Darienne

That is EXACTLY what it is about.

Mexican Capirotada. We love it. My recipe (as a jump off point): http://patismexicantable.com/2011/11/going-nuts-and-bananas-for-capirotada.html I didn't use prunes, but apples. I didn't use Mexican cheese (can't get it locally) but Cheddar. And don't start with 8 cups of water for the sauce or you'll be there forever waiting for it to reduce. Good luck.

Two nights ago I slow-cooked a [sale] Pork Shoulder Picnic. Called "All Natural". State of origin: VA. Also: "Contains no artificial ingredients and no more than minimally processed". 3.5 kilos. Did it in my 6.5 quart slow cooker on low. No water added. In fact, because of the extreme heat and humidity we are currently having and my laziness and tired state, nothing was added. Imagine my chagrin the next morning, when I found the done roast swimming in liquid, quite high in the pan (not unusual...I know they inject meat and poultry with water), but also a large crusted pool of liquid under the pan in the body of the cooker. Now, that's a new one. Just how much water are they injecting into meat and poultry anyway? It was a cheap cut, and on sale. More than the usual amount of fat. I didn't expect pork tenderloin. I guess it's too hot for a rant, but I don't like it. Yes, I know I can buy 'air-chilled while frozen' or something meat. It's not quite in my 'snack' bracket.

Midsummer has always been important to us, living in Ontario. Both our birthdays are in this time slot, June 22 and 25. Also we live on a large hemp farm and every day walk our dogs around the perimeter of the farm. Well, one dog walks and the other, old and very lame, rides in splendor in the back of the John Deere Gator. And now we do it once instead of twice a day. We are getting less able also...well, I am.As for food, there are always birthday type considerations: special favorite meals, outside if it is suitable, with a cake or two cakes sometimes. There's not much in local food to be eaten yet but we are great salad eaters all the time.This year we have daughter and boy friend coming and their food preferences are paramount. Daughter wants apple pie and Chinese food. She's a vegetarian. BF won't eat North American food, but he will eat Chinese. He won't eat sweets...more pie for us. OK.As for the day in question, Midsummer's, we are going to what is purported to be the best new local felafel outlet for our personal birthday lunch. I know I shall order fatoush also. Not your usual Midsummer's fare, but it pleases us.

I've really cut down on buying cookbooks. No, really, I have. Still I bought one recently, second-hand, Bakers Best Chocolate Cookbook, 1995. Why you ask? Well, for reasons which don't make sense, I have amassed a large collection of 'those' kinds of chocolate books from Nestle, Hershey, etc. For fun I guess.

Beautiful cake and Happy Birthday to Beth From PanaCan: I'm actually not responsible for the baking itself (it's bad luck to bake your own birthday cake) .... Who says it's bad luck? I always have to bake my own cake. Who else is going to do it?

Surely you'll have homemade ice creams???

I made yoghurt for years a long time ago, using powdered skim milk. Perhaps you can get that.

Oh my! I LOVE them! So beautifully done.

A photo of the cute towels? A source? Thanks.

Interesting. We don't do 'dinner parties' very often because normally we eat our big meal at noon. Also we live very casually and are dog ridden, way out in the country in the middle of nowhere, with no traffic between us and most people...just country roads. Friends often bring their dogs for a walk and then a meal. My problem is with folks who are already at the house. I am announcing that dinner is served. But I have already announced five or so minutes earlier that dinner will be served in five or so minutes. So as I am serving, either buffet style or from the table or directly from the kitchen onto the table...then the 'offenders' go off to the bathroom to do their ablutions, etc. Sometimes this is family & relatives (none of whom live at our home), sometimes friends. Frustrates me and I'm not sure what to do about it.

Ha! You can't find them. I don't even know what they are. Hello, Google. ...but then a few days ago I'd never heard of llapingachos either. Such an education I'm getting on eG...

http://patismexicantable.com/2011/11/going-nuts-and-bananas-for-capirotada.html Recipe for Capirotada made again yesterday. Forgot to double the cheese. And used the recipe's syrup with two problems: DH does not like cinnamon or cloves so I left them out and it resulted, along with the un-doubled cheddar cheese, in a somewhat bland result...tasty but lacking in punch. Also the 8 cups of water with piloncillo took CONSIDERABLY longer to reduce than the 25 minutes allotted by the directions. Tried sour cream on top...wrong (for us). So I found the end of the Buddha's hand syrup and poured it over the finished product. Great improvement. I think we may be addicted to stronger tastes. I find myself doubling a lot of spices and herbs and hot peppers, etc, in recipes. SO...I made notes on the recipe page and will do it again. Working up to making it for the Annual Dog Weekend folks.

After reading about llapingachos in your post and watching a video in English and a couple in Spanish and wow! This I am going to make. Thank you.

