Darienne

Sorry that I didn't post the site where I found it. And what I found does not make sense. It's listed at well over $200.00 Canadian. I have no idea of what I first found or where it has gone to. Sorry. We could just skip the thing if you like. I am not paying over $200.00 as long as I have Mr. DH, The Excellent Chopper Guy.

Have two glasses of wine. One on me.

I have a feeling that some posted a topic like this... but I can't recall the name of the product. On my flyer, it's called a Veggie Bullet and it slices, shreds and spiralizes. 350W motor. With a blender attachment. On sale for $179.00 (This is Canada.) I don't care about spiralizing. I already have a good blender. But my hands don't work anymore and I ask my DH to slice and shred and chop vegetables and meat. And cheese. Any reports on this item?

Melamine I loathe in any way shape or form. Not really sure why. My Mother-in-Law had Melamine dishes and I hated them. ???? They are thin and feel yucky. Have a set of India-made rubber bottomed stainless bowls that I love with a passion. And a set of small ceramic microwaveable bowls for microwaving...as in melting a chunk of butter or heating up the cream for mixing in. Other than that it's pretty much Pyrex dishes of all shapes and sizes. And yes they weigh a lot. And because they are 'old', (and unscratched), I don't worry about breakage. Would never buy new glass. We live in a century+plus farmhouse and do have little un-invited guests, and the occasional larger one, everything is stored in plastic and then in Rubbermaid.

I would buy canned fire roasted tomatoes. But then we travel in a van.

Wisdom is being dispensed here...

Pretend that I am asking you that question. Of course you would support me. There are some people who have no sense of propriety...not just lacking in a sense of ownership which some might argue is less than...well...whatever they might argue it's less than....but also no filter that tells them when they are stepping over the line. We all know them...and lock up our precious things when they are around. And don't ever touch a jigsaw puzzle that I am working on.......

Where is the OMG! button?

Not exciting and certainly not beautiful...but they'll be scarfed up quickly. Chocolate-dipped candied orange peels.

DH makes a wonderful potato soup and we freeze it. Of course, after thawing, we do add a fresh cooked diced potato. Still, the soup has a litre of half&half in it and I think that makes it freeze quite well. Frozen mashed? Nope. Dreadful.

I could add to Anna N's post. If you live in a very old century farmhouse, there are never enough cupboards, even if you build them into every room. And if you began your passion for cooking only after you actually even made a 'suitable' kitchen in said old farmhouse, your kitchen will not be big enough or have enough cupboards to store all the stuff you now need: ingredients and pots and pans and baking pans of a dozen sizes and bread machines and rice cookers and candy-making utensils and extra plastic containers and who knows what else will spread itself over several rooms in the end. Not to mention that honking big stand mixer. If only...if only...

No problem at all. The phyllo on the Spanakopita can become a bit flakier than before freezing...but is there anyone out there who cares about it? It's so delicious and the freezing makes no difference to the taste or texture (in our books).

This is why I hate making cookies.

This is always a subject near and dear to my heart. I always try to make at least twice what the two of us will eat at one meal. And there's pretty much nothing that I can't freeze...as says kayb. Lasagna, Moussaka, Spanakopita, Bobotie, Meatballs, all kinds of soups, Mafe, Piccadillo, Enchiladas (no, not traditional...a Tex-Mex casserole), Tortiere, many Chinese dishes...I could probably keep on going but that should suffice for now and others will have lots of ideas. Oh, and Tomato Sauce...a kind of generic which can be combined with spices and so on for Mexican, Greek, Italian. DH makes that one.

Haven't started yet, but it's on my 'To Do' list... Lovely work, Kerry. As always.

Where is the "Oh my god" button?

My question would be...if it were frozen at some point as suggested by pastrygirl, or warmed up at some point, as suggested by JAZ, what about my point that when I looked at the cream as I was pouring it and thought...boy, that doesn't pour like whipping cream. Could it have been, let's assume, a batch which was made incorrectly. We will return the container to Costco who are always very good about returns, and maybe someone will tell us...or that was a bad batch and we had lots of returns...or not. Thanks for the help, eGers.

Alex: that is really, really good. Husband loved it too. We lived in Montreal at the height of the last set of troubles and Ed took the train every morning to work...and we always wondered. Still, it's all over for good now. I think. I hope. Jaz: sounds reasonable. I'll return what's left of this one and try it again. lindag: Don't have a charger so I can't tell. (I love Calvin and Hobbes. Have my favorite cartoon above my head on the bulletin board.)

(Ontario, Canada) Bought a 1 Litre carton of whipping cream last week. Expiry date De 24. 35%. (I don't know if I am allowed to post the brand name or not. It has worked fine before. ) Made from Canadian cows in Quebec. More ingredients than I would wish for, but what can I do except switch brands? On the shoulder of the carton it says: "Shake well." Shake well? I don't think I've seen that on a carton of whipping cream before. Oh, it's not super pasteurized or whatever it is that some heavy cream in the States is and we all know it won't whip properly. So last night's Raspberry Shortcake was a bit of a disaster with this cream which didn't whip. I was embarrassed (and not pleased by all the helpful 'advice' I was given.) So this morning, knowing that I would use the cream in ice cream anyway, I poured 1 1/2 cups into a metal bowl and put the bowl and beaters into the freezer. Our house is at 67 degrees Fahrenheit...not hot at all. And the stuff would whip only as far as slightly together and not even soft peaks, same as last night. But then I realized as I poured it out, that the consistency wasn't correct anyway. Whipping cream pours very thickly to begin with and this didn't. No way. So what is my point besides ranting? Not sure. Do any brands of whipping cream tell the user to shake well? And other than returning it (we will), entering a formal complaint (we will), and buying another brand, at least for the time being (we will), I'm not sure what is going on. My normal equilibrium has returned....

Wait up, wait up, I want to go to where it's warm too. Glad to visit with you on the road again.

Good news Heidi. I should think about it also. I just found last year's post and nothing has changed for me. Still making the same cookies...the shorter the better. As for the calamansi...my fifteen year old tree still sits barren in it place, covered with wicked thorns, producing nothing. The parent tree gave itself to wonderful marmalade fifteen years ago. I await the photo of the baklava. What's not to love?

I cannot make a Bundt cake that does not stick in the mold. And no, don't give me any more instructions that 'always' work. I don't even own a Bundt pan anymore.

To date my favorite festive quick bread would be the one I got from e G member, Arey, a couple of years ago when we had such a glut of apples on the farm. He called it "Mother's Applesauce Cake (Poor Man's Fruitcake) and we loved it. The recipe made two loaf pans and so one always went into the freezer...although it didn't often stay there for long. (Not the most appetizing photo...but then I am no photographer.

Fascinating journey. Amazing food and items for purchase. So out of my norm. Hope you are really enjoying it, ChocDoc. A lot of vicarious living is going on through your excellent posts.