[Italiancook]

Joan, when my husband's and my son was 18, I received a call from his doctor's office.

"Your son has kidney disease," the receptionist said.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"That your son has kidney disease," she repeated.

We hung up. I had only a few seconds to process this bad news when the phone rang again. It was my mentor/professor from college. I relayed the previous conversation to him. He said not one word. We sat on the phone, neither of us saying anything. After 20 minutes, I knew I wasn't alone with the sad news.

"Thank you," I said, and we hung up without saying good-bye.

Joan, I'm sitting in silence with you, and I'm praying for comfort, strength, and peace for you.

[Italiancook]

Glad he's going to the doctor, Joan. I hope you receive better news than you're expecting.

[Italiancook]

Mike, I sure wish you'd send some of those peanut butter cookies to me. My husband used our peanut butter outside in some wild scheme to ward off gophers who destroyed the yard. Yes, the peanut butter is buried, but I think it'll attract racoons which are destructive to property. So I didn't have peanut butter until a Sam's run today. I also really like that cookie recipe, but in my small kitchen, making cookies is a stressful production, so I don't make them as often as I'd like.

[Italiancook]

I have also been praying for you and your husband, Joan.

[Italiancook]

Joan, the Lord brought to mind a Scripture that I hope will help you:
Philippians 4:13.

[Italiancook]

Joan, I have prayed for your husband's healing. I've also prayed for God to comfort and strengthen you during your crisis.

[Italiancook]

Mike, after years of Sam's not carrying pre-shredded mozzarella, I see they now offer low-fat shredded mozzarella. As I recall, you use their whole milk mozzarella. Sam's blurb touts the low-fat product as having good meltability for pizza. Do you think a low-fat cheese would work on pizza?

[Italiancook]

chocomouse, I thought of you today while I was baking. I made Giada DeLaurentis' Lemon Ricotta Biscuits for the second time. I think you'd like these lemony goodness delights. They're baked in a muffin tin. Link below: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/nonnas-lemon-ricotta-biscuits-recipe-1916098

I don't like almonds, so I used vanilla in the batter and coarsely chopped pecans for the topping. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and used lemon zest and juice. Next time, I'm going to delete those two things and use Lemon Juice Powder and a tablespoon water to replace the juice.

I used a 1/4 cup scoop. Before I bake these again, I'm going to buy a 1/2 cup scoop, because it'll save time. There's enough batter for the larger scoop.

[Italiancook]

Aaron, a while back I bought a sub set from KABC. It came with 2 silicone pans and flour. I've spent a fair amount of time on their website and can't find it. I guess they discontinued it.

I also looked at Wasserstrom.com for you. Here's a link to a high-priced Chicago Metallic sub pan that comes in a case of 6. . . and a more reasonably-priced silicone pan that looks similar to what KABC sold me . . . don't know if it's the same product. I have purchased from Wasserstrom a few times & been happy with product and delivery time, so I hope you have a good experience if buy from them.
https://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/SearchDisplay?authToken=-1002%252CikG1Jp6Tgr6XwX4T8wqbt%252Bcvf23%252BuN%252BgRtLYSeBqhHU%253D&categoryId=&storeId=10051&catalogId=3074457345616677089&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=20&searchTerm=sub+roll+pan#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&catalogMode:&

[Italiancook]

Happy Birthday, Joan. So glad your special day was special!

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, this is indeed a "fascinating article." Really, no pun intended, but it is food for thought.

[Italiancook]

cwcdesign, thanks for your suggestions. I like the idea of a heatproof band. I'll check Lowe's to see if they have them. The outside of my slow cooker becomes hot to the touch. Velcro would work, but may not be safe with the heat. Mike, I've thought of putting books on top, but a little bit of steam comes out along the lip of the cover. I giveaway books I don't want, and I don't have any I'm willing to sacrifice to steam. Both your ideas are better than the one I thought of.

[Italiancook]

cwcdesign, thanks for explaining how you use the ChefAlarm with your crockpot. Unfortunately, my slow cooker doesn't have the carrying clasps. So the Alarm probably won't work with it. Nevertheless, I'll put it to good use in the oven. I'll probably buy the smaller probe so I can use it to measure the temp of homemade sausage. I've always wanted to make sausage patties so I can control the pepper, but I'm so worried about the pork being underdone that I cook them until they're too crispy outside and dry inside.

I understand what you mean about using your slow cooker only when you're home. The newer ones cook so fast that they're no longer a set-it-and-leave product.

[Italiancook]

Mike, the picture you provided is perfect! Thank you! I ordered a ChefAlarm in yellow.

[Italiancook]

Mike, my newer slow cooker has a low and high setting. Even the low setting causes angst. I've learned to cut an hour off the time for any meat. Even then, the Thermapen usually says it's overcooked. Call me old fashioned, but I think meats must cook for a certain amount of time to be safe to eat.

I looked at ChefAlarm. Does the cable become longer? As it appears in the picture, the cord wouldn't be long enough to go inside the crockpot and onto the counter. Is the bulbous thingy on it to release extra cable? Duh! I read reviews and Q&A and still couldn't figure out this.

[Author]

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