FauxPas

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!

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but Instant Pot has come out with two new models. Here's a review of the Instant Pot Duo PLUS and a chance to win one. http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/instant-pot-duo-plus-60-review/#more-21884 There's also an Ultra 60 available in June, 2017.

I'll also mention that HF Coors has more in their store than they have on the website, so an in-person visit might be in order when you are back in southern AZ. And they do seem to be expanding the Mimbreno line - for example, the mugs I got are the 14 oz ones, but I see they also have smaller 11 oz ones now.

@Smithy, HF Coors in Tucson is making the Mimbreno line. They are a wonderful local company and they make a quality product. Their prices are a bit high, but you can save some money by shopping at their First Saturday offerings - the first Saturday of each month, they open up the back factory area and sell off seconds and discontinued products and so forth. You can find some good buys there! But it's popular - you have to get there early to get the best deals and be prepared to move fast and aggressively. I have a set of the Mimbreno mugs and I adore them. I have toyed with the idea of buying some of the other pieces, but I don't really need another set of dishes right now. Still, I love them so much! I bought a set of 4 mugs in the store shortly after they first started making them as they were offering them for $20 each instead of the usual $25 and then I checked the First Saturday sale and managed to find one there for a couple of dollars. It's a second because of the tiny bluish mark on the top left, if you can even see it.

And here's the All-Clad site link to the Prep&Cook: http://www.all-clad.com/prepandcook And at Amazon, the Prep&Cook is only $999.95. Ha. But interesting to see something is available through some of the usual retail channels. I would be interested in hearing what people think of this product.

Oh, that is really too bad. I do hope he is feeling better soon!

Whew, don't mean to overwhelm you @Kerry Beal but apparently friends and relatives have a huge willingness to share their Ottawa recommendations. Some repeats here but again some new ones:

@Kerry Beal, even a few more suggestions to add to the last list. My friend wanted to add some suggestions for breakfast and lunch, as well as her earlier ones for dinner. And she wanted to add one more for a dinner suggestion:

@Kerry Beal, here's another list from my good friend in Ottawa. I see some familiar names but also a couple of new ones! Yes, I have some great recommendations! - North and Navy - $$$$ (Nepean St) Awesome food. Can be loud. 613.232.6289 - Bar Laurel (1087 Wellington St) - very funky/trendy cocktail and microbrewery beers and the most amazing appetizers primarily. They hAve a few mains - seems to be the 25-40 crowd, but well worth a visit for the food. We shared 6 appetizers and 2 beers each for @$100 - and we considered it well spent. $$ - $$$ 613.695.5558 - Riviera (62 Sparks Street) New, and gets rave reviews/ had to cancel on Saturday so haven't been yet. Got a full page review in Mar 25th Globe and Mail - $$$$ 613.233.6262 - the Green Door for the most amazing vegetarian food - very casual, and not set up for large groups (198 Main Street). Food is by weight. A large serving might be $15+ . Their food is remarkable - not a romantic setting, though I think you can purchase wine - check on that, though. - Carben Food + Drink - 1100 Wellington St. "Asian-inflected modern Canadian cuisine w dessert chef who can steal the show" 613.792.4000 - Datsun (380 Elgin St) - very casual, great food. No reservations, always a line up. 613.422.2800 - El Camino (right beside Datsun) - very casual, big hit (but we have not been so cannot comment). Line ups. - the Pomeroy House (749 Bank Street) - $$$$ - Stylish, modern, ie, for dessert: Meyer lemon tart w chèvre mousse 613.237.1658 - the Rowan (915 Bank St) - Classic modern - owned by the Fraser brothers (Fraser Cafe - great but small and east of downtown in New Edinburgh) 613.780.9292 - The Whalesbone Elgin (231 Elgin Street) "loud restaurant w big-flavoured food. Quirky casual" 613.505.4300

