Hooold on there with the softball thing! If you'd said football, that could get confusing. I'll have to google what you mean by softball. I'm picturing the thing that's a bit larger than a cricket or baseball. Or is cricket played with a softball? All I know is that once I played cricket, everyone laughed at me for swinging my funny American way, but I kicked butt, and the ball went out of the compound. I just had to do some shameless bragging there.

I'm finally getting my but to the grocery store. I don't have/use kitchen scales. Can you please give me a rough estimate of the measurements that you weigh in some other terms. For example, about how many tennis ball-sized onions should I use? If this has been addressed already, I'm sorry. I will scroll through the entire eleven pages now...

This base looks good and like something I can picture in an American Indian restaurant.

Oh wait... Dieters who count calories use kitchen scales for meat. And for some reason, I see in my mind's eye MidWestern housewives 50yrs+ using them. But  I attribute all kinds of things to Midwesterners. I can't help it. They talk funny.

I like charts!

It would be helpful if you could standardise it somehow, like chosing one column to all be the same. Maybe Serving: 8. I'd prefer, but it'd be too complicated, the standard column to be onions. Thay way you'd see the ratio of ingredients from there... say all compared to ten onions. The problem there is the math. Unless you're willing to be insane, it's too complicated and not practical.

Perhaps the best standardization would be the final yeild?

No, no, no, George. In the US nobody uses kitchen scales. There are recipe people and there are taste-as-you-go people. Neither use scales here.

Every other year, American kids get a chapter in metrics, and delusional school officials think that because the kids pass the quiz at the end of the unit, they won't be total retards in the scientific world or abroad. We still go to Mexico and Canada, get pulled over for driving too fast and pretend not to know that the posted speed signs were in kilometers. Or whatever they are in.

Anyway, I remember from 9th grade science that we use some units measurement to measure volume, even though they sound like they measure weight. I think the units are obtained based on the weight and volume of water. For example, there are little lines on my measuring cup that measure ounces. Eight ounces of water in volume would probably equal eight ounces of water in weight (assuming that's the standard used), but fill that measuring cup with gold to the 8 oz line, and you will have more gold in weight than you ought (That's the kind of system I want my gold dealers to use. I'd like to be so fortunate that they do not weigh but rather measure in volume.... That would be awesome).

In the US when a recipe calls for so many ounces of something, they're speaking in terms of volume. If you need two pounds of meat, however, you just eyeball it. I don't know anyone who uses kitchen scales.

Also, I don't think I knew until I was , like, 24 that cilantro and coriander were the same thing. My husband just found out last week because I planted some. As far as I can guess, cilantro is the fresh herb (we have a lot of Mexican food here), and coriander refers to the seed.

Isn't language fun?

Holy cow, the baby just erased everything brilliant I had to say!

One question about measurements: When you say one kg, are you actually weighing the food, or are you just measuring up to some kg line (like a line calculated by water weight or something)?

That above all things deters me from metric recipes. I don't have a scale in my kitchen, and I think it would be very inconvenient to weigh the ingredients. So, I am hoping you are talking volume, not actual weight.

Thank you for reminding me that I complicate things.

I did make a base once and froze it in batches. This was before I knew it was a base/gravy. It didn't freeze well for some reason. I need to get to the store and get some cilantro so I can try it again. I've never made a base with any other vegetables besides onions, garlic and ginger. No cilatnro even. I can't wait to start because I've been drooling over your board for a few days!

If you're willing to use elbow grease, I swear that baking soda works. I read and read that it works, but who believes those old-wives' cleaning tales? I finally tried it, and it works.

Damn, if I lived in GB I'd be even fatter than I am now! I love cream, and yet ours is about 35% fat. However, I suppose if it's thicker, you'd use less.