kayb

Vegetable beef soup. 1 pound stew beef, a diced onion, three pints of home-canned tomatoes, a cup of beef broth, two bags of frozen mixed vegetables, seasoned with a little thyme and some marjoram, along with salt and pepper and a healthy shot of Worcestershire sauce. Served with pimiento cheese on wheat Ritz crackers. So, it was 75 degrees in the middle of February. When you want vegetable soup, you want vegetable soup.

Do I get points from a pork butt roast I brought home from Aldi and cooked, instead of putting in the freezer and taking out the one just like it that was already in the freezer? They're $1.79 a pound, and small enough to not have a half-dozen meals' worth of pork left over. I paired it with crowder peas, frozen from the farmers' market this summer, steam-baked sweet potato wedges, and macaroni and cheese, because the kids were all here.

OK. I'm pretty much in love.

That's pretty! Looks like it would taste good, too! @Thanks for the Crepes, I live about three blocks from a supermarket I don't patronize much, because it's pricy, and about 10 blocks from one where I do most of my shopping. I can't imagine how I'd manage walking to either and toting my purchases home. I admire your perseverance.

Stopped by Aldi today to pick up a few things. They had packages of flat cut brisket, already corned, ready to cook. I started to buy one or two, but a quick read of the list of ingredients gave me pause. There were way too many things I couldn't pronounce. Including whatever it was that @rotuts mentioned that was the tenderizing agent (it started with a "p."). I may change my mind and go back. Or not.

I'm sorry. It puts me too much in mind of "souse meat," or "head cheese," both of which were made from the leftover pieces of pig when we would kill hogs. Not up there on my list of must-try's.

Got a notice from Pinetree Garden Seeds my order has shipped. Got to get it in gear to get the garden plots prepped so they can be simmering along pending planting time. I'll be starting seeds indoors about March 1 or so.

Fascinating travelogue. Thank you for this!

Y'all go ahead and shoot me, but I raised my kids on tuna noodle casserole. Cook egg noodles; can of drained tuna, can of cream of mushroom soup, handful of grated cheese out of the bag, 12-oz bag of frozen green peas. Stir it all up together, stick it in a casserole dish, bake until bubbly. It was far from wonderful, but it was certainly edible, and the kids loved it. And it was quick, which was a requirement when I was shuttling between band practice, softball practice and a volleyball game. I'd eat it today. If I were hungry, and it was all that was handy.

@shain, I have no familiarity with burekas, but those look absolutely amazing. One day, perhaps I will get brave enough to attempt puff pastry. @robirdstx, that looks like a fine spread. I am still in mourning that my go-to order-in Chinese restaurant has moved its next-door Japanese restaurant to a different location. One could previously order from both the Chinese and Japanese menus, and delivery sushi was a fine, fine thing. Alas, the last time I ordered online from there and included sushi in my order, they called me and apologized profusely at being unable to fill it because they had "remoted the kitchen." Sigh. Still good Chinese delivery. Last night, I cooked dinner for the first time in maybe two weeks. Nothing exceptional -- a tenderized round steak in onion gravy, mashed potatoes, mushrooms Berkeley without the peppers. First time I've made those; very good, but I'd go with less brown sugar the next time.

What a wonderful tour! I've never been to India; have a friend who's been several times, proclaims it her favorite place in the world. I'll get there, one day, maybe.

I am, by George, highly impressed. Go, @rotuts Look atcha! At least double alliteration points there! (We are going to have to eventually have a serious scorekeeper as more people get involved in this thing.) I have managed to convert Freezer Clean Out (FCO) to Refrigerator Clean Out (RCO), as I have in the past week moved from chilled space 1 to chilled space 2 the aforementioned package of tenderized round steaks, which either get cooked tomorrow or they get chunked, and a package of beef stew meat, taken out a day or two ago to thaw in the fridge for IP vegetable beef soup. However, I have had about a solid week of Mondays, not including the time I have been away from home, so cooking has been delayed. This weekend! Though we are hampered by a kitchen disaster of sorts tonight. My top refrigerator shelf (it's a Kenmore side-by-side, if that makes a difference) apparently shattered under the weight of all I had stacked on it. I am not certain whether I am more ashamed of the fact that happened, or the fact that I chunked enough stuff that was old enough to vote that I was able to put everything back into the fridge, sans one shelf, but for a half-gallon of reduced chicken broth I really need to freeze anyway. I am promising my "day job" a half-day of my time tomorrow. From noon on, I'm in the kitchen, before it gets completely out of control!

