Darienne

"We therefore rather suggest a regular (and easily affordable) replacement of kitchen sponges, for example, on a weekly basis. " OK. That did it for me. One of the few sentences in the article I could really relate to. Depressing as all get out. Thanks, Lisa for posting it though.

We don't think of Poblanos as hot peppers and usually they are not...but once, several years ago I spent almost 24 hours in agony after cutting some Poblanos. I tried everything...nothing worked. Never before or since. So evidently, they can be very hot and alas! Elsie, yours were.

Where is the laughing out loud button when you need it? We'll try the dollar stores. I was just looking for a quick answer. And, of course, you are correct about what is available in the US versus Canada. A friend from the other side of the border just wrote that her Costco has a lovely single fold napkin...ours does not. DH has looked.

Shop towels sound like a good idea. And I have found online that Vanity Fair napkins are at Walmart. Not my favorite store, (or should I say favourite ?), but I'll give it a try. Also, we have a large group, both daily and overnight visitors, coming for the Annual Dog Weekend and this means a lot of napkins, so I guess I'm looking for two qualities of napkins after all. Thanks for the answers.

Paper napkins in Ontario: DH does not like the single fold napkins which are kind of thin - but likes the double fold napkins which are thicker - but take up double the room in our napkin holder. Does anyone know of an Ontario grocery store which has the thicker single fold napkins? Thanks.

Unless I am mistaken, the manual for my new Breville Smart Oven Pro says nothing about how to use the "Frozen Foods" designation. This category of heating is allowed only at 4 settings: toast, bagel, pizza and cookies. And it says nothing about how to use it. I searched under "frozen foods" in e Gullet and online and still couldn't find anything. No doubt this is my mistake, but someone please help me and tell me what it's for and how to use it. Thanks.

We always cook multiples of rice and freeze the extra (and not vacuum sealed either.) Now maybe we are not very sophisticated in our eating of rice, but I have never noticed any loss of taste or texture in the process. We used to cook rice in a regular pot and now we cook it in a rice cooker. The only difference is that DH hated brown rice when he cooked it...and now it's all we eat when I do it in the rice cooker. Hooray for rice cookers, I say. But then I am not a polished cook and never will be.

Do keep an eye on the dogs for the next couple of days. Cooked chicken bones are brittle and sometimes difficult for a dog's system. Never give your dogs cooked bones...but you may know that already...

Do you roll this dish up to eat it?

Yes, I did use full fat milks also. Just tried it out of the not as cold as it should be kitchen fridge freezer and it's a lovely semi-freddo. (The ice cream is kept in the dog freezer.)

Well, it was tasty but it wasn't a complete success by any means. I realize that I didn't use as many cookies as Kerry did...a mistake. And it didn't solidify as much as I think it should have. Would whipping the evaporated milk have anything to do with that? And hard to believe, one cup of lime juice was really too much. But what the heck. Family will eat anything if it tastes good. The chocolate topping was a good idea. In the end, I have put it into the kitchen fridge freezer, which is not all THAT cold...too soft for ice cream...and it works very nicely as a semi-freddo.

And mine also. The Maria cookies came from the $rama. Followed the recipe except that I whipped up the evaporated milk first before adding the condensed milk and the lime. Did not dunk biscuits, but simply did the layer thing. Then into the fridge with a later addition of a 54% ganache topping. Looks good. Tastes good. I did have this other idea. Our Annual Dog Weekend is coming up...thus trying out the new cake idea...and one of our traditions is the Saturday night Slushy Margaritas. (Well, the dogs are all in bed, you know, by that hour.) I've done Margarita Pie and Margarita Ice Cream also and how about the Ice Box cake a la Margarita? I'd swap the chocolate for whipped cream in that case. I might just try it. Thanks Melissa H for starting this thread!

I'm looking at the recipe again and thinking to myself...what about a dark chocolate ganache poured on top of it all instead of whipped cream? DH will be buying the cookies either today or tomorrow, so I'll report back about the chocolate addition.

And always buy a few extra dinner plates. It seems that they are the first to get dropped.

Thanks, both of you. We do have $ramas. And DH will be under instructions to ASK at whatever grocery store he goes to. Plus, for just in case, he'll have a note re Digestives, Arrowroots, Social Teas, etc, ...I can't lose. (I guess. ) And, as per Tri2Cook, I always up the lime juice amount called for in any recipe.

Ah a superior type who will ask. To risk the mod's ire: I have on Ed's wall: Real Men Don't Take Advice: It is far better for a man to go down in flames of his own volition than to survive as a testimonial to someone else's superior wisdom so sayeth Michael Ulmer (I don't know who Michael Ulmer is but he is a wise man.) (And Ed never remembers to call until he's on his way home. What can I tell you? Still he's a wonderful man and has put up with me for over 60 years.)

I'm sending husband Ed to the grocery store tomorrow as part of his in-town errands, asking him to buy me 2 packages of Maria biscuits. He's not the greatest finder of things which I ask for nor asker for help. I'm not complaining...he's doing the grocery shopping... If he can't find these biscuits, what others might easily be a substitute for trying out this cake? Thanks.

I am assuming that 6 pieces of lime means 6 limes? And the photo on Kicking Back in Manitoulin...did you cover the cake with whipping cream in the end? Thanks.

Several years ago we rented a completely empty house for a few months. Amongst the stuff that we bought at second hand stores and flea markets and dollar stores, etc, etc, were a few pairs of what my Mother would have called glass curtains, the sheers which went under the drapes. Brought them home with us and amongst their many uses was just what you are discussing: draining large amounts of yoghurt. You could buy some at a second hand store probably as few people apparently use them any more.

Where is the 'aarrrgghhh!' button?

Fortunately we are not a toast-eating home.

We realize that's all it was...a lemon. But there were no more to be had and life in the heat without a toaster oven was not to be endured for long. We don't have a lot of choice in our region.

OK. I give up. I can't find a meaning for CATO. Thanks.

The die is cast and the large Breville Smart Oven, Best Buy, $110 CDN dollars off at $239.00 (plus Ontario sales tax...arrgghh) has been purchased. The Oster was returned to Costco and none was in stock. We have 30 days to do whatever we are going to do about the Breville and be able just to return it to the store or buy a two-year warranty which Consumers Report says is usually a waste of money and the very first thing is to check the oven against our oven thermometer (which currently at least is more or less accurate.) And thus we go forth.

The best I can say of the Bon Appetit recipe is that it's mainly throwing stuff into a blender.