FauxPas

If you do decide to thaw before cooking and don't have much time, you can do a cold water bath. It should only take a couple of hours at most (this link says 30 - 60 mins). Just don't put the lobster directly into the water, keep it inside a sealed plastic bag. https://getmainelobster.com/blogs/recipes/how-to-defrost-frozen-lobster-tails?srsltid=AfmBOooCFFwg2mzqxHz_TyLKA1J_GOGiVLA6DCJktcIMTwF48m7RO6YI

I'd like to defer to @patti, she lives this food! I have only visited it! 🙂 And @Smithymay be a good source also. But here's a simple gumbo recipe using some of the Zatarain's products. I have to mention that Amazon's products are definitely over-priced. If you could find these products in a store, you'd pay a lot less. I see that Gourmet Warehouse in Vancouver has some items - gumbo base, filé, etc. I have ordered a few things from them in the past with no issues. But you must have similar stores in Ontario or Quebec and they might have a better selection. https://gourmetwarehouse.ca/search.php?search_query=gumbo&section=product

@Dariennemay not see Zatarain's in the local stores (though we used to see it here in BC occasionally) but several of their products are available through Amazon Canada. Edited to add: That search link was for jambalaya, here's the result for 'gumbo' 🙂

Doilies! 🙂 https://pieceworkmagazine.com/push-pull-doily/

And someone else made them for me, too! Bonus! I'm just so tired this year, I didn't even want to make my own. 😆 But I will probably still end up spending quite a bit of time on salad, side/veggie dishes and dessert. I will report back on taste/quality!

Not Kirkland, it's made by a Quebec company - Plaisirs Gastronomiques. It's quite big, almost 2 kg. This is the vegetarian one, from a small local place - Honey Grove bakery: I'll just put out chutneys and sauces and people can choose what they like. Edited to add: And the sun just came out and temp has climbed to 17C (63F) so it's feeling pretty mild for mid-December. 🙂

White Christmas is not likely here, but it does happen now and then. Today is high of 13C (55F) and low of 7C (45F) but later in the week, temps will drop a bit more. I cooked big turkey dinners for last few years for several holidays and I wanted something different this year - and easier for me! I decided I wanted Tourtière for Christmas dinner (and not just as Christmas Eve meal). They aren't hard to make but I saw Costco has a nice-looking one and will try that. Also bought a vegetarian version from a local bakery. Both are in the freezer. I'll make a cranberry chutney to go along with that, maybe a mango chutney also as i have mango in the freezer. I'll make an interesting salad and a couple of side dishes. I'm thinking of a butternut squash gratin from Leite's Culinaria. And something green - like broccoli or snap peas or green beans. Or maybe even Brussels Sprouts, local farms have some delicious ones. Pumpkin pie, because my husband loves it and it's easy to make. Maybe some mulled wine.

This sounds perfect! Scout is such a good-looking girl, how old is she now? I love her pink collar, very chic. 🙂

There are products designed for this like Retro Clean (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) and Vintage Fabric Stain Remover. Some people have recommended Retro Clean for vintage quilts, I'm sure it would work on other textiles. I used a product to clean up an old quilt or two but I can't remember what I used now and don't have it around anymore. I do remember it seemed to work well.

Oh your decor is lovely! Your house is awesome, so warm and inviting. Though I do have to ask about the Santa on the left of the fireplace there, because I think I would jump after walking into that room in the evening and maybe forgetting it was a Santa and just seeing someone standing there, hahahahaha. I can smell the wreath also. And good job with the tomatoes!

The recipes I see basically just do as @gfweb suggests. Like this one for Slice & Serve Stuffing. You can sub breadcrumbs for cubes and skip the sausage meat.

Mmmmm! I love that recipe. 🙂 I made a batch for Canadian Thanksgiving last month along with a couple of other veggie sides and some people raved about that cabbage. I have some cabbage and carrots on hand now to make it again.

Always interested! The planning and prep is a big part of the travel, right? 🙂

I'm curious, what was the first thing you used it for? 🙂 I love being able to purée hot soup in the pot, but also use it for things like pesto and hummus.

