Darienne

Sorry to belabor the point: in other words, you do cap yours...

"The strawberries should be left whole and NOT capped." Does not 'capped' mean leave on the stem and leaves?

We bring Tostitos Kaki Mochi and I always put paper strips with the recipe on it under the bowl. The contents are gone before I know it and all the recipe strips are gone.

We buy the best grocery store quality that we are aware of...Gay Lea Gold Sour Cream...and then I immediately mix a large dollop of lemon juice into it to make it as close to what was available when I was a kid and the sour cream was REAL. Helps a lot. Never had liquid forming in this mixture.

On Ed's suggestion we tried something which, believe it or not, has made quite a difference in the already purchased muffins. Left a package open to the air overnight under a gauze covering to discourage all insect forms. And we both tried the muffins this morning. Far less light, fluffy or moist...better on all these counts. Still not bake shop or homemade quality, but so much improved that I was quite taken aback. This is worth knowing....

Spanakopita immediately springs to mind. But then I make it to go with Moussaka which is yet another thing to be contemplated and I can't see making these dishes for only one. The other thing I mainly used feta cheese for is a part of a Tri-pepper salad. I am not the most adventurous cook.

Of course too sweet. Ca va sans dire. Oddly enough the sets of muffins from two different sources had the same characteristics. They were just too light and too fluffy and too moist for words. And of course not enough inclusions. The blueberries in the blueberry muffins were so far apart. And the chocolate chips in the banana muffins were definitely not generous. Size was not a factor. As for flavors...they were what Ed bought. I was not expecting wonders...but...they were just unacceptable...to me anyway. The years during which we built the new living room and had such extensive repairs done on the old farmhouse, we had one group of builders after another traipsing through our lives, I made at least 500 muffins. I knew that because I completely emptied one of those 500 muffin papers cylindrical cardboard containers. Now I liked my muffins. So apparently did the men. We'll try the Metro muffins. Thanks, @ElsieD.

We are hosting what will definitely be the last Dog Weekend in August and a young man who from Delaware has brought as his contributions in the past these amazing bakery muffins. I've never tasted such excellent muffins and I know they cost a king's ransom which he can ill afford. So the magnanimous hostess said we'll buy Costco muffins this year and thus save him the trouble. No, alas I cannot add muffin making to the list of things which must be done. But no, now he is bringing the Costco muffins. So Ed bought two varieties of Costco muffins today for us to try and on the word of a lady standing next to him in Super Store also bought some Farmer's Market muffins. Her husband loves them. I asked Ed if he asked the lady if her husband also liked Cheese Whiz. He did not. He should have. OK. I'm not going to be polite. I thought they were horrible. Well, half-polite...that's not the adjective I originally used. Does anyone know of any grocery store muffin which passes muster?

Orville's for us with no problems. Ed makes popcorn at least twice a week.

I'm listening.....

Thanks Mitch.

And if I'd been asked...I would have recommended the Snowdon Deli. It's where Ed and I used to go. Just down the street from the Main Florist. My Grandmother started the store many many decades ago on the Main (St. Laurence). As for the St. Viateur bagels...I agree with you. We bought ours on Decarie, near the Snowden Deli.

Husband Ed and I meet every morning to discuss the day's agenda. On my "Food" paper, I keep a running list (messy) of vegetable and fruit items on hand, just so that this kind of thing does not occur. And it's worked out very well.

I can't say that I never will again... Last night Ed made me what we call a Road's End Coffee. And it's made in the blender. However, apparently whoever washed and put away the blender last time...months ago I think...did not fasten the apparatus together properly and 12 ounces of hot coffee, chocolate drink mix, vodka and PJ (Panama Jack, a fortified wine which is a creme liqueur) splashed all over one end of the kitchen. Not conducive to good times... Then this morning there was no freshly brewed coffee. Oh dear, the coffee pot had finally died. Apparently not. I forgot to put water into it. Doesn't work well without coffee. Of course, none of this was helped by the stupid argument we had next......

YES!!!

Well put, sir.

You are not alone in this one, @kayb.

I had no idea of what I was asking with my question. Asking on a gourmet cooking forum, I should have known better. I don't know what our son intends to grill. I don't know what kind of hibachi he is bringing. I suspect it will be fairly small. He barbecues a lot at home, but uses propane only. He simply asked could we buy some charcoal and I thought...what kind of charcoal do I buy? Heidih had it correctly...just a small grill with regular grocery store type charcoal. I just had no idea what sorts of charcoal were to be bought in grocery stores. Thanks for all your trouble. You and all the others who answered this question.

Welcome to eGullet, Anu. Glad to have you aboard.

Bingo. Thanks.

Our son arrives soon bringing with him a new hibachi. He's never cooked on a hibachi before. We've never done it either. He's asked that we buy the charcoal. But the question is: what kind of charcoal should we buy? Thanks.

What am I missing here? How do 3 saucepans with lids make up 9 pieces?

The biggest problem in my kitchen is that it was designed in the days when I still loathed cooking and basically did the bare minimum. There was no designated kitchen on the farm when we moved in and the kitchen took part of the apiary which was there. Yes, it was quite the unusual place we moved into. Friggin' unbelievable it was. I had no idea that one day my tiny culinary world would explode and suddenly I'd have nowhere to put everything which I now need. So my kitchen 'stuff' is also in a cabinet in one of the master bedroom closets, in a cabinet in the 'outer' hallway, a cabinet in the garage, a two cabinets in the dining room, shelves on either side of the stairwell into the cellar and on shelves in the cellar (It's not a basement...it's a cellar) Oh, there's none in the bathroom, den or the living room. Nor upstairs. I do have my standards, you know. Plus I share the cooking with Ed. And he knows where nothing goes and can be counted on to put it there. I can't complain...he does more than his share of cooking now.

I must be remembering incorrectly...but I thought you had a very small kitchen with little storage space...

I cannot imagine where you keep all those pots and pans. Are they all available for immediate use if you want them? Do you have a kitchen with huge storage in it? I'm floored by the count!