TicTac

Juggling rep baseball, when I asked my wife what she wanted for our anniversary dinner, having to be out the door by 5:45, she said ‘something easy, how about breakfast for dinner’. I had to do something a bit special..even under a time crunch. You will note it looks like a dogs breakfast, but that’s a combination of my simple lack of care for plating and a need to get 3 kids fed and moving! Rest assured; it tasted exponentially better than it looked. hash brown and smoked duck poutine (no curds, sadly) with a fried duck egg

Mistake #1 - manufacturing in China. I have a Zo rice cooker, made in Japan. 5 years strong and the thing still pumps out some of the best rice you could ask for.

It's cool that the book goes above and beyond to suggest no poisonous lookalikes as that is the first thing I research after finding something that appears to be edible (more so with mushrooms, there are very few 'berries' that one can eat here that is not easily identifiable. Someone told me choke cherries were edible, many around here - tried some, but oh man are they astringent / tannic - no clue how people eat those. From a foraging perspective, I found some snow ear mushrooms which I am now learning more about - but at this time of year, its all about starting to dry and preserve for the year to come - mainly things for tea's and extracts; (all young shoots of) - plantain, raspberry leaves, strawberry leaves, heal all (which I have fallen in love with to treat mosquito bite); pineapple weed; mints - just to name a few. Pretty sure I have identified horse mushrooms nearby, which I may try. @Senior Sea Kayaker - all those fallen trees, while a shame - will make great firewood, or an awesome border for your most beautiful trail.

And here I thought I was coming to see a duck sitting atop a can of beer on the BBQ... How does duck hold up in a stew? Love duck, but it has very little inter muscular fat, so I would think it would dry out, no?

You are a lucky man, Mike. That WLW is one of my unicorns, never tried, never seen - would love to, but doubt I ever will. Assuming that was the stand-out of the bunch, for you?

I do not know of any good bourbons that come in those sizes. Alternatively, buy a 1910, I'll send you the money for it, pour yourself a few airline size samples to try, and send me the rest 😁

While I typically start from seed, admittedly this was a spur of the moment purchase at the local Asian grocer, who has a big (and unique) plant selection in early summer. Got that and the 'fruity cucumbers' pictured in the gardening thread. No issues such as what you have described.

I am certainly jealous @rotuts and @blue_dolphin! Maybe once a year does the buying 'powerhouse' that is the LCBO (we call it the KGBO up here...) make an effort to bring in a few interesting things, often goes straight to lottery, but the 1920 sometimes appears. Never ever seen 1910 north of the border, wish I could get my hands on one or two. Maybe some day!

Growing it for the first time this year, really enjoying it. Also not cutting it down, but rather picking as we go, so it is perpetually yielding.

Nice to see everyone's gardens starting to produce. It has been a bumper crop this year so far for Cucumbers (doing 2 varieties, the long one is unreal - called 'fruity cucumber' - very sweet) and pickling cukes. Have made about 8 jars of pickles so far and given away a bunch as well. Had a few meals from pole beans and snap peas; tomatoes coming in nicely as well, lots of fruit now about ready. These fabric pots are awesome, and a great way to create an organic living soil that absolutely thrives (just hit it once with a batch of nettle 'tea').

I've had both. Pappy is good, but mainly - marketing genius. A lot of hype. Same distillery, blantons is also good, not as much hype (though people seem to be willing to still pay 2-3x MSRP on secondary markets for it) - If you can find it, get yourself a bottle of Old Forrester 1920 (or better yet, 1910) and laugh at all the fools paying half their pay check, chasing unicorns. (and let me know if you can get 1910, its impossible to get here in Canada!)

Cod makes great fish for tacos and costs a fraction of the price. I also do not feel so bad putting all those delicious hot and tangy sauces on it which by in large totally mask the fish. Typically easy to source wild Norwegian, as well.

Interesting. I agree on all fronts. I would have thought given your geography that you would have access to the docks and be able to source directly. Perhaps my error. Regardless, I am sure you are still spoiled rotten for shellfish I have fond memories of being out in NS as a kid, and having some of the most amazing scallops and lobster - ever.

I've been looking at methods to refill my soda stream cans by purchasing a large amount of compressed air from a distributor, seen a few youtube videos....sounds like you guys are so far above and beyond that! No pop has ever been in this house, but soda water....almost always! Passion fruit pulp + soda was on tap today.

Suffer the Atlantic halibut instead!?

There are some amazing stone fruit coming out of Niagara now. At the organic farmers market this past weekend, he had cherries, yellow plums, apricots and peaches.

How to generalize and stereotype - 101. Tough crowd.

You east coasters are spoiled.... 😛 Send some of that sweet fresh crab meat to Southern ON, would ya!? Any rhyme or reason to leaving the males on (when there are no females yet to pollinate?) Curious to hear more about what you stuff along with the crab.... Saw your garden pics up thread - everything looks super happy!

Quit sniffing 'em and eat the damn things! They are delicious. And at those size, screaming to be stuffed with some gooey cheeses (fava paste also works great).

@KennethT has a knack for planning some great trips, which include amazing grub, equally if not better views and somehow (sadly)....always a side order of some virus or bacteria malady. Hope you both rebound for the remainder of the trip. Echoing thanks again for taking us along for the journey. How did I not know you had a blog!?

Ehhhh!? I know what would be on the menu for dinner tomorrow night....!

Garden is loving this heat. Also my lack of watering. Some of the tomato stalks are nearing the thickness of a child's wrist, and my 'fruity' cucumbers (labeled as such, bought at a local asian grocery store) are over 6' tall with a bunch of small-mid size cukes already. Lots of sugar peas so far, also tons of various types of Spinach (both wild and sowed). For those experimenting with Zucc's - I suggest trying the vertical growth/training method. So much nicer and helps to avoid the powdery mildew (don't be scared of trimming lower leaves!).

Great shots as usual, @liamsaunt! The house is indeed quirky - love it; so much character and charm. Have you guys ever hooked up with local fisherman at the pier to acquire the closest to a 'fresh catch' as one can possibly get?!

re: Purslane - it's a strange plant. The one pictures self propagated to my lemon tree pot, which has oddly enough, no drainage holes (need to fix that) and very soggy soil. It's loving it in there. It has also popped up in my cloth pots (one of the number of 'weeds' I encourage) which I love. Usually, as eluded to above; it prefers very harsh environments - cracks of side walks, super dry, etc. Get lots of seeds and just throw them everywhere. See what works and let them go to seed in that spot and continue for next season.

Far too many warnings and health hazards. Patience trumps health risks, in this case. California is a very environmental and health conscious state - if it's not permitted there, then fugetabowtit!