Anna N

Well apparently even air-conditioning technicians operate on Island time. The promised 930 return is now almost 2 hours past!

Good morning. Wished I hadn’t had that second cocktail last night. But it had been a rough day. A new air conditioner is being installed in the condo and there was a service man in and out all day long. I found it pretty much impossible to do anything other than sit in my chair and make myself scarce. The estimated time for installing the air-conditioner had been 3 to 4 hours. They were wrong. They will be returning today for another 3 to 4 hours after being here for many more hours yesterday. So before the fun begins I thought it wise to make myself some breakfast. A cheddar and tomato melt. Messy but good.

Love to get your opinion on taste and texture.

Exactly! Well almost. NO TURKEY.

If it wasn’t for the turkey....

I was just thinking that I don’t like turkey but one could surely make baby marrots using chicken breast. Not something I’m likely to do but makes for a fine mind experiment. It is almost a given that we will soon see marsnips, meets, mutabagas....

Well I missed the lightning deal which was most likely for a hardcopy anyway but you piqued my interest. I need something to read and for $9.99 Canadian (for the Kindle edition) I have now scratched that itch. Thank you.

Exactly.

I did not find it sweet. At least not abominably so. To me it seemed right on between sweet and bitter. YMMV.

Despite taking pains to make this salad, it was as tasteless as a plate of water. The zucchini was as limp as a dish rag, the tomatoes lacked any flavour and the dressing also fell flat. Even my garlic toast didn’t measure up. The lamb chops and mint sauce were excellent. Despite shortcomings I still over ate.

When it comes to value for your recipe dollar, I sometimes think magazines are the route to go. I threw this into the grocery cart when Kerry and I were shopping the other day. Granted there is nothing here that is cutting edge or even slightly frou-frou. Most of us have probably made many of these recipes many times. Perhaps it is more of an aide memoir but I count around 16 recipes that appeal to me and that I am likely to make. Not bad for $11.99 (and probably much cheaper in US funds). .

Yup. Who knew that @liuzhou was that good looking!

Leisurely breakfast: Very thinly sliced, toasted Pugliese-style bread with Smoky Blue, Unexpected Cheddar, Sicilian lemon marmalade, and a few Bing cherries. First time sampling the Unexpected Cheddar. I hope it won’t be the last. Although it is Prime Day(s) on Amazon even here in the far north, I lack the patience for this kind of sale strategy. When I did briefly ask to see what books might be on sale I was offered Macramé at Home! My interest is currently on two Canadian “cook books”. The first, The Last Schmaltz, Kerry told me about after she had listened to a program on CBC radio where it was discussed. The other, Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse: Another Cookbook of Sorts, I learned about by accident while I was surfing the web. Apparently Canadian cookbooks do not get anywhere near the exposure that one might expect even in Canada. Both of them interest me as sources of entertainment only. I am not expecting to find them on sale but I do put a few pennies aside for my annual trip to the Island. I can easily afford both in Kindle editions. The only question remaining is do I want either?😂 Sometimes I enjoy the anticipation much more than the execution of an idea. OK back to folding laundry.

This morning we both begin moving slowly but by 930 we’re on our way to Espanola to see what we could get up to. Our first stop was a new store that we had spotted on our way through Espanola when we arrived a week ago on Friday. Called A Little Bit of Everything It was more or less a dollar store but the prices were not particularly dollarish. However the name was appropriate because there was everything from party supplies to a “Vespa” to new and used refrigerators. We did not exactly break the bank there. I bought a spray bottle which apparently isn’t a spray bottle and a one dollar jar of French’s spicy mustard. Came to a bit over $3. From there we headed to Giant Tiger and The Independent Grocer where Kerry grabbed some groceries. That brought us to lunchtime and we headed to our favourite little café in Espanola, Shays. It has come under new ownership since we were last here. The husband of the owner was playing server and doing it to impress upon one and all how rushed he was. It was quite comical and he was a very pleasant fellow despite his off-Broadway theatrics. Kerry’s tea. The cup looks a little odd but that is due to the reflections. Is a perfectly fine ceramic mug designed to look like a tin mug. Instead of the usual pile of disposable milk packages, Kerry was presented with her own plastic “cow”. She attempted to milk it! I asked for just water with my meal and although I eventually figured out that it was the glass that was coloured and not the water I found it very difficult to even sip. Who thought this was a good idea? she ordered the toasted club which was quite satisfactory except for the inclusion of American cheese. Since when does cheese belong on a club sandwich? I initially ordered a simple roast beef sandwich but was talked into a grilled roast beef sandwich by our “overworked” server. Not sure I shouldn’t have stuck with my first choice! This was far more than I can eat in a single sitting. I am not usually salt averse but this had enough to keep me afloat had I tossed it into the bathtub. Despite all my whining the food was quite good and we did enjoy our meal as we usually do at this particular café. After lunch we hit another grocery store before heading home. Just as we pulled out of the last grocery store I spotted a nest on top of a utility pole. Kerry is trying to upload a video to show you what we saw. If she fails we will show you some still photographs. Our timing to reach the bridge was off and we arrived just in time to see it closed to allow boat traffic through. So we enjoyed watching all that money move back-and-forth under the bridge. And here is our loot from Espanola.