If you can cut the roasts into steaks, would Filipino Pork Adobo appeal? It's an easy recipe and flavorful - a bit tangy with vinegar and garlic and lots of umami from the soy sauce. I usually serve it with white rice and steamed veggies like carrots + broccoli. Ingredients are pretty simple. https://panlasangpinoy.com/filipino-food-pork-adobo-recipe/ but I add a bit of brown sugar at the end, to taste. Maybe more like this: https://www.recipetineats.com/filipino-pork-adobo/ There are Filipino-style recipes to make a little dessert side, like a flan or a banana fritter or banana Spring Roll. Not sure you'd even want to do that though. Banana bread might be a fun addition instead if you were so inclined. 🙂 Turon or Maruya are the names of some of the Filipino ones, we used to get them in Hawaii. I made a type of banana fritter years ago, but didn't have access to the right type of bananas so just mashed them up a bit, I think. If you want to do something else with your pork roast this time, keep the Adobo in mind for the future. It's a very inexpensive dish to make and has quite complex flavour. I almost always have some pork shoulder steaks in the freezer for making Adobo. It's also an excellent chicken dish.

For Canadian Thanksgiving last month I made a salad with mixed baby greens, slices of apples & pears, blue cheese and toasted walnuts and pomegranate arils. Served with an apple-ginger vinaigrette. It was so good and even my husband (who normally avoids blue cheese) liked it. I started from this Pomegranate & Pear Green Salad from Cookie + Kate which uses goat or feta cheese. I've made similar salads before but the dressing was pretty close to the online one and was a good match. For Christmas, I'd like to make some fermented Brussels Sprouts to add to a salad or to serve as part of an appetizer plate. I'd probably add some garlic, maybe hot peppers. Not sure. Has anyone done these?

Still on beans, I am a fan of Smitten Kitchen's Pizza Beans because they have some decent veggies (which you can increase a bit, if desired) but still maintain a very basic cheesy appeal. And they can be spiced up. (you don't have to use the gigante beans) https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/09/pizza-beans/ Deb also has another variation with sausage and chickpeas. https://smittenkitchen.com/2025/02/ziti-chickpeas-with-sausage-and-kale/ Do you have a food processor or chopper for dicing/chopping veggies?

Rancho Gordo website has an interesting variety of bean recipes. You don't necessarily have to use the heirloom beans in the recipes. https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes

Are you providing all the containers yourself? And I guess you need new ones each time?

The counters are about 26" deep, the fridge extends out to about 30.5" or so, so about 4.5" beyond the counters. (I don't think the fridge can sit right flush with the back wall though there's not much of a gap.) The manual says it's 29" deep and handle extends a bit further. I think a regular depth fridge would be another 4 - 6 inches and I think it would look quite bulky in there.

Wow, @patti you are sure doing a lot of work, but making some lovely meals. Do you get much feedback on what you do? Do the meals go fast? I was just re-reading about your kitchen remodel in 2015 on the Kitchen Photos thread, are you still in the same house? Lovely kitchen! You have made an impressive variety of meals. Are you looking for meal ideas or just general feedback on your choices? Everything you have made looks wonderful and so thoughtfully packaged. There was a thread on Batch Meals but I don't know if it's got many suggestions for you. But it's here, just in case: You and your husband are to be commended for the good work you are doing!

Aw, thanks. It's pretty bland by some people's standards and it's not very big at all, but it is working out pretty well for us. 🙂

Just to complete things, this is the fridge I settled on. It's a Whirlpool 36" counter depth. And yes, it only has a little over 20 cu ft capacity. For the most part, it's been ok. But my stepdaughter and her boyfriend were burned out of Jasper, Alberta last year due to the big wildfire there and they stayed with us for a couple of months. And during that, I felt it was a bit too small. But I like the look and for the most part it's fine for the two of us! Plus, the old one now resides in the garage with the upright freezer. 🙂 We use the interior water dispenser quite a lot. It's a handy feature. And it does have an ice maker in the freezer, one of the basic ones with a wire arm that lifts up and down to activate on/off. These simpler ones seem to break down a lot less than the fussy new ones with all kinds of sensors. The one in our expensive LG one was always a problem - it was repaired once and replaced once and was acting up again when the whole fridge up and died. I put Jasper the Bear at feline nose height for our cat's benefit. 😆

Having lived with a counter-depth fridge for a few years now, I can say there's some truth to this, @weinoo. For the most part, the fridge is large enough but the produce drawers and freezer compartments are annoyingly 'short' compared to a deeper fridge. It would be better if those compartments could be magically deeper or even if one were wider and the other narrower. Even though it's 36" wide, the lack of depth can be occasionally frustrating. We decided to hold on to the original fridge, which is in our garage along with an upright freezer. Seems like a lot of refrigeration for just two people, but we make pretty good use of it. 🙂

Is anyone watching Top Chef Canada 2025 right now? I'm quite enjoying it so far. But wow, it goes by fast. They already had a double elimination challenge.