Okanagancook

Absolutely PB, looks delicious.

Well, it's a wrap. The wine was bottled yesterday. The Pino Gris was very, very dry so we added a little sugar to balance it out and that really helped. Probably the best we've made. The Merlot is also excellent but needs a couple of years in the bottle. Pictures are of the bottles being washed with metabisulphate to kill any bacteria; then the wine is pumped from the tank into our slick little bottling machine which fills four bottles at a time; Then the screw caps which are swimming in the metabisulphate are applied. We did use cork for a couple of cases. 11 cases of Pino Gris and 9.5 cases of Merlot. Next up is pruning the canes from last year and wait for bud break. The feeling around the valley is that this year will be very busy due to our low Canadian dollar. Our American friends can enjoy excellent wine & hospitality at basically almost 50% off. As well, Canadians will think of staying in Canada and travelling to this area which is so beautiful with lots of activities for everyone. "Come on down! "

I want some of that yummy looking bread!

Lovely, which reminds me I have frozen grated zucchini in the freezer. AND I have some commercial smoked trout. I can see something good for breakfast tomorrow. By the way, looks like you got a nice crispy crust on those zcakes.

Let's see, junior high I think so 1965'ish. She Loves You Yeah, Yeah.........

Beef shanks cooked at 144F for 48 hours after being seared and packaged with oil. We like beef short ribs we like done this way thought this would work well with the connective tissue in the shanks. They turned out a little firmer because I think there is more connective tissue and not as much fat. I then made a sauce for them and let them simmer in it for about 15 minutes. I should have done a bag with the sauce and a raw shank for comparison.

Not homemade shrimp chips but an easy way to prepare these delicious chips....microwave. I broke them in half and microwaved on full power (1250 watt machine) for 25 seconds. The picture below shows them starting puff from the middle in the microwave. No fat and tasting almost as good as making them in oil. I figure around 65 kcal per half chip.

That's the first thing we made in Home Economics way, way back in the day when there was such a thing as Home Ec. The boys were in 'Shop Class'. Cheese Dreams is what they were called. Yours are stupendous! And, ps, sorry about your cold weather. :-)

Welcome Bakerchic, from one dietitian to another, all be in a retired one! You will have a great deal of learning to do as you read through the various threads. Members here are very friendly and there is a real sense of online community here. just jump in and start participating.

Speaking of pies, Heston Blumenthal did a show on English pies. In the historical part of the show he talks about what went into those lowly pies back in the day. Apparently all kinds of nasty bits were used, including rotten flesh making the purchasers quite ill. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hestons-great-british-food/episode-guide

We like mashed potatoes made in different ways and I think it depends on what's being served with it.....as usual. A big ol'baked russet mashed pioneer style as FeChef described to go with a thick cut BBQ rib eye steak, but then at other times a decadent silky rich mashed/puree is needed with a crispy schnitzel or BBQ salmon fillet. Depends on your tastes. If you go the rustic/minimalist approach then it's all about tasting the potato, so a GOOD fresh potato is required. There is really nothing like digging a potato out of the earth/washing it/cooking and eating it on it's own. So amazing. Anyone near a farmer's market needs that experience. So amazing. I can't wait until late July when we get ours. Potatoes everyday until they are gone.

We made these for our pre-super bowl game drink. At first I thought it was going to be way too sweet with the grenadine and sweet vermouth but the bitters and lime juice make for a two dimensional experience....sweet then not sweet. Thanks.

Just had popcorn. Denver looking great

Retirement has its perks. we'll be sleeping in with our pup Dinner is ready to go in the little cuisine art oven. all is good

Nothing on the menu, too busy today BUT we had our warmup cocktail, a Queens Park Hotel Super Cocktail from the Tikicocktail thread....delicious. Just popped the white wine...GO BRONCOs!

Shelby, my chip doesn't seem to fit in your bowl and makes a noise like you left the Saran on, ha, ha seriouly, I love the look of your salsa which is dotted with chunks of jalapeño! Hopefully your wine is paired well with it.

Yummy looking cheeses, soft and hard. And then the DUMPLINGS!! Double yum.

RRO, always such interesting ingredients in your stunning dishes. Also a resounding "good to see you posting again" from me.

I think another factor is how darn cheap it is to eat at fast food establishments! Groceries don't go rotten and the investment of equipment and ingredients isn't necessary. We need to tax fast food and those dollars go directly into the healthcare budget to fund education programs amoungst other diet-health related diseases issues. I agree with the comments regarding the survey.

Definitely not tongue. Spleen seems likely. Nice caul fat....so jealous.

Darn. It snowed today! No pea planting just yet. Worst year for snow staying on the ground.

Interesting sauce ingredients Paul. I have some lamb dumplings in the freezer that might go well with your sauce.

Amazing how well feta cheese goes with beans. I had kidney beans with kale topped with feta tonight from D. Madison's Veggie Literacy.

Report from the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada: Oddly enough today I got out my garden seed box to take inventory. I also checked the ground in my raised beds to see if the ground was frozen....nope. Tempting to put in a small row of peas to see if I can get a big head start....might try that tomorrow. i have enough seeds left from last year, including my favourite New Zealand spinach which grows in the summer without bolting. This year I think I will put a shade cloth over it to see if I can get larger leaves. Just finished the last of the frozen garden spinach. garlic is poking up through the mulch and burlap covering it. i am down sizing my garden this year because I am sick and tired of being a slave to it.....dealing with full baskets of produce EVERY day is not my idea of fun anymore. But my real goal this year is to eat the carrots when they are small and sweet!

I use the recipe from Foods of the World - Germany. It calls for bacon fat to sauté some chopped onion; red wine vinegar; a very small amount of red wine; a whole onion studded with four cloves; a bay left. It says to cook for an hour then add Red currant jelly if you like and I usually add a couple of tablespoons. However, I cook mine for three hours or until the cabbage is extremely soft....adding extra water as needed. Love it so soft. It freezes very well. definitely "Red cabbage weather".