Dejah

I've used them past their expiry date...by a couple of months! They were in the fridge, and when I opened them, there was no change in odour. We ate them in soup and we are still alive.

Made this for lunch today: Started last night: Re-hydrated tofu sticks and dried oysters, a vacuum sealed package of gingko nuts, ginger slices, orange peel, and dried salty turnip in por5k neck bone stock.

I assume heidih meant not in soup or sauce? I usually add a little bit of oil to my wok or frying pan, attempting for that "wok hei"...😁

Thanks for that Kenji link. I'll have to try the cucumber noodles that he shared. The tofu last night was supposed to be in MaPo. I usually add diced eggplant as well, but I needed a starch so left the tofu out. I buy the original Chinese style (not firm) blocks, slice then drain earlier in the day. This way, I find they stay in shape and can get a nice crust on the outside with soft texture inside, almost like a pan-fried potato slice. Tofu is one of my go-to starch replacements. The konnyaku noodles - I've tried various forms and brands. The ones I really like are the Zeroodle ones - rice, fettuccini, penne. Draining and blotting dry really helps these last few times with rice and fettuccini. Like Kenji said, in soup is so convenient. They make a great quick lunch dressed with sliced protein, veg, and lots of cilantro and chili oil! I TOO love tendon!

Spicy ground pork and eggplant (toban sauce). Eaten with pan fried tofu and mixed vegetables.

Made something other than poached eggs for breakfast today! Low-carb Blueberry Scones (made with almond flour and coconut flour), eaten with just Devon Double Clotted Cream. These were the first attempt. Next batch, I might reduce the almond flour and increase the amount of coconut flour to make the scones fluffier.

Finally some success making carrot noodles in the spiralizer! Per video, I boiled these for 4 minutes, not bad, but I'd rather have the Zeroodle noodles and rice. Made Coconut Curry Chicken in the Instant Pot to go with the carrot noodles. I am so happy that I have fresh Kaffir Limes leaves on hand at all times - from my own tree!

Don't know what the "chemistry" of stir-frying is to stir-frying the Zeroodles. but I think the sauce DID cling to the pasta better. Maybe it's because it was Alfredo sauce. I'll have to try with a tomato-based one next time. Watching a brand-name paper towel ad on TV made me crave wontons, but we're trying to reduce carb intake. Last night, I made up the filling with ground pork, shrimp, and water chestnuts, and stuffed deep-fried tofu and bell pepper. These were pan-fried then steamed with chicken stock and oyster sauce. Added baby gai lan for the veg. Made Zeroodle fried rice, and all filled the craving.

Must remember that next time! Trying to use up leftovers... For Ukrainian Christmas, our nod was some perogies made by a friend. Fried up with bacon is our favourite way. Left over prime rib and some veg did the trick. Tonight was attempt to use up the leftover filling from Shepherd's Pie. Trying to reduce carbs, so had some Zeroodle Fettuccini and Alfredo sauce with a big salad on the side. I actually read the Zeroodles package more carefully this time: drain well, dry with paper towel, stir-fry THEN add to sauce. Better!

Had a nice sized piece of Halibut left in the freezer = fish'n'chips. Eaten with peas, slaw, home fries, and curry sauce. Poached some chicken breasts and legs with thighs. Made Chicken Pot Pie to send home with Kidlets who were here for the afternoon while parents were working. Saved one for ourselves, using bits and pieces of puff pastry leftover. Eaten with salsa.

Picked up AAA Angus Prime Rib roasts at Walmart before Christmas - $5.99 / lb. Can't lose. This is the second time I've stocked up, and no regrets! A single rib seasoned with just Montreal Steak Spice. Eaten with mashed cauliflower, steamed broccoli, and mixed beg for the hubby. Then fell off the low-carb wagon tonight and made Shepherd's Pie with mashed taters. I always love pie crust on the bottom of my shepherd's pie, so I made pastry! Top of the mashed taters was sprinkled with spicy smoked paprika. The pie was made in a deep casserole dish by my potter friend. I love these as the pastry always stays crispy regardless of the juicy fruit or meat filling.

Soup of the Day: Italian Sausage Cauliflower and Kale Soup via Instant Pot

First time I had this delicious soup was in an Indian restaurant in Yorkshire, England. It was called Mulligatawny Soup, but it was not so thick and served with a slice of lemon. We loved it! But I wanted more body when I tried to make it, and it ended up looking like shain's, but without coconut milk. I guess it ended up more of a creamed curry lentil soup. That was a favourite with our musician friends who came to jam sessions at our banquet hall and later in our basement. I have curry leaves and everything else in my fridge at the moment. I'll be making this on the weekend!

Oven roasted Shake'n'Bake chicken drumsticks sprinkled with Peri peri seasoning for some kick, kale slaw, stir-fried vegetables, and purple-top turnip fries.

I am late in coming to this as well. Thank you!

Hoping to get back to eating fewer carbs...Tonight, we had ginger-soy glazed pork chops, kale slaw, cheesy cauliflower gratin (with chopped jalapeno pepper and bell pepper), and carrots for hubby.

I am right there with you on those sentiments...New Year's Eve AND Mother's day! My poor kids still have nightmares as we all worked at the restaurant...

@Robenco15 : beautifully cooked beef! Is that puff pastry or is that bread dough of some kind around the beef? We had a late Christmas dinner at our daughter and BF's new "old" house - built in 1908. It's been beautifully renovated, especially the kitchen, and I was excited to help her host her first family gathering. 16 of us gathered, and I prepared and cooked 5 Beef Wellingtons, and one vegetarian one. Having two ovens and 6 burners made our prep. so easy. Her 10-foot dining room table arrived just in time for the dinner. The 4 little granddaughters had their own seating at the island. Four of the Wellingtons were medium rare while this one was at medium for those who preferred it. I made a huge English trifle which we forgot to take a picture of, and her future M-i-l brought Pavlova. We also had a great variety of tarts, little mince meat pies, shortbread, fruit cake, Vinertarta, etc. etc for dessert In the end, we had one smaller Wellington left over, which was devoured for brunch. We came home on the 29th, still full from the night before, so we had bacon and eggs for supper. Tonight, our last meal of 2018, we had Gordon Ramsay's Spicy Lamb Shanks, Basmati rice, carrots and asparagus for supper. Thanks for sharing all your fabulous meals! Happy New Year to you all!

@heidih Visitors are always welcome at my table... But...remember, I am in BRANDON, 2.5 hours west of Winnipeg, but weather is similar! 😊

Busy time of the year! But enjoying all the lovely meals from everyone! Picked up 2 whole AAA tenderloins on sale for $9.98/lb. Trimmed them up for Beef Wellingtons next week for family Christmas dinner. Took off a "stray chunk and quick sear followed by short roast in the oven. Enjoyed the beef with roasted beets, carrots and turnips. Been busy doing up baking...shortbread cookies and New Zealand Birdseed bars. Sample a bit of both for dessert with tea. Tonight was whole grain mustard and rosemary crusted Roast Lamb with potatoes, green beans and leftover beets and carrots.

@liuzhouNeed to be brave and try goat meat once of these days! Pork loin roast coated with whole grain mustard and fresh rosemary. I was quite pleased with the moistness of the meat considering it's so lean. It was great next day in a sandwich for lunch. The beets were wrapped in foil and in the oven at the same time. For once, they were sweet without any "dirt" taste. Had lots of running around today, so I picked up some drumsticks that were marinated with buffalo spices. Threw them into a bag with Shake'n'Bake fried chicken coating and they were great - spicy and crispy! Threw left over crumbs onto steamed carrots and into the oven for last 10 minutes. Steamed green beans were tossed in a hot pan with 2 cubes of Chinese fermented tofu (fooyu), the only way hubby would eat green beans!

@Anna N: You will find this canned deep-fried dace not fishy at all because they are deep fried. The fish is almost like jerky but soft, and the bones are entirely edible. Fishiness is one reasons why I seldom buy or cook salmon. In moist heat is fine, but pan fried, I find salmon can be fishy. @heidih: Now THAT's what I call "a mash up"!

Had the pleasure of attending former international students chamber music concert this afternoon...the WHOLE afternoon! It was worth the time but cut short on supper prep. I always have canned deep fried dace and black beans on hand for such "emergencies". Stir-fried some bok choy and a pot of Jasmine rice - supper was served! A funny story about the canned fried dace: Hubby and I were in B.C close to the US-Canada border. We decided to take a quick jaunt down to Point Roberts where well-known rocker Randy Bachman had a recording studio. We had known Randy in his early days in Winnipeg, and he was instrumental in retrieving my hubby's prized Gretsch guitar after it was stolen and sold to a pawn shop. As it happened, Randy was on the road so we didn't get to see him. We decided to have lunch before heading back to Canada...about 2 hours after crossing the border. We parked our camper, cooked up some rice and opened a can of the dace. After lunch, we headed back to Canada. Because we were there for such a short time and looking like a couple of hippies, we were deemed suspicious! The customs officers came to check out the van - with a sniffer dog looking for drugs. The poor dog was so distracted by the empty dace can that he refused to budge from the garbage! They gave up and we were allowed to head home!

Have several friends under the weather and soup was on order to make them better. Today was SOUP...er day! Hot and Sour Soup and Wonton Soup - went out to 2 households. We had the Hot'n'Sour for lunch so needed something else for supper. We had baked home and scalloped potatoes a few days ago. Finally got around to simmering the big ham bone. Threw stuff together and we had Boston Clam Chowder with chunks of multigrain baguette for our supper. I always put Char Siu (Chinese BBQ pork) in my wonton soups and Hot'n'Sour soup, so prepared by marinating some ribs and pork rib chops and roasted them in the oven. Had the ribs, gai lan, rice and a few slices of braised beef tendon (from a trip to the BBQ house in the city)for supper last night.

Potato on sale...15 lbs $1.98 in a big bin as opposed to 5 lbs for $3.99 in the next aisle. We don't eat a lot of potatoes, but had a hankering for baked ham + scalloped potatoes... No pic of the ham, but here's the scalloped potatoes...Kidlets were here for the afternoon and they loved the crispy tops. Picked up a rotisserie for lunch. Supper, I drizzled some oyster sauce on the chicken, heated it up in the microwave, and had it for supper along with Shrimp Egg Foo Young.