Do you ever buy a premade mix from the discount shelves and use it for something other than what it is for? If so let me know what you have done. Currently I have Matza mix as it goes 90% off after each holiday. We do not like matza, but I use it to make a rue, to bread fish, in meat balls and even in breads. I'm currently creating something with falafel mix. Not sure what yet, currently looks like it escaped from the grandkid's playdoh. I'm noticing that a lot of people don't understand how to substitute ingredients and it would be interesting to have a meal plan that explained the substitutions.

OK. I have not started on the classes yet and I will. BUT I have a question: How many were taught to cook by watching? Does that make it more difficult to write them out? My grandmother Josie (1917-2010) taught me by showing me, but she also told stories/tea during it that set the cooking times and sometimes had a substitution to the recipes in it. So last week I was making this dish for a friend and I told her the following as I prepared it. Would writing it like this in a cookbook then followed by the formal recipe work for people? or does this need to be removed? My Grandmother Josie her Grandmother Camellia made Zucchini & Prosciutto roll ups and would add minced dates & sultanas in them. So as we would make them my Grandmother would take the cleaver and demonstrate how her Grandmother would pulverize them into tiny flakes while saying the Hail Mary prayer then sprinkle them in with a baby spoon like a queen offering favors. My grandmother would then say that her mother, Providencia, hated the dates, and loved the sultanas, but since sultanas made Salvadore (her husband) act sinfully she would roll Frantoio olives in sugar (and my grandmother would demonstrate this) chop them with a cleaver & pulverize them with a masher muttering "Avrei dovuto dare ascolto al tuo avvertimento." three times before adding them in. My Grandmother Josie said that American stomachs are stupid & don't deserve sultanas, dates or Frantoio, so she adds enough capers to fill the bottom of a tea cup and smash each one with a fork so all the liquid comes out while saying the name of that boss that makes you uncomfortable. Then you scrape it into the bottom of the pan to be buried by the sauce and the roll ups. Finally you bake it in the oven for as long as it takes to swig wine from the bottle while chanting the "Our Father" prayer in Latin, then cleaning up the kitchen and setting the plates. Roughly 35 minutes. Camellia's had a somewhat sweet/sour taste. Providencia's was fruity & bitter.

Upfront admission: I'm technically disadvantaged. So - I've tried canva as well as AI to design a banner for me, for my new YouTube Channel. But here's the thing: I simply cannot (!) get the size to fit into the YouTube banner requirements! Is there possibly a soul out there who could help me? Please?

Hi @Marilyn Harris. How are you enjoying the course? I'd really love some feedback.

A lot of modern cookbooks seem to gloss over skill sets. As a bookseller, I love finding old cookbooks, rediscovering some lost classics - some which should remain lost- and discovering different ways of doing things. I have no formal cooking training, just what my Grandmothers taught me (those two women would fight over what a small onion means), what I gleaned from my mom and her elimination weight loss diets (ever toast a rice cake to make a liverwurst sandwich? No? Lucky you.) and my own family with many food allergies. These cookbooks are a blessing for me. Do you all have any that are helpful to you? Post them here!