Anna N

Good morning. Remember when John Denver sang "Some days are diamonds, some days are stone"? Well I'm hoping for one of those diamond days. Breakfast of ciabatta, anjou pear and St. Agur cheese. Kerry is off first to the hospital to take care of some business there and then back to Wiki for the day. My plans include another load of laundry, sous-viding a rack of lamb which Kerry will sear on the LGE and coming up with a side/salad to accompany the lamb ( even though both of us know that the only thing a rack of lamb needs is some mint sauce!). That certainly doesn't sound very ambitious so we'll see what else gets accomplished if anything.

I have been rather neglectful today as far as meals go and this is probably the worst idea I've had so far today. It is after nine pm and I am going to have this roast beef & horseradish sandwich. I shall probably pay for my poor decision-making all night long.

You would need very tall stilts too.

This is the story only those who know Kerry Beal are going to actually believe. This little guy was trapped in the house from noon until around 4:30 this afternoon when Kerry returned from work. At that point it decided to come flying down and landed where it was very reachable. Kerry walked, over stretched out her hand and the damn bird hopped onto it. She was able to get it outside where it was very reluctant to let go of Kerry. Many of you will understand that.

There is also Better than Bouillon lobster stock which I have heard works as a fish stock but I have no personal experience with it. And dashi does not taste like miso; they are two different things.

The bird that you see is a resident fake parrot. Behind him in the vast expanse came out of some architect's imagination and well out of the reach of normal non-mountaineering humans is the baby bird.

The door he came in through is still open so I'm hoping he'll find his way out again.

I am guessing it is a sparrow from the sound of it but I'm not much of a birder so I'm not sure.

No. It is just a baby bird who is now crying desperately for his mama but is completely out of reach in a house with ceilings that are 20 or 25 feet high and with architectural features everywhere.

Yep. That is the main reason I keep gloves in my kitchen. It is not usually still edible food that gives me the heebie-jeebies and causes me to reach for the gloves but more likely something that was once edible.

Good morning. It's a slow start to what will be a very different day than yesterday. Breakfast was a tossup between what I really wanted to eat and the feeling that I ought to rescue some real estate in the refrigerator. Real estate won! Leftover asparagus tart reheated in the Cuisinart steam oven (CSO) and accompanied by more cherries. Today I will probably tiptoe through my recipe books, start making a list of things we need to pick up in Sudbury and generally just laze around which is surely what vacations are for.

I would have to be a serial killer with multiple bodies to hide before I put out that kind of money for an alarm for a freezer. But then that's just me.

I have never attempted spanakopita with puff pastry. Perhaps someone else can chime in.

Yes! Each time I am hospitalized I return home under-nourished, sleep deprived, deconditioned and on the verge of psychosis. Amazing really for a place supposedly designed to heal the sick. So glad you're out of there and hope you can avoid a return engagement.

Roast sirloin of beef, gravy and creamed spinach.

Thanks. I certainly exceeded my expectations.

So I have almost made it to the end of my to do list. All the laundry is washed dried and folded. Ground beef is safely stashed. The second lot of the rib cap Is swimming in the Sous Vide. The first lot is sitting in an ice bath ready to go into the freezer. The fat from the rib cap is still rendering the way on the stove top. The roast is in the oven. I wonder what I have forgotten. The rib cap from various angles before I started attacking it. A pile of trimmed steaks and the fact that came off them. And a couple in the Sous Vide. Edited to say: I see the photos or out of place but I'm going to just leave them rather than fight to rearrange them

I don't think there would be much issue with finding phyllo even here. Presidents Choice makes their own brand and we certainly had no difficulty getting the puff pastry the other day. I have made it enough times to be aware that it is somewhat labour-intensive and doesn't lend itself well to someone who works in spurts!

Either one would suit me just fine but my pantry won't support the second one at the moment as my mini roomie ate all the insides of the jacket potatoes and me and my other full-sized roomie ate all the skins. The first one is certainly apeals but I was hoping to make a side dish for tonight so I've opted for some creamed spinach. But thank you for the great suggestions. If I'm ever foolish enough to deal with spinach just pulled out of the ground again I will keep them in mind.

And creamed spinach it is going to be. I love spanakopita but it does require a supply of Filo which is not here.

I checked both of these and either one would likely send me into seventh heaven but one of us is making some effort to low-carb it and I didn't want to push my luck having made that tart last night. One of the recipes did remind me that I forgot to bring gruyere. I contend that no house is complete without cheddar, Parmesan, a nice blue and some gruyere.

I was given an alarm but neither my son who is pretty tech savvy nor I could figure out how to properly set it up. I knew it was a darn good idea and I probably should've found somebody who could have set it up. I do think they are the answer as long as you are home. Not so much when you're gone for long periods of time and your house is only checked once a week.

I don't think this is on at all. I'm thinking you're slaving away in Wiki while all you're doing is nursing a puppy! I may have to call a cab.

Thank you for the support I really do appreciate it. Have not yet read the book you mentioned perhaps I should. And to be fair to Kerry If I stayed in my chair all day long lifting nothing heavier than a glass of wine Kerry would be perfectly OK with it. She does not expect me to do anything up here except basically enjoy myself. But she and I both know that inactivity only adds to my troubles and I really do need to move even if it's in short spurts. I am making much better progress than I expected. I can cross off the list the ground beef, the rib cap mostly. One load of laundry is washed, dried and folded and the other is in the dryer. At the moment I would say the spinach is my biggest challenge only because I can't decide what the heck I'm going to do with it.

Good morning. It is shaping up to be a busy day. Kerry has gone off to Wiki (Wikwemikong) to work and I need to deal with some of the food that we have recently brought into the condo. Here's my to do list for what it's worth: Deal with rib cap (trim, portion, re-package for sous-vide) Do two loads of laundry Divide up ground beef and vacuum seal Consider cooking the sirloin roast for this evening and for sandwiches later on Figure out what to do with all the spinach I so carefully washed yesterday dodging all the wildlife. Would like to find something that could be reheated at dinner time.?Creamed spinach,? Spinach gratin I am certain most of you would consider this a little more than an hour's work but for me it's a bit of a challenge. But first breakfast. Pan-toasted ciabatta bun, Moody Blue cheese and some cherries washed down by my 2nd cup of coffee.