Anna N

I think this is very wise and I do try to do it sometimes. At least then I can find a way to remind me of why I bought something just go back and look at my list.

Nope. Position already taken by moi.

Wall to wall per Gabrielle Hamilton/crust to crust per Jeff Mauro. But if you are going to insist on using Miracle Whip I don't suppose it much matters.

It's simply a matter of just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Just google long egg on YouTube and you will find out how.

If you click on the link a few posts up it will take you to the mini on Amazon.com.

Good morning. We're back to dull and dreary and rain is forecast for the whole weekend. Just a basic bacon butty this morning although an English muffin is not normally the bread of choice. (The last of the supermarket bacon re-appeared so I felt obligated to use it up.) I am thinking it is going to be another relatively quiet day although Kerry may get up to something when she finishes at the hospital. Stayed tuned.

Neither am I. But for side dishes, eggs, rice, etc., it's a winner.

Please don't do this! I don't need another one. Not even a baby. But.....

The link works for me. But, yes, you are right, it's shashuka on steroids.

So I did not think I would be hungry this evening but in fact I decided I did need a little something something. I happened to be reading Zahav and came across a recipe for Baked Kashkaval with Sweet Tomato Relish and Eggyolks. Yeah, no kidding, you don't find Kashkaval on Manitoulin Island. But the other option given was a British cheddar. Well you don't find British cheddars on Manitoulin Island either. But in our refrigerator, thanks to Kerry Beal, was a nice hunk of Cabot extra sharp cheddar. Perfectly adequate for my purposes. I have to tell you this one is a winner. Here is the only link I could find to an online version of the recipe. I modified the ingredients to make a single serving. I am so chuffed to have found a recipe this good using basically eggs and cheese. Everything it calls for is usually in my house and if the fresh tomatoes are not available the option of canned is given. Crusty bread would have been nice but soft, unsubstantial rolls had to do. My biggest worry was what this might do to the seasoning on the little cast iron pan that is here. After all it's not mine. It appears to have emerged unscathed. Really there is nothing difficult or time-consuming about this. Once you've made it you realize how quickly you can pull it together. OK I'm done waxing rhapsodic about this dish. But if you don't try it and you love all the ingredients, you're really missing out. Just saying.

Nothing sophisticated about a negroni. Equal parts gin, campari and sweet vermouth. Even I can do it.

Thank you. That seems to have done the trick.

I am finding the results with lamb shoulder chops quite baffling. I have often tossed them on the grill or in a skillet and they have turned out almost as good as rib or loin chops.

Kerry usually makes our cocktails but she can't drink tonight being on call and stuff. But that shouldn't stop me now should it? I could, if pressed, put together a negroni. But I took the lazy route and poured myself some more of our "aged" cocktail.

Some people claim the universe is held together by duct tape. I say a kitchen without a roll of masking tape is a poor excuse for a workspace. Somebody appears to have absconded with our roll of masking tape. I have added same to my shopping list. How is one supposed to temporarily label things without a roll of masking tape I ask? And how can one possibly emulate Thomas Keller without a similar means of labeling things? OK I know he insists on blue painters' tape but we don't all have his bank account.

As you may have guessed not much is happening here today. I have done some housekeeping chores and I'm currently defrosting some shrimp. No formal, and I use that word loosely, evening meal is planned. The shrimp will make a fast and satisfying refueling stop for Kerry if she gets too tied up in emerg. I have had breakfast and lunch so probably won't want very much this evening. Sometimes it's nice to have a down day.

Just the over the fridge freezer. Fridge space seems to become much more critical than freezer space up here. Cocktails seem to take precedence over food since one crisper drawer is filled with lemons and limes leaving very little room for vegetables.

Suspect that Kerry meant "roti John" as we made them another time up here?

I thought I did well to keep them from turning into instant breadcrumbs.

Interesting. I've never tried it but I just might.

Will be most curious to hear the results of the lamb shoulder chops.

I will insist that the idea had merit. The execution had not so much. Kerry bought some rolls yesterday with a view to using them with the cheddar Smokies. That did not come about but I was inspired by them to think of a lobster roll. Obviously lobster is not something one generally has hanging about in the kitchen but there was still some of that chicken rescued from my attempt at stock. Why not a chicken roll I asked? Well because these rolls are just not suitable! They are lacking any sense of decency to stay in one piece. But it was a tasty lunch anyway. Mayo, onion and chicken on one side, tomato and mayo on the other side and a healthy dusting of salt and pepper on both. A bib was not optional.

Very interesting. There is no way you could eat the leeks I buy without thoroughly washing them. We are not talking a little sand here and there but small clumps of dirt that insinuate themselves between the layers. I have never found reason to serve leeks "whole" so it doesn't bother me a great deal. I either cut them up crosswise and swish them around in a couple of changes of water or make two slits lengthwise ( and shuffle the layers like a deck of cards) so that I can get out the dirt. Now if you were going to use only the very white part above the root then you might well get away without cleaning them. But they are darned expensive here so one tries to use as much as is reasonable.

Correct me if I am wrong but I seem to think that Chinese (as it were) leeks are very different from "Welsh" leeks. At least the ones I have seen in the Asian stores here. They are much more delicate and petite compared to the giant ones we get in the regular grocery store.