FauxPas

All I can tell you is that I have had commercial brands that got lost at the back of the fridge and developed mold. They had been opened, though. But if your jars aren't properly sealed then they are, in a way, already open, right? 🙂 I haven't canned my own salsa for several years, but didn't have any problems with unsealed jars or else I would have refrigerated them.

Here are the other two offerings at the government stores. I should check one of the speciality private stores also when I am over that way. This one (Tapaijiu) is not inexpensive! ($167 Cdn) The store description says "Amber coloured, this traditional shaoxing rice wine (huadiao) has been stored in a ceramic jar and aged for 20 years. It has an aromatic and pleasantly nutty taste." It looks like it is still "Pagoda Brand". I find it difficult to see the characters at the bottom of the box, not sure if @liuzhoucan? And this one, 5 year old. SHAOXING NUERHONG BREWING

Here's the one I bought recently at the provincial liquor store. Can you tell me anything about it? This one is supposed to be 8 years aged, they also have 5 and 20.

I got your meaning right away! Surprised that we didn't see the usual T-Day turkey deals. I like to get fresh also, paid more this year than prior years.

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving to all current, former, honorary, temporary, part-time and/or wanna-be Canucks! 🙂 Having a Negroni (ha, thinking of you, @Kerry Beal) before serving leftover turkey and sides, since we roasted the bird and did the first iteration last night. Broke the carcass down and it's in the Instant Pot for stock, some meat in the freezer for future soup and we'll eat turkey for lunch and dinner for a couple more days. Though not perfect, there are many things to be thankful for this year. Cheers.

I used to love making variations on Moosewood Restaurant's roasted veggies. I haven't made any of these for years but this thread reminded me of them and I need to try them again. One of their cookbooks has three versions of roasted veggies, tossed with a dressing before roasting - Italian, Cantonese or Caribbean. The recipe and instructions are here. It was a good starting point for me!

I wish I liked figs more! We have a couple of places realy near our house where they sell figs and small fig trees, just small home-based stuff with a stand by the driveway/garage. They had figs available for a long time and I suspect the price would have been pretty reasonable. But I only checked it out once when a friend was visiting and she was all excited about fresh figs and bought a bunch to take with her. I really need to develop a taste for them, I think. 🙂

Do you ever use the fresh pasta ones? Like this one: I wish I could remember the actual dimensions but each sheet is about 6 or 7 inches X 9 inches. I think two of them will fit a 9 x 13 inch pan. I use them to bake smaller lasagnes in the Cuisinart Steam Oven, so only need one per layer (or one and a bit, in my larger pan). I can't remember if I could find these when we lived in Arizona, but there are a few brands available up here in BC. They require no pre-cooking and taste closer to homemade than some of the dried products. And they result in nice, neat layers when cut. Though yours looks amazing!!!

Another NY Time review. (should be unlocked link)

Can't say it any better than what KS said! 🙂

Did you go through all 18 of the slide show images? I almost missed that when I first read the article! 🙂

At home with Jacques Pepin, from the NY Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/realestate/jacques-pepin-chef-cookbook-connecticut.html?unlocked_article_code=qwuxdo5UzMoYRu0-XnvV7kPctUCTcHGSUvtoQV9DQAay1v4c7TDTHfLb0Sv11GyGF4tzfifac6huIaB1qjxAmv61Gn75O7q-T_8UjrU0jzTvlfwit9hAkyh_dRVcrrkRQSUz3XJgzWs8cIuavrSifAFTtMRnlb-6XA48dPsHVwsiTAuCP5X0w2ai-h4GuPvKHRSlf4ZSgaMeQQH6xtjF1GJxFsbQ-zOpRkdtmXmm8RoIZhC0MXNhWdugYMxPnWn46JdYLSC9q7JdhpfUrxdeUO9pmf-n6396zMklaNA5udC3GmfTiNpIXZKW7bucsNJ5shw7_M8LdLqelJtS745tvOOvXNkCgjRqm7P-yEPNpuwsFvb6&smid=share-url

@Anna N do you ever watch MasterChef Canada? Bonacini is one of the judges and he makes reference to Oliver & Bonacini from time to time. My husband and I have been watching old episodes and recently they had the home cooks in the kitchen at Auberge du Pommier in Toronto. Your meal looks lovely! Edited to add: Michael Bonacini also had/has a show called Bonacini's Italy which I'd like to check out further! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bonacini's+italy

That's too bad. he and Michael Bonacini certainly seem to have made a great team together and a 30+ year partnership is pretty impressive.

