[Nina Beyt]

I'm going to try this cake. BTW, I just read that baking soda will last forever. Here's the link:
https://food52.com/blog/12593-the-real-shelf-life-of-pantry-items-when-to-pay-attention-to-expiration-dates

More or less what I thought. And yes, "double acting baking powder" acts once when moisture is added, and then again when heat (oven) is applied. That's where the baking soda component of your cake kicked in, then dissipated too soon.

Still, I'm glad you had an issue to question because we now have a new recipe to try. Mike and Joanie loved it; I'm sure I will too.

Now stop replacing your baking soda, everyone!

[Nina Beyt]

Mike, how about gazpacho? Seafood is one my favorites in summer which you can broil or grill, or make things like cajun type shrimp sauteed with a bit of onions, but more sliced red peppers and celery which is typically served with rice but you could use brown rice or whole wheat pasta. Very low carb is not 'no carbs at all'. Although most of my veggies are tossed with olive oil and garlic to finish, you can blanch low carb veggies like green beans with olive oil and your herbs of choice, including chives. You can bake a potato; you carve out and eat the flesh and she eats the skin, brushed with flavored olive oil. Crispy and delicious.

Make lamb, beef or chicken shish kabobs, laced with onions (which flavors the meat but she doesn't have to eat them), peppers and mushrooms. I hate to fall back on bacon but you can use more of it in place of onions in things like meatloaf and burgers. We remove all exterior fat as a matter of habit, and if you reduce the fat on bacon (yes, I know, most people want to EAT it), you can still get a ton of flavor in other foods. I don't know your taste in veggies like cauliflower (have no idea of it's carb content), but maybe you could make pureed soups with chicken broth, to serve chilled? I think I have a low-carb bookbook around here somewhere . . . shall I look for it?

Then there's cheese, which you can use as a sauce for veggies when plain ones get too boring. Don't make a roux based sauce but try fondue techniques, melty cheese, white wine and herbal flavorings. I think a fondue has you coat the cheese cubes with flour, but I think it would be a minimal amount, enough to make it an occasional treat.

How about going with some Asian sauces for chicken, such as peanut sauce, with a minimal portion of brown rice? Other side dishes could be a pile of sauteed mushrooms, bok choy, kale if you aren't sick of it, cole slaw, cabbage with bacon.

As for fruit, I'm sure you've downloaded a list but I bet strawberries and most other berries ae fairly low carb. Dessert might have to resort to dessert cheeses with allowed fruit . . . Then there's Amazon, which is bound to have some low-carb cookbooks. I know it's not your way of cooking but in time maybe some of these will work their way into your rotation, and help keep you both healthy. Congrats to her for her discipline and to you for helping. Good luck.

[Nina Beyt]

Thanks, Sarah. I'm sure that will come in handy for some of who live an uncomfortable distance away from a WM. My sister is in that category and I'll make sure she knows about it. A WM finally opened up in Burbank not far from a few other desirable destinations, so I'll be able to make a run occasionally.

[Nina Beyt]

I bought a baguette pan years ago, perforated, double trough, but haven't used it in years. Right now it is a storage device for round things like rolling pins and the immersion blender. If you have made french type breads on a baking stone, you don't really need it, but it may keep your dough from spreading out too flat if you have had that trouble before.

[Nina Beyt]

Hey, everybody! Look! Cass and Sara are hugging! This is a red letter day, and you can tell both of them have had a horrible Spring, what with taxes and bad banks and bad clients and bad hearts. All getting better now, and it is a time to celebrate. Break out the candles. Cass is now 85 and can breathe, and Sare is (almost) over tax season and can breathe. At least she could if her corner of the country would cool down. Las Vegas is an oven of a different type, and it'll be 102 where I live in a couple of days.

Let's thank Mike again, for this place to hang out, and now we have a new friend, Italian Baker.

I don't remember what caused S & C to feel hurt, or saddened, but I will say this. It is hard to tell in an online message when someone is teasing/kidding/leg pulling, or just plain venting and harrassing. I've joked with Maria which she knew was totally leg pulling and she responded in kind. I love it when we can tease one another this way, when rapport and comfort is established. If it weren't for the sharing of bread (and the love of baking), we here would never have met. We don't get to "break bread" together in reality, but this will do. Thanks everybody, for the friendship.

[Nina Beyt]

Coming from a pecan shelling family, I think I've tried every kind and take my word for it, the one in the link Mike gave you is hands down the best. Laura nailed it. You'll get the least amount of broken pieces.

