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Haha! The last time that I cooked a goose (on the rotisserie grill), my neighbors called the fire department. They thought my house was on fire. My well-intentioned neighbor had a bit too much eggnog but bravely came running over anyway to try to save us. LOL

Unfortunately I don't have an actual recipe. I just make cod cakes the way my mother made them when I was a child in New England. After soaking and briefly simmering the salt cod, you remove the skin and any bones and then break up the flesh into small pieces with your hands, using a very large bowl. (It is important never to boil the salt cod as it will cause it to become very tough. I usually bring it just barely to the boil and then turn off the heat and leave it on the burner for another 15 minutes.) To the large bowl (now full of flaked salt cod), add your favorite aromatics that have been finely diced and sauteed in olive oil - I used red and green bell pepper and shallots. Then add just enough mashed potato and beaten egg to hold the entire concoction together. If you don't have mashed potato, you may use unseasoned bread crumbs, but left-over mashed potato is strongly preferred. For seasoning, I use only black, red and white pepper. I don't believe in adding any other seasonings as the salt cod flavor should predominate. If you have soaked and prepared your cod properly no additional salt should be needed. At this point shape the well-blended mixture into patties with your hands, patting them firmly, and then refrigerate for at least an hour before pan-frying on both sides. We never had any sauce growing up but my spouse likes remoulade sauce with cod cakes. My favorite part is the following morning. Having a poached egg on top of a salt cod cake is heavenly!

The soup was a huge success, although I had to make so many changes to Fidelina's recipe that I'm not sure it still qualified as Fanesca. We just called it, "Soup in the Style of Fanesca" There were no leftovers of the soup although thankfully I had saved 2 of the 4 lbs of salt cod that I had acquired for the soup (salt cod is hard to find in this part of Florida - it was a 2 hour drive round-trip to purchase it!). The second 2 lbs got turned into a childhood favorite, the cod cakes in the photo above.

I made some New England style salt cod cakes with the salt cod that I had leftover from @Panaderia Canadiense's Easter salt cod soup. They were well received! (the photo shows only the leftovers - there was too much mayhem to take photos during the feast)

@liuzhou I'm just a home baker, but IMHO "Gold Medal" flour is nothing special. I've compared it side-by-side with "Walmart brand" flour and couldn't discern any difference (other than price) - FWIW

@Smithy If you like everything but the shape, I'd try baking it in a loaf pan, and see what happens. That way you at least have something to compare it to - a floppy loaf is sad. I always bake in a steamy oven, but it sounds like you are doing that already? You could also call the baker's hotline (free) at King Arthur Flour company for help troubleshooting - they're super friendly in my experience. I'll be curious to learn how this problem gets solved.

@rotuts I'm surprised that you don't use something like this Internal temperature probe with alarm I use an older model for cooking of all meats, have never had a case of overdone meat when using it A very good investment considering the price of meat nowadays!

Part way through making the King Arthur honey oatmeal bread recipe, I realized that the box of oats was empty - so I increased the flour a bit and added some flax meal and topped with sesame seeds, which (as usual) don't want to stay put. But at least I had no problems with the proofing and rise today. Of course, I really have no right to complain about my occasional bread failures, since I'm a guesstimator. I just loathe weighing and measuring ingredients. *ducks head and runs*

Aha, a scalpel is a brilliant idea! Thanks for mentioning it!

Also you can take 1/2 cup of plain vinegar in an uncovered bowl and nuke until it boils. Let stay in the microwave until it cools off. That will remove the smell. Or you can just put the vinegar in the micro overnight (uncovered). That works too. Lemon juice will also work but vinegar works better.

For you northern folks (and anyone else who cares to respond) how are you growing micro greens? Inside? In one of those aero garden things? Something else? This sounds stupid because I live in Florida but between the rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, river rats (like muskrats, I think), moles, armadillos, birds, and other vermin, plus the salt air and sandy soil (I live on a barrier island) it's really hard to successfully grow anything to the point of harvest, unless you have a lot of time to devote to natural pest control or you are willing to use chemicals. So I'm thinking of trying a few containers this spring (it's in the 80s during the day now) and micro greens piqued my interest. I've seen a few people discussing them in dinner/lunch threads. I could possibly put them inside near a south facing window

@liuzhou great looking bread, I'm truly astounded at what you can accomplish with your toaster oven. Bread failures are frustrating, but happen to all bakers. Just last week, I had 2 loaves of King Arthur Honey Oatmeal bread fail. They never rose properly during the second rise or in the oven. And this is a recipe that I have made every week for years now. (BTW last week's failures are now breadcrumbs in my freezer, so they were not a total waste) I'm pleased to learn that your perseverance paid off. I'm going to have to attempt more bread this morning since we are now completely depleted and I can't bear "supermarket" bread now that I'm used to homemade.

Jamie Oliver has a recipe for a malt custard and jam tart that piqued my interest: http://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/malt-custard-jam-tart/c5e63ef0-88f8-4c4e-8db1-6ee5ab8af3f7?current_section=recipes This is the photo from the recipe link:

Just adding my most heartfelt thanks to you, your family, your neighbors, and your camera for making this one of heck of a special week!

