Anna N

I frequently buy smoked duck breast although I don’t think mine are quite as substantial or as well smoked as yours. But still one of my favourite proteins. I do not usually freeze mine because they have a fairly long shelf life in the refrigerator.

Thanks. It is less a case of affordability than my refusal to pay current outrageous prices. I am not convinced that our cattle farmers are suddenly buying Ferraris or booking vacations on luxury yachts. Nor am I convinced that the high price of beef will lead to reduced carbon emissions. So for now steak (beef) is off the menu.

I have never seen it before and for the sake of my waistline I hope it doesn’t become readily available!

I think also that a taste can be quite acceptable but a whole serving something else again.

You would think by now that @Kerry Bealand I would have a Plan B for lunch on a Sunday. We felt confident that we could get lunch from a Caribbean restaurant that opened at 10 AM on Sunday. As Kerry pulled up to the entrance the place looked ominously unoccupied. She bravely pushed onward and found the door open and people inside. But it was a tease. The staff were there to prepare for some sort of special occasion and the restaurant itself was closed. They did apologize but the restaurant was in an area where there were few reasonable alternatives. Hoping for the best, Kerry thought she might find something in the Longo’s grocery store nearby. Nothing in the ready to eat section appealed so she put together a charcuterie tray for us. The makings. Kerry’s plate. My plate. To me the meats were excellent but the star of my show was the olive bread and the butter. I think I could have made lunch of this and nothing else.

Hate when that happens.

Thanks for posting this. That you and Mrs. Alex have different opinions of what constitutes an appropriate level of saltiness emphasizes the pointlessness of the instruction “season to taste”. Whose taste? It definitely risks making food that is inedible to anyone but the cook. Better to err on the side of under salted and provide remedies at the table in my opinion. There are a couple of people in my family who would find it necessary to add salt to a salt lick!

Thanks for this. I love knives and I love looking at what other people are buying but I also know that not everyone can afford to drop huge sums of money on a knife. It is good to point out that a functional knife set is within reach of most people.

I am guessing they were sous-vide?

Softly scrambled eggs and blanched sugar snap peas which were tossed in butter.

Truly, I feel your pain. It was not a knife I grieved but a replacement for an electronic gadget that I had flushed down the toilet. FedEx claimed that there was no one home when they delivered it despite that I have no means of leaving the house so I’m here 24/7. They offered that I could pick it up about 30 km from here. I declined that kind offer. Eventually I connected with one of those customer service representatives most of us can only dream of. She gave the package to a driver and it arrived within a couple of hours. I can only wish you the same courtesy.

No but take comfort from the knowledge that if they did and you had actually bought some they would caution you about buying more.

You are right of course.

I am with you on that. Stooping is one challenge. The other challenge again is peculiar to me and people with my particular visual issue. I can see things at eye level much more so than things at floor level. When I first got my fridge with the freezer drawer at the bottom I was delighted. Circumstances changed. I think I could work much better now with the freezer on top.

Thanks for a good read. Took some mettle to be a lighthouse keeper.

I am not at all sure that I would be even thinking of taking a photograph of something that I was spitting out. That’s not a true statement. I absolutely would not be taking a photo of something I found that horrible. 😂

I had some similar labels but found them much too small for the size of print I need in order to actually be able to read it. But that’s just a personal idiosyncrasy. I’m sure that would work great for most people.

Drugstores, medical supply stores, Amazon.

I am not even sure where I learned of this trick but it is a lifesaver for me. I’ve always found it difficult to find something to label stuff that will be in the freezer for a while. Either the label falls off or the writing becomes illegible. But I think I have found a solution. It is called (white) micropore tape by 3M. It is a paper medical tape. The adhesive has amazing staying power and the white tape contrasts nicely with the ink of a black sharpie. (Be careful because there are a number of “…pore” tapes available and this is the only one that I know of that works.)

Utterly unsophisticated but quick & tasty. Ham, cheese and a lick of Dijon on squishy white bread— grilled.

I can like your idea for a quick meal I just couldn’t eat it! Don’t like peanut butter or Dave’s bread.

You’re such a good sport but please don’t. Some of those recipes make me check my supply of Gravol. I’d hate to see you turned off liverwurst forever. I have a couple of small chubs on my shopping list right now and they should arrive before evening. It has its place. I happen to think it’s great topped with some pickled beets.

This is at the upper end of what I consider a quick meal. Jarred pasta sauce, two eggs and a sliced kaiser roll. Cleanup is one pan and one spoon. Salsa or even canned tomatoes also work.

Once the health department is through with him he might not even be a Mr.

I am still giggling about this meal which is so not you— at least the you I thought I knew! Always have canned salmon in the house. It was a staple when I was growing up in Britain. Now salmon salad sandwiches, salmon patties with parsley sauce. I have even been known to eat it cold from the can. I don’t consider it the same as fresh salmon. It is a different protein altogether. And that little bone in the canned salmon — oh my God! My husband used to consider that the best. Had to be dug out and given to him. Now I claim that treat.