Okanagancook

I would second this. I probably use mine every other day. I bag cheese in chunks in an oversized bag.. When I need more I just cut open the bag, grab a chunk then resell...I do this with cold cuts and nuts. Keeps everything fresh and with just the two of us, we have less waste.

Yes, poor chickens. I usually avoid supermarket chicken. We have some local suppliers for chicken. We have room on our property for chickens but we are concerned about coyotes so we haven’t done anything about it, yet.

Chinese hot and sour soup. Similar to this https://thewoksoflife.com/2013/10/hot-sour-soup/

Humm....some problems: https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/breville-oracle/q-and-a

I was recently looking to replace my less than two year old Panasonic Microwave. The Breville microwaves looked very interesting in their different approach to programming but, many reviews noted that their machine failed within a two year time frame. Take a look at the Juras. They are very well made. I can program mine in terms of water and milk temp, grind level, amount of coffee, auto turn on, etc. The only thing about them is you must use non-oily coffee beans otherwise it gets clogged up. I wonder about the Breville's ability to handle oily beans. I just buy high quality Italian beans where seem to be very dry. Currently using 'Lavazza Espresso".

Whatever you do, don't lick it!😎 Seriously though, you could use it to quickly freeze compound butters packed flat in a ziplock bag.

Wow, nice machine. I have had my Jura for about ten years and I love it. It is a bit more 'automatic' than this Breville. I love it because I am the lone coffee drinker in the house so I always get one or two fresh cups without any waste. When we have house guests, they get a lesson in making coffee and then I don't have to bother with making coffee to order. I have not had any issues with the machine. I wonder about the Breville's track record.

Hot and Sour Soup. Our favourite soup with a dollop of chili in oil. Recipe is from Foods of the World: China.

Yesterday, after the Friday night pub nite.....shepherds pie with extra gravy and a salad.

The shoots would go well with asparagus or artichoke or green peas. Marcella Hazen has a recipe for artichokes, peas, fava beans and romaine lettuce. Basically you chop the veg and fry in garlic and olive oil until they are done to your liking. I am going to make this in the next few days with last year's fava beans from the freezer, frozen commercial peas and some lovely artichokes I bought yesterday. I will serve it tossed with homemade fettuccine with a little steak on the side. We rarely get good artichokes in the store so when I saw these nice firm ones I couldn't resist. Speaking of spring, I can't wait for our asparagus to come...another three to four weeks. This is the only time in the year that I buy asparagus. I usually buy several pounds over the few weeks it is available and make asparagus soup for later. And, yes, we have it everyday in some form or another.

Homemade Brats, butternut squash, prunes in wine sauce and roasted cauliflower with onion. My DH's meal...I stole 1/3 of one of his Brats. They were from our new batch and the texture is way better than our previous attempt. Very juicy..cooked to 165F.

Eggs make a great curry! I like Currie scrambled eggs with a chapter for breakfast. Your meal looks delicious

That is one HEARTY soup! Almost looks like a stew. All that said it looks good.

So jealous. Our market opens April 20th with mainly greens, radish and leeks or parsnips from last year. What are fava shoots?

Thanks for the above. I went and had a look. I have made Frankie’s sauce and, yes, meh. You probably mean Plenty rather than Simple though...no worries. One can go to Season blog to have a look at what he is about. I am tempted by Bottom of the Pot but I already have a number of really good books from that area so I will pass for now. It is so tempting to buy these great cookbooks BUT I have so many books with great recipes that I want to try...I don’t need any more pressure to get those made 😫