chromedome

You're miles ahead of me, already. My grains, pulses and pastas are in a random assortment of plastic bags, jars and original packaging, divided between (and piled over, around and between) clear plastic totes in an over-stuffed cupboard. It's 18 months now since we moved into this apartment, so "once we're settled" is starting to wear thin. I should really get that sorted.

LOL At first glance I thought that was marmalade. Pepper jelly makes MUCH more sense...

I'll drop my (vegan) sister a line, and see what she says.

Some of my fellow Canucks might be interested in this...after a hiatus of a few decades, there'll soon be Canadian-made cast iron again. There's a startup in Winnipeg on the verge of launch (they're just waiting on the final tooling, apparently). They're positioning themselves as an environmentally-friendly alternative to non-stick, disposable pans: The metal itself is recycled, the boxes they'll be shipped in will be recycled cardboard, and apparently even the sand used in the casting process will be recycled. https://www.castleironcookware.com/

We usually reserve the Medjool and Deglet Noor dates for eating out of hand, and use the inexpensive supermarket kind for baking. My mother was a fan of date squares (minor national difference in nomenclature...what Americans call bar cookies, Canadians call "squares") so the process of chopping up one of those compressed blocks of dates is a minor exercise in nostalgia for me.

Also a fan of the oiled scissors for this. Date nut bread is next week for me.

Well, we've already gotten through the first pound so...not too concerned about that. In a worst-case scenario, if I felt the urge to use them up in something, I'd incorporate them into something baked or some homemade "power bars" for my mom. We go through several pounds of dates in the run of a year, though, so this isn't a stretch at all. Heck, I'm still debating whether to go back for more.

The baby spinach recall has been expanded and is now classed as "possibly national. Time to dig into your fridges... https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-recall-warnings-and-allergy-alerts/2020-11-27/eng/1606524017665/1606524017899?utm_source=r_listserv

Was in my local Walmart for the first time in a while, and found Medjool dates on an end cap marked down to $2/lb. So I bought two, and then today went back and got five more. That should do us for the holidays, I think.

We bought some (local, Atlantic) lobsters just off the boat through a former-fisherman friend last night at $9/lb Canadian, well below the current retail price.

I feel your pain. My GF has had an uncertain relationship with food since having her gall bladder out, sometimes barely nibbling all day and then sometimes eating roughly her body weight over the course of an hour or two. I've come to accept this as just part of life together, but I will concede that "too flavor-y" was not an objection I'd ever expected to hear.

Some current batches of Fresh Attitudes brand baby spinach are being recalled for possible salmonella contamination. Currently affects Ontario and Quebec. https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-recall-warnings-and-allergy-alerts/2020-11-26/eng/1606439055882/1606439056179?utm_source=r_listserv

I wouldn't normally bother to share this, because it's very geographically limited, but hey...botulism. PEI only, bottled (?) beef and chicken. https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-recall-warnings-and-allergy-alerts/2020-11-26/eng/1606437567499/1606437572768?utm_source=r_listserv

No, for those you'd still need a press. With a bag I've just used a star tip to make the traditional ring shapes, S shapes and the like. You can make a passable Christmas tree or wreath by piping joined rosettes through a star tip, but I rapidly ran out of patience and also my tendons were telling me "If you want to do anything else with these hands for the next couple of weeks, it's probably time to stop..."

It's not that you can't do it - I have - but the dough is fairly stiff and it takes a LOT of hand/wrist strength to do it (at least, with any spritz cookie dough I've used). I'm old enough now to respect my susceptibility to tendinitis, and use the cookie press instead. ETA: You'll also need an old-school canvas piping bag. Disposables or a Wilton "feather light" will just burst under the pressure.

(shrug) Personally I'd argue that "craveable" is the more grating of the two.

I'd forgotten for a moment which thread I was reading, and thought "Hmmm...interesting salad!"

Update to an earlier recall (which apparently I'd missed) specific to Ontario and Quebec: eggs from Les Oeufs Richard, for salmonella: https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-recall-warnings-and-allergy-alerts/2020-11-24/eng/1606254873300/1606254873675?utm_source=r_listserv

"NOTHING IS MORE DAMAGING TO OUR SOCIETY THAN RAMPANT HYPERBOLE AND SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS!"

Sadly, that one goes well beyond the food world. I see it on pretty much every LinkedIn profile, resume, blog...(sigh). Don't tell me what you're passionate about. I can figure it out on my own after I've been around you for a while, and it's probably not what you'd like to think it is.

There's an update to the Miss Vickie's recall: https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-recall-warnings-and-allergy-alerts/2020-11-23/eng/1606188309617/1606188310070?utm_source=r_listserv

My GF and I are planning a Thin Man marathon at some point over the holidays.

Stores here sporadically sell 'em with an external wire frame, for just that reason (it's otherwise a fairly standard deep foil 1/2 pan size). Since they're not always available, I eventually had an epiphany and kept a couple of the frames. Now I can just buy a disposable foil half-pan when I want, and don't have to worry about it (I also have permanent roasters, and sometimes use one...depends on my mood).