Smithy

I expect to be near a Trader Joe's in about a week, and realized that I still have untried purchases in my freezer. I pulled out the Green Chile Chicken Bowl for tonight's dinner. It's certainly easy. It's a single-serving paper bowl (now merrily burning in my fireplace, along with the box) and it can be cooked in a regular oven or a microwave. @rotuts will note that it has quite a bit of sodium. Oh, well. The ingredients and calorie count are good. I chose microwave heating, and may have slightly overheated or understirred it based on the toasted cheese at one edge of the bowl. Here it is, before stirring: Dinner, garnished with more grated cheddar: The flavors were good, and I'd say the meat and grains were pretty well balanced. That said, I doubt I'll buy it again. (1) I had to remove a couple of inedible bits: tendon? bone fragment?? although it was only 2 small bits*; (2) the flavors are good but I can probably do the same myself, with a little enterprise and considerably less salt. It's good: just not as good as the chiles rellenos and the pork tamales that I will definitely buy again when I have the chance. *I know I could have taken the package back and complained, but the receipt is long gone and the store is a couple hundred miles away. Not worth the effort.

Yes! This! Beans, meat, eggs, cheese, veg, salsa, extras.... 😄

As often as we discuss eating burritos, or making burritos (I'm looking at you, @Shelby) I can't seem to find a burrito-rolling primer around here. Am I the only person who fumbles with these things? And I've tried watching them made, dissecting them afterward, and admiring Shelby's frequent breakfast burritos for her husband and his hunting partner (see, for instance, here and here). Can't find a tutorial. Maybe I'm the only idiot who can't roll them properly. But I've picked up a few clues along the way, including with this post from heidih, may she rest in peace, about spring rolls. Roll them tightly. Put in much less filling than one might expect. Put filling on one side, not in the center. Today I decided to try again, after a delicious but much too messy breakfast burrito that I didn't bother to photograph. I think I finally may understand the procedure. The filling is duxelle (mushrooms cooked to throw off the water), cocktail tomatoes, chunks of a sausage link that's been lurking in the freezer, scrambled eggs, shredded cheddar. Juices basically cooked out so it doesn't ooze. Step 1, as mentioned: don't put a lot on, and put it near but not on the center so the tortilla can be folded over it. 2. Fold the tortilla over the filling, and try to pack it into a tight roll before continuing. (This may be a crucial step I've been missing.) 3. Fold the ends in toward the center. It may be necessary to do more than one set of folds so there aren't loose or open ends. 4. Roll it the rest of the way. Looks pretty neat, huh? But that burrito is pretty small compared to the tortilla I started with. A lot of dough in that one. I decided to try more filling on the next one. It was a little more difficult to roll, but I got it done. Problem is, I want sour cream and salsa in these things, and that seems to be an extra place the mess comes in because of the free liquid. I tried a couple with sour cream in the filling. All told, I ended up with 5 burritos of various sizes. I wrapped them individually and labeled each so I know whether it has sour cream. I didn't try putting salsa in with the filling. That means I'll need to add it later or go without. In this post, Shelby mentions adding drained salsa. Maybe that's the trick? She also added guacamole to that particular batch of burritos. I don't have any, but it's an addition to remember for later. I'd enjoy olives in there too. The possibilities for filling seem endless, once the technique is down. So, folks: questions? comments? How does my technique look? I've never managed successfully to roll burritos before and have them hold together, so this is progress for me. I bet I can learn more from the seasoned burrito-rollers out there.

I don't take it as an impoliteness! In this case, she who hesitated lost an opportunity...but saved the money. Sometimes, procrastination pays. 😄

Looks like I missed it while I was considering what to buy. Is that right? Or is there still a Murray's sale going on that I can't find now?

Mine too.

I'm just now getting my Christmas dishes and decorations out, but today my coffee is in one of those Waechtersbach mugs: I went crazy over those some years back, and still treasure them. This cheerful sight of my cupboard shows more of my Christmas mug collection: The 2nd and 3rd mugs from the right were a clever idea from a friend who threw a 95th birthday party for another friend, who was a Midwinter's Day baby. The party organizer scoured thrift stores for Christmas- or winter-themed mugs. It was quite a collection, and she invited us to take mugs home after the party. I took 4, kept them in the Princessmobile, and have 2 out for this season. Memories!

1 Traditional, 1 Triple Chocolate, same as last year. I wanted to try the SOMA chocolate also, but decided against it. Maybe another time, if there is another opportunity.

Remind me please about the fried and then pressure cooked chicken gizzards. I have a couple quarts of giblets that friends gave me from their farmer's market chickens. The first batch I cooked (stir fried) had a strange taste and I ended up giving most of them to the dog. Since then I've read that the gizzards have to be cleaned first...which I didn't do. So, please describe your procedure again? (And yes to carby not crabby ... but my autocorrect does plenty of strange things!)

I heard from them today also, and got the payment link, and have ordered!

Can you tell a difference between them once plucked, or do they need different treatment? Different fat content, for instance? What about flavor?

@blue_dolphin, @TdeV, anyone else in the USA who's trying to order from gouter: have you actually managed to order? I got a price quote, with the caveat that the price covers product and shipping but not any tariffs that I might have to pay. I haven't heard anything since then and they haven't answered my question about how to actually place the order. (Last year they sent me a payment link via Square.) @Alleguede may be able to shed some light on this question, now that I think of it.

My mugs are mementos, and many of them are museum pieces of a sort, due to their age. For instance: this little guy was a thank-you gift for donating to MPR, donkey's years ago. Bob Edwards, one of the founders, is long gone. My first flight instructors were invited to more than one Shuttle launch, thanks to a couple of their students who became astronauts. One time they gave me this mug, purchased at the Kennedy Space Center gift shop after watching Stan Love and his fellow crewmembers launch into space. This museum piece goes back to the company where I settled into a long-term North Woods career. The company has long since been taken over by another corporation, changed names, and changed culture as well. I think of happy discoveries and growth whenever I see this one. My father was an aviation enthusiast, and bought this at an airshow near their home. When Mom and Dad downsized, I claimed this mug. The oldest mug in my collection is this beauty from Taylor & Ng. I have a bunch more of their designs tucked away in storage, but this one stays out and gets frequent use. I love the pun. Finally, this mug is my most recent acquisition. I've been to the West Denmark Fiddle School in Wisconsin 3 years running, and plan to go again next summer. The last thing I needed was another mug! But for $3 I couldn't resist. It makes me smile. The fiddle school is like a weeklong musical boot camp: some 60-odd musicians, broken into sets according to accomplishment level, learn about a dozen pieces of music by ear. We learn those pieces in segments, bit by bit, and put them all together as an orchestra for public performance, from Sunday afternoon until Thursday night! The music is beautiful, the instructors excellent and funny. Truth is, the mug I use most is larger than any of these...a Friends of the Duluth Library purchase. But the decoration is fading from frequent washing, and the mug is dirty right now. I'm not going to show that one here!

I don't know when I'll get to it, but I've downloaded that recipe. It does look good!

As noted here, I started wondering about the source of the smoked salmon that I purchase here in Duluth. One of my favorite shops, Northern Waters Smokehaus, discusses the sources of their fish in their FAQs, but it was confusing: according to the FAQs, the salmon may be wild-caught or farmed. I wrote and asked them about it, and had an intereesting and nuanced discussion with their HR representative. With his permission, I'm quoting his writings: I followed up with: He responded: