FauxPas

An interesting piece by Paul Krugman in NYT talking about supply chain issues and basically saying people switched from spending money on experiences (pre-Covid) to spending on consumer goods and this huge surge in consumer goods demand is the issue. When people feel safer to live their lives, they will switch some spending back to experiences and this will relieve much of the supply chain issues. And I wonder if the empty shelves people are seeing here and there are not the result of the whole stocking-up and/or hoarding thing again. We don't seem to have those empty shelves in groceries here on Vancouver Island, not sure why that is. My husband and I just bought a new house and had to find new appliances and that was tricky. But everyone seems to have decided to redo their kitchen over the past year, so I think it could be just a continuing surge in demand.

I see you are already making some preserves, but are you including pear butter? Here's an example, lots more out there. https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pear_butter/ Or you could dry some, of course. Not sure I'm giving you anything you haven't already thought of yourself, though. 🙂

I included the Shishito peppers, just for you, ha. 😃

It's October and Shamrock Farms is always open for the lead-up to Hallowe'en, with some great barn decor! I loved the skeletons climbing up the edge of this entrance.

I just saw this and I'm also shocked and very saddened. His cook-offs were a delight and he was so encouraging and informative. Not sure I can add to what others have said, but this will be a huge loss to the community here.

Hahaha, I think she was just trying to put it away with the other balls/tomatoes. She's a very tidy dog! 🙂

Or lost in the tomato thicket/maze, ha. Wow, those tomato plants look formidable. How did you manage to cage/support them? What do the cats think about all the tomatoes in their space? 🙂

There are simple, and possibly common, additions to a dish/meal that can significantly enhance the bioavailability. From the paper cited above:

A nice review paper from a few years back. Probably has been updated somewhere else, but it does link to several studies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/

But you can always visit the UK. Especially if you have an address in London or something, a little pied-à-terre that you only visit occasionally but keep on your Amazon account for your brief visits and then you just let Amazon know that your country has changed while you are there and then you change it back once you are back in North America. You know, as we worldly types are wont to do. 🙂

Some of the Amanas might work also. Like this one, as long as it isn't too wide. But most fridge openings should at least take a 33 inch fridge. Not sure how much leeway you have, though. And this may be the same one at Lowes.

Right, I remember you sharing a photo of some of your tomatoes! So glad you have your pressure canner lid back again! 🙂

Did you manage to get all your tomatoes canned, at least? I would be even more upset if I still had a pile of tomatoes waiting to be processed! 🙂

Funny, I learned of this from watching an episode of Heartbeat, which the Wiki article briefly mentions.

That looks like a great tool! I use an induction range so can't make use of something like it. It reminds me a bit of a tool sold by Santa Fe School of Cooking (and probably other versions are out there). But the SF School one is mesh and may still allow for some bits to fall through, though I gifted one to a relative who seemed to enjoy using it. Yours looks like it would not let much of anything fall through. Your final dish looks very tasty!

I became enamoured with these ladies and their description of Yard Sauce. It's basically taking produce from your garden (tomatoes, various peppers, onions, etc), roasting it with a bit of olive oil and maybe an herb like basil and then blending and freezing. Not all that unusual, but I liked them! And I could see using a variety of produce in the sauce and if you don't like to can and have the space, freezing the blended sauce makes for a nice preserving option. They also talk about how to freeze fresh basil, probably not an unknown option to most folks here.

@Anna N, have you tried cooking sausages in the air fryer yet? That was the thing that put my friend over the top. Or do you like sausages?

I think this is a green pea as opposed to an edible dried pea and the fact that many of the modern varieties were developed by breeders in England. Maybe? Peas date back to ancient times and are believed to be native to Europe and parts of Asia. Cultivation of peas however is thought to have begun in the seventeenth century when plant breeders in England began developing new and improved varieties of garden peas. The modern english pea was named as such due to the plethora of new varieties that were breed there. Because of their long shelf life dried peas traveled to the new world with explorers and became one of the first crops grown by early colonists. https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/English_Peas_2012.php This explanation sounds plausible. https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/vegetabletravelers/peas.html Garden peas were not common until the 18th century. Toward the end of the 17th century they were still such a rare delicacy that fantastic prices were sometimes paid for them in France. "This subject of peas continues to absorb all others," Madame de Maintenon wrote in 1696. "Some ladies, even after having supped at the Royal Table, and well supped too, returning to their own homes, at the risk of suffering from indigestion, will again eat peas before going to bed. It is both a fashion and a madness. " The English developed fine varieties; hence the common designation "English peas" in America.

English shortbread vs Scottish shortbread or British shortbread. 😄

Well, if you are ever in Taiwan. 🙂

Oh yes. I really like Fever Tree. For some reason, I can't find Q around here any more but I liked it as well. I'm really not crazy about 'regular' tonic water after using FT and Q.

Well, in that vein, I have to say that a local gin distiller, Sheringham, makes a Rhubarb Gin that I tried once and it was ah-mazing. There was something about the combo of gin and rhubarb that really worked for me. You have to scroll down to read about the rhubarb bit, I guess it had to be classed as a liqueur for some reason. Though I could add rhubarb to gin on my own, in one way or another, but this one worked for me. I think I tried it with soda water and with an artisanal (sometimes I hate that term) tonic water.

I love these SO MUCH! 😃 Also, noticed you had Gilbey's Gin up above, with which I am not familiar. Is that a fave? I'm not a gin person, but I like a G&T now and then. Someone told me the Bombay Sapphire that I buy occasionally was a bad choice. I'm not sure what to look for in gin, they all taste on the edge of being a bit too herbal for me, so maybe I'm buying the wrong ones or maybe I'm just not destined to be a gin drinker.

Yay! It will be lovely to read about your adventures! 🙂

I've never preserved any kind of pie filling and I was interested to read about the use of Clear Jel for thickening. I've never used it and wondered if people like the resulting texture, but the reviews on Amazon are almost all really positive. And apparently it holds up really well. So I learned something by looking at that recipe! If you didn't want that kind of texture (and I'm not even sure that there's any reason not to want it), I guess you could use a different recipe. Maybe something like this, which uses apples and the added pectin probably creates some gelling and raisins help absorb extra liquid. But I've never tried either recipe and again, not sure that there's anything wrong with your original recipe. It's just a somewhat random thought on my part. 🙂 https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/peach-pie-filling.htm?Lang=EN-US