chromedome

We had a popular TV cook in Canada in the 80s and 90s named James Barber, a humorous English gent who'd been an engineer by trade. He was raised by his granny, who was - at least in his telling - exactly the kind of stereotypical English cook who gave English food a bad name. He only *really* got interested in food as he traveled the continents in his day job, and began to notice how often a given technique or combination of ingredients would crop up across multiple cultures. He would often make that point in his show, getting to a point in the recipe and then explaining how you could take that basic preparation and spin it into something Italian or Chinese (or whatever) by changing the next few ingredients. One one episode of his show he told the story of a mining camp where he'd worked in the 1970s, where the cook quit or left due to illness or something of that sort. The company flew in a new cook from Vancouver, but the new guy Had Ideas. He only lasted about 10 days, and was literally chased from the camp when he served the miners tofu (In my head he vanishes into the distance, burly miners in hot pursuit, wailing "...but it's GOOOD for youuuuuu!!!!"). Since it would be at least several days until a new cook could be found, Barber volunteered to give it a whirl and found he quite enjoyed himself. That led, eventually, to him becoming a popular TV host and cookbook writer.

Harvest Brand Polish sausages sold from BC to Ontario have been recalled because of undercooking. https://www.inspection.gc.ca/eng/1610661955953/1610661960835?utm_source=r_listserv

Mine seldom even gets to the freezer. Once I've made the stock, I'll usually strain out the bones/skin/mirepoix/whatever and then slap it right back into the IP with some beans. ...and personally, I keep back some of the fatty bits to put *into* the beans.

I cycle mine on an "eyeball" basis, rather than a calendar basis, because I have a large number of the thin plastic "cutting sheet" type from the dollar store. It's pretty random which one comes out when I reach into the cupboard, so they don't get consistent wear. When I notice that one is getting a bit past its prime I segregate it at one side of the cupboard, and once I've accumulated three or four I'll buy an equal number of new ones and discard the old.

My dad was much the same. In palliative care he once mentioned ruefully that he'd finished stacking the year's firewood just four weeks earlier. That being said, he'd also gotten a heat pump installed so they wouldn't have to depend on the wood stove. He was already beginning to dial back on the physical effort needed to maintain their place, since it seemed prudent to plan for that in advance instead of waiting for it to be forced on him.

My dad would have been 80 in April. The "strange" part was certainly the case with my late wife and I. She was 9 years older than me, and was herself a late child, especially by the standards of the day. Her mother had been told for decades that she could never have children, and had had three husbands (serially, I hasten to point out) with no sign of anything happening on that front, so suddenly becoming pregnant at 40 was rather a shock. Bottom line: her mother and my grandmother were born a few months apart in 1914.

Clearly camp food is not what it was "back in the day." When my father worked in a lumber camp at the end of the 50s, the staples at mealtime (including breakfast) were beans, bread, jam, tea, and never-quite-enough bacon. The tea was made in #10 cans sitting on the woodstove, and his joke was that by the end of the day you could either pour a cup or else cut a slice and spread it on your bread. Admittedly this was in northern Newfoundland, so conditions were probably 50-100 years behind what was happening on the Mainland in the same era (this is part of the reason he left home and joined the Navy). As an aside, I'll point out that one can have conversations in private messaging which needn't adhere to the main site's food-centric motif.

I'm pretty sure they were discussed, at least briefly, in the context of grilling. Wouldn't have occurred to me to use one on a baking sheet, but...it never occurs to me to use my silpats/knockoffs either so that doesn't count for much.

Ontario only, Belle Grove whole white mushrooms are being recalled for potential botulism. https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-recall-warnings-and-allergy-alerts/2021-01-08/eng/1610169805106/1610169810071?utm_source=r_listserv

Loved that movie as a kid. Had a real moment of deja vu in the final Potter movie when Maggie Smith cast the spell that sent all of those statues and suits of armor out to fight the invaders.

I hear you. I once literally shoveled through waist-high snowdrifts to grill something for my (now-) late wife when she had a hankering. I usually don't speak of it, because it smacks too much of that whole "uphill both ways in my father's hand-me-down pajamas" trope.

Next year. Though as far as that goes, what you've got there is the size I usually prefer to harvest. Overwintering works for parsnips too, btw, if you like those. My father always left most of his in situ until spring, opining that they were hardly worth eating if they hadn't spent a winter in the ground.

There's an alternate explanation...

That's a very nice size for eating as baby carrots. If your climate is mild you can basically leave carrots in place over winter (a couple of inches of mulch can help) and then they'll resume growing in the spring for a nice, early crop. Gotta harvest them early, though: they're biennials, so if you leave them they'll go to seed and the roots won't be any good for eating.

My only subscription is The Mother Earth News; I carried on my father's subscription that he'd started in the early 70s after he passed away. Most issues have a few recipes, and LOT about growing your own food (and occasionally, brewing wine/beer/kombucha etc) so I guess it counts.

I would say the issue is with your apartment freezer, because I freeze lots of bananas and that doesn't happen. I'm not a huge smoothie-drinker, but I have found that freezing the bananas does two things. One, as you've said, is that it chills the smoothie without the necessity of ice. The other, a personal observation, is that room-temp bananas tend to make the mixture frothier and airier while frozen bananas do not. I find frothiness to be undesirable - your mileage, as always, may vary - so when I *do* make a smoothie, the bananas (if I use 'em) are invariably frozen.

We took the grandkids (2 and 5) for NYE so their parents could have a bit of downtime and relax and celebrate a bit in their own right. So...no going out for us, but I wouldn't exactly call it "low key." Things mellowed a lot after the little guy dozed off. The 5 yo was determined to see in the New Year with us, so we put on The Neverending Story and sat together on the couch with a tray of nibblies (Boursin, marinated artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, cold garlic shrimp, crackers, sliced ciabatta). A glass of wine for my GF, local microbrew for me, apple juice for the granddaughter. ...and my 2021 began with an enthusiastic serenade on drums and recorder, delivered by the 2yo. I wasn't quite caffeinated enough to enjoy it in the correct spirit, but at least managed to pay lip service (as one does, when grandparenting).

I lived in Vancouver back in the 80s, mostly on the east side (Commercial Dr area), and my sister still lives there. Lots of good memories.

Yup. Sometimes I want greens that cook up soft, sometimes I want greens that retain some chew. I like 'em all.

When my boy was around a year old we had to make sure he was strapped into his stroller before we entered the supermarket, otherwise he'd bolt for the broccoli, grab a handful, and start chewing.