Smithy

I've been told that duck eggs make an especially rich and wonderful cheesecake because of their richer yolks. I'm sorry to say I haven't had the opportunity to try it out. If someone else has, or does, let us know!

My father used to reminisce on the chow-chow that his mother (my sainted Nana) made. Dad didn't know much about it, except that it involved the green tomatoes from the garden...and he liked it. Despite the lack of information, I fantasize. How do you make your grandmother's pickled green tomatoes? And what do you do with it, once you've made it?

@Tropicalsenior, and anyone else who isn't aware: you should check out the eG Cook-off titled Consider the Schnitzel! We are always happy to have new entries, and to revive the discussions. While I'm at it, I'll put in a plug for our entire series of Cook-offs. (Here's the index). No matter how old a topic is, it's always up for revival. 🙂

Oh, lobster bisque! And a beautifully, perfectly cooked Beef Wellington! I can dream. Thanks for sharing with us.

@Ann_T, the Netherton Foundry's Facebook page (to which you linked above) is a wonder. So is their main website. Oh. My. I do NOT need any more cookware, but this is gorgeous stuff! I'm looking forward to seeing more of what you do with that dome. Then again, I always look forward to your baking.

If you were to make that chicken with chilli at home, how would you go about it? It looks good, and within my stir-fry-inexperienced capabilities.

Now that you mention it, I'm seeing plenty of turkeys in the markets also. I can't speak to their pricing, though; it isn't something I've bought in a long time and I haven't paid attention to their prices.

Our house-sitter gave us a jar of her homemade, home-smoked maple syrup. Today I made French Toast for the purpose. My, oh my. We aren't normally big breakfast eaters, but this could make converts of us both.

Is the recipe online somewhere that you can share it? Or is it something you made up and could write down here (hint, hint 😉)? I love falafel although I'm generally too lazy to make it. And what is the green sauce you put on it?

I love 'em! Fun to see things cycle that way. Do you remember roughly when you got them?

You've had quite the tribulations! It's good to see you back...and yes, you need to be cooking again. Soon. All that said, *I* want to know about the plate under this sandwich! I looks like a very cool design. Show more, please?

Hello and welcome! You'll find a lot of helpful and curious cooks (and eaters) here. Do you cook only for yourself, or do you have a family to please? If you need help finding your way around the forums, feel free to ask a host (I am one) by Personal Messenger (PM) or post a question in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum.

I developed a quite-unexpected taste for mooshy peas while in England and Scotland. I never knew that they'd started from something other than fresh peas as I know (and dislike) them here. Somebody please educate me: what are marrowfat peas?

That looks wonderful. This part brought me up short: That right there would put dinner at our house back at least 2 hours! 😅

What seasoning or sauce would they do with eggs and cucumbers?

"Hidden wontons" suggests something far more exotic than wontons hidden under the greens. I can dream.

I keep forgetting that this is a blog about a trip already done. Did try making any of these national dishes during your camping trip? Cullen Skink, Stovies? (I know haggis would be difficult.) Any other local recipes or ingredients you experimented with?

When I was in Scotland in 1980, visiting castles was not on the agenda but eating, hiking and drinking were! I liked haggis the time I had an opportunity to try it, but you're coming up with foods I missed. Thank you for explaining and/or providing links to Stovies and Cullen Sink; they look like something I'd like to try. And how could one go wrong with fish and chips? "The Last Drop" isn't what I thought it meant, either! That's a very clever pub name. Good on you all for your creative adaptability!

We've never had such bad wind that we felt we needed to pull over, but we've been happy to wait at a camping spot a day or two extra until storms passed. Fortunately, the truck is heavy-duty enough that it manages the trailer well. As for the things left behind: they're just stuff. I can do without, have them sent, or find replacements. I've started a list for our housesitter to send along when she sends the first mail! I will be going to pick up pecans in an hour or so. I'd intended to do it on bicycle and stop by my favorite reuse and kitchen stores to see about replacing some of the stuff I forgot if possible. The skies have OPENED UP! Here's the view outside our window. Those are little fountains in the runoff channel. I can't put off the pecan picking-up, but I'll hope for better shopping weather tomorrow. Tuna sandwiches for lunch today. I mixed mayonnaise and hard-boiled egg with tuna, then split it into 2 batches. Miracle Whip for his, more mayo for mine, along with capers and pickle juice. No photos, unfortunately, but we were both happy.