I had liquid fruit for dinner tonight. In a glass. In point of fact, it was liquid grapes. Zinfandel. It has been Monday for at least three weeks.

I cannot imagine how wonderful it must be to have an olive tree.

Kinda what I thought. Soup delayed until tomorrow night because, doggone it, I'm tired. Or taa-aahd, in the vernacular.

Saute a diced onion. Add garlic (to your taste 1-12 cloves). Add a half-cup sherry, reduce. Add a cup of chicken stock.Bring to a boil. Add a 14-oz can/pint of homecanned tomatoes. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat, spice to your tastes. Blitz with an immersion blender. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream. Make a grilled cheese sandwich. Turn off the phone, ignore the doorbell, enjoy lunch.

Starving for Indian food now! Thanks for this wonderful travelogue!

My current public radio station doesn't carry her, but I periodically will stream the Memphis station, which does. I love her shows; unfortunately, I've never been impressed with her recipes. I never cooked one that I didn't think needed more spice.

I pulled a quart and a pint of tomatoes out of the pantry today with an eye toward putting vegetable beef soup in the Instant Pot after dinner tonight to have tomorrow. I don't know if the tomatoes are this past summer's or the previous summers. The seal is intact, but the tomatoes have turned a bit dark on top. I haven't opened them yet, but I can't see any obvious mold or anything of that nature. If they pass the smell test when opened, should I use them? Toss them? Haven't run across this problem before.

Thank you for this. You make me feel much better about myself. I think we might be related.

I suspect the dominant reason for the sale, beyond the previously-mentioned good quality and popular product that's beginning to gain name recognition, is what I've highlighted above. Retail is moving increasingly to direct sales -- if you have any investments in real estate that involve commercial property, I'd be looking to unload them. Latest figures I've seen show direct (read: online) sales growth to be about 10 times the growth rate of on-site sales. Anova has a proven track record in direct, online sales. Being able to add to that platform any new devices they may develop, or marketing their existing products, is easier than building your own platform from scratch. Personally, I do not give a rat for connectivity in my Anova. My model has bluetooth capability, but I've never used it, and cannot imagine I'd have any use for the wifi function. As someone mentioned upthread, if they upgrade it to the point it can get the package out of the fridge or put it back in the fridge or freezer, I might feel differently.

It is a successful day. I have learned something new. Thanks! (making a note to buy sweet potatoes if I ever have time to get to the grocery this week...)

Got in from a day on the road shortly before kickoff. Unpacked and repacked to leave at 6 tomorrow morning for a two-day trip. Expect I will be in bed by the time the fourth quarter starts. Given a late lunch at an all-you-can-eat buffet on the road, all of which was excellent save the banana pudding, which, sadly, was not, I let a single Dark and Stormy do it for me. The planned snacks can stay in the pantry, freezer and fridge, and I'll get to 'em when I get back later this week. Go, Falcons. Pitchers and catchers report in two weeks, by the way, and the REAL season can begin.

Just read through this thread, after following a link from the "air waffles" thread. My very favorite waffle recipe, which happens to be a yeasted waffle, is this one. I will halve the recipe if it's just two of us (but go ahead and use a whole egg). Had them first at a B&B in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western Maryland, fell in love and begged for the recipe. The host laughed, and pulled a copy out of a stack she had in a file folder. Apparently requests are frequent. I also like to put cornbread batter in the waffle iron, a trick I learned from @Kim Shook. A cornbread waffle with a healthy serving of beans atop it...now that's some good stuff.

Useful information, as I am likely to be traveling to Shandong province on business later this year! Fortunately, I am right-handed.