Like this, I think? Looks tasty! https://ohmydish.com/recipe/turkish-apple-cookies-kurabiye-elmali

Sweet pickled beets with cinnamon and cloves. Made almost a dozen little jars of these as my husband really likes them.

@liuzhou, I'll just add some more wishes for a short hospital stay and quick recovery! And for some decent food while there! 🙂

Our former tenants (and now good friends) were in town and came by for a visit and dropped off some mooncakes. These are from a Chinese-Canadian bakery in Richmond, BC but lots of places to find them around greater Vancouver. (Though this linked article lists Sept 10 as a Tuesday and I'm pretty sure it's a Saturday this year.)

Unless you're left-handed. 🙂

Was that the Five Roses Flour cookbook, by any chance? I grew up with that cookbook and it was pretty useful when I was first learning to cook. This one: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/five-roses-a-guide-to/9781552854587-item.html?ikwid=five+roses+cookbook&ikwsec=Books&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=3432ff169b336642f1384389aea155da Edited to add: I just noticed you mentioned a booklet and the Five Roses one was definitely a full cookbook when we had it. But it was published in Canada from 1913 or something and underwent changes throughout the years. I think we got a free copy or nearly free with some flour or other grocery store purchase in the early 70's or so. Edited again to say: You can check the index on Amazon (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) to see if any of the cookie recipes sound like the right one. 🙂 Edited yet again to say: There was also the Purity Flour Cookbook in Canada from 1917 or so. The text of it is available here, but it's awkward to read the table of contents. The recipes are there, though. And then there is Robin Hood Flour. They had a cookbook but also issued booklets almost every year. https://www.robinhood.ca/En/Recipe-Booklets And you can check their recipe index at the website also. But maybe you have already searched all these? 🙂

If you are still in Comox Valley, RibFest is on this weekend, starting tonight. Not sure if it's your kind of thing, but it raises money for some good causes. And there's some local beers. Music. https://www.comoxvalleyribfest.ca/

Bisque Restaurant and Fluid Bar & Grill are also options in Courtenay.

Welcome to the Valley! Hope you have a wonderful visit and let me know if I can be of any help. Are you staying in Comox Valley for dinner? It's probably pretty nice on the deck at Blackfin Pub and the view is lovely when the tide is in. It just seems like too nice an evening to sit inside, but depends what you are interested in. Martine's and Tostano's are pretty good in Comox. Sushi Wara. Gladstone Brewing in downtown Courtenay has a nice patio and some people watching. Crown Isle has a nice dining room if you like golf course and forest views.

@lemniscateanswered some of this. But for me, it's also the sheer volume of water required for water bath canning. I do use some larger jars and it takes a LOT of water and a good-sized pot to hold it all. It also takes a long time to bring all of that water to boil and then to cool down sufficiently afterward to remove the pot from the stove. It also doesn't heat up the kitchen as much. All that hot water seems dangerous. 🙂 I can't lift something like that so it has to be scooped out. It's so much faster and easier with the steam canner, because it only requires 2 - 3 litres of water. It takes very little time for the water to boil and there's an indicator showing when to start timing. I have done water bath canning on a ceramic-top stove and it worked fine, but it can be a very heavy pot and I don't know the long-term risk. I do get what you are saying about no special equipment required for water-bath, though I didn't pay a lot for the steam canner and as lemniscate says, it's still a multi-purpose pot - steam canner, water-bath canner or oversized stock-pot.

They have done enough recent research to say steam canning is safe. 🙂 Water-bath canning and steam canning both require some acid added to the tomatoes, according to the official sites. I think maybe pressure canned tomatoes can skip the acid, but not positive (I'm sure someone here will know or i can look it up). It's not a lot of acid that needs to be added. And I think @Shelbymight have canned without the acid at all. It's not recommended to do that, but depending on your tomatoes, it could be fine. I've done hot water bath canning in the past and I am certainly tired of dealing with all that water!!!! Edited to add: @Shelby are you doing your tomatoes with a pressure canner these days?