FauxPas

So did your Dad enjoy the meal? Was his roasted corn in the pics? When I asked about gardening, I forgot that you have a few young children and you are baking as a business and taking courses, so you probably just don't have time for anything else right now! You mentioned your home is close to neighbours - is that why the kitchen window is so high? I would want a lower window I could see directly out, but if the neighbouring house is very close, better to just see the sky! You mentioned U-Pick farms for berries and making jams - I am on Vancouver Island for most of this summer and the El Nino system seems to be delaying the warm weather and I am sure the berries here will be later than normal. Are you seeing similar delays in OR? You mentioned your use of liqueurs in baking, do you also use them in your jam-making? And do you incorporate fresh fruit or home-made jams or preserves in your baking? Forgive me if I am asking too many questions or getting off-topic!!!

I also think it would be fun to read about visits to a cocktail spot or two! I'm curious about the spice storage that you have on the inside of your pantry door - was that shelving put in by the builder or by you? Can you tell us anything more about it - who sells it, cost, ease of installation? Do you do any veggie gardening? Any fruit trees in your yard? Looking forward to a visit to the winemakers! (I think you mentioned one might be in store?). Looking forward to the rest of your blog!

It looks like a nice space! Can a couple of people work there comfortably? What's in the back corner behind the fridge?

I love pomegranate seeds in salads. I like to make a baby spinach salad with sliced pears, walnuts and pom seeds on top, maybe some feta or a soft goat cheese or blue cheese crumbled on top. I make a vinaigrette with juice from some of the seeds and mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, honey and pepper. I also like a warm potato salad with baby potatoes and lightly cooked green beans, mixed with halved cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, diced onion and a touch of oil and balsamic vinegar.

I agree with others who recommend Trader Joe's for their frozen fish. I live about half of the year on the West Coast of Canada (lots of fresh seafood) but am currently in the Arizona desert for about 6 months. Trader Joe's and Costco are the two main places I go to here for good quality seafood. Both have good to excellent quality Alaskan salmon. I also enjoy the halibut from either place, and Costco did have Chilean Sea Bass for a time (don't know if it was a special sustainable catch or not - does anyone else know and has anyone seen it recently?)Cooking Light has a Cumin encrusted or coated sea bass recipe that is simple, but delicious - one of my faves! I usually allow my frozen fish to thaw overnight in the fridge in its original packaging before cooking. With salmon, I sometimes marinate for about an hour before cooking and then broil/BBQ. Or I poach it. Or cook on a cedar plank! With halibut, I often use a basic coating and use a combination of pan frying and baking (especially if the piece is large/thick). I have read about thawing fish in milk to make it smell and taste fresher, but I have never tried that. Has anyone else? Also, some people just cook from frozen without thawing. Here, for example, is the Alaska Seafood Marketing website which has cooking tips including cooking from frozen and also cooking on a plank: http://www.alaskaseafood.org/recipes/tips/

Thank you so much! He is a great hunter and I wub him The kitty or the hubby? You talked about green tomatoes, how much summer gardening do you do? What types of things do you grow?

Not sure that this is of any use to you, but I read somewhere online (can't remember where, of course) about making a turkey "throast." Debone a thigh (or thighs?) and breast, spread the thigh on the breast and tie for roasting. Never tried it, but it did sound like a nice way to get a mix of white and dark meat and prevent the breast from drying out.

I would cut rather than purée as well, and try to find an Ataulfo mango, if possible. I think the flavour is much clearer and stronger. http://www.freshmangoes.com/varieties.html http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Fruits/ataulfo-mango.asp

I adore your house. Your study looks like the perfect place to sit and read during the day with those lovely big low windows. Your dining room has wonderful features also - that built-in bar is amazing and is that last picture in post #380 also a part of your dining room? Your furnishing and entertaining styles are so well suited to the house. Thank you so much for showing us your home and your various cooking/eating experiences. I also was fascinated with the cocktails. I can't help but wonder what your home's landscaping is like, and if you will be doing much gardening there in the summer, also. Not that you'd have much time for it....

I would so love to be able to see this room in its entirety - it sounds so lovely. Do you have a photo of the whole room or of the context of the shelves? Exactly! Wow, what a perfect match. And again, do you have a pic of the bar in the context of the room? Please, please, please... show us more of this adorable house! PS Hope you got your dishwasher installed OK!

Do you use a Rinse Agent? I think you can get filming and etching if you don't use a rinse agent. I read that some people use vinegar in place of a rinse agent. See here, for some discussion and examples: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf124892.tip.html

One of my husband's favourite breakfasts (esp when a tad hungover) is generic store-brand Tater Tots. I break a few eggs into a frying pan, put the "Tots" into a bowl and microwave them for 1-2 mins and then the soft-yolked eggs go on top of the Tots. Sprinkle with pepper. Add ketchup. If it's a bad hangover, I have an emergency bottle of Prosecco or similar that can be mixed with orange or tangerine juice. After all, then you're getting Vitamin C, right? Other leftovers can get thrown in with the potatoes - ham is especially good. I've even used a hot dog weiner.

With regard to the KFC signage, businesses in Québec really don't have any choice - due to the provincial language laws. At one time, it was illegal to have English in a business sign at all. Later, English was permitted but the French version had to be twice the size of the English. Not all Canadians (or even Québécois) agree with this aspect of the language laws. If interested, here is a little bit of background reading: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/bill101/ I'm more familiar with the term "flash frozen" used to emphasize that the fish has been quickly frozen ASAP after being hauled in. I guess "fresh frozen" might mean the same thing, but it just sounds odd to me!

