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As I have written often, any rejected/on hold protein gets tossed into the food processor, chopped coarsely and turned into ragu Bolognese. Frozen in portions and always a welcome "nothing to eat" supper.

I'd like a mountain with a package of cheese under each bush. All different so that I could just pick a new one each day. If I have to pick a favorite other than the ones that have been mentioned, I would add gorgonzola, asiago, and Baby Swiss.

My love of cheese started in France, so in that spirit: Epoisses from Bourgogne, Pont L'Eveque from Normandy, a tangy ash rind chevre from the Loire (especially a Valencay) and an extremely aged sheep's milk cheese from Corsica that I forget the name of.... Edit - or change out the last one for a local Roquefort!

I can’t argue with that selection but So many blues, it’s impossible to choose one but there’s always one available. And, as noted

I love all of the above, but I would have to include feta (more for cooking than eating) and some sort of blue cheese.

Fontina is nice.

Mozzarella is pretty indispensable too

Bay scallops, kielbasa, and plantains, all seared and removed. Sauteed shallots, garlic, jalapeno, and a roasted chile Poblano, seasoned with black pepper and cayenne, mixed everything together, and finished with Asian basil. Lovely mix of flavors and textures, if I say so myself. The discussion on scallops made me hungry for same.

A couple of years ago I tried a meat subscription service that had looked promising. My darling was unimpressed, and I found it difficult to use the meats in ways he'd like. He always found the steaks tough. Well, they are grass-fed steaks. I've had tender ones, but I never managed to do it with him. I cancelled the subscription after 2 deliveries. This package is a relic of that subscription. It sat in the freezer through all our health mayhem, and I promised myself I'd cook it during this trip. Given my erratic cooking, I think it's been out and back into the freezer a few times. Last night, I made up my mind to sear it and have a steak salad. Or tacos. I hadn't decided when I pulled it out (again). I unwrapped it. Huh. This wasn't what I'd expected! Well, it should sear easily. I blotted it, gave it a very light coat of olive oil, then dosed it liberally with Lawry's seasoned salt while I got a grill pan screaming hot. The idea was to sear the outside and have the interior still pink. It worked, kinda. Not as pink as I'd have liked. Dinner. Remember that I was either going to have a steak salad or tacos? Phooey on that. It was neither. Flavor not bad, but this meat was chewier -- not in a good way -- and more difficult to cut than any I remember getting from this company before. I'm glad I didn't subject my darling to it. I don't know whether the repeated thawing and freezing had anything to do with the texture, but it couldn't have helped. I ate some of it. The rest is in the refrigerator until I decide what to do with it. My canine companion knows what he thinks I should do!

<Cue Don Henley> Nobody on the road... Nobody on the beach... "Boys of Summer" is one of my favorite songs, and it echoes through my head every time I go for a walk here. It's the reverse situation, of course: the place is emptying out for the summer. A few hardy souls stay here year-round, but my hosts/landlords will be leaving in early May. By that time the snow should have melted in Minnesota, where they're headed. The owners of my favorite house here left this morning for their home in Washington. I'm not sure what to make of this place. It has a healthy raised-bed garden. As you can see, the tomatoes are done already but there're some good-looking vegetables and greens. I'm not sure whether these homeowners are still around, but I think they've gone for the season. This morning it was mashed avocado on sourdough bread, with a sprinkling of lemon and Spike. Chased by a mixture of kefir and juice. Yesterday as part of my effort to cut down on deli meats and cheeses in the refrigerator, I had this "wrap" for lunch. Not shown: Triscuits for crunch. Dinner last night was slightly more interesting, but also less successful. I'll give it its own post.

Comté, Parmigiano, Manchego/Idiazabal, Kraft American slices - just for starters.

Mt.Rushmore is a mountain in the US carved with the images 4 famous American presidents, who, for the sake of argument were great ones. If there was a Mt Rushmore of cheeses, what would you have on yours? I'd probably have cheddar, chevre, gruyere and parmigiano reggiano .

You might find the resources from Tom Cucuzza at The Sourdough Journey helpful. All of his information is based primarily on the classic Tartine recipe (80/20 BF to WW), so not a pure white loaf. He has a particularly good “crumb read” guide, which I’ve also linked below. Website: https://thesourdoughjourney.com YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@thesourdoughjourney?si=lpG0PIgnmKcMaOyA Crumb Reading Guide:: https://thesourdoughjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/How-to-Read-a-Sourdough-Crumb.pdf

Agree 100% on the quality of TJ rack of lamb. I will only buy New Zealand lamb. They harvest younger than we do, resulting in lovely mild flavor, tender meat. IMHO, American lamb frequently approaches gamey. The grandkids frequently request "lamb lollipops" and they hoover these.

