chromedome

It's the same in Saint John, where I live. People who live on one or the other side of the Harbour Bridge tend to stay there, and the insularity of those west of the bridge is a particular source of teasing. One local radio station, playing on this, has an audio "tag" that says "Like a West-sider crossing the Harbour Bridge...we refuse to do anything but rock!"

LOL I"d be deeply shocked if someone isn't working on it, somewhere. At least as something that can be sold in "pre-cooked" form, to avoid the whole complication of streaks of fat (difficult to replicate, essential to the cooking). Up here one of our major meatpacking companies, Maple Leaf, is the owner of the Light Life brand of faux-meat products. They've recently begun selling 50/50 mixes of real and faux meat, as I believe I've mentioned upthread, presumably for those who want to reduce but not eliminate their meat consumption. I had the opportunity to buy a 2-pack of the burgers at a deep discount ($2.99 instead of $6.99 or $7.99) so we tried them the other night. They weren't bad. The texture was slightly off compared to a conventional burger, but the veg content (like Beyond, the Light Life product is built from pea protein) actually may have worked in its favor...pre-formed supermarket burgers often have a distinctively "chewy" texture, which in this case seems to have been negated by the veg protein. My GF is under orders to keep red meat consumption to a minimum to a) address her suddenly-high cholesterol, and b) skew her diet in a less inflammatory direction to reduce the risk of her RA flaring up; so this is something we'll probably eat repeatedly through the summer. I also have a pack of the 50/50 ground beef mixture that was purchased at a 50% discount, so that'll probably become meatballs or lasagna or something.

It's important to know when you're out of your league, that's for sure. I had a Polish neighbour years ago, and was at some pains to drive home the message that I was done after two shots of vodka. He was incredulous at first, but eventually accepted that it was just how I roll... (and we still bonded over the food side of things). If you ever watch the Keith Richards doc "Under the Influence," there's a segment that involves Tom Waits (no slouch himself) being wryly amusing on the subject of trying to go drink-for-drink with Mr. Richards.

Might have to switch to whiskey sauers.

I know that was a typo, but it gave me an amusing mental image of Heston glaring at the pot in fierce concentration, willing it to poach the egg, like an out-take from The Men Who Stare at Goats...

(Shrug) It's not really my thing. I'll eat one if it's put in front of me, but I surely won't pay a premium for 'em. My former neighbours back in the seaside area where my restaurant was located were mainly lobstermen, so sometimes I manage to cross paths with the right person at the right time and get one for below-market price.

It's Wednesday up here (Canada Day) but I'm not planning anything much. May buy a lobster for the GF if they're still on sale.

A big one, for Canadian salad-eaters: Several Fresh Express pre-cut salad kits have been recalled nationally for cyclospora contamination. https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-recall-warnings-and-allergy-alerts/2020-06-28/eng/1593389058603/1593389064393?utm_source=r_listserv

Have you tried Goo Gone or anything of that nature?

Yeah, that. It wasn't a review or a critique, as such, just an opportunity for a bit of snark. (shrug) Fill your boots, dude...

Though I note that the "Top critical review" is from someone who sat on his unit for 8 months before trying it, then was pissed because the warranty dept didn't turn it around for him over Christmas (they received it on the 23rd).

Feeling your pain, hon. My GF did variations on the whole Keto/Atkins thing for the last couple of years, including a very earnest attempt at hardcore keto-ing last year. She now has a cholesterol issue, for the first time in her life, and her doctor has her eating on the DASH plan (which is a much happier experience for me). It was especially difficult for me because a) she seldom eats anything left over; and b) frugality is too deeply engrained in my DNA to allow food to go to waste. So I'd end up eating her high-protein, high-fat leftovers at lunch, because try as I might it's really difficult to cook single-person portions of anything. Amazingly I did manage, in spite of the odds, to maintain my own weight. On a practical note, fish and shellfish make a nice change of pace. There's also the option of legumes, depending how militant he is about the percentage of carbs in 'em.

Nice. That's where I'll be by about Labour Day.

Even a couple of days is pushing it, depending how demanding your situation is. The context here is gardening, not kitchen use, but you get the idea (it just happens I was writing for a garden client this morning, and it was open in a tab...) http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/tools-and-equipment/disinfecting-tools.html

Thread or dental floss should work for you. I've used both, though I hadn't thought of it (duh!) until you mentioned the cheese wire. Floss is the stronger of the two, and the better option IMO. Some cookie doughs are harder than others when frozen, so if you find it's too much effort let the "log" soften slightly before trying it again. It's like slicing partially frozen meat...once you find the sweet spot of "thawed-ness," you can return it to the freezer occasionally as needed.

I just used the last of last summer's garlic scape pesto from my freezer. I'll be harvesting my new scapes sometime over the next week or so, so this year's batch is almost upon us.

I've done it exactly once, and went with 45 minutes. Natural release wasn't planned, but happened. My goal was to cook it very tender, for shredding, and that was indeed the end result.

Relationships are all about adjustments, right? When my ex and I were first together, I dropped and broke a lot of jars because of those differences. Personally, when I put the lid on a jar, I tighten it immediately. My ex, OTOH, would *set* the lid on the jar, but had the reflexive habit of tightening the lid before picking it up. For those who've never had the experience, a loose cap often holds just enough of the jar's thread to lift it from the counter and set it in motion before letting go. ...much like our differing views on which stage of the clothes-laundering process was the correct time to check and empty pockets...

Family traditions are the best thing to grow organically.

You didn't go "Vegan for V'ger"?

As did I. I've been using "standard" millet for decades (just had some yesterday, in fact) so I wouldn't pay a big premium for a bespoke version in the normal run of things, but a lot of the buzz around fonio seems to focus on its potential as a cash crop in its cash-strapped homelands. So I'll probably splurge on a pound or two occasionally as my little contribution to international development, if that proves to be legitimate (and not just a marketing cash grab by middlemen from North America and the EU).

Isn't it, though? When I was in culinary school in Alberta, we had a "meat day" with representatives from the various marketing boards (beef, pork, lamb, maybe poultry...I don't remember). Part of the dog-and-pony show was a blind tasting of three different kinds of beef, pitting the homegrown product (which is, in fairness, very good as these things go) against imported grass-fed beef from Australia and Argentina. We tasted three cuts of each in three different preparation methods, and to the visible irritation of the Alberta Beef guy I ranked the grain-finished product dead last every time. I was in the minority, mind you.

Well, it was pretty clearly a niche product from Day One. I doubt they were expecting Instant Pot-ish numbers at any point.

I have a vague recollection of someone here doing risotto-style "avenotto" with oats maybe...15, 16 years ago? Working at the moment so don't have the time to look it up, but...