Anna N

As my grandma used to say, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”😂

Samin Nosrat agrees: “While some chefs insist on chilling blanched vegetables in ice baths, I generally disagree. The less time a vegetable spends immersed in water, the less chance of its minerals and nutrients leaching out. Instead of bothering with an ice bath, simply cook your vegetables a little less, knowing that they’ll continue to cook even after they’re pulled from the pot.” Instead of piling the hot, blanched vegetables into a bowl she suggests spreading them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I have adopted her method. Never could remember to prepare an ice bath.

There are two in each package and they are each in a foil package which can be put into hot water to reheat or...

My daughter found this at Costco and texted me a photo. I said I was willing to try it. Sounded good to me. So I fried a little up with some beet greens and some tomatoes. Don’t be tempted - unless you fancy ham-flavoured sawdust. Even simply sliced and put on a sandwich without any additional cooking it has the most peculiar texture. Happy to hear other opinions if anyone else has tried this product.

Viennese eggs on toast (from Midnight Chicken....) and my take on slow roasted tomatoes. Absent the chopped scallions, the eggs are nursery food — soft-boiled eggs mashed up with some butter. I used to call them mug eggs and fed them to my husband when he was feeling under the weather. But the book, winner of the Guild of Food Writers General Cookbook Award 2020, caught my interest.

So very sad.

G Oven “fries”. Was an experiment (failed). Used ghee as the oil. Still ate them. Hey — they’re fries.

Me too but for a different reason. I have never understood the appeal of macaroni and cheese. Packaged, home-made, gussied up, doesn’t matter. It is horrid.

@Kerry Bealand I had to work our weekly lunch around her very packed schedule. Today for instance she had 3 (virtual) meetings : 11 am, noon to 1 pm, and 1-3pm! While she attended the first meeting I tried my best to find a restaurant that a) served something we wanted to eat; b) opened before 4 pm; and c) offered delivery. I did not think my criteria were too harsh but perhaps I failed to factor in the enormous toll that Covid has taken on our dining facilities. All that to explain why Kerry had to make a speedy pick up from a place we really want to continue to support. So once again our lunch came from B’s Banh Mi. Spring rolls which we shared. Meat lover for Kerry with pork tenderloin as they were out of chops. There was a meatball in there, too! Chicken banh mi for me.

Well apparently it is a thing!

Well I certainly got my assumptions corrected! Not sure where I got the idea but I always thought it was a way to use up leftover rice. Thanks for the correction.

In my house it would depend. If it was the last shallot that I had and I had no reason to think I would need more in the near future, it would be one shallot. If, on the other hand, it was the last shallot in the house and I had plans to make something else calling for a shallot then I would consider it two shallots. My point being it probably won’t make much difference to anything whether you consider it one or two. 😂

Loaded breakfast flatbread. Garlic naan with goat cheese, beets dressed with pomegranate molasses, beet greens and cherry tomatoes. (Having some cooked vegetables in the refrigerator makes for fast and easy meals.)

Thank you so much. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that I will be lucky enough to get such great greens when I next get beets.

It was my understanding when I looked into it closely that it was packaging more than anything else that led to the flour shortage.

Dang! What was I thinking? Apparently I wasn’t. I used the greens, I used the beets but it never occurred to me that there might be a way to use the stalks. Please tell me more so I don’t make the same mistake next time.

I suggested earlier that you might want to pickle some of it but now I came across this and thought I would share it. Buttered fries from Ottolenghi.. oops That should be roasted kohlrabi! My bad

It would worry me too! If I could not remember to unplug it when not in use I don’t think I would be happy giving it space in my kitchen.

I must be stuck in a time warp! But I’ll be kind to myself. I have not seen the inside of a grocery store since sometime long before March.

And yet… ”My plan for this book was only to offer recipes with ingredients I could find in my local Walmart. Not out of love for Walmart, but because I want you to be empowered by these recipes, not discouraged by what you can’t find because of where you live.” (Can you imagine any other chef saying somethings so revolutionary?) So she does give you some options for LGD. But like you I would hold off for the castelvetrano olives.

I will take the schmalz, please. Used to make something similar with goose fat, apples, onions and peppercorns.

Good! Good! I’m sorry I confused you. It was your willingness to realize that you could travel in your imagination and not be held down by our current situation.

Love your idea of lunch but it’s your attitude that most strikes a chord with me.

Lunch today. I added some already cooked mushrooms, shallots and beet greens. Definitely one of the tastier instant noodle broths. Available from Costco in Canada and probably in the US.

You might also try pickling it. With a little heat added to the pickling liquid it might make a great addition to your bahn mie(s).