Beth Wilson

Scheduled Power Outages are a wonderful thing! Each fall the hydro teams assemble for cable maintenance across the island and replace wires running through the forests and along long highway stretches. They notify everyone and you make plans to spend the day without power. Some hike, some do the tree trimming around the hydro wires that you have put off too long, lots of outdoor yardwork if it isn't raining and once I took a painting class for fall colours! Most people leave the island for the day like Kerry did but the adventurous ones try to make meals without the use of hydro. If you aren't blessed with a gas stove then you try making pancakes on the bar bq or on the wood stove. It reminds everyone of how good you got it when the power is on. Since they started doing this the power outages in bad weather have been drastically reduced. Kerry, there is or at least was a great little diner in Espanola called Roger Rabbits. It is on one of the side streets and if I recall correctly it was the side road on the way to the Beer Store. This diner is where all the paper mill workers go for breakfast and lunch and they made their own fresh bread on the premises. It was always busy with the locals so if you get a chance to check it out it was worth the trip. It closes around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

When I lived in Thunder Bay we had snow by Hallow'een and it usually stayed til spring. Lets hope you are spared the weather from winters past :-) Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner so I imagine some nicer weather is coming. I imagine the boats are being hauled out of the harbour for winter storage now. What is the first dish planned with freeze dried food? The haul of supplies in the vehicle must have been quite light with all the freeze dried products.

I was always amazed at how quickly the sick bags appeared and how quietly the staff go about doing it on the ferry. Had one stormy trip that I thankfully did not drive onto with my car. After the choppy ride I was saved the fate of all the car passengers....they had a cattle truck down below with the cars...can't imagine how that smelled after a VERY Choppy boat ride. I am so looking forward to another Manitoulin visit. When do you head out to see Max?

What if you took these dehydrated cherries, reconstituted them in a nice brandy? Dipped in chocolate :-) Someones gotta try this and let me know how delicious they are....mmmmm

Kerry, I think I would try a bit of onion in milk chocolate as a sample before making a pan of bark. Onion would intensify in flavour wouldn't it? Have I said how much I am enjoying this thread!!! Succotash Bark.....would not have even thought it was possible before this thread!

I foresee your freezer emptying out and calls for a system on how to organize all the freeze dried packages and vacuumed packed mason jars in some sort of a dry storage unit Will the red peppers reconstitute to a nice consistency to be added to salads or strictly for cooking in another dish. I can certainly see the benefits of one of these machines if you have a decent size garden.

MMMmmm freeze dried ganache It would certainly increase the shelf life I would think!

How would you go about drying cappuccino for bits to include in chocolate? I like the sound of that in a chocolate. Can you use your Foodsaver to store all this freeze dried stuff or does it have to be in mylar bags with oxygen keepers?

I am tempted to take some time off work and head down to your neck of the woods to try some of that bark! Very hard to not want some delicious chocolate bark for breakfast now What do you use as an oxygen absorber for your vacuum sealed products?

Can you freeze dry other things like caramel or brownies??? Just thinking of things I love in chocolates :-)

Oh Kerry! I am so looking forward to following this thread! I love freeze dried fruit in chocolates and can't wait to see what you come up with.

I received a set of silicone spatulas a few years ago and I have probably used at least one of them every day...I don't know what I did before I got them! I also received a Peugeot Peppermill as a Christmas gift from my sister in law, the first year DH and I were together. I use it everyday and can't believe I lived without a pepper grinder for so many years. Now I have been eying a salt mill but that will have to be hinted for another Christmas present perhaps

LOL! I have worked out a spreadsheet for the menu, laying out the prep requirements for the kitchen and who is doing what or what is being ordered ahead of time I have been sending it back and forth to MIL to figure this stuff out before sending it to everyone on the list so they will know who is doing what and who needs the kitchen for the afternoon. So I guess I am in charge? The roast is the thing that I wanted to take out of the kitchen since it looks like two other family members will need some time for preparing their dishes and there of course will be some last minute plating of the simple stuff. It is looking like the roast is going to be cooked outside the day of if we are going with warm meat.... It will be roasted overnight if cold is ok. Looks like I better get experimenting.

