Darienne

OMIGOSH!!!!!

OK. So I'll start. Today my DH cut orange peels for me to begin the candying process for chocolate-dipped orange peels. And I have begun the confection give-out to friends and folks who help us in various ways all year long. Folks like vets, computer guys, oil delivery guys, postal lady, etc, etc. I've had a huge...well, less huge every week it seems...bottle of rum-soaked fruits for a Black Cake which never got made last year and I guess it's really too late to make it this year either. Should add some more fruit to the mix. I have a list of cookies and cakes that I intend to make. Plus Pot Lucks we are invited to. Plus the Christmas Eve Party to which Ed always brings his French-Canadian Tortiere and I bring some confections. And, and, and... Who else has started on Christmas or holiday goodies? And what are you making?

G'day mate. (Do you really say that to each other?) Looking forward to reading about your week down under. I'm surprised you find any time to cook at all with your schedule. What do you do for three hours while traveling every day. (We in Canada would actually write 'travelling'. What about Australians?) BTW, Margaret Laurence lived for some years in Lakefield and I did get to know her a bit. Lovely woman. I do have a couple of funny Margaret Laurence stories which I can PM you some time.

Nothing exciting being made here...just the usual favorites of friends and so on: chocolate dipped candied ginger, chocolate-dipped candied orange peels, Chocolate covered toffee. Have to get the toffee out of the house before I eat anymore.

So grateful :wub: for ALL the replies.

Repeat of September 15th's post only this time with toffee. How stupid can one woman get? Burnt the upper inside of my mouth just behind my teeth. I realized the toffee was too hot to taste as soon as it touched my teeth, but did not count on the curling effect as the hot toffee curled behind my teeth and stuck. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Thanks Lisa. Just what I wanted to read, that I could freeze them almost whole.

Way to go, Ms Kim!!!!

Thanks Kalypso, much to think about. It's all so iffy at this end. How long will the manager be able to get them? Will he continue getting them? How much should I buy with the idea of cooking them all to utilize them? In the meantime I have a small bunch in the kitchen and I just love looking at them as I pass.

The scene: we live in the Canadian frozen north and never get fresh tomatillos or chile peppers except for Jalapenos. We cannot get canned tomatillos or chile peppers except for Jalapenos. Well, maybe somewhere in Toronto, but I don't live in Toronto. WE brought back canned tomatillos and Hatch chiles from the Southwest. Now, to my open-mouthed surprise in a local higher end grocery story, Sobey's, I find what? FRESH POBLANOS. Smaller than usual, but beautiful dark green, proper shaped, etc. I ask the manager about it. He says he's trying it and so far so good, and they'll have them as long as the season lasts. And he can't speak for any other local Sobey's. SO: how long does the 'season' last? He didn't know. (That's better than another store in which the manager had never heard of a tomatillo.) Should I buy a huge lot and what? I know I can cook and freeze them. Can I freeze them whole and use them for Chiles Rellenos? What else? Give me your best shots please.

As usual, Dystopiandreamgirl, you have blown me away. What a reputation to keep up with!!! Keep 'em coming always.

Sichuan Hot and Sour Soup!

We dined at El Bruno's in Cuba, NM, a couple of weeks ago and all the glowing recommendations were 100% true from the excellent chips and salsa to the complimentary dessert sopapillas. We ordered Chiles Rellenos and beef Chimichangas, neither of which I have ever seen in Canada. Delicious. Service was good. What's left to say? Go there if you get the chance.

Oh yaas, I like the sound of that!

One way we eat sweet potatoes is in a root vegetable roast with white potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions, Brussels Sprouts, olive oil mixed in and all done in the oven and then tossed with thyme, salt and pepper and not much more. Good with yogurt. However, my favorite comfort food is boiled sweet potato chunks and halved Brussels Sprouts, doused in a lemon and olive oil salad dressing with toasted sesame seeds. Ed will eat it but spreads on a Patak bottled Indian sauce. I have no idea of how I made up this funky recipe.

---our under the sink garbage can is quite big. Ed says the bags are Glad, about 10 gallons which is actually more than the can. OR: it could be two systems. Does anyone have separate cans for (non-organic waste) trash and (organic waste) garbage? ---- Yes. The above for non-organic and an old stock pot and lid for the organic. Plus a drawer for the plastic, cardboard, cans, etc, recycling stuff on its way to the three bins in the garage and we recycle a lot in our county in Ontario. It's all a bit much, but we do it cause we think we should do at least a small bit.

We have dogs so it is important that they cannot get into the garbage. Ours is inside a lower cupboard, under the sink. It comes out when you open the cupboard door. Good. Takes regular size of plastic bag. Has a clip on rim which holds the bag in place. It has a lid which Ed made from a pot lid. You pick up the lid in one hand while the refuse is in the other. Can't even remember the original lid. Semi-acceptable. The bad part is in the summer. Open the door, out comes the lidded can, take off the lid...whew! Release the smell into the kitchen. That I crab about each summer.

Looks wonderful to me. Always forge ahead and post. Don't forget those hundreds of lurkers who depend upon someone to be brave so that some day they may work up the courage to post.

Thanks Pierogi. We'll just pick up the La Costena today.

Thanks all for the help on the chiles. Went to Grand Junction yesterday and and while there went to Walmart and bought Hatch chiles for the trip home. Back in Moab. The brand of tomatillos at City Market is La Costena. Please some comments on which tomatillos we should buy. We'll be going back to Grand Junction again in several days and still through Albuquerque on the route home.

Beautifully done, David. I just can't bring myself to try it yet. Well done.

I've found several recipes now for Capirotada online and I'd like to make it for Sunday supper. Yes, I mean supper. Dessert as dinner for the McAuleys and like-minded friends. Not to forget that I am still in the land of easily obtainable Hispanic type ingredients. What is your favorite recipe, please?

Hi Kim Shook. That pie is a beauty!!!! :wub:

Mine is a very amateur reply but I have used thawed cream in a number of ganaches and not noticed any differences.

Thanks Andie, The problem is that it's one of those 'too little, too late'. We are leaving in just a few days and no one can guarantee delivery. And if we are gone and the stuff arrives, we are in some trouble. Never thought that this quest was going to be a complicated one at all. Should have looked into it long ago...but I didn't. So...we'll go off to Albuquerque and buy whatever we can and be happy enough with that. NEXT time.... In the meantime we are chowing down on Andie's famous verde sauce, my second batch. Wonderful!