Senior Sea Kayaker

@Shelby Nice rack on that buck. Re. portable breakfast the first thing that came to mind was Scotch Eggs. All you need is eggs, sausage meat, preferred breading to coat and a deep fryer.

Found this old article from NPR. I've never encountered a white yolk so it was interesting. Help! My Egg Yolks Are Freakishly White : The Salt : NPR

French toast with cherries and breakfast sausages. It's -6 C and sunny so a good day for a hike.

Sole filet, a tad overdone egg, lettuce and arugula with Green Cholula on a toasted WW bagel. An orange and a V8 on the side. Once I finish my second coffee I'm off in search of the season's first case of tangerines and a panettone.

Roasted beef rib (saved from a roast) with Montreal Steak Spice, garden filet beans, shoestring fries with sriracha, tomatoes and coleswlaw. Enjoyed with a glass of Aussie Shiraz.

Unfortunately there isn't an 'outstanding' button rather than just 'like' and 'delicious'. I haven't had goldeye for over forty years yet still remember how good it was. Nice way to serve it.

You most likely already know this however I'll say the two best umami boosting ingredients are duxelles and slow roasted tomatoes.

This morning's soup project: I make this soup maybe three times a year in a large batch and freeze most of it. It is a pot barley, black bean, kale and/or collards (other greens can be used), carrot, onion, chard stem, sweet and hot peppers, onion, garlic and herb soup. This particular batch is tomato based (so is vegan) however variants start with beef shanks for a beef barley soup or lamb shanks or shoulder for a lamb barley soup. Other vegetables that work well are peeled broccoli stems, parsnips, potatoes.....

The first of many seed catalogues showed up in the mail last week so time to start planning..... Most of the ones I get are on-line however paper ones are nice to doze off on the couch with.

A few recent breakfasts: A soft boiled egg, shrimp sauteed with green onion and cilantro, tomato, arugula just enough Cholula to wake it up. Cherries with yogurt and a glass of V8. Omelet with leftover spanakopita filling, leftover potatoes pan fried with green onions and some smoked paprika, half a toasted naan with blackberries and a glass of V8 for balance.

Every U.S. Thanksgiving, for some strange reason, I get Arlo Guthries's 'Alice's Restaurant' as an earworm. Cheers.

Wonton (pork and garlic chive) soup with shrimp, long beans, peppers, mixed greens and mung bean noodles. Soup was chicken based with garlic, ginger, Thai chilis, green onions, coriander with a finish of chili oil. Annapolis Cider Company Dry to accompany.

Egg, shrimp, lettuce, green onion, cilantro and green Cholula on toasted baguette with an orange and a glass of V8.

What I have is indoor shoes. Squash or tennis shoes that are for indoor use. I'm not accident prone in the kitchen or elsewhere. Maybe it's a Maritime thing, and the way I was brought up, that when you went to someone's house you brought a pair of shoes to change into and you left your outdoor shoes/boots/whatever at the door and donned your indoor shoes or walked around in socks. My usual foot ware is light hiking boots, steel toe work boots, Wellingtons, hiking boots and Sorels in that frequency of use order and these are not something to wear indoors.

You can also purchase instant polenta (Vita Sana labelled) and readily available. Ready in 5 minutes. Aurora (available in Ontario) also makes an instant polenta. Easy to use and indistinguishable from made from cornmeal. I'd avoid the 'logs'.

The top planter has some lettuce seedings I took from outdoors around two weeks ago and have really taken off. The lower planter contains the last of the lettuce seedlings taken from outside yesterday and potted. Nice for harvesting enough for a sandwich or small salad every day or two.

Duxelles and aged cheddar omelet, toasted croissant with Bon Maman apricot jam and an orange. We've two vehicles to do the seasonal changeover to snow tires so this should tide me over.

Let's call this a variant of shakshuka: Cherry tomatoes, bell and Thai peppers, onion, garlic flavoured with Thai basil and cilantro and finished with more cilantro, chives and pepper. Focaccia for the requisite yolk dipping.

Marinated overnight, brought to room temp. then grilled under the oven broiler to medium rare.

It was a nice bite but yes too chewy. Next time panko mixed with parmesan for a nice little crust.

Sunday dinner of lamb loin chops marinated in olive oil, garlic, mustard, rosemary, oregano and pepper. Roasted stuffed tomatoes (chard sauteed with garlic and the chopped tomato contents with added parmesan and bread crumbs). I wouldn't top them with mozzarella next time. Enjoyed with a green salad, rice pilaf and a pinot noir.

With Thanksgiving approaching for our southern neighbors I thought I'd post a little humour.

On the subject of diverting food: It takes two to make this kind of thing, the distribution of excess to someone who needs it rather than adding it to waste, work. Usually it's community groups run by volunteers who make arrangements with businesses, are notified, pick up the food and distribute it in a safe manner. A lot of the time it's church groups that do this. And sometimes large organizations such as Canada's Second Harvest, a food rescue charity, provide the service. It's also crucial that the businesses, be they grocery stores or restaurants, commit and support those efforts.

I'll use whatever is the fastest. If a cashier is available that would be my first choice. I like the policy at my local No Frills in that the self checkouts are only available to patrons with hand baskets rather than a cart which results to 8 express lines.

Jacques Pepin describes this happening in one of his early cooking classes in 'The Apprentice'. The class was on stock making and one of his students approached him and asked what to do with the reserved bones...etc... after draining the liquid down the sink.