FauxPas

And some Hawkins Cheezies! My husband loves these things and when we go south to the US, he always packs a few big bags to bring along.

A couple of Amazon Prime Day offers for books. You can get $5 off a physical book or books at Amazon for purchases over $15, using code PRIMEBOOKS17 - might have to be a Prime member. https://www.amazon.com/gp/promotions/details/popup/A5LJRSC8ZS47S There is also a 40% discount off Kindle books on the purchases of a second one. (offer says you must be a Prime member for the discount) https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=17025012011&ref_=pe_2629530_245782890

Aha! There is a Prime Day e-book offer also. https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=17025012011&ref_=pe_2629530_245782890 You have to be a Prime member for this one and it's only good on the US site, I believe.

You can get $5 off any (physical) book purchase of $15 or more with code PRIMEBOOKS17. I think you have to be a Prime member for the discount. https://www.amazon.com/gp/promotions/details/popup/A5LJRSC8ZS47S The above doesn't apply to e-books, but I had some other discount that came through for me when I bought a couple of digital books today. Not sure if that is related to Prime Day, but I didn't need a code and it seemed to give me a $6 discount on the second book.

Fine Cooking has a take on this. Is it still spanakopita? Maybe not, but similar. http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/puff-pastry-spanakopita

Not sure how serious I was about the spanakopita, though it can be made with purchased phyllo dough or even a variation with purchased puff pastry. (Because I'm pretty sure that all the Manitoulin stores carry these, ha! ) There's also various takes on spinach sushi.

Saag paneer? Spanakopita? Maybe steam/microwave some spinach and save for another night, lasagne or something? "Popeye" pizza? Spinach gnocchi? Spinach borscht?

Spinach and cheese strata? It can sit for hours before cooking. Can be part of dinner or breakfast or lunch. A couple of approaches: https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/12/spinach-and-cheese-strata/ http://www.marthastewart.com/340991/spinach-and-cheddar-strata

@Kerry Beal, do you ever get gifts of fish from those hapless fisherpeople? To show their gratitude? Or is it more likely that a person who gets a hook in their body will catch no fish? And are they usually male or a good number of females also? Is alcohol usually involved?

I love cheese on my dogs! And I would have topped it with some of your pickled jalapenos too! (Or have you finished those off?)

The turtle ones do look more attractive, I think! @rotuts, they are expensive but those are also the large ones. The smaller ones are 15 to a box. But I agree that $19 seems pricey!

Is it just Vancouver-based Purdys Chocolates that calls these type of candies Sweet Georgia Browns?

How long will your visit be? Any big Canada Day plans?

Am I the only one who sees a little face just above your wrist?

So I can almost guarantee that tomorrow morning they will bring the most delicious-looking and wonderfully seasoned food just when you CANNOT eat at all. They will take it away and then at lunch, you'll be back to the same old gruel. Ha. At least, that's the type of thing that always happens in my little corner of the universe.

@HungryChris, this is the brand of tuna from Costco that I mentioned. I bought some more today so we can have tuna sandwiches tomorrow for lunch. Again, this is the Canadian Costco so don't know about availability elsewhere. It was $10.99 CDN for a package of four 160 g tins, but I think they had it on sale last time for a couple of dollars less.

@liuzhou, I'll add my best wishes and hope you don't lose any of your spirit or sense of humour! Even though it's really interesting to see the inside details, I still hope your stay is short! @David Ross, sorry to hear about the knee replacement but hope you are healing well. A relative had a knee replacement not long ago and she might have been better off with a rehab stay after the initial hospital stay/surgery. She didn't work the knee very well at home on her own and it caused problems. Your rehab stay likely made sure that didn't happen to you! I hope you are getting around OK now.

I agree with you! And wanted to mention that Costco (are you a member?) here in Canada carries some really nice tuna in oil, which is a product of Italy and not just "Italian-style" as the Bumble Bee product states. I wish I could remember the brand name. If I have a chance to go there in the next couple of days, i will take a look. Not sure if the US stores would carry the same brand, of course. But it was sold as a package of four small tins. And it was really good!

Here's the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/technology/personaltech/instant-pot-cooker.html

G&M (Globe & Mail) had a nice article on some of the Syrian refugees in Vancouver and how their cuisine is gaining popularity with a pop-up dinner.

OK, so I think I use their recommended rack position for toasting, but my husband rarely does. I think it's because he likes his toast darker but he's impatient, so he lowers the rack and gets darker toast. It's only darker on one side, but that keeps him happy. The manual warns of a fire risk in that lower position but you'd have to really toast the life out of it before that would happen.

Where do they suggest positioning the rack for toast? I don't even know where my manual is anymore (doing some kitchen re-organizing). I put the rack somewhere in the middle for making toast, but my husband prefers to lower it when he makes toast. As an aside, I love steam-roasting new potatoes or baby potatoes in the CSO. Somewhere between 300 and 400F, depending on size and time up to 60 mins, again depending on size.

I keep meaning to do something with spruce tips! I've seen some suggestions for preserving them: Also, Susan Musgrave in her book Taste of Haida Gwaii, uses spruce tips for salads, a pasta dish, with roasted potatoes. Can't remember what else and I don't have my copy of the book here with me. I think @Kerry Beal was going to check that book out. I thought they might be nice in a vodka martini, giving the drink a bit of an herbal flavour. A gin martini already has enough botanicals, but maybe would work there also.

Pressure Cooking Today is offering a chance to win one of the new Instant Pot Ultras this week: http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/instant-pot-ultra-60-review-giveaway/ I love that the lid automatically resets to Sealing, I tend to forget to do that myself.

I loved Tucumcari! My husband loved it because of all the filming there - Clint Eastwood and the related flics, but we both wanted to see a bit of the Hwy 66 history. There are some powerful stories there. Dragging the strip was a thing in many towns, I think. @Jacksoup, would love to hear more from you!