, but it was several months. Mostly, it tasted like vodka with a vanilla undertone. After about two years, it had enough vanilla flavor for me to use it, but I was still underwhelmed.