No arguments there so long as you want fried rice.

“...there is no substitute for butter. I like toast on mine.” she had me right there.

Yes I needed this like a hole in the head. But the tomatoes were there on the counter and I could just visualize them on some toasted rye bread with nothing more than a generous sprinkling of salt. No way can one eat a sandwich like this without leaning over the sink or wearing a bib. I did not lean over the sink. The tomatoes, by the way, were from Costco and they actually smell and taste like tomatoes.

Over here we have been discussing optimum methods for storing cooked rice. I decided today would be a good day to replenish my supply of (Japanese) freezer rice. At home I have a gorgeous Zoji rice cooker and find making rice very easy but here the most efficient way is to use the Instant Pot and although this method seems unnecessarily fussy it works for me. I wash the rice 3 to 4 times until the water runs pretty clear. I then soak the rice for 20 minutes. After soaking I drain the rice thoroughly for at least 10 minutes. Finally the rice with an equal quantity (by volume) of water goes in to the inner stainless steel pot and is given a good stir. I cook the rice for two minutes on high pressure and then let the pressure drop naturally for no more than 10 minutes. I release any remaining pressure and then immediately fluff up the rice and begin to portion it out onto plastic wrap for freezing. I find that packages weighing between 150 and 160 g of cooked rice are suitable for my purposes.

Good morning. It is another lovely morning on the Island. Kerry is on her way over to Gore Bay for a visit with her friend, Lisabeth, of Ultimately Chocolate. Breakfast for me this morning was leftovers: sweet potatoes, onions and pork loin on a piece of toasted rye bread. Should keep me going for most of the day.

I absolutely would not eat rice that has been in the fridge that long. Not only from a safety point of view but that rice in the refrigerator dries out, at least in my experience. A better option might be to freeze serving size portions of rice in plastic wrap making sure to wrap it while it is still hot from the rice cooker. Pack frozen with your lunch and then put it in the microwave for about two minutes and you should have good rice.

😂

My second breakfast. Had a slice of toast with Sicilian lemon marmalade shortly after I woke up. Fig and olive Raincoast Crisps, smoky blue cheese and some grapes. At just one dollar a package, the crisps were quite a bargain. I am moving in very slow motion this morning and I have not apparently engaged my brain just yet since I managed to cut two fingers while preparing my breakfast. I was using a very sharp knife so these are little more than deep paper cuts and required nothing more than a Band-Aid. But they are annoying! .

Since the Kit Kat was not going to make a very satisfactory pain au chocolat, on the off chance that I would need to buy out the store I decided I should try a bar with my early afternoon coffee. A bit disappointing I must say. Not much coffee flavour at all and it appears they have put a layer of ganache over the biscuits and the biscuits are not as crunchy as in the original bar. The chocolate they have used is pretty sad too, of course. But nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say. Don’t see them making a big splash on the candy scene.

Thank you. I know that is not the recipe but it definitely offers interesting uses of this delicious marmalade.

So I wanted to talk some more about Sicilian lemon marmalade. Although this was a serendipitous find in HomeSense I would not have purchased it had it not already been on my mind. Sometime during the last month I ran across a recipe that called specifically for Sicilian lemon marmalade. I dismissed it thinking that there was not a hope in hell I would ever find Sicilian lemon marmalade. Now of course I can’t find the recipe. I’ve tried Eat Your Books, Google (of course), any digital books I have purchased recently, any sites I remember visiting. Nothing. This happens to me two or three times a year where I come across a recipe, don’t make a note of where I found it, and then want to look it up afterwards. I’m betting I am not alone.