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Thank you so much! Lol....Santa doesn't scare me but I do feel at times he's a bit judgy......... I LOVE your Christmas decorations, too. I hope you'll show us a bit That Coca Cola Santa was my Grammy's and as long as I can remember he was always out. The life size Santa was a gift from Ronnie's mom. She got my sister in law one too. Her's is more of an old-timey Santa with pinks and mauves. She saw them while on vacation with my in laws in Georgia I believe. I can't remember whether they drove them home or had them shipped but either way I know it was a lot because he's very heavy! Awwww I'm happy that you de-lurked! You should do it more often I love your tree idea! I might just copy you!

I wrote to Goûter last weekend The notice I got said they didn't work Mon + Tuesday. So I would expect to be hearing from them soon. Trump has levied tariffs on many things, so we'll see. Last year there was no added tax.

@blue_dolphin, @TdeV, anyone else in the USA who's trying to order from gouter: have you actually managed to order? I got a price quote, with the caveat that the price covers product and shipping but not any tariffs that I might have to pay. I haven't heard anything since then and they haven't answered my question about how to actually place the order. (Last year they sent me a payment link via Square.) @Alleguede may be able to shed some light on this question, now that I think of it.

Funds for food , a recurrent item might be managed differently than funds for equipment , a ( possibly ) non-recurrent item.

Farm raised Atlantic salmon is pretty good. I have been lucky enough to fish the wild ones in Norway and have them side to side with farmed ones and they stand. For me is always funny to see that people only care on the origin of fish. They will prefer cultivated to wild fruits, greens, seeds and so on. They will regularly eat pork, not wild boar, or chicken, all domestic and human raised. They will choose beef against bison. They will buy "farmed" eggs rather than go to the bush and pick up some eggs, but when it came to fish, it needs to be pure and wild. I have seen a few blind tastes of species like branzino, and the people who is the more against "farmed" is the people that is not able to differentiate. If we talk about crustaceans, then it is funnier.

I couldn't disagree more. PDO classification is more than that. It is a guarantee that what you get is what you expect. A specific product made from specified ingredients in a specified manner in a specified place. Without it, it could be anything. I don't know what Champaigne (sic) is. I prefer Champagne.

I bought this in the James Joyce museum in Dublin which is located in the Martello tower which is the location of the opening of his masterpiece, Ulysses. "Yes" is the final word of the novel.

Beef Chow Fun from “That Noodle Life” - thinly sliced rib-eye steak is marinated for two hours in a mixture of light soy sauce, garlic, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil and cornstarch. Afterwards, you stir-fry the meat mixture, add sliced red onions, add wide rice noodles and finish in the wok by adding a sauce made from light and dark sou sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar and water. Finished with green onions and plenty of mung beans sprouts and served with toasted sesame seeds and chili crunch and oil

Battery powered devices like this are taking advantage of the device not being used all that much. That means there's plenty of time to charge the battery. That probably wouldn't work for a commercial kitchen. There's a fair amount of larger scale battery buffering being deployed, in many cases where an area has a peak demand greater than what the transmission liine to it can provide, but the energy demand can be met by it (averaged over a day), and it's impracticable to increase transmission capacity. there are also deployments for renewables like wind farms, where peak production can be quite a bit higher than average, and the grid connection isn't big enough for that. I don't think anyone has deployed a system big enough for a solar or wind farm to look like base load plants, but I won't be surprised when it happens.

Hey, I also used to have a Taylor & Ng mug (or maybe two or three)! I wish I still did—even though for the life of me I can't remember which ones.

HUZZAH! I'm a lurker, not a poster, but I had to chime in to say your biannual hunting sessions are something that I look forward to. This year, what with everything going on in the world. I literally stood up and clapped! Also, I keep a fairly small fake tree with warm white lights in my main living space year round. I decorate as I have the whim to as the seasons turn. It also means that if I have little motivation or life just interferes, I have at least a token Xmas decoration in place with no additional effort. Can't wait for updates!

My mugs are mementos, and many of them are museum pieces of a sort, due to their age. For instance: this little guy was a thank-you gift for donating to MPR, donkey's years ago. Bob Edwards, one of the founders, is long gone. My first flight instructors were invited to more than one Shuttle launch, thanks to a couple of their students who became astronauts. One time they gave me this mug, purchased at the Kennedy Space Center gift shop after watching Stan Love and his fellow crewmembers launch into space. This museum piece goes back to the company where I settled into a long-term North Woods career. The company has long since been taken over by another corporation, changed names, and changed culture as well. I think of happy discoveries and growth whenever I see this one. My father was an aviation enthusiast, and bought this at an airshow near their home. When Mom and Dad downsized, I claimed this mug. The oldest mug in my collection is this beauty from Taylor & Ng. I have a bunch more of their designs tucked away in storage, but this one stays out and gets frequent use. I love the pun. Finally, this mug is my most recent acquisition. I've been to the West Denmark Fiddle School in Wisconsin 3 years running, and plan to go again next summer. The last thing I needed was another mug! But for $3 I couldn't resist. It makes me smile. The fiddle school is like a weeklong musical boot camp: some 60-odd musicians, broken into sets according to accomplishment level, learn about a dozen pieces of music by ear. We learn those pieces in segments, bit by bit, and put them all together as an orchestra for public performance, from Sunday afternoon until Thursday night! The music is beautiful, the instructors excellent and funny. Truth is, the mug I use most is larger than any of these...a Friends of the Duluth Library purchase. But the decoration is fading from frequent washing, and the mug is dirty right now. I'm not going to show that one here!