[Nina Beyt]

So, if we use that catalog as a link to show what we want, we have to decide which stamp is the correct one. There are the two marked Stampo Pane Michetta & Stampo Pane Michetta Con Foro. Then there's the one labeled Stampo Pane Rosetta, which I suppose is the right one. Your thoughts?

What flour would you use? I just watched a couple of videos, both using 12% gluten, but doppio 00, which isn't available exactly for us. Would you use your own freshly milled flour, or KABF, or what?

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Nina Beyt.

[Nina Beyt]

I hope Laura sees this. I'm going to post the same info on the other new sites. Wouldn't it be a gas to have a 'bake-off' when and if we get the stamps? I didn't look at the site that well, but I will now. Problem is, I do have a limited budget so buying in Euros plus whatever additional fees incurred make this a rare purchase. Oh, well, life is harsh.

[Nina Beyt]

Happy Birthday! Happy back to your own place day. Are't you glad you have your new pacemaker just in time to celebrate? I hope they are throwing you a party!

[Nina Beyt]

I got a lengthy email from Cass this morning, thanking me for the attention we have been able to send his way. It has meant a lot, and I hope we can remember him from time with a little something, card, even a surprise like the cookies I sent.

Here's a little bit of what he said: "Last tues. I entered the worst hospital in Las Vegas. I could not breath well without huffing & puffing all day long. My dizziness now has subsided & I can breath much better." He should have had the sling from his arm removed today and be able to shower and re-enter the world of the living. He's a treasure and while the end of the BC has made it hard for us all to keep in touch, if we can't evolve and adapt, mankind is in a real mess. Especially if there are no more bakers. 🙂

[Nina Beyt]

Hot Diggety Dog! Mike, Laura,

I just heard from Cass and he has a friend . . . "She says her family is visting in a month from Milan, Italy. She can have them buy these presses & then she will mail them out. Or maybe they can have them ship them from the source."

Isn't that a deal? I've told him yes for myself, and need right away any others who want one. We may finally have an easy source.

BTW, Mike, there's so much in this thread, can you better pinpoint which recipe you found to make the best hard rolls?

If we actually get these, we owe him . . . I just sent cookies. He was so appreciative, I would love to find anyone who would be willing to do this for him once in a while. It would mean a lot.

[Nina Beyt]

It's a sad day when I can't buy something I want that is less than a dinner out. I had every intention of buying the rosetta roll stamp in Italy and did find a couple of cookware stores. One particular store owner couldn't have been nicer but didn't have such an esoteric item. He gave me directions to another place but two things made a wreck of our stay in Rome.

One, and if you hadn't heard, was when the international terminal in Rome was gutted by fire when we were in the air to our first leg, London. There we were stranded, with no BPounds (just Euros) and no conversion power supply cords for computer or phones for British power outlets (had for Italy only). Such a mess. You could not fly to Rome from outside Italy because there were no facilities for customs inspections, etc. By the time we got there (fly to Naples, cab to city center for train to Rome), our time there was severely shortened.

Secondly, I spent 24 hours with turista, running for facilities and spending the afternoon so engaged in a metro station.

So no roll stamp. It's time I tried to make them by the folding method. Plenty of videos to watch. The flavor of the rolls was underwhelming, but the whole point was to have the hole in the center to fill with butter, or jam.

[Nina Beyt]

I just heard from Cindy that he is doing fine. The implant procedure went well and he should be home sometime during the weekend. As she said, "keep those cards and letters coming".

[Nina Beyt]

Carol, of course, I would love your recipe when you have a few minutes. I sometimes wonder how you manage with all the irons you have in various fires, and wonder how you have time to cook. I did look in my saved recipes and was surprised that it wasn't there. I guess I'm on a chocolate cake for Frank kick which lets me eat ice cream or frozen grapes or anything cool. . . . I'm already on two changes of clothes/two showers a day. Arrgggg. Summer's here.

[Nina Beyt]

They ALL sound good; too bad I didn't make one yesterday instead of the "Chocolate Cobbler" my SIL raved about. Frank loves it; me, not so much. Have you ever made one of these? It's similar to a 'lemon pudding cake' except it's made with cocoa. Too much sugar though, and not enough cocoa. Easy to fix now that I know.

KP sent me the Malgieri book but I'm copying the other recipes. Thanks, swirth.

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