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Cabbage rolls are a real labor of love, even more so than meatballs. I applaud you, @Ann_T!

@Maison Rustique I have a John Boos mobile butcher block island (30.75 inches wide x 20 inches deep - stands 35 3/8" tall). It has 4 locking casters, with drawer + (1) 10" drop leaf, model "CUCE" CUCINA ELEGANTE - MAPLE TOP. My kitchen is a small square. A regular island would interfere with the oven door, dishwasher door, and opening drawers; a moving island can get out of the way. Interestingly, I rarely lock the casters, having learned how to place hot dishes or groceries on the top without causing the island to move. When my friend comes over with a contribution for dinner, I lock the casters (so she can use it). The butcher block island wasn't cheap. But nothing else would work as well. https://www.johnboos.com/collections/islands P.S. Because it's so lovely, I haven't yet started using it as a butcher block; I bring a cutting board to it!

My neighbor, who runs a small backyard farm and sells at the local farmers' market, went camping for the weekend. Her raspberries are coming ripe, and she graciously invited me and another neighbor to come pick the ripe ones rather than letting them fall to the ground. The other neighbor was busy, so I picked 2 buckets' worth -- one for me and one for her. They aren't as sweet or tart as I'd expected. Is my sense of taste going off? Maybe, since I've been battling a cold and a general loss of appetite. But...today, I tested my own backyard's wild rasberries. There's no comparison. I'm torn between selfish relief that it isn't me, and sorrow that my neighbor's farmed berries just aren't good this year. I don't plan to tell her.

@Smithy I found this http://www.xianguotea999.com/the-art-of-crafting-traditional-eight-treasure-crispy-cakesa-step-by-step-guide/ No idea if it's sensible or not. Searching 'Xinjiang eight-treasure cut cake recipe' produced a lot of items for sale.

Last night's dinner. My favourite cabbage rolls. Ready for the oven. I offered to make sides to go with , but Moe was happy to just have the cabbage rolls. And he had the same thing for breakfast. Monday night's dinner. Roast beef with Yorkshire Puddings, mashed potatoes and peas. And for dessert a blueberry cobbler made with local blueberries and a vanilla cream sauce.

Today's visit to Borough Market when I came up to London to pick up my daughter from Uni. £4.50- £5.50, so not scandalous. The chap at the stall said he'd heard Pinhais was the early season catch (Nuri the late season) and perhaps better, but he couldn't taste any difference. The "extra picante" has 3 chillies compared to the 2 in the simple "picante," but I assured him I would be fine. Just to pass on an experienced person's views, he felt the Papa Anzois sardines were the best he had.

I'm sorry, I don't have a recipe. I've never met anyone who who home makes them. They are usually sold by street vendors who descend all over China from Xinjiang every year when the nuts are in season.

I'm no longer a big sweets person, but this looks really good to me. I should look around for recipes along these lines. I don't suppose you have one handy? (I also don't have access to maltitol syrup, with or without the formal chemical name you so hilariously provide) but I have a lot of honey and maple syrup.)

Sorry Ma'am but your husband is clearly inebriated and has to leave

A bit late, but I found just what you need.

I'm not big on sweet snacks but like these. 新疆八宝切糕 (xīn jiāng bā bǎo qiē gāo), literally ‘Xinjiang eight-treasure cut cake’ a traditional snack or cake from China’s far western province, Xinjiang. As always with number in China, there aren’t necessarily eight ingredients, but around eight. These had ten. Jujubes, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, raisins, black mulberries, and flaxseed, all held with that old traditional favourite, 4-O-α-glucopyranosyl-D-sorbitol syrup aka maltitol syrup. Honey is used in more traditional versions.

That's my point, a fiver for bread is unthinkable!

The nice thing about this type of cutting boards, it's the only end-grain cutting board which does not have any plastic glue in it. dcarch

You cant really tell from the price alone. What you have to consider is also the average income in China is correspondingly low. It's no less cheap for the average Chinese person. And Borough Market is expensive anyway!

Just feed that to me like Homer Simpson in donut "hell"

At risk of being very boring but here I’ve served lasagna again, this time with spinach. I had made a large dish of it last time, expecting visitors who didn’t show up, so a lasagna meal from the freezer was most welcome.

Black Bean Salad with Shaved Vegetables from “Bean Book” by Steve Sando - using Santa Nero Negro Delgado beans out of Oaxaca from his Rancho Gordo company, shaved/cut/mandolined radishes, fennel, carrots, white onion and celery and a vinaigrette made with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard and oregano

What Smithy said. Looks like a decent bread, shame it doesn't hit the mark. I'm more shocked by the prices, I would struggle to find a loaf for five quid in borough market

Here for anyone not familiar with the concept are a couple of tree slice boards. Ginkgo Wood These ginkgo boards are found in China and Japan. Ginkgo wood is more on the softer side. However, they are expensive. Pine Board Another softer wood. All these boards also come with steel rings to minimise warping and the price depends on diameter and thickness.

The label is about normal around here. I found toasting improves it.

That's one of the funnier labels I've read in a while! 😀 Too bad it's only "not bad". It looks great in the photos.

I didn’t put the clock on them but after reading your post, I started tasting early on and they seem largely intact. My plan for them was a Nancy Silverton recipe for seared, rare tuna with lima bean purée and harissa but they took long enough that I started getting hangry and tossed this together. Tuna will happen tomorrow. Thanks for the succotash tips, they sound good. I’ve only had the simplest version with corn, limas, a little onion, a pat of butter, salt & pepper.

… and then there’s this Wheat Mix Bread, The bakery is in Beijing and doesn’t claim dual nationality, settling instead on German. However, it’s firmly Chinese and most of their goods are the same old Chinese not-bread bread. They sell these OK 500g loaves for $5.75 a loaf, but recently slapped on a ridiculous $5.16 delivery charge, essentially doubling the price. I had been buying them for about two years at a much lower delivery price. The sourdough above has free delivery, so these fake Germans are now off my shopping list.

One saving grace. I’ve never met anyone in China who knows what sourdough is but I know the Chinese; it’s 酸面包 (suān miàn bāo), literally sour bread. A couple of months ago, I found this online, described by the seller as “Whole Wheat Sourdough Rubon Country Bread Multi-grain French Old Bread German Sourdough Bread”! The sellers are obviously confused. Rubon county doesn’t exist and isn’t even a possible Chinese name and as far as I remember France and Germany are two different countries. The bread is baked in Anhui province, 1,368 km / 850 miles from me. It takes 2-3 days to arrive, but isn’t bad, if not great. It’s also rather pricy for China at $7.25 USD for a 500 gram loaf. But needs must..

Did they cook quickly? Did you stop them cooking in time for them to keep their shape? I've always winged it when it comes to succotash; it's one of those things I didn't grow up with. I take corn kernels off the cob and sauté them for a few minutes with a little garlic and basil or other herbs. Mix the corn, lima beans and halved cherry tomatoes and a little red onion and dress as you like. If you are into bacon cook a few strips first, then fry the corn in the bacon fat and add broken bacon pieces to the salad. Would be good with Indio oregano and roasted green chile, you think?