Anna N

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.

Good morning. The sun hasn’t shown his face yet and from the puddles I see all around I am guessing it rained overnight. Seems a little cooler today which I am thankful for. I usually shun anything sweet for breakfast but the Sicilian lemon marmalade I found at HomeSense was calling out to me today. It is quite delightful. Makes me wish I could get hold of the lemons themselves. I had a very odd thought as I went to sleep last night. At the bargain place yesterday I bought some espresso-flavoured Kit Kat bars and I wondered if one could melt these over a piece of toast. It was my idea of a riff on the French pain au chocolat. Quite obviously my brain was somewhat disordered since it would be very hard to melt anything but the thin layer of chocolate on the bar. Still think I might be onto something — I’m just not sure what it is.

I have tried making sauerkraut on a number of occasions without a great deal of success. I am also one of those people who is just anal about food safety and never trust my own instincts. Best I should just buy it.

Not that I often trust Cooks Illustrated no matter what they’re testing, but I think sauerkraut is one of those things that very few people would agree on what is “good” sauerkraut. It is an ingredient that whether commercially canned or homemade is all over the place flavour-wise.

Down south for sure. Here? Most unlikely. There are some days you can’t even buy chicken thighs.

This was in a jar. Not that that should be a huge factor. I just think this is crummy sauerkraut.

Definitely the best kind!

Last night I happened to mention to Kerry just in passing that it was the first day since we arrived on the Island that one or both of us hadn’t been inside a grocery store! I knew it couldn’t last. Today when I thought she had already started work in the clinic she texted me from the grocery store to ask me what was on the list. Not that that has any relationship to what will be purchased. I see cookies and pimento cheese in our future! I did ask for the whole grain mustard. And just for the sake of completeness this is the other gift box that Kerry’s student brought up. In his business he partners with other artisans and puts together gift boxes similar to this. The wrap on the chocolate bar is by a local artist in the Georgian Bay area. You might have seen it before on eG when the business belonged to someone else.

To be honest I never looked. Around here the one who cooks is not the one who does the cleanup (usually) so I’ll wait for Kerry to respond. I suspect not because she did ask me if I wanted to save the chicken fat.

What part of, “I need a stiff G&T are you not getting?“😧

That sounds like a great plan. Thank you. The juniper berries might pose a challenge but I suppose we could have a good stiff G&T alongside. 😂

Good morning. Yet another sunny morning on Manitoulin Island although word is that it’s going to become uncomfortably hot and humid later today. I just wanted to comment on yesterday evening’s side dish of corn and bok choy. The protein choice was a no-brainer since I was portioning and repackaging the chicken thighs we bought at Costco when we were in Sudbury. And the cooking method was also a no brainer – – 425°F on steam bake function in the CSO for 30 to 45 minutes. I do try my best not to waste food and so I knew that there were 2 cobs of corn and 4 baby bok choy that were not going to be good for very much longer. I could not recall ever seeing these two vegetables combined so I decided to Google the combination. Sure enough Food & Wine offered a recipe that was fast, easy and did not require any ingredients that were not readily available to meet here in the condo. The corn was caramelized in some garlic infused oil, the bok choy leaves were separated and added and then the whole was seasoned with a tablespoon of fish sauce (fortunately we had a bottle of Red Boat in the house). The dish was finished with a squeeze of lime juice. For such a simple dish I thought it was really tasty and would certainly do it again should I ever find myself with fresh corn and baby bok choy at the same time.😯 To me it was one of those serendipitous discoveries that can help resuscitate a flagging cooking mojo. Breakfast had great potential — Max Burt’s own pastrami, mustard and sauerkraut on toasted rye bread. But the store-bought, no name brand sauerkraut was insipid. I am sure I have had raw cabbage that has more of a bite to it and more flavour than this. But it did bring to mind a dish I had in a Bavarian restaurant many, many years ago which I have never been able to duplicate. It was a meatless casserole of very flavourful sauerkraut. Damned if I can remember much more about it than that but it turned my late husband from a sauerkraut hater to a sauerkraut tolerator. So perhaps I should be trying to decide what I can do to the rest of this jar. Any ideas?

One of two lovely gifts that Kerry’s student brought yesterday.

Not that I’m saying there is anything wrong with your other offerings but I would be wolfing down these.

Leftover salad, leftover steaks and freshly made chunky ginger-miso-carrot dressing.

😂 This is one of the recipes I have marked as a must try in the Tuesday night book. Just the name alone appeals to me.

Trust me it was a compliment. Your food always looks appetizing.