Anna N

I am suspecting that Chris thought his money was in his base and his base was not into this fancy-schmancy cooking.

Completely untrainable.

That was my thought.

Sharp cheddar on toast with onion jam and a side of pickled green beans.

Onion jam made in the Thermomix. Not terribly photogenic.

Roasted, crushed and fried baby potatoes with cheddar cheese.

I refuse to be intimidated by all you Extreme Canners These are actually quickles from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc.

Breakfast yesterday. Breakfast today was a frozen Jamaican patty served in my best paper towel.

Salad of green beans, walnuts dried cherries and blue cheese.

Too late! I binned them.

Epic fail! Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate-Cherry brownies from Baking Chez Moi. I have not a single clue why they completely disintegrated when I attempted to cut them up. And even in a bowl with cream they were nothing to write home about. Considering the chocolate, cherries, port etc. that went into them I do not think I will make a second attempt. If anyone has tried these I would love to know how they made out. No treats for son-in-law this week!

@Mmmpomps You continue to amaze me with your innovative use of the Instant Pot.

About the same time we acquired our enormous Litton microwave bought as a deal at the Canadian National Exhibition. I never really adapted to it.

Of all the appliances in my house it is the microwave I would miss the least. I hold onto it only because it is the only way to reheat the warming pads that I need when I have orphan kittens! I despise coffee reheated in the microwave, always manage to melt the butter I'm trying to soften, occasionally I am successful in reheating a meal of some sort.

So these two ladies who lunch (@Kerry Beal and I), found ourselves having to share breakfast today to accommodate an early shift for Kerry. Since it is a holiday here, as it is most places, we were not sure what might be open. I turned to Siri for assistance and he suggested Mo's. Steak and eggs over easy for Kerry with hashbrowns. Eggs Florentine for me also with hashbrowns. A nice touch were the carafes of tea and coffee!

I am so embarrassed. Amazon tells me I already own Crossroads.

The Back Pocket Pasta was no deal for me (Canada non-prime) but I would be curious to hear what you think of it.

I quite enjoy fried Spam once in a while too, say once every century or thereabouts.

I am glad I have access to a grocery delivery service but I would give it up tomorrow for the ability to go grocery shopping in person whenever I felt like it. I am praying that Amazon.ca begins a grocery delivery in my area and perhaps the service I now deal with will: Improve its user unfriendly software for ordering online. Do a far better job of describing its products in a way that I can understand. Improve how it offers its meat products so that I can order a one and a half inch thick steak instead of knowing that I'm going to get something barely worth cooking. Oh I could go on and on but the bottom line is that it wouldn't take much to persuade me to move to a better service.

Strangely it's one of the few things that I have had no success with in the steam oven. Must be operator error.

@andiesenji of all the appliances I know that you have owned or still own I would have least expected the microwave to play such a huge part in your life. That is by no means a judgment but rather a sense of wonder at how you manage to use the appliance to do the things that it tends to do best!

I'm sure it would work but it would be a very different flavour profile.

Thanks, @MelissaH. Two were on my wish list -- Crossroads and Israeli baking.

Seeded, white pullman loaf mixed in the Thermomix. I am still on the fence about this one. I chose to use only two seeds --sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. It makes nice toast and is mild enough to not overwhelm a filling. Might need more salt then I gave it. Might improve by adding the seeds much later in the kneading process so they are not quite so ground up. Might be better as a simple loaf rather than an Pullman loaf. Just thinking out loud.

Yeah I'm commenting more on the appearance than anything else.