Darienne

I just called Maggie's. The herring is straight from Holland and is salted, not pickled. Might try it anyway. Thanks. We don't have a Loblaws and although we have a Metro, it is in a part of the city we don't usually go to although we would. We do go there once in a while to stock up on Muffaletta.

In what area please? Added: Ah, I see. Hamilton and so on.

No. Nearest one is outside Toronto I think.

Strubs makes a pickled herring but Ed can't seem to find it in the regular grocery stores in Peterborough, including Superstore and Sobeys. I've now tried the one by Feature, and while it musters a pass, I'd still like to find the one by Strubs. I see that @Anna N and @ElsieD have posted about pickled herring in the past. What kind did you use and where did you buy it? Peterborough is a fairly provincial city and some things just don't sell here. But I'd certainly like to find Strubs. Any thoughts, please.

I think we need a 'wow' button.

A quite unusual take on the favorite American chocolate bar: click

What I didn't stress about Strauss' cookies is that there is no flour in them at all and they are so tasty. This is so important to folks who have a problem with gluten.

Made these incredible cookie 'sticks' this afternoon - Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks. A recipe from Melinda Strauss click, which I watched her demonstrate on Jamie Geller's Facebook page while not working what I was supposed to be working at this afternoon. Nothing fancy, but very tasty. Made from only tahini, eggs, maple syrup with a bit of baking soda. Like magic.

@David Ross I have a bag of sweet red cherries in the freezer. Can I use them in either of these two desserts?

I freeze it and we eat it another day.

Tostitos Kakimochi, a North American twist on a Japanese snack. We used to teach hardshell gourd workshops in our large garage going back some years (my avatar photo is a hardshell gourd). The most wonderful workshop we ever held was for a church group of immigrant Japanese folk...in fact we held a second one a couple of months later...and one of the ladies brought this incredible snack. Delicious. You can't eat just one. The maker generously gave me the recipe and since then I've made them many times when attending gourd workshops in the USA as our contribution. I always print out slips with the recipe on them and it's not long each time before the Tostitos are gone and so are the recipe slips. Of course, now you can find all sorts of variations of this recipe online...but this was pre-online days. And the garage is no longer clean enough for such goings-on. And we no longer teach. And our traveling days are behind us.

I've been giving this a lot of thought and can't come up with anything. Ed does all the short order cooking and I do all the batch cooking. Therefore at any time, the freezer is full of a large variety of cooked dishes, some of which can be defrosted quite quickly. And supper is always either soup...again lots of frozen ones...or a salad or steamed vegetables. Actually if Ed is out and won't be home in time to eat, my go-to meal is usually a can of chickpeas heated with a simple lemon juice, olive oil and garlic dressing. I have no idea why. Just is...

Gave my pasta machine to a potter who uses it. And I have two coffee grinders, one for spices and the other for dog supplements.

And are they not very expensive? Plus you can't stack them when they are not in use. Just thoughts...

I use both the breadmaker and the ice cream churner regularly. So to me they are very useful. However, we also have a lot of storage in our house, not conveniently in the kitchen, alas, and so this makes a huge difference in our ability to keep single use items. We also have a lot of freezer space so that is a great help. The article is like most articles. The writer needs to make a living.

My Mother wasn't much of a cook, but then she had no interest in food at all. She was a vegetarian (sort of) and supper for her was usually a soft boiled egg (yuck) and consommé. She also ate canned asparagus. I didn't know that it came fresh. My dinner was a steak, every single night....EVERY SINGLE *&^%$#$$ NIGHT...well, not really every night....broiled to tough shoe leather. The paediatrician said he would not take care of me unless my Mother fed me meat. And, oh she did. I haven't deliberately eaten steak since I was 18 and left home. In the 50s, we got a freezer plan and that was pretty horrible. Frozen peas and carrots. Horrible. Cheap ice cream. Still don't really like ice cream...not even my own rich and creamy stuff. Fish fingers. What an abomination they were. Little pork sausages burned so that the casings were thick and tough but the innards still had little bits in them. My face still screws up as I type remembering about those horrible little rubbery bits. Oh, haven't eaten pork sausages either. Or fish fingers. Biscuits like hockey pucks made from Bisquik. Pineapple upside down cake she made. Hate it. Horribly sweet. Why am I doing this? I'll quit now.

I love, love, love Brussels Sprouts and will try your recipe next. Ed? Not so much, but he will eat them. I have a funny Brussels Sprouts story. (Don't often hear that line in a conversation.) I once thanked my now departed Mother for introducing me to Brussels Sprouts when I was a child. Well...she drew herself up and looked down on me and said: "You never ate Brussels Sprouts in MY house" ...as if I had just suggested something vulgar. I guess not. I must just just bought them and tried them one day quite out of the blue.

I know it's available. I haven't really looked for it.

Welcome to the forum, Henri. My husband Ed loves ice cream and so I make quite a lot of it. Nothing sophisticated but still good. Found a recipe for Pannukakku a few years ago and it's become a household favorite. Except we use maple syrup instead of birch syrup.

What a wonderful story, full of family and traditions to celebrate.

Have a great vacation and I hope your Sweetie's pain levels stay as low as possible. It's lovely to see someone is on vacation...

I've never 'cooked' anything mixed in my rice cooker. So far just rice or quinoa. This looks like a good start.

They did.

That is indeed the question...

Could you not just cut out a portion of the sugar and make sure you use natural unsweetened peanut butter. (Not advice from an expert...I am the world's worst cookie baker.)