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Two versions of Ruby Noodles from Nigella. The pasta is boiled in salted water for a few min, then transferred to a pan of beet juice to finish cooking while the beet juice reduces to a sauce. I made this version last week. The beet juice is flavored with garlic and it's served warm with feta cheese and fresh dill. The beet juice adds a good bit of sweetness but the dill and feta are a good contrast. The other version is a cold noodle dish, with Asian flavors. Kind of a pink sesame noodle. How Nigella! I added raw carrot and sugar snap peas and a few shrimp. I wasn't sure how everything was going to look in pink so I took this photo before tossing everything together: And after - the shrimp are now VERY pink!

I use room temp or cooler. Haven’t had a big artichoke emergency though!

That’s hotter than I would choose for thawing stuff but it should do the job. I'd transfer the artichokes to a bag you know can take the heat.

Another Nigella-inspired breakfast. I made her spinach with anchovies and cream, spooned that over toast and topped with a fried egg.

Me, too! I was just looking into volunteering with a group cleaning up trash from a lagoon near the beach and thinking I'd need some good boots. These would be perfect. And the logo would be very on point as there are tons of birds and birders in the area!

The Kindle version of Diana Henry's Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to warm the soul (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) is currently on sale for $0.99 on Amazon in the US, Canada and the UK. This is the 20th anniversary update of the original and contains some new recipes. Edited to add: Same price on Apple Books

I also have a 1 pt/0.5 l size iSi whip. I have this one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) that came with 3 different tips. I don't use it much since I discovered I could whip 1/4 cup of cream using the whisk attachment on my immersion blender but it still comes in handy from time to time. Remember that these things are holding and releasing contents under pressure so you want something built for the task. The iSi brand is very reliable. There may be others that are comparable but I'd avoid going with an inexpensive knock-off just to save a few bucks.

If you are or were accustomed to darker roasts, it’s not surprising that the more acidic and fruity flavors of lighter roasts give a sour taste. That was my response when I first tasted some but I’ve gotten to like it. Maybe you will, too, or maybe you'd prefer medium or dark roasts. I use an Aeropress rather than a Bodum pot so it’s not directly applicable but I use 20g coffee with 225g water.

I love that book! I've had the sweet potato, black bean and feta hand pies on my list forever! Or was that the caramelized onion, delicate squash and sage hand pies? Or maybe the tomato, olive and mozzarella hand pies? 🙃

Very interesting @rotuts! I've never seen such a pale yolk. I know the color is due to diet but for some reason, I thought they started out pale yellow and went from there! Clearly, it's conditioning, but a runny white yolk would take some time to get used to! Speaking of runny yolks, here's a bowl that Nigella Lawson calls out as one of her go-to quick meals: Wilted spinach (I used arugula), dressed with a mix of harissa and olive oil, topped with soft boiled eggs, anchovies and a bit more harissa dressing Edited to add that I don't always think of anchovies for breakfast but Nigella says she's heard of them referred to as the bacon of the sea!

I love the idea of hand pies or other pastry-filled breakfasts. Kenji made Thanksgiving leftovers hot pockets with store-bought pizza dough. I wonder if one could freeze leftovers in an appropriately shaped blob so that when there were enough, you could make the pastry or dough. wrap them up, bake and freeze. You could work up quite an assortment that way.

I'll second that recommendation. The Small Hands Foods orgeat is conveniently available at my local Total Wine. Along with their passion fruit and raspberry syrups. The passion fruit is good. Haven't tried the raspberry.

The other day, I noticed that TJ's had come out with their own brand of red bitter. Pronto! Amaro Aperitivo Bitter. I think it was $9.99 for the 750 ml bottle. My local Total Wine store has been out of Bruto Americano for a while now, so I thought I'd give this stuff a try. Based on the shape of the bottle, I was a little afraid it might be an Aperol dupe but the color is darker and more brown. Nothing wrong with Aperol but it's not my favorite in this category. In the same order as the bottles above: The TJ's stuff is less bright & citrusy, less sweet and more herbal, more complex and more bitter than Aperol. No Campari on hand for a side-by-side but I believe the TJ's is less bright, less citrusy, less bitter, less sweet and more herbal and complex than Campari. The TJ's is more similar to Bruto Americano in both color and flavor though it's noticeably less complex and interesting. I used it to make a Boulevardier and thought it was very good. I used Punt e Mes as the vermouth, which probably compensated for the lower bitterness vs Campari.

Jack in the Box has a Monster Taco from time to time. It looks big. This year, they offered an Angry Monster Taco around Halloween that came in a red tortilla and was reportedly more spicy. I’ve never eaten at Jack's, but perusing their menu, their bite-size tiny tacos look more appealing to me than a monster. Especially if I had some freshly made guacamole to dip them in!

Looks like this one. Nonno's in Houston. Doesn't seem like it's on the list though. Edited to add that this article says they got a mention for pizza.

Interesting that Ori Menashe & Genevieve Gergis have THREE of the eight LA area restaurants on the list: Bavel, Bestia and Saffy's. I have their Bestia and Bavel cookbooks and have cooked from them quite a lot but have never been to one of their restaurants. Tangent: The Kindle version of Bestia: Italian Recipes Created in the Heart of L.A (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). is currently $2.99 on Amazon.

I keep heavy cream on hand and fear I may get a rude surprise next time I’m shopping but I have not observed any shortages.

The beans should be fine for several weeks at room temp, in a closed container that's either opaque or kept in the dark. You can freeze for long term storage but you don't want to be pulling them in and out and getting condensation on them so vacuum seal them in portions that you'll use up in 2-3 weeks. Then let each pack come to room temp before opening.

I entered my address and it came up as free shipping. Not that I'm buying one today - I'd never heard of it until just now! Though, if it comes with the cat, I may consider!

I regularly use my little Cuisinart CSO combi oven to warm plates. The warming function offers a range of temps starting at 125°F and can handle as many empty plates or pasta bowls as I have dining chairs. Wouldn’t work for multiple platters or plates full of food. I've used the bread proofing setting (~100°F) on one of my double wall ovens to keep platters of food from getting cold. I inherited my grandmother’s dishes and love that a lot of the crazing in the glaze is from her habit of putting the plates in the oven to make sure cold plates wouldn’t chill the food!

Yay! Got an email notification that the pineapple vinegar is back in stock and an order has been placed. Crimson popping corn, Massa Organics brown rice and a couple of those adorable little cazuelas got me into free shipping territory. Oh, and maybe some Royal Coronas. You can never have too many Royal Coronas!

No mention of the water source?

No apology needed - we all learn from the ways other members adapt to different circumstances!

Of, course, that’s why I suggested a condiment as it could be added to taste but perhaps that is too risky. I understand you can’t have any alliums in the house either, but I suggested onions for others who don’t have those particular life threatening allergies. My bad!

Nice post! That might have started out as a rant but ended up being full of good ideas! I totally agree that dishes that start out vegan tend to be more appealing than vegan-ized versions of a cheese or meat-centric dish. At the same time, from a flavor perspective, I'm interested in learning about vegan substitutes for certain umami-boosting ingredients as they could help me out when tweaking flavors in any dish.