Revised Edition

Given 75% of Cook's Cache's posts are five or more years old, and 50% almost ten, the time seemed right for a review of all entries.  Over time, I have tweaked recipes and noted changes in my hard copy book but not on line.  As of today, I have reviewed all posts noting the review date in tiny type at the end of the post.  Don't panic! None of the changes are major and some, in fact, are arbitrary. For example, I tend to now use vegetable oils other than canola, but canola oil still works. I've tried for more consistency, added more photos and checked links. Some links were no longer operational, either because a restaurant closed or a URL changed.

When I first started posting recipes on this blog the baked items, cakes, pies cookies, muffins, bread, etc. were all easy. The other recipes were harder.  Reading an article a few weeks ago, the reason came to light. Amanda Cohen  in the New York Times Opinion pages,  You Don't Need Blue apron to Teach You to Turn on Your Oven, writes: "

"Whenever I write a recipe for a magazine or newspaper my editors demand more measurements and cooking times. This phony precision undermines the heart, and joy, of cooking. Chefs sample their dishes multiple times as they cook because cooking happens by taste and by eye, not by time and temperature. Baking is the fussy one where you need measurements, while cooking is for slobs like me."

If you leave the baking powder out of a cake, it's chemistry. The cake will not rise and be as light.  On the otherhand reducing or increasing the amount of garlic in a recipe, is personal taste, and I often modify seasonings depending to whom I plan to serve the dish. In recent years I have started asking guests who accept an invitation if there is anything they cannot or would prefer not to eat. Several have said no garlic and/or spicy food,  a few no shellfish,  a few no raw onions, one no fish, one no chocolate and one no eggplant. A few are vegetarians.  These food limitations eliminate some dishes and cause me to modify others though I have not reflected these variations in my posts.  


Going forward, if I modify a post I will note the revision date and the nature of the revision.

1 October 2017

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