SylviaLovegren

Thaw and sniff.

Wow, that sounds good.

I much prefer the darker Grade B syrup -- has a much richer maple flavor, which is the point, isn't it? Why not try whatever brand is available to you and see how it is? Are there any bad real maple syrups?

Pot pies, chicken or otherwise. I still prefer a traditional pie pastry crust for pot pies myself, but other people seem to love puff pastry for them. How about for piroshki with ground beef, onion and dill filling? Oooh, I want one right now.

Lamb or mutton, carrots, barley and either turnips or rutabagas are the basics, for me. Use cheap cuts of lamb -- if you get lamb neck, it's the best. Lamb breast is good, too, but the broth will need lots of defatting. Lamb shanks, of course, will work. Many of the traditional recipes do NOT brown the meat before it goes into the pot to cook. The key, to me, is to eat it the day after it's made. Alchemy happens overnight.

Loving your description of your adventures. What is the peanut sauce for the octopus? Sounds very intriguing.

Why not celebrate Calgary's British heritage with a good old fashioned beef rib roast? Season simply with garlic and salt and pepper, serve with a traditional horseradish sauce. Since it will be cool season, the veg could be roasted along with the roast. It's easy but delicious and who doesn't like it? If you can come up with a really good roast from a good butcher, it should be spectacular.

Now that is my kind of breakfast.

A friend of mine always made vanilla ice cream sandwiches with rippled potato chips. Strange but pretty good. ETA: Butter crisped donuts sound really really yummy.

I think your temperature is a bit too low, hence the lack of reduction and the vegetables not really being cooked enough. Up the temp a bit and shorten the cooking time.

Any time that phrase is used is a good time! (No offense to Paramians.)

Wow, does that sound good. I have never tasted a wild hickory nut, the kind that Euell Gibbons made famous. (And the young folk here will have no idea what I'm talking about. ) Is the flavor in the walnut/pecan side of nuttiness?

This is very exciting! That soup looks amazing.

The two of you really should do a book...The Manitoulin Diaries.

Do you mean rice salad with vinaigrette? Here's a classic mediterranean rice salad, but with lemon juice instead of vinegar -- easy to substitute if you prefer vinegar. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-rice-salad-10000001227804/ The main thing I've found with rice salads is not to refrigerate the rice, otherwise the texture gets chalky and dry.

That's terrible. The triumph of bureaucracy.

Groceries in Vietnamese areas should carry them -- have you tried the Viet stores on Gerrard just east of Broadview in Toronto? I think they're called la dura in Vietnamese.

Wow, that turon looks good...and easy. What an inspiration!

I've eaten mountain lion, and would gladly pick the rib-eye. Carnivores are less than tasty. A friend of the family's father was a bounty hunter (animals only) in the wild West -- she said that growing up mountain lion was her favorite meat. I always wondered about that.

The food looks delicious. The wine and peanuts and the view --- sigh. Need any house guests?

You could probably roll very thin, then cut in strips or shapes and deep fry, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or do Greek style with honey syrup and chopped nuts and cinnamon. Or you could try layering it with bits of butter, like a mini puff paste and use it for a pastry.

Ditto.

What HungryC said. Moderation in all things and we try to stay with a "natural" diet -- keep processed foods and artificial ingredients way down, have lots of fresh stuff. Most of our processed foods consists of preserves (fruit, pickles, cheese and salami ), what grains we eat are mostly whole, and we do try to get healthily grown fruits, vegetables and especially animal products. But we don't go crazy about. If a friend's dinner made for me consists of noodle 'n mushroom soup casserole, KFC chicken wings, and Cool Whip and Jell-O for desert, I'll eat it without any guilt. I'll just probably live on greens, olive oil and garlic for the next two days...

I never thought of rolling a meringue like the Brazo recipe calls for. Sounds yummy! You could also flavor the egg custard center in different ways -- citrus obviously comes to mind. Then top the whole thing with whipped cream.... a rolled Pavlova.

Sounds delicious. Mmmmmmmmmm.