It's true about the turkey and it's delightfully true about the wonderful cheddar. I cannot imagine where you are shopping that you can't find condensed milk and that you pay so much for it. I currently have in my stock three kinds: Perfection, Eagle and one more: Compliments which is a brand carried by FreshCo, Sobey's and Foodland. There can't be a grocery store in Peterborough (90 miles east and somewhat north of Toronto) which doesn't carry condensed milk. In the baking section. I am floored by your nearly fruitless search.

And British ex-pats tell me you can't get a decent cup of hot tea period, all over the USA. (We don't drink tea, except for Chinese)

I'll have to find a Loblaws. I've tried the Freshco (which is Sobeys) and the NoFrills. Never heard of Overrwaitea. Where are they? There must be condensed milk here, Eagle Brand or otherwise, because all those Vietnamese and Thais can't be making their iced coffee/tea without it. I just have to find it! ETA: What Matthew said. There's condensed milk everywhere in Peterborough. And I've never had trouble finding Graham crackers either. Overraitea does not exist in Ontario. There's no Save-On as far as I know. That's a USA brand (I think).

I rarely shop at the FreshCo here, but I'll go and take a look! I know I can get them in Toronto, and assumed I could in Ottawa, but it seems like every time I look at a Mexican recipe, it calls for poblanos, so I really don't want to have to plan that far ahead... and since they're perishable, I can't exactly stock up in advance! Thanks for the tip. I find Poblanos to be eminently freezable. I buy a large quantity, roast them in the oven, leave them whole or cut them into rajas and freeze them in plastic bags. Yesterday I made a few 'Tex-Mex' casseroley type things using previously frozen poblanos, both whole and chopped. Worked perfectly. ...but then we are not big on presentation in our somewhat scattered life. If it tastes good, that's about all that matters. Actually when I get off the computer, I am going to roast and freeze green and colored bell peppers. DH, for whom a 'bargain' is heaven on earth, bought me more bell peppers two weeks ago than I wanted to contemplate. And I still don't want to think about using them. ps. And as I mentioned to Jaymes and others last week, you CANNOT buy Hatch or other green chiles in Peterborough except in teensy cans. So much for making things with canned Poblanos, Anaheims, Hatch or New Mexico peppers.

You haven't been to Ontario lately. In Peterpatch, fresh herbs are everywhere...don't look for epazote...now two grocery stores carry Poblanos (although both have been shorted for two weeks now), you can buy dulce de leche (well...) everywhere, and achiote is carried in bulk food stores and in the one 'hot' store. from MKayahara (I never have figured out how to multi-quote) Lately, I've been on a quest to find poblano peppers. There seem to be signs for them at the local grocery stores, but none of the actual item. And, this being Canada, I don't have a "local Latin market." It's no wonder Canadians aren't familiar with real Mexican food. Poblanos are normally available at FreshCo and Sobeys in Peterborough. Slowly more 'Latin' products are available here. Toronto would be the best in Kensington market. Ottawa has a store on the Merivale Road. I think even Whitby has a latin market now. Don't know Guelph at all.

Question: for how long is that water potable? We buy large water containers every year and I mark their dates on them hugely in black and we will restrict ourselves to using only the current year for drinking purposes...except that we have yet to need to use any of them. Thus I have sealed water going back a few years in our cellar now dedicated to possible burns, fires, etc, only...and still unused. Ed has water up at the Drive Shed for burns, fires, etc, but it's from the well, unprotected so to speak, etc. I really need some guidance about this. We are currently setting up to set up for emergencies and will probably do it properly within the next six months. To date, it's been a trifle haphazard although with the extra space which we have in the cellar we are set for quite a while with canned tomatoes, canned beans, Habitant pea soup, this and that and quite a lot of it, prompted more by sales and the fact that we are quite far from grocery stores than any organized thought. Thanks.

Glad I found this topic. I am so looking forward to reading what you eat in the region.

cookingofjoy, those are so pretty. Really, really, lovely.

You could do what we did. We were staying at a motel at the time and the next morning I went to the housekeeping center and asked would anyone like this jar of Nutella? Just one clean spoon dipped into it. And sure enough, one of the cleaning staff was glad to get it for her kids. ps. The staff did know us. We stayed there every year.

Spice Cookies , (http://www.earlenescakes.com/CakeCrumbRecipes.htm) posted by Shaloop up above. (Still can't do the new URL link properly). Took some uninteresting dry Peanut Butter Banana muffins made a few days ago and made the above cookies. Turned out very well. Especially loved them with Jalapeno Jack cheese.

This I know. My Buddha's Hand syrup is just like your syrup. Almost completely crystals. What do you suggest I do? If any. If not, well, it has ceased to matter... Thanks