Tropicalsenior

There is no such thing here in Costa Rica. Unless you can find some imported ones, they come wrapped in plastic that you have to take off before you cook them. Everyone has a story about some dumb Gringo that they knew that tried to eat them with the plastic on.

A lot of them are living on beans and rice. When I went to the grocery store today, I was amazed at some of the things that have doubled in the last year. However, the government sets minimum wage for each class of jobs and it hasn't risen in 7 years.

I don't see any reason why I couldn't. I kind of adopted my 55-year-old Nicaraguan housemate who thankfully enjoys good food, something besides beans and rice. If I was just cooking for myself it would probably be ham sandwiches and those things that pass for hot dogs here.

And I would give my left arm for those Nathan's Hot Dogs. You wouldn't believe what passes for hot dogs down here.

I didn't think to mention that I have these containers in my back fridge for Smalls that won't lay flat tend to get lost in my other freezers. They are just long plastic shoe boxes.

My little chest freezer came with this handy rack that works just like a file drawer for small bags. You should be able to find something similar in home storage stores or dollar stores. Looks like I need to defrost. A job I hate! While I'm here I might as well post some of the meals that we've had lately. Last night was salmon cakes with Bechamel and peas. The night before was barbecued ribs, Tuscany beans, potato cakes and deviled eggs. Sunday was Mexican empanadas Other meals were Mexican tostada with Spanish rice, Beef daub with popovers, Cottage pie, Finnish meat pies Chicken enchiladas, The ever humble hamburger, Most served with the ubiquitous green salad. And last but not least, deviled eggs and chicken and dumplings.

What they said goes for me. I hope you get better soon!

Make doubly sure that you don't put anything in front of the vents where the air comes in. That happened to me and it was all the fault of a big Leaf of lettuce that got pushed back there. Most expensive piece of lettuce I've ever had in my life.

I will never again stupidly scare myself half to death while trying to boil eggs in my instant pot. I sat here for almost half an hour waiting for it to come to pressure and convincing myself that the heating element must have burned out. Then I realized that I hadn't set it. 20 minutes later, perfect boiled eggs, just a little too late to have deviled eggs for dinner. There's always tomorrow.

Amazing food and more amazing still to think that you have cooked all of this without a stove. So glad to see you back.

@Shelby I would buy the cheese whiz in a hot second if I could. No such animal here. It's great stuff to add to cheese sauces and cheese soup when you're in a hurry or when the cheese pantry is low.

Unless you buy the meat at the store, most butcher shops will not process meat from outside claiming risk of contamination.

The ginger freezes quite solid but I just pop it in the microwave for 1 minute and scrape enough off the top for what I need and then back in the freezer. Doesn't hurt it a bit. It also works great for garlic. With that, I do microwave the garlic for two or three minutes, depending on the amount before I freeze it. The cloves of garlic also freeze well. Just peel them and pop them in a jar. You always have fresh garlic when you need it and no more garlic sprouting away in storage.

Where's your sense of adventure?

So happy to see you back. I've been wondering where you were.

That rice looks absolutely gorgeous! The offer still stands on the tamarind paste.

My stomach got twitchy just reading the ingredients.

Anything at all with spaghetti. I'm seriously thinking spaghetti pie tomorrow night. Maybe I can make something with spaghetti and Tamarind paste.

Got some I can send you. When I did my inventory I found three blocks of it and I only use about a tablespoon a month.

I've got a system that I've used for 20 years. When I see nice fresh ginger in the store, I buy about a pound of it. I grate it with a little bit of oil in the food processor and then store it in little jars in the freezer. To use it, I pop the jar in the microwave for 1 minute and just scrape enough off the top for the amount that I need. Then back into the freezer. I used some yesterday that had been in the freezer for about 3 months and it was still hot enough to fry your tonsils.

You've got it! I'm trying to creatively use up all that extra stuff I've got in the pantry. Does anybody have some creative recipes for spaghetti?

My goals are twofold. First to curb my over buying and second, to use up what I have overbought. With kitchen cabinets, a walk-in pantry, two refrigerators and a chest freezer, making the inventory itself was a monumental task. (Fortunately there was nothing in the bedrooms or under the couch.) Having accomplished that, I am determined to keep it up. After 2 days of cooking and one blissful shopping trip, I am still up to date. Maybe I should check back with you in a month and report how I'm doing.

Inspired by @Darienne I just set up a complete running inventory of every last scrap of food, paper product, and household item in my entire house down to the last sprig of parsley and coordinated it by category to my shopping list. I have it all right here in my telephone. Hopefully, I will never again buy four packages of spaghetti on sale when I still have six packages in my pantry. Hopefully, I will live long enough to use up the three large bottles of balsamic vinegar I found while making my inventory. Hopefully, I can remember to keep it up and hopefully, I never lose or drop my phone.

Thankfully, that is one thing that I will never have to personally verify.

Here's a video about the whole toothpick thing.