Wow! I never thought this post would turn into a discussion of baker's math! I think arley explained it well: "... the baker's percentage system, which considers all other ingredients as a percentage of the flour used." That's the starting point for the percentages -- whatever the amount of flour is (whether 1 cup or 1 pound) THAT will be the 100%. It's "Baker's Math" not arithmetic math. From "The Fresh Loaf" Website: "Math?! Yes! Professional bakers don't usually talk about recipes, but rather about formulas. Bread is all about proportions, and baker's math is a way of breaking down ingredients into these proportions so that you can scale up or down as needed. It also makes baking much easier because, once you understand the basic proportions, you can freely mix and match ingredients to invent all kinds of breads on your own. "It's not necessary to learn baker's math to bake good bread, of course, but it can expand your ability to mix and match ingredients and break free of recipes to create your own formulas. "In baker's math, every ingredient is expressed in terms of the flour weight, which is always expressed as 100 percent." Don't get me wrong. I don't use this method because my pipsqueak brain cannot handle it. But I can understand how this system would be helpful to professional bakers and also those "die-hard" home bakers that keep pushing the envelope on hydration, looking for the perfect artisan bread with both tons of hole & chewiness and adequate structure. Here is a link that might be useful: Baker's Math Article

Although it's been posted a number of times before I see there's still the contention about the extraneous characters when copying and pasting. Screaming at someone to preview it may not do any good if the problem is on YOUR end! If you want to solve 90% of the issue, go into your browser and set the encoding to UTF-8. I'll bet that solves it most of the time. Each browser is slightly different but to do this in Opera (still the best browser out there) go to View, then click Encoding, then click Unicode, then click UTF-8. Normally it'll change it immediately. Occasionally it can get changed so if you see the characters, check the encoding. To avoid the problem in the first place, when you copy it from a formatted item, like a Word doc or an HTML file, drop it into a plain text file, then recopy it and it'll remove all formatting and what you see is what you're gonna get. Perhaps it could save some raised blood pressures and extra blame and accusations against iVillage. Now back to the OT. Seems some just want to complain no matter what is said. It happens. My skin is thick! Some like to take things as insults, even when someone expresses concern about another person. I remember when, in another forum someone posted a picture of themself and they were swollen up to a serious size. A couple people expressed concern and asked if she was OK but the hyperactive complainers came flying out of the woodwork screaming that it was an insult. Geez, when you can't even ask if someone's health is OK without being accused of attacking, there's really some problems! When I post a recipe that I haven't substantially created myself, I try to give credit to the person even to say something like "based on This Person's _____ recipe" whenever possible. Sometimes I got the recipe from someone who got it from someone else who got it from someone else who got it off the back of a flour bag. I get a kick out of one person who keeps posting a particular recipe (well, one of *many*! LOL), claiming it as "hers", demanding credit for it and how "her family" loves "her recipe" and when you go to Paula Deen's site (which coincidently she acknowledges she frequents!) there is the exact recipe, credited to the originator (even by P.D.) and when this person posts this obviously pilfered recipe it has the same exact punctuation errors along with the exact wording and other marks of copy & paste. Coincidence? I don't think so! LOL But however she gets her thrills! LOL Also folks, chill a bit. There's a couple people here that seem to get others' goats for some reason, so much so that when they ask genuinely about another's well-being, or crack a joke it's back to the "YOU"RE ATTACKING!!!!" stuff. Really no need to be so sensitive. Nor do you always need to read into what's being said with the often-silly accusations of thinly veiled insults comments. Try decaf. Some taste as good as the regular. I do have a request but know it will go ignored. When you *do* post pictures, how about sizing them down a bit so it doesn't throw off some of our browsers? I really would rather look at a small(er?) picture, preferably left aligned so the comments can wrap around it. Sizing it is simply adding "height=" and "width=" tags as you post it. That Jimmy Crack Corn sounds good. Did a quick search and found the procedure though. Here's what I found if anyone is interested: In a pan combine butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar, stirring as it melts together. Bring to a boil while continuing to stir and boil for one (1) minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour sugar mixture over popped corn mixture and stir to coat. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and spread over wax paper to cool. Store in an air-tight container. Joyous Kwanzaa all!

this probably would have come from the KT as it was in that folder. I always cut and paste also with the contributors name and date but somehow it is missing probably because I just did it quick and didn't check. Upside down caramelized apple cake 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Dash nutmeg 2 1/2 cups (about 3 small apples) thinly sliced apples such as courtland, fugi or gala The cake 6 tablespoons unsalted butter very soft 1 cup sugar 2 eggs room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup flour 3 tablespoons cornmeal 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk Preheat oven to 350 degrees Lightly butter the sides of a 9" cake pan (not a spring foam pan) Combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg in a small saucepan. Stir & bring to a boil & boil for 30 seconds, stirring the whole time. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan & spread evenly on the bottom. Put the peeled & sliced apples evenly on the bottom of the pan & press slightly to level them. To make the cake beat the butter & sugar with a electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs & vanilla & beat until very smooth & fluffy about 2 min. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder & salt together then sprinkle over the butter-sugar mix, add the milk & beat just until the batter is evenly moistened about 1 min. Spoon the batter over the apples & smooth the top. Bake 50 min or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out dry. Run a knife along the outer edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Place a plate over the cake, then flip it over to invert the cake onto the plate. Let cool completely before serving. 2 notes: Be careful with the caramelized part as it is very hot & can burn you. Make sure your plate is larger then the cake or you will have a mess when you turn over the cake.

How many people? Some things are fine for up to ten but don't scale up well. I just made up a salad that got raves and it's dead easy for the smaller crowd. It's instead of a caprese salad. Dice up some avocados and meaty tomatoes (seeds in unless they're obnoxious), equal quantities. I cut the avocado half in both directions in the skin, and just push from the back and they come right out. A few might need a nudge with a fork, but it's not messy like it can get on the cutting board. Put them all in a lidded bowl or container, in layers. Every inch or so sprinkle not lightly, not heavily, with a mix of dried Italian herbs (It's Delish is fine, or make your own). Drizzle a very little aged balsamic vinegar and really good EVOO over the top--not enough to pool--this is for flavor as the tomato juices should give plenty of liquid.. Put the lid on and invert a couple of times, then let sit for at least half an hour, but serve within four hours. It's nothing, but it tastes like something special. Eggplant spears are fantastic, and can be made well ahead. They're good hot or cold. They're not sweet, but you can make them round instead of spears. Get skinny Italian eggplants with intact skin. Each piece, whether spear or round (either should be thin), should have skin on it. Lay them out in a pan and brush or spray with light olive oil or whichever you prefer. Sprinkle with a blend of seasonings and herbs. I usually just use salt free garlic pepper or lemon pepper, but you can select herbs that match with your meal. Roast at 350° for at least an hour, until they're all shrunken and soft. We're not a kugel family, but if the family won't eat it, why not change it up a bit? I usually find it too sweet and won't eat it if it has raisins. I tasted one that used fresh ricotta instead of milk and cheese to make the custard with, and instead of sugar it had a few drops of date syrup (you can make your own by melting a date into a little simple syrup (half water, half sugar) in a little pan on the stove). The fruit were fall fruits like apples and pears, and I think apricots, that were diced large and sautéed until browned at the edges. I think you could roast them instead. It was really good. :) I've been thinking about Sukkot, but I'm thinking of doing more lunches for company than dinners. But I have a lot to get through before then!