I don't want this blog to end either, and I agree that @Panaderia Canadiense should be appointed as social ambassador for Ecuador. I'm going to make a quick 5 day trip on April 25th, just because of this blog! And I am looking forward to getting some peanut crack upon arrival. LOL

<<There is a slight fermented aroma to it, not something I've noticed before, but not an unpleasant one. Perhaps a result of the extra 12 hours in the fridge (??).>>> @liuzhou I'm sure that your premise is accurate. I've noticed that a slow ferment in the fridge always improves the flavor and texture of my bread. In fact, the best (most flavorsome) loaf that I ever made had been inadvertently left in my outside fridge for more than a month!

I'm learning so much this week! Thank you for being such an inspiring teacher. Please tell Fidelina that there is someone in Florida who is going to try to serve her family Fanesca on Easter Sunday (salt cod soaking in the fridge now), thanks to the two of you. Also I discovered a new source for South American foodstuffs in my quest for the soup ingredients, so thank you both for that as well.

I agree with @Deryn! I've run out of words, I'm speechless. I'm literally crying tears though, thinking about the dismal and overpriced cellophane-wrapped-on-styrofoam-tray vegetables (dented yellow summer squash and limp asparagus) that my spouse bought for dinner last night at our local Publix supermarket. And the very depressing and expensive lunch from the hospital cafeteria that I ate in desperation yesterday (I'd forgotten my bento lunch bag in the fridge, which often happens when I leave at 0430) Had I been in Ecuador, I could at least have had tiffin service! Oh dear Ecuador, I hope you have room for one more, because I'm coming to visit you ASAP PS love the biodegradable on-the-go lunch bags. The hospital uses disposable (non-degradable, non-recyclable) white styrofoam trays and plastic sporks. No knives allowed. And you can't bring your own - as of 2 months ago, all bags (even for doctors and nurses) are searched by security upon entry to the building. They're mainly looking for weapons and drugs but they will confiscate metal utensils. PS I'm going to make a bastardized version of Fanesca later today in my instant pot, one of the major omissions will be salt cod because it's not sold around here. And yes, I'll have to substitute acorn squash. Also +1 for Maggi seasonings, I'm a big fan and looking forward to trying the Ecuador versions!

I think that Hellmans is on the right, did I win?

We don't have TJs close by, the nearest one is >100 miles from here. But I do travel frequently, and from Florida TJs to California TJs and places in between, I've noticed that all the cashiers are chatty, and they all want to chat about what is in my cart. Frequently, this chat is a prelude to something like, "hey, if you like those pumpkin cookies, have you tried the pumpkin XXX? I'm just crazy about the pumpkin XXX" This script or a version thereof has been replayed to me in so many TJ stores across the country that I do believe it is part of corporate training. I find it annoying, but then again, I'm annoyed by a lot of things that I perceive as thinly-veiled marketing gimmicks. Like the pharmacist as my local Walgreens saying, "Be Well" last week when I was picking up my Tamiflu, 6 boxes of Puffs Plus, Pepto-bismol, and Pedialyte I guess he didn't get last year's memo that nixed the "Be Well" campaign: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-walgreens-be-well-0326-biz-20150325-story.html

I'm exhausted just reading about your schedule, but everything looks so lovely and delicious that I'm deeply grateful you provided the pictorial update. I remain in awe at the quantity and quality of baked goods that come from your kitchen!

Collards like a really long, hot growing season. That's why I never grew them when I lived in New England. But that was 20 yrs ago and there may be "quick collards" now for all I know. Here in Florida they grow like weeds but the bugs love them ETA - nevermind, I was thinking about okra. It's okra that likes a long hot growing season. We plant collards here in the subtopics in early spring and again in the fall

The Aldi's here sells those mixed luxury nuts year round, my spouse eats more than his fair share. I like to keep nuts in the freezer if storing for an extended period of time, for fear the oils will turn rancid. @Tere - when you say trolley, is this the cart on wheels that you push around the store to hold your purchases? Here in Florida, I would call this a shopping cart? Or did I miss something else that's humorous. I'm really enjoying this thread. It's been fun (and eye-opening)

The "regular" price for Hellmans at the "regular" grocery store here (Publix) is currently $6.09 per jar. They make a big deal about their "bogo" sales - they are having one this week in fact. Even with bogo, however, that's still over $3 each I'm going to get some of the Aldi's mayo this weekend and force my spouse to participate in a blind taste test!

Oh well, the mystery continues! It's probably going to be super busy on Saturday, but if possible, I'll try to take interior photos of my local store. It's really quite nice, clean, and organized I've actually never paid the 0.25 for a cart because someone in the parking lot always offers me theirs when they have finished with it. I do the same; it seems to be customary to "give" the next shopper your cart. At least around here, as I'm learning from this thread, all Aldi's are NOT created equal!