A friend came over for dinner and I cooked a couple of South Indian dishes from 'Curry Cuisine' Kerala lamb: This was interesting in two ways. First, it was prepared like a Malaysian rendang - starts like a stew but the liquid cooks down to a spicy, aromatic glaze. Second, it contains a spice paste of grated coconut, sliced ginger, minced garlic, curry leaves, bay leaves, canela, cloves, and black pepper, all dry-roasted until the coconut browns. Other ingredients included shallots, ground coriander seed, cayenne, and turmeric, and a tadka of mustard seed, more curry leaves, and sliced chiles, quickly seared in hot oil. Mixed vegetable curry (rasa kayi): Carrots, potatoes, green beans, and cauliflower with lots of minced onion and sliced serrano chiles, flavored with ground coriander seed, cayenne, and turmeric, plus a spice paste of garlic, ginger, serrano chile, crushed tomato, and fennel seed. When everything is cooked swirl in coconut milk for richness. Very popular. Microwave cilantro rice to go with.

I just reread your post and I should have read it more carefully the first time. i now understand you to mean that if you can afford to own a lot if not all of the doodads, you can afford to buy wild salmon. You are correct. In my "quick reading" of your comment I thought you were saying that one should only buy and consume wild salmon which i took exception to, hence my comment.

Yes. A frying pan and some butter.

I prefer my chicken heads with their legs wide open too.

I don't know when I'll get to it, but I've downloaded that recipe. It does look good!

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) . . . . sounded like a good idea, but as it has been 'fleshed out' companies/organizations/governments have risen to utterly insane detail levels for 'protecting' the 'name' long time ago, the US bowed to France re: Champaign - for USA products, it's 'sparkling wine' every name/description/type has been seized and 'protected' fortunately, the US has told the EU to take a hike on all that nonsense.

Today I bought some crabcakes from the market. Is anything special required for reheating seafood in the Anova?

Oh, do try the coleslaw! And thank you.

I don’t, if it’s farmed like that. There was a place in the Hudson River Valley, called Eco Shrimp Farm, that was doing similar, and selling their product at the green market. I tried it a couple of times, and didn’t think it compared to some of the wild product I can get. And they now appear to have closed permanently. Another place, called Hudson Valley Fishery, farms steelhead trout with recirculating aquaculture, and it’s good stuff. The shrimp I avoid is farmed far away, and probably not that great when one thinks of its environmental footprint. And it tastes like crap, so there’s that. I’ll stick to my guns and only use wild seafood when at home. And I try hard to do the same when dining out. For example, I’m not buying tilapia to cook at home. and I’m not ordering it in a restaurant either.

Wonderful, as usual. I am so taken by what you are doing!! And I just happen to have a green cabbage on hand.

I tried not to even think about community fridge meals once Thanksgiving prep started, and succeeded up until Monday. I needed the break, both physically and mentally. But once Monday rolled around, I decided on the menu. Today’s CFM meal consisted of ham fried rice, coleslaw, and store bought cookies. The cookies were a last minute addition because I felt bad that there wasn’t an item for the third spot on the to go plate, and my husband chose them on a grocery store run for more soy sauce. I made ham fried rice for a previous fridge meal back in July, and remembered it as fairly easy with a really tasty final product. So of course this time it wasn’t. I mean, it was fairly easy, but mediocrity often is. Haha! I never felt like the seasoning was just right. The only ingredient difference between the two was red bell pepper. I only had half of one and didn’t feel like it was worth it to use, so I didn’t, but I don’t think that’s the difference. Also, it looks good in the skillet, but not so photogenic on the plate or in the hotel pan. Hopefully, it tasted good to those who received the food. What turned out even better than expected was the coleslaw. I got the recipe from The Kitchn, which calls it Thanksgiving Slaw, but since Thanksgiving is past, I called it Holiday Coleslaw. 🤷‍♀️ https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-thanksgiving-slaw-237475 The dressing includes apple cider vinegar, olive oil, diced red onion, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I used less red onion than the dressing recipe called for, and less fresh parsley in the slaw when I quadrupled the recipe. And I didn’t measure the cranberries or almonds. Just mixed until it looked (and tasted) good. Even my particular husband thought it was great. I dressed and refrigerated the slaw before I started the batches of fried rice, so it would have time for the flavors to develop. Starting to dress the slaw. The cookies: The plated meal: Delivered:

Love me some indoor Christmas decorations, and I am not even a Christian! Looking forward to this, as always. PS - Fried green tomatoes are awesome!

Yay! I was hoping this would be happening soon. Your Christmas decor is beautiful … the piano, the fireplace and mantel … I love it! And you have a Rushton Coca Cola Santa! I have one, too. 😍 Ooh, and tell me more about your life sized Santa! I know I didn’t see everything, so now I’ll go back and examine all the pics and read all the words. 😉