I have friends and family in Ottawa but haven't been there in a few years, so I'm overdue for a visit. Just checked with my cousin who lives in Wakefield, Quebec and who used to spend a lot more time in downtown Ottawa before he retired. Here are his thoughts. I rarely get into downtown Ottawa so my favourite restaurants are somewhat dated. But here are some suggestions, no guarantees: - Beckta, just south of downtown, used to be the best in town - Absinthe, in the west end, ok if going to the Great Canadian Theatre Company but out of the way - Whalesbone or Whalebone Oyster House – good fish restaurants south of downtown area - Chez Lucien – a favourite funky little restaurant east of the market area with ok food, try the steaks - Courtyard – in the market area along with many other restaurants, used to be good - Metropolitan Brasserie – central, east across the street from the Chateau Laurier - Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro – downstairs in the market area, easy jazz many weekday nights with acceptable food - Riviera – new on the Sparks St mall, should be good since the cooking team has two other good restaurants, El Camino and Datsun.

@sartoric, thank you so much for that and I think a few others here will appreciate reading your methods also! And it ALL looks delicious!

I did a spaghetti squash in the IP last autumn and it was overdone and completely mushy - I could hardly detect the strands at all for some sections. I can't remember how long I cooked it and didn't write it down because I decided I would prefer to cook them in either oven or microwave in future. Oven cooking might be best for me because I'm fussy about the right texture and it is easy to monitor the doneness by periodic testing in the oven. But if we get quite a few spag squash in our CSA box this Fall, I might give the IP another try.

I really need to try it! @Anna N has also recommended it to me!

@sartoric, this looks delicious (as do all of your Indian meals). I'm wondering if you follow a recipe for your tomato chutney and if you can share? That dosa looks beautiful, too!

Oh come now, there must be a few grapes left on the vine for icewine. Hahaaha That still counts as a fruit harvest, doesn't it?

I hope you will share some of the details of this labour of love, @chromedome. It sounds like it will be quite a challenge. And I'm sorry to hear about your father. I hope your mom is coping OK.

Well, it was Ground beef and Green peas, right?

Anna, I put it in a big bowl with a bit of water and microwave it for a couple of minutes. Then drain and put in freezer bags. And yeah, it's perfect for things like lasagne or soups.

It wasn't that i couldn't distinguish the taste, it was my memory or my typing. I typed 'tomato' even while thinking 'peppers'.

Agreed, and this was the weakest part of the pizza for us. My husband called it cardboardy and too thin and flat and I think I would agree. And yet I really like a thin crust at times. But I would encourage people to at least give it a try. It's not expensive and if the toppings appeal, it may not be a bad thing to have in your freezer in a pinch. The toppings weren't bad.

Mine is so BORING! But I grabbed some ground beef along with several unlabeled items in freezer bags. I put the blueberries back, ha. But also had some frozen mixed peppers I had chopped up, some frozen cooked Rancho Gordo pinto beans and some tomatoes that I had steam-baked, peeled and then froze. Also had some frozen spinach (leftover from a huge bag or two of fresh baby spinach from Costco). I thought about lasagne, but decided on a slow cooked chili since I had stuff to do this afternoon and put the spinach back in the freezer. So beef and beans work for the basic challenge, right? I only have a top freezer here but it gets filled fast because there's a big ice maker in there. I love my ice and put it in water, milk, extra in chocolate milk and use lots for iced teas. I also put lots of ice in wine - both red and white and some of you may stop reading right now and vow never to share vino with me. Here's the Instant Pot photo. I'm sure it will look more appetizing in a bowl with some cheese and fresh tomato or something. I'm pretty sure it's going to taste good, though.

We recently tried the Pizza Greco Roman and neither of us thought it was worth a repeat. It was just barely OK overall, though the toppings (kalamata olives, feta, tomato) weren't terrible. Edited to add: I think the final topping was peppers, not tomatoes! The TJ's Battered Halibut makes very decent fish tacos if you are rushed for time but want something with a bit of colour. Here is last night's dinner, using the TJ's halibut. Some homemade Pico de Gallo, Mexican crema, and shredded cabbage (from a coleslaw mix, ha). Heat up the tortillas and serve with some hot sauce. Not bad!

I hope you'll let us know how you like it!

I have never used a Max Burton, but I have a single-element Aroma induction model. It's only 1500 watts and really can't compare to the full stovetop elements at all. The Aroma (which I still use occasionally) is underpowered and doesn't heat the outer edges of pans nearly as well as the stovetop ones.