Senior Sea Kayaker

One possibility. I'm having one of my neighbors, retired but used to work at the local farmers' co-op, over to get her opinion and advice.

First scapes harvested, enough lettuce for a salad and some of my tomato plants.

Quite right.

Billions would be really stretching it. However if you're looking at the other main component of the recipe, namely legumes (beans, lentils.....) billions would be much more appropriate.

Not at all. Shit happens, we correct our mistakes and it eventually becomes a good story.

No disrespect towards Jacques Pepin. I just consider Spam two rungs below canned dog food. I'm a home cook so I do admire his manual skills but what he does bring to mind is watching one of my late uncles who was a master carpenter/cabinet maker work with hand tools.

I've been at it for forty plus years and I'm always learning something new.

I can only quote Kurtz at the end of 'Heart of Darkness' or Marlon Brando, as Kurtz, at the end of 'Apocalypse Now'...'the horror...the horror...'

Not watering is as important as watering. It's also dependent on the plant. A good specific example would be indeterminate tomatoes. Give them lots of water and fertilizer and they'll happily grow lots of foliage and few tomatoes. The trick is to continually stress the plant by pruning all suckers (thereby restricting it to one or at most two vines) and starving it of water until the leaves show signs of wilting. You're training the plant to react to a challenging environment and if it wants to produce seed it must put energy into fruit production. Another good example is garlic cultivation. During growth and until scape removal they should be well watered. When the bottom leaves start browning it's time to limit watering for good bulb development.

Since I'm cooking for myself I'll wait until I've made and had coffee, checked the weather, caught up on the news then proceed (also helps that I'm a chronic early riser and tend to think about breakfast in the evening so there's a plan in mind).

This was a fairly widespread method of cooking for most Indigenous North Americans. Varied from being done in woven watertight baskets to sealed birch bark vessels to cured hide vessels to whatever worked.

@Shelby I'll trade one for a slice of that galette 😋.

Made these for a casual, for want of a better word, tapas serving style dinner for six. Scallop onigirazu: Ingredients: nori, seasoned Nishiki rice, scallops, radish greens, chives, coriander, red and green chilis, ginger, garlic and lime juice. Tested one before inflicting them on others. They were well recieved.

Simple breakfast after a big feed yesterday. Banana bread with peanut butter and blueberries with yogurt.

My initial guess was chicken hearts based on 'Hearty and ....' intro.

From what I've read bakeapples or cloudberries are much more common in NF and L although they have been found here. My guess would be the Highlands and not so much the eastern side of CB. However I'm always on the lookout for anything new. Haskaps and not, as far as I know, found in the wild here although there are haskap growers here and if I was interested I can certainly start my own. Pretty sure Vesey's carries them.

Out to scout today. It's been an 'interesting spring': bone dry and unusually cool. I have not seen a single mushroom of any variety. Some photos: Blueberries blooming. Blackberry patch starting to fill out: Saskatoon or Service Berries: Firewood courtesy of Post Tropical Storm Fiona with brush in the background waiting until it's safe to burn. Purple flowers. An old cherry tree shared with the crows and starlings. The view west towards Sydney Harbour.

A long day and an early dinner: Eight hours since breakfast with a three hour walkabout. Thrown together in ten minutes from the fridge and pantry. Naan, some pate, Oka cheese, Castelvetrano olives, cucumbers and pickled red onion, pickled herring and tomatoes with shaved salted egg yolk. Enjoyed with a cold Keith's.

Nothing wrong with prairie oysters although lamb fries are better. Love century eggs and wish I could get them here. Durian was interesting but nothing to write home about. Natto reminded me of really stinky cheese which I like and if available here I'd have it again.

Shakshuka with toasted focaccia. Tomato (with skin), orange pepper, red onion, green chili and finished with chives, parsley and chive flowers.

Chilled IPA.

Thanks. That lead me to my copy of 'The Practical Encyclopedia of Fish and Shellfish' and I have enjoyed these in the past particularly with a cold IPA.

Home made roasted tomato sausages, mushroom pilaf, tomatoes and the first thinning of French breakfast radishes. When the radishes are this young they're eaten with the greens. Served with a Nine Locks Brewing Blackberry Blonde Ale.

Too bad you didn't have a garden at the time. That would've been superb fertilizer. 😇

@weinoo I thought I had either caught, eaten, read about or at least heard about many fish species however spearing is a new one for me. Best I could dig up after some research was a recipe that gave whiting as an acceptable substitute. Is it whiting or silverside by another name? Enquiring minds (well me at least) would like to know.