Margaret Pilgrim

Exactly. Nothing to apologize for.

McConnell's is my choice when I buy store-bought. Their "Sweet Cream" is my go-to for fresh berry accompaniment. Clean, marginally sweet, just goodness. About $12 a pint locally but worth it. Otherwise, Strauss Organicis a quality product also. Again, clean flavors and very short ingredient list. A lot cheaper than McConnell's, sometimes available at Grocery Outlet for around $3 s pint. Am now working on their vanilla chocolate chip and Dutch chocolate, both excellent pure flavors. Strauss has a slightly icy texture which we rather like, i.e., it is not back-of-throat-coating cloying.

Within the plastic wrap? FWIW, I have never used frozen finfish, but have great success fast-defrosting frozen prawns in cold water, in their shells.

Our major problem is keeping guests from overloading their individual pizzas. Regardless of our warnings, people seem to need to pile on toppings that cause their pizzas to topple over into calzones when coming off the peel. Oh,well, calzone are good.

Looks like an extraordinary save. Quite gorgeous, and rounder than a chain's. Do you deliver?

This series is beyond. Just beyond. I made a special farmers' market visit for squash blossoms. But, no, none. *****Special for weinoo***** A small earthquake as I type this. Just so you know you're in our mind...

Tell me you're not still using "packets"! Easier, cheaper, certainly better.

Gee, thanks! The ones I found (Sur la Table) are $14.95! Yours I can handle.

I want that ice cream! (And I want a couple of those ice cream scooping containers...but i'm too cheap.) Last week in the country I made nectarine ice cream for the grand-kids. Very simple mix of nectarines, sugar, heavy cream. it was absolutely divine immediately after a stiff churn, but I imagine the remainder, which they took home, was hard as a rock after time in the freezer.

I am in tears. This is a FEAST!

Okay. Teach me about pickled herring. Spurred on by posts on another board, I picked up some at my carriage trade market recently but found it too "fishy" for me. I like raw shellfish, graflox and cerviches but this was distinctively off-putting Not a good product or just me?

So does the stuff from Cherche-Midi after 12 hours. Enjoy! (BTW, early reports of those already back on the old sod report of near normalcy except for the dearth of tourists. Sounds like heaven.)

Ppolane baked here or shipped baked/frozen?

I walk into my bedroom with malice of forethought, to take a nap. No apologies, no guilt. Put phone on mute. Call/text later if it's that important.

If you say so. Given mice in the country and pantry moths in town, I'd say you were living on the edge. In the country, we stash open crackers and like in the microwave when we leave.

Still trying to wrap my head around this. Will report back when I get a grip...

Came home through Brentwood today, so Blenheim apricots! Enough for us, neighbor and son's family.

Word!

Sorry about that. The pandemic had little affect on my cooking, neither ingredients nor frequency. Same old, same old.

Funny. Shallots, chives, (Meyer) lemons always part of our larder. Scraps always -> soup. Sauces are simple once you accept a few basic processes. Perhaps we should have a thread on the basic/master sauces. Husband will eat anything that wears a savory sauce cloak.

Haven't the slightest doubt about this. A cluster of tomatoes just off the vine always emit more scent than the resulting tomatoes. Thanks for this great truc.

"9 days after diagnosis"...perhaps the gods appreciated what a good man he was.

The most repulsive part of the Hershey bar and much American chocolate is its cloying sweetness. Agree that it's a totally different animal from European Chocolate.

Since children can only eat what is offered to them, a balanced diet is, of course, not guaranteed. What I believe is documented is that they will not overeat or learn to stuff themselves, which is perhaps somewhat normal when being spoonfed what adults think is a proper serving.

Practice puts us on automatic pilot!