FauxPas

C'est vrai ! Speaking of Caesars, I have always wanted to try making one of the clear ones. I've seen a few different recipes and can't find the one I like best, but here is another: http://urbandeli.ca/2010/03/09/clear-caesars/ Have you or Kerry ever had one or tried making one? ETA: This might be the one I first saw. Called Clearly... a Caesar. http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=fcb4f7f3-edcb-455d-b302-3a57f89b72e5&sponsor=

I made some Canada Day popsicles. (Used raspberry purée with a bit of Grand Marnier for the red flag parts, and a cheese-cake type filling. Should have tried to put a whole raspberry in the centre to look like a maple leaf!) Also have some with blueberry purée topping for American friends and 4th of July.

Check out the appliance stores - there are some mixed units. Here is a 36" unit with two induction zones and three gas burners. http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/PM363I0.html

Shelby, I love growing pea shoots. They are one of my fave uses for my sprouting trays. They are especially nice in the middle of winter. But when summer heat gets intense, they can be a lovely delicate addition to meals. I also love sprouting mung beans for stir-fries, chickpeas for hummus or as a salad addition, etc. Some people say you need a growing medium but I have been successful with pea seeds in a tray and I just spray them a few times a day. They are gorgeous within a week to 10 days. Really REALLY hoping you will share some fishing stories from the river!!!! Please?

rotuts, I think I see what you are talking about - like this? Or this? I assume you have a chamber vac? have you tried pickling yet?

LIke Shelby, I'm no help on this either. I don't know much about chamber vacs. Are you asking about putting cukes and pickling brine in a bag via chamber vac vs using jars, by any chance? Or instead of using a crock???

More pickles. The farm had six lbs of cukes saved for me this morning and that made six quarts. I also made some 'baby' garlic-dills and some bread and butter pickles.

Wow. Just wow, Shelby. I adore pics of your farm garden. it's so lovely and expansive and varied. I do love the Okra flower! Maybe the cantaloupe will come back, I hope so! Do the kitties just want to sniff the produce or do they actually like to eat any of it? I used to have a cat that was absolutely MAD for cantaloupe.

Thanks Shelby! And thanks again for sharing the recipe. I would think that frozen garlic would be fine, though the texture might suffer. But you won't be eating the garlic itself, right? You probably just want it for flavouring and that should still work OK. Good luck!

It's fairly warm here so I'm trying not to cook inside too much. Another trip to the farm for eggs and new potatoes in order to make potato salad. Also picked up some tomatoes. I have a couple of sprouting trays/containers and use them mostly for various kinds of sprouts, but have been using the tray lately for growing pea shoots. So we have had a couple of dinners almost exactly the same, rotisserie chicken, potato salad, fresh tomatoes and pea shoots. Berries or cherries for dessert (or snacks). Pea shoots in small tray:

I went to the farm to pick up some Kirby cukes this morning, and used some of them with Shelby's Quickle recipe. Thanks, Shelby! I'll try to hold off tasting these for a week or so.

Funny thing, Shelby - I just made some Quickles myself, using your recipe!

Oh no. What happened (or failed to happen) at the Farmers' Market?

But Ann_T, where's the BREAD???!!! Or did you give it all to rotuts? Just can't imagine that lovely pasta w/o some of your amazing bread.

Wow, that's quite the set-up, Porthos! Thanks for sharing and I love that you gave us the floorplan. Are you done now until next year or do you do one in the Fall as well? I know you told us, but I have forgotten.

I wonder if it is just in NYC?

Yeah, they call it 'massive' overcharging. Wow. Those are strong words. So are these:

Yay, one of my favourite summer-time events! Is everybody and everything in one car? I bet it's pretty well loaded up! The weather forecast doesn't look too bad, hope it stays that way or improves. And I hope the residents of Manitoulin are not too accident-prone, so that Kerry isn't too busy at the hospital/clinic.

Deryn and MSRadell, I completely agree with you about the water/ice dispenser. My LG fridge is French doors over freezer - it's a nice model - but no dispenser. I have an ice-maker in the freezer, which does take up some space in there, but I can live with that as the freezer drawers are fairly spacious (and since I hate manually filling ice-cube trays). dcarch, I see your point. I suspect a hunter would be better off with a separate freezer. I could see the flexibility of this one being useful for holidays and special events - needing either extra fridge or freezer space before Thanksgiving or Christmas or a dinner party, for example. Or at different times of year - right now I have a hard time finding room for produce in my fridge some days. At other times of year, I am likely to have more frozen items. But I wouldn't pay the extra $$$ for it, at this point!

Wow Baselerd, everything on those two plates looks so incredibly delicious!

Ha, string cheese is one of the things I always pack in a cooler for road trips. Along with peeled hard-boiled eggs and apples/pears, maybe carrots. Sometimes the BabyBel cheeses. My husband does more of the driving, so I can open the packaging and pass it to him.

I've seen the Frigidaire upright freezer which can convert to all-fridge from all-freezer, which I thought was pretty cool if you have the space for an extra fridge/freezer. But I haven't seen this Samsung before, which looks like a standard fridge over freezer in some ways but has French doors both top and bottom and one section can convert between freezer and refrigerator. The MSRP is quite high, though at $3,999! Certainly, if you have the space, it would probably make more sense to have an extra fridge or freezer. But if you live in a condo or something and really want more flexibility, this adaptable fridge might be kind of cool. I like the temperature range that you can set.

I think there are two roads to go on this one (ha, bad pun!) One is the fine old tradition of travelling with food for the road. Pack up a cooler with food that is perhaps healthier and easier to eat than any road diner fare. Often, you plan to stop and take a break and then break open the cooler. Many times, it is your excuse to stop. But then people eat food, while driving, that is awkward or hot or has a potential to spill and that turns them into dangerous drivers. Work clothes + meeting + drippy burger or breakfast sandwich = distracted Combine it with a cell phone and it's really kind of insane. I've seen people doing that - eating + talking/texting + rushing So, not sure what the topic is really about, Shel. Personally, I wish we would be less distracted when we are driving. Though I have to say that we do some road trips where we plan for some munchies, but we aren't rushed and don't eat anything too awkward.

I am not sure if you are interested in a braised (roasted) cabbage, but I have made this recipe a few times and adore it. I have even served it for a dinner party and people loved it. From Molly Stevens book, All About Braising. Recipe is called World's Best Braised Cabbage. The one thing I change is to add more stock! At least 1 cup, maybe more, depending on size of cabbage and amount of carrots. And maybe a bit less oil. http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/11/worlds-best-braised-cabbage-2.html However, my apologies if you are looking for straight roasted cabbage w/o added braising liquid.

Those look amazing - so light and crisp. Do you use any kind of sauce or just eat them as they are?