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Yeah, you can almost not water basil too much.... unless it's not getting much light, but yours looks like it's getting enough. It could always like more, but you can tell by the "internode length" which is the distance between trusses. But you're a master gardener so you would know more than I!

Thank you! I do try to keep in mind that the people receiving the food probably prefer something familiar. Even non-Cajun ethnic food usually has inauthentic seasoning, like Tony’s, added to it. We get mad when “our” food gets bastardized, but have no problem doing it to everyone else’s cuisine! Sorry for the delayed response, but I missed seeing the notification that there was a new post.

Rain is going to clean out the frigging snow, so no white Xmas. Which is fine.

Thank you for telling me! I've been watering every other day. I will step it up.

Grilled salmon with 'green' sauce. It was a puree of arugula and cilantro (4:1 in favor of arugula) with serrano chiles, garlic, lime and olive oil. Sides were chunked grape tomatoes and Persian cukes, along side of (store- bought frozen) fried breaded medallions of espinaca and queso.

At least when this picture was taken, he looks like he could use a drink... when the leaves start curling in like that, it could be a sign of water stress. I once had a basil plant (it was really big) that could go through almost a gallon of water a day!

It's currently 47F and windy, god knows if we'll have snow or not. (Such a weird weather pattern for us) Stepdaughter requested halibut this year (she doesn't get seafood in her house so Christmas Eve with her is always something from the water). Since I did halibut chowder last year, this year I'm planning on pasta with lemon sauce and halibut, shrimp cocktail for an appetizer (her dad's request), maybe salmon dip.

@chromedome i love your updates! For your grinder- our local rental store rents grinders. (Think backhoe, bobcat day rental. Not rent to own a couch.) If that's not a thing where you are, maybe put a post on a local Facebook group offering a trade for a day of borrowing a grinder. (Quail eggs for a weekend of use? A bunny or two- live or not? Etc). If you go the Facebook route, be sure to point out that you aren't a schmuck with no clue. As you know grinders are an expensive investment, I'd want reassurance loaning mine to a stranger! And don't hesitate to ask around your friend group,a woman I know is letting me long term borrow her dead husband's sausage stuffer.

Ed (whose Mom actually was French Canadian) makes an excellent Tourtière. I think we need one for this Christmas. Ed got the recipe from his French teacher when we lived in Quebec.

I'll be curious to read what the Tourtière from Costco is like. Is the brand Kirkland? Are you having the cranberry chutney with the Costco ot the bakery one?We have a local restaurant that makes really good ones at Christmas and sells them as a fundraiser for a local charity. I bought one last year and it was really good so I ordered 3 of them this year.

White Christmas is not likely here, but it does happen now and then. Today is high of 13C (55F) and low of 7C (45F) but later in the week, temps will drop a bit more. I cooked big turkey dinners for last few years for several holidays and I wanted something different this year - and easier for me! I decided I wanted Tourtière for Christmas dinner (and not just as Christmas Eve meal). They aren't hard to make but I saw Costco has a nice-looking one and will try that. Also bought a vegetarian version from a local bakery. Both are in the freezer. I'll make a cranberry chutney to go along with that, maybe a mango chutney also as i have mango in the freezer. I'll make an interesting salad and a couple of side dishes. I'm thinking of a butternut squash gratin from Leite's Culinaria. And something green - like broccoli or snap peas or green beans. Or maybe even Brussels Sprouts, local farms have some delicious ones. Pumpkin pie, because my husband loves it and it's easy to make. Maybe some mulled wine.

That's the cajun way to do it!

Chicken thigh and andouille Gumbo--yes side of tator salad/ crystal hot sauce

Sliced the sourdough sandwich bread yesterday and made hot chicken sandwiches for dinner. Rather than roast a whole chicken, I just roasted chicken breasts. "Diner food" served as always with our traditional twice fried fries and canned peas.

Remember when the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed like a year? Now it seems like a couple of days lol. I'm doing brunch on Christmas Eve day, again, for us and Ronnie's kids and grandkids. I'm so glad I posted on last years thread--I think I'll do almost the exact same menu. What's everyone else doing? Are you going to have a white Christmas?