Two months on, and wondering how it is going? I would love to seem some photos at some point.

when I was shopping for a new stove a couple of years ago, they told me I should stick with the coil-top type stoves for canning and when I asked why, they said that the glass or flat-top ones can't maintain a high enough heat or something - the heat fluctuates more, apparently.

The Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria, BC is celebrating its 100th birthday and has worked with Winchester Cellars in the development of a handcrafted gin, simply called 'Victoria Gin.' (The label has a picture of a young Queen Victoria.) It's offered at the hotel's lounges, of course, and here is my favourite, The Bengal Lounge. Nice place to sip a cocktail, no? I haven't tried it yet, but I am looking to buy a bottle this week and have a martini night with a few friends. The recipe details are on the Winchester Cellars website (look under Spirits) and contain a mix of 10 organic and wild-gathered botanicals including juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root, orange and lemon peel, cubeb berries, star anise, cinnamon bark and rose petals, as well as a secret ingredient. I'll have to report back after tasting. It's not inexpensive, though at $49Cdn per bottle.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! As you can see from my join date, I have been around for awhile, but have mostly been reading rather than 'writing.' I'd like to participate more and also try to be a more adventurous cook! I do love reading what people are cooking up in their kitchens or tasting in restaurants and I especially love when they are able to post photos!!!

Thank you, Katie! It really is a nice drink - simple (once you extract the juice/pulp from the berries ) and easy to vary for people who like sweeter/tarter, etc. I was thinking of infusing vodka with some peppercorns and making a cocktail based on that with fresh strawberry juice/pureé, but I haven't gotten around to doing that one yet. Has anyone had anything like that? Was it tasty?

Simple meal for a warm summer evening - after hitting the farm markets in the morning, I had mixed greens, scallions, mixed tomatoes, local nugget potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, free-range eggs and fresh raspberries. A frittata with the eggs, potatoes, corn, scallions, and some mozza cheese, garlic, etc. A mixed green and tomato salad topped with a bit of goat cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette made with fresh raspberry juice, white wine vinegar, honey, freshly ground pepper. Some of the raspberry juice/pulp went into the making of some very tasty Fresh Raspberry Martinis (picture and details here).

Fresh Raspberry Martini Since raspberries are in season and I love raspberries, I use them in as many ways as possible. For the above martini, I remove the seeds from the raspberries by squeezing the berry juice/pulp through a sieve with the back of a spoon. (That's the way I do it, is there an easier way?) Put ice in a shaker and add about 2 oz vodka, 2 oz of the raspberry liquid, 0.5 oz of Grand Marnier or similar liqueur and possibly a bit of sparkling water (depending on the size of your martini glasses) and shake. Pour into glass and garnish with orange slice and/or a fresh raspberry. I like this drink to be fairly tart, so don't use too much Grand Marnier in mine, but you can vary the proportions to make it sweeter, if you prefer. I also like to add a bit of sparkling water, as the raspberry pureé can be fairly thick. Last night, I used enough raspberries to make raspberry martinis as well as a raspberry vinaigrette. Mmmmm. Love berry season!

My current fave is mixed greens (preferably including some baby spinach), lots of diced sweet red pepper, sliced black olives and crumbled feta cheese - with a Kraft Red Pepper & Parmesan cheese dressing. I love that salad! For a lighter salad, I really like cucumber (preferably peeled, seeded and diced) with sliced or diced radishes and cubed feta cheese with a basic vinaigrette dressing (white wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper) and maybe some chives or something thrown in. It looks pretty on top of lettuce leaves. When whole pomegranates are available, I like to make a salad and dressing both containing the seeds. The basic recipe came from my grocery store, I think there are lots of similar recipes around, but I was late discovering this one! For the dressing, I crush half the seeds to obtain juice, which is mixed with oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. For the salad, I plate some spinach (or mixed greens with spinach) and top with sliced or diced fresh pear or apple, walnut halves, crumbled blue cheese and the remaining pomegranate seeds and drizzle with dressing. You can use mango or papaya in place of the pear/apple, cashews or almonds in place of the walnuts, and a mild goat cheese in place of the blue cheese, and add something like cayenne or cumin to the dressing.

I really enjoyed the Santa Fe School of Cooking in Santa Fe, NM. It may not be exactly what you are looking for, but it has many good ideas (culinary tours, etc) and has become quite popular. http://santafeschoolofcooking.com/index.html

I like a warm potato salad made with green beans, tomatoes, onion, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. Kinda like the following, but obviously easy to vary. I'm not sure how I came up with it, but it's become a favourite. Boil red or white potatoes (quartered or halved baby potatoes or fresh nugget potatoes are faves) until cooked-but-firm. In another pot, steam fresh green beans until cooked, but still crunchy. Drain both, add green beans to potato pot and return to a low temp burner and quickly add some chopped red or white onion, halved cherry tomatoes or diced plum tomatoes. Pour a touch of olive oil and a small amount of good quality balsamic vinegar into pot and stir just to blend. Arrange on plates/bowls and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and a bit of fresh-ground black pepper. I like it chunky so I don't chop things too small.

Bryan, can you tell me a bit more about that martini? Is there something frozen in the straws, by any chance? I am very much enjoying this blog. And I went back and read the earlier one, which was also fabulous reading. Thank you for all the photos!

Yes, this is a very standard approach to rescuing an oversalted dish. Others may know more than I, but you can peel the potato and throw it in whole or cut it in segments and throw it in, peeled or not. Leave it in for 10 mins or so and taste, and keep tasting. Basically, the rule I follow is to remove it before it becomes soft. You can also add milk or sugar, but of course, that depends on the type of sauce/dish you are preparing. Yes, I think the extra starch might make a difference, that is why you remove it before it gets too soft, I think.......????