The reshaped bread rose beautifully and came out with a very good crumb. So....this time I got away with reshaping and one more rise. But surely I can't be the only baker who sometimes leaves proofing loaves a little too long and has this dilemma from time to time? I also have another question today. This week's loaf has larger holes in the crumb in the middle of the loaf, just a little too high to be the true center of it. I know I've seen troubleshooting guides that discuss possible causes for such faults--where the holes are disproportionate in some parts of the loaf, or crumb texture is off--but I can't find one to hand at the moment in my bread books and am getting a poor signal-to-noise ratio with open internet search. Does anyone have a pointer to a broadly applicable online guide with lots of examples that is about more than just white-flour sourdough hearth breads?

Just when you thought you were in the clear....BAM! -10, snow, and 50KM/H Winds! Mother nature is having a laugh.....

Seeing the first new shoots from our host o' hostas... ...and my autumn bulbs... ...not to mention the fall-blooming sedums I picked up late in the season last year, on clearance. The sedums and the hardy hibiscus (another late-season purchase, marked down from $40/ea to $10/ea) are both okay in my zone, but not necessarily in aboveground pots, so I sunk them both into empty spaces in my main garden for the winter while we considered where to put them on a more permanent basis.

I've been using 2 Sisters for about a year, and their prices are great. I'm looking to switch, since communication with them is super difficult, and they semi frequently make mistakes on their orders. Are there any other suppliers that have similar price points?

This is actually my favorite product from Trader Joe's: Their New Zealand rack of lamb, which usually runs right around $20 or so. I cut it up into little chops, marinade in a little olive oil, s & p, rosemary, lemon... And broil them. With roasted potatoes and carrots.

I have to agree on using plastic bags. They're indispensable when it comes to separation, protection, and identification. I can't imagine not being able to use some sort of plastic. Fortunately here in Costa Rica they have not dispensed with the produce bags. Some stores are just giving you the little bags but at least, I have something. I do have other means of storage that I use though. Michael brought me these net bags that are handy for buying produce and some kinds of storage. They are a fine nylon net and I have used them for a couple years. He bought them from Amazon and I no longer have the link but they are about $10 for 15 bags of three sizes. I can also buy two sizes of plastic bags in the grocery store. Sandwich size and one about 8x10. We can also buy plastic bags by the kilo here. Everything from very very small bags to large garbage bags. All the plastic bags that I use get used several times before they go into the garbage. And all my garbage gets packaged in smaller bags before it goes in the large garbage bags because all the garbage bags that they sell here are biodegradable and tend to start degrading before they reach the curb. Biodegradable bags are a great idea if they could just get their timing right. As to your friends question about material for bags, I would definitely recommend the very fine nylon net material for transparency and maybe some kind of light waterproof raincoat material for other bags.

Even though your friend doesn’t want to, I find that zip-lock bags, into which I repack produce mostly well wrapped in Tri-fold paper towels, to be the best way to store produce. I reuse the zip-locks many times, alleviating any potential guilty feelings. The only produce that gets other treatment before storage are lettuces, which get rinsed and spun and wrapped in kitchen towels before going into a plastic bag.

See later posts: Not a WET scallop...Sorry https://wildalaskancompany.com/blog/wet-vs-dry-scallops?srsltid=AfmBOorkCAxa8a7SCAuBoqcuoeD88pGq85zEbE1hPb7fu3gIkSyVcrrO

I agree with Tdev on hard veggies. When I was getting a CSA and had lots of stuff regularly, I'd take all the leafy stuff, wash it well, leave wet and enclose in large muslin clean kitchen towels and store that way in the crisper drawer. It would last a very long while. I'd check each time I was using something and if it was getting dry, I'd sprinkle with a little water before re-wrapping the towel.

Using leftovers. Sauerkraut, smoked sausage, dill pickles and provolone on grainy nutty bread. Very good, but if I do the same again (there's still some left), I will put mustard on it, too.

I find that the hard vegetables (squash, carrots, celery) tend to do better in the crisper drawer outside of any plastic bags.