I might take you up on that Kerry! I think they have a plug outside so bonus! I can still be out of the kitchen.

I will try it out first on DH. He loves it when I am learning new things to cook, even the failures :-)

I live 5 hours away so the plan is to stay at the inlaws the night before. So I am staying at the place where everything is happening. The other family members live closer but are planning dishes that will take a few hours of the kitchen time just before dinner, mostly a few apps, vegetables and a side dish of some sort. My plan was to get my stuff done the day before and just warm it to serve the day of the party so I can help out in the kitchen but basically not need much space for myself. I looked at the Permafrost Roast Recipe and it sounds promising, thanks CatPoet. I was thinking all along of serving it warmed with gravy but perhaps I should try out cooking it overnight and have it in the marinade stage while everyone else is in the kitchen. The kitchen is not the biggest and with too many people in it, I get antsy. Pbear, I was thinking that myself which is why I posted the question..I really wanted to do a nice roast but I was worried it would be dry if I reheated it on the Saturday. I don't want to be embarrassed to serve the dish to the family. There is a gas bbq on the deck so I was thinking of doing something out on the deck instead....hoping it isn't raining of course!

I am very novice when it comes to cooking roasts so I never even thought of a tenderloin. Just 25 minutes too cook a tenderloin sounds promising! I was trying to stay out of the kitchen on the day of the dinner since other members of the family are expecting to have the kitchen for vegetable and appetizer use. Since space is limited I had thought it would be easier to do it the day before and warm it somehow....even on the bbq wrapped up. Just trying to keep the peace on a busy day :-)

FYI, I don't entertain much so I have a newby question that I hope you guys can help me out with. My Inlaws are having a 55th anniversary next month and I am helping co-ordinate the dinner. My MIL is making Coq au vin the day before as the chicken dish and I am thinking of doing a roast beef or lamb or possibly both for the dinner party. There will be 25 guests including a few small children. What I want to do is cook the roasts ahead of time to rare, and then on the day of the party just warm them and serve. They like their roasts on the medium rare side. Other family members are bringing dishes that require the use of the kitchen and I am trying to plan as much as possible to be done ahead of time in order to free up the kitchen for them. So my question is, how should I prepare the roasts the day before so they will be awesome to serve warmed up on the day of the party, or is doing the day of the party the best way to go? Thanks for the help!

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chef_2014/ I went to see the movie Chef this summer and now I am obsessed with grilled sandwiches. It is about a chef and restaurant owner who do not keep up with the times and gets a bad review. Life changing moments happen as they do in movies. If you are looking for an enjoyable light movie, it was pretty good.

Ok! This should be good timing for me. The last couple of years school and another conference got in the way so I had to watch the threads of chocolate workshop updates with envy. I would like to put my name in, and yes I would love to attend the Master Class if there is one. I took a course on Sugar Works quite a few years ago so I would love to renew those skills. Looking forward to next year!

Ah yes, the angelhair pasta only makes it as far as Espanola :-) It was a mystery to me when I lived there too! Your pasta looks wonderful!

And that makes me very interested in getting one now!

Thanks to you Anna! I have just tried out making my first mayo as you posted in the first part of this thread.... It was a big hit and turned out perfectly. DH was impressed with my potato salad tonight and I owe it to you two and this awesome thread! Love following your cooking exploits and happy to be challenged to try some new things that you post. Love the photos posted, thanks for the tips.

Try Foodland in Mindemoya. I once sent DH for some Bob's Mill Gluten Free Flour mix for making pancakes for the Inlaws who were coming to visit. I had seen it at Foodland once, but all he got was Bob's Mill Gluten Wheat Flour. I learned to make more specific grocery lists after that :-) It was a couple of years back so no guarantees they still stock it.

You should see if Heather from Loon Song still does eggs... I remember her getting a sitter for the chickens when she took a Christmas Vacation a few years back so she might still be in the business :-) I picked fresh peas at Pike Lake Farms too so that will be coming up soon too! I look forward to your adventures!