kayb

@Ann_T, a very happy anniversary to you and Moe!

Dry milk. It brings back memories. When I was a kid, we would buy a half gallon of whole milk and mix it with a half gallon of nonfat dry milk. I guess because it was a more economical option.

I don’t either. I have found when I’m cooking anything Cajun and need “the trinity,” that I can sub Cubanelles or another banana pepper for the dreaded GBP. And chopped green tomatoes for celery. Else, I just leave the celery out.

Thanks for another lovely trip!

love that white pie plate. Might make quiche tomorrow. Just sounds good.

I haven’t canned a thing this summer because the a/c has been so iffy. Once that unit is replaced, I think I’ll cook nonstop for a month!

My humblest apologies.

It’s that Chinese whiskey.

@Kim Shook, unit is supposed to be replaced Thursday. Fortunately, it’s been unseasonably cool, so we’ve limped along with one unit, a portable swamp cooler, and ceiling fans. And salads and takeout.

Glad to hear.

Re: canning tomatoes. I grew up canning tomatoes, water bath style, with no added acid. But we always waterbath canned hybrids (generally Big Boy). It may be they are more acidic than other kinds. We also occasionally waterbath canned “soup mix” as a means of using up odds and ends of other veggies, and “chili mix” with onions, garlic, tomatoes and peppers. Don’t recall putting additional acid in either.

Beautiful moonrise!

Our main a/c unit has been out for a week, so I am not cooking. Lots of salads, lots of fruit/yogurt/granola, lots of cheese and charcuterie plates. I will occasionally boil some pasta or chicken in the morning to be incorporated into a salad that night. @Shelby, at least I don’t have poison ivy!

Slide-out shelves are wonderful. Not certain how I lived without mine. If you go with doored cabinets, back of the door shallow shelves are excellent for spices and jarred condiments.

Put me in the @rotuts camp. I buy it only when I'm cooking Cajun.

Oh, hell. I didn’t use a recipe. Best guess, it was about 2 1/2 cups puréed melon and 1/2 cup heavy cream.

Dammit. They didn't have them when I ordered last Wednesday.

Bought figs at the farmers market Saturday. Debating what to do with them. Hard to beat cut most of the way through from the stem in quarters, filled with blue cheese, broiled and drizzled with a little honey. Or I may make a fig upside down cake.

Oh, well done!

I've made watermelon ice cream (sadly, I don't have a Creami, just a Cuisinart that you put the bowl in the freezer). I just blended up watermelon pulp with some heavy cream. Luscious.

Dumb question du jour: What causes the shine?

There are volcanic hot springs in Hakone, Japan, where employees cook eggs in the mineral-heavy water and sell them at stands. The shells are black and pitted due, I guess, to a reaction between minerals in the shell and in the water. The eggs have a salty taste.

Regarding sell-by dates (apologies, @gfweb), I have three daughters, all of whom are kitchen-challenged. One doesn’t cook (her husband does); one specializes in hamburger helper, and the third lives with me and doesn’t even try. I asked Child C, who with fam was coming to dinner, to stop and pick up a roll of foil. She said she had a roll and would bring it. When she got here she handed it to me and said, “Mom, I think this foil may be expired.”

oh, hell. That’s right up there with @Kim Shook’s bacon and eggs from the breakfast thread. Glorious!

Just kill me now. I WANT that! Benton’s bacon?