Still cooking over here....albeit the same things over and over. Still semi-trying to stay kind of away from carbs lol. When our hunter friend is here that goes out the window...and it seems like it stays out the window until after New Year's Day lol. Roasted chicken quarters, asparagus and stewed tomatoes Big salad to use up a bunch of leftover steak Fried chicken tenders, cooked to death green beans and cheesy cauliflower I was naughty last night and made pizza because I had sauce and Italian sausage leftover from making stuffed peppers a few days ago. Also my Broncos are doing so well this year (sorry Chiefs). AND, MONTHS ago I bought one of those basil plants that the grocery store sells. Much cheaper in the long run than those little Melissa's packets that give you like 5 sprigs for $20 lol. Anyway, I had Ronnie plant him for me. He's so happy here in the kitchen. So, fresh basil on the pizza with a salad

You've earned it, and you're among friends. Ramble away! I can only tip my hat to a couple closing in on 70 years together.

Our daughter is here this weekend and I pressed her into taking some photos on my behalf. Mug on the left bears a photo of the drive shed, Ed's lair...which is strictly enter at own risk, preferably wearing sturdy boots with steel-capped toes. Ed's sister gave the mug to Ed as a Christmas present one year. Mug on the right is a Rottie of course, a mainstay of our lives for almost forty years now, and only one of many Rottie mugs and stuffies and plaques and t-shirts and nighties and you name it (and Hummingbird things also) we have been given by the wonderful friends from the States and Ontario and Quebec who attended 20 years of Annual Dog Weekends (and I use the term loosely...from Thursday to Tuesday for the Delaware folks) at the farm. What incredible memories of those times. The mug on the left says Moab, our home away from home and it's been 8 years since we last were there. 1985-2017. I still miss it and when I see Facebook short reel videos of the area, my heart clenches sometimes. The graphic is of course Kokopelli. Kokopelli and southwest lizards were our late son Steve's favorites. In fact, one of our upstairs bedroom is the Kokopelli Room (yes, our bedrooms have names...we are nothing if not pretentious) filled with Kokopelli bits and bobs we brought back over the years for him. We did take Steve with us to Moab one year. The blue glass mug is just that, blue glass, one of my favorites. The first years on the farm I bought a complete set of blue glass plates and glasses and bowls and mugs. They're almost all gone now, except for some mugs and two large serving bowls, but I still have and use the blue handled cutlery ...which Ed hated...said they were too light and small. So I use it and everyone else has a heavier, more conventional set to use. It's hard to believe but we've been on the farm 35 years. Of course it's hard to believe that we are in our mid-80s and have been together since I was 15 and he was 16. Sorry, I'm old and I tend to ramble...

Bumping this up because I had eggplant involtini the other night that showed me just how good this stuff can be. The restaurant in question was Rinata, in St. Paul, MN. (If you're ever in the area, I recommend you make the opportunity to eat at Rinata. Wonderful food! Excellent staff! The appetizer in question was eggplant involtini, which the menu says is The exterior of each roll was firm, not tough: with some bite, almost crisp. I can't remember whether I thought it was fried or baked. The thing I learned is that my previous efforts at making rolled eggplant anything used much too thickly sliced eggplant: this was probably 2 mm thick, and I think my thinnest attempts have been along the lines of 1/4" (more like 6 mm). I seem to be on a kick of rolled foods lately, given my determination to get burrito-rolling (and filling) technique right. The eggplant is another challenge to enjoy. So: who likes to make involtini -- doesn't have to be eggplant -- and how do you like to make it?

Gumbo has become my favorite "what's been in the freezer that I've been passing over" solution. Proteins in this version were-grouse, elk, pork, andouille sausage, and shrimp.

Mokonuts multigrain chocolate chip cookies (recipe)... A mighty fine cookie. Crispy edges with a chewy middle. Couldn't particularly taste the multigrains, but it worked as a whole. Recommended.

Kale-Salsiccia-Pie - pie crust done with a typical pie dough - AP flour, cold butter, little bit of ice water, blind baking etc. Filling made of sautéed salsiccia crumbles, kale and red onion mixed with sour cream and eggs. Topped with cashews and manchego

I'd love to try it at L'Ami Jean! It really is fantastic, I've made it a bunch

Gnocchi gratin

No pics but i found that you can order fried chicken at your local grocery store ( its so much cheaper then KFC ) but they usually start shutting down the fryers at like 4:30 pm so you have to order before 4. So what i do is as soon as i get the bag i open it up to let steam out, then take home and put it in my anova at 135F with the door cracked. I have held it as long as 3 hours without losing any crispness.