Thanks! I think we'll be bypassing Columbus this time, but if we change our minds I'll certainly let you know!

@Katie Meadow, it feels to me like we were barely home! My darling would tell a different story. 😄 He's been agitating for months to get going. He noted, when we had a cold snap and snow in October, that maybe we should leave Oct 1 and come home on Memorial Day. I said something to the effect of "have fun, I'll catch up" and the discussion ended. For now. Breakfast this morning, since I've run out of Cooper's pinto beans for the moment: Keto Nut Granola, over yogurt. We discovered the Keto granola thanks to my darling's daughter who is gluten-intolerant and lactose-intolerant. She gets it at Costco. Once I found out how good it was, we made a run to Costco on her membership and I bought enough (maybe) for the winter. My darling and I are both lucky enough not to have food intolerances, but this is crunchy and delicious and not too sweet. Yes, I can make granola but no, I rarely do.

Incidentally, here's another of my favorite green bean recipes: Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta is about as far from the old bacon-and-green-beans recipe, or the cream-of-mushroom-soup-and-green-beans recipe as you can get.

Road food. As I noted, we headed out the door later than usual and had no interest in making sandwiches for breakfast or lunch. When we stopped at a convenience store for fuel, I went inside and grabbed breakfast sandwiches: sausage, egg and cheese on biscuit for him, croissant for me. Not wonderful, not bad. (The bottom photo in this collage is of another sandwich, not the convenience store version.) In preparation for the trip he had cooked a ham and I'd cut it into slices for sandwiches. (We'd also made a couple of dinners out of it before leaving, and we have plenty for more dinners and sandwiches.) I'd also bought a selection of sliced cheeses, and some salami, and more of my favorite breads than I really should have. (But we won't be able to get these brands when we run out!) Here's a typical pair of sandwiches. He says they should just have Miracle Whip, mustard, meat and cheese. Hooey, I say: they also need greens and pickles -- and in my case, mayo rather than Miracle Whip. I leave off the pickles for him because they're messy, but I made sure he got some greens anyway. I stinted for him; my sandwich had more! I had bought two packages of commercially prepared empanadas as a quick meal before leaving, and then forgotten them when I needed them. We ate one package's worth on the road. This was when I discovered that I'd forgotten to pack the quarter-sheet pans, Pam and parchment paper! We were very unimpressed. The other package is chicken. I don't have much hope for it, but we'll see how it goes. The other road-food dinner has a back story. I came home one night to the distinctive smell of SCORCH in the house. It's a different smell than food merely burning, or an electrical fire, or wood smoke. The smell was even stronger upstairs. "It wasn't my fault!" he yelled. "The stove malfunctioned!" He had set a pot of chili on low and gone downstairs "for no more than 15 minutes" to tend the fire and play Solitaire on the computer. When he'd come back up, the chili was scorching. So was my beautiful, prized RevereWare stainless Millenial (or Centennial or Designer or whatever the line was) 8-quart stockpot: to the point that the aluminum disk had actually come unsoldered from the base of the stainless steel pot! I've had that pot for more than 30 years! My father picked it out for me! It was my favorite! Well, what could I say? I had done the same thing about 20 years ago to the pot's big sister, which I'd bought as a companion piece to Dad's gift. We cleaned up the stove. He picked out most of the scorched bits. We ate the chili that night, but had plenty of leftover, by design. We've been eating on it since. The tiny scorchy black bits actually add an interesting flavor and crunch.

I did it more than once, when I had access to good fresh oysters. I did it more than once because we liked it the first time! 😃

I've read that the commercial jars (like spaghetti sauce jars) shouldn't be reused because they may not be as strong as the official canning jars. Considering the treatment they receive during canning, packing and shipping, I have trouble believing it. I've never had a problem with them, and I can't see why they wouldn't be just as clean after good cleaning and sterilizing as official canning jars. They don't always have the same lid thread, of course, and that's a deal-breaker. If I'm missing something, somebody please set me straight!