chromedome

My (local free-range) turkey is spatchcocked and dry-brined, and waiting in the refrigerator until tomorrow. The neck, back and wingtips have been roasted for a bit of stock. Apple pie (apples from the tree in our yard) and pumpkin cheesecake w. gingersnap crust (special request) are baked and cooling. Tomorrow I'll do a batch of pan rolls and a dish of stuffing/dressing, a dish of cabbage au gratin (another request), brussels sprouts cooked low and slow with onions in a cast-iron skillet, and round it out with a delicata squash, mashed potatoes (from our garden), a mess o' greens (ditto) and lots of green and yellow beans (also from the garden). Probably some carrots in there somewhere, too (because holiday feasts at my place skew heavily toward "veggiepalooza").

It's a 12-pack for $15. Still not negligible, if you fill your freezer with fish and game, but not nearly as big a pill to swallow.

This one has been expanded and now includes some cheddar as well. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/certain-nature-s-best-brand-and-zavat-chalav-brand-cheese-products-recalled-due?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23&

Nice. Now's the time to stock up on that kind of stuff, I guess, because a lot of it is going for dirt-cheap prices at estate sales (nobody wants granny's china anymore). In another 15-20 years, when tons of it has gone (sadly) to landfill, the pendulum will swing back and the hip young whatever-generation-after-Z kids will be buying it and driving the price back up.

There's a mozzarella recall (small-brand) affecting Ontario and Quebec. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/certain-nature-s-best-brand-and-zavat-chalav-brand-mozzarella-cheese-products-recalled?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23&

Their site says they're working on an induction-friendly unit, and bluntly confesses that on conventional electric stoves they're a pot like any other.

That was pretty much my thought. A look into any baseboard heater will tell you that vanes are excellent at emitting heat, so it seems logical enough that they'd do equally well at absorbing heat. Their site claims heavy usage by some big chains, which presumably would have done the testing before committing to a significant purchase.

I tripped across a pot design I was unfamiliar with, while researching an article this morning. I'm not especially interested (it seems they're made for gas, which I don't have) but I'm curious whether anyone here has hands-on experience (separating hype from actuality is always difficult, otherwise). https://turbopot.com/

Though we should all "remove the yoke" occasionally.

I dehydrate a lot of apple rings at this time of the year, and can a lot of applesauce (neither of which require freezer space). There are apple chutneys too, I suppose, and apple butter. I'm sure others have more/better ideas.

Not sure about that, but Leucoagaricus leucothites - a widespread edible that grows in grassy areas - is a near-ringer for Amanita virosa, the Destroying Angel. Needless to say, despite its edibility, L. leucothites is universally described as a mushroom for experts only.

There's also "cross rib."

Those life-cycle analyses have been done, and favor the plant-based product.* I'm working right now, and haven't the time to dig out those references, but can do so later if you're interested. *Except when funded by the meat industry

Anything that stays frozen will be safe to eat indefinitely. Whether it's pleasant to eat is the larger question. If it remains well sealed, and there's no visible freezer burn, it should be fine. If you know from the start that it's something you don't use frequently, over-bagging it in a freezer bag (rather than solely relying on the original packaging) will extend its life even further.

Oyster lovers, several brands are being recalled for salmonella. At this point they're only *known* to have been sold in Quebec and Ontario, but they may have been distributed elsewhere. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/various-brands-oysters-recalled-oyster-kings-inc-due-salmonella?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23&

I'm picking up a grow kit for pink oysters from a local supplier shortly. Curious to hear what you think of them.

A minor tip, but the jar lifter from your canning set works really well for removing ramekins from their water bath. I made creme brulee for a stepdaughter today (our little tradition) and did just that, and thought I should maybe post it.

Terroir is a glorious thing. One slightly OT tip: Next time you're out harvesting dandelions for your wine, look for the clusters of immature, hazelnut-sized buds clustered in the heart of each "crown" of leaves. It takes a while to harvest enough for a meal, but they're a lovely spring vegetable. Also, if you spot a few nice, big crowns in early spring, blanch them by covering them with a piece of plywood or a few large sheets of cardboard. The blanched greens are crisp like romaine, very mild, and a great salad green.

You're just gonna have to taste a whole bunch of honey. I did that when I was still working in the business, and found a remarkable degree of variation between them. When I was chef-busking at the farmer's market, I even sold a "honey-tasting flight" with a few local honeys in small cups, complete with a card for tasting notes and a small wedge of fresh-baked corn bread as a palate cleanser for in between. It sold well as an occasional novelty, though I wouldn't have done it every week (it was a relatively small market). The best honey I ever had was from a fellow vendor who kept exactly one hive on her little farm, primarily for her own use. She gifted us a jar because she and my (now-deceased) wife were good friends. It had the most remarkable lingering fruity notes, berry-like and wine-like. Which I suppose is a roundabout way of saying that "tasting a bunch of honey is its own reward."

It was a famous BBC prank of bygone years.

"Pink" is a species, and it's generally considered to be the least interesting culinarily. Coho and sockeye are superior, as canned salmon goes.

One of my GF's favorite stories is about her first "dinner date" with her now-ex, when they were teens. He picked her up, collected the pizza along the way, and took her back to the mobile home he shared with his divorced dad. He led her into the living room, ceremoniously cleared a large quantity of parts from the seat of the snowmobile that took up most of the room, and laid out (with a flourish) a towel on the seat so the grease wouldn't get on her pants. Then he washed "the" fork - yes, singular, in a house containing two more-or-less adults - so she could use it, while he ate with his hands. She refers to that as one of her "in retrospect, there were a lot of things I should have inferred" moments.

Well...yes and no. I grew up calling them "Indian pears," but they're mostly known as shadberry or serviceberry in NS. They're native to mainland NS, but maybe not to CB because it's an island? I dunno. The cultivated strains of Saskatoons from out West can bear larger fruit and keep them on the tree for longer (which of course makes for better commercial harvests), so you should be in good shape next year for Saskatoon jam.