MaryIsobel

If they taste good - that's a win. I have made many batches and oddly my first batch was the best. There are so may variables, one just has to perservere.

I wonder why listeria is so prevalent in the last few years? I honestly don't know if I had heard the word 10 years ago and now it's every other week. Are there better detection methods?

Thanks for the info. I always wanted to try those. Haven't been to Trader Joes since Covid. I'm in Canada but sadly Trader Joe's is not. My next foray will likely be after the next election...

Lovely meal!

Thanks for this - I got an eggplant in my Odd Bunch (similar to Misfits) box. My husband isn't a fan but maybe he would like it this way. I did think of parm - your version looks very appetizing compared to some I've seen. I assume that is toasted breadcrumbs on top?

That looks really lovely. I made an upside down cake yesterday too, but mine was with pears and gingerebread. No picture but this is the link. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/upside-down-pear-gingerbread-cake/ It was well received.

When we did the charcuterie cups for my daughter's wedding (I ended up doing them for my other daughtere's wedding too,) I got some beer flats from the liquor store, turned them upside down and my husband used an xacto knife to cut X's in the bottom that we pushed the cups into to transport them from our basement fridge to tent in our back yard.

Wow - thanks so much for all the time you put into sharing your incredible journeys with us. Visiting local (not in tourist areas) markets is one of my favourite things to do on holiday. Years ago, when our daughters were about 10, we went way off the beaten track in Mexico and I hyped the kids up about going to a market and finding cool things to try. When a fish vendor held out a still wriggling fish to us and proceeded to slice a piece off for us to taste, one of my daughters began to gag and fell to her knees. The poor guy was devastated and kept apologizing. Fortunately, she has grown into a very adventurous cook and eater! And we did buy that fish!

That lemon artichoke pesto looks amazing - I could definitely make a dent in that! My biggest challenge these days is trying to figure out in the morning, how hungry we will be or not be a dinnr time!

Puttanesca is my go to recipe. Always have the ingredients on hand. Yours looks great! I've done it with with fish, chicken, even roasted veggies are a great option for pasta.

That is the best looking version of pasta fagiole that I've seen - definitely on my list, as I have vowed, much to ny husband's chagrin to have 3 vegetarian meals per week this year.

I hear you. I am still shuffling and recovering after our week of hosting, cleaning, cooking, cleaning up from cooking... ad infinitum!

What a delicious looking meal. I have never had black eyed peas - don't know that I've ever seen them in a grocery store eitiher. While your meals all look amazing, I'm blown away by your stamina!

I had quite a bit of leftover mashed potatoes and gravy after our big family dinner and we are tired of leftovers. I decided to use these "ice cube" trays. They hold a scant 1/4 cup. I am usually happy with protein and veg for dinner but my husband often "needs" something more so I can defrost a couple of these and heat them up for a side for him. I have frozsen mashed potatoes before and since I use sour cream and butter, rather than milk, they freeze just fine.

We had brunch - copious amounts of food - but I lost my mind and forgot to take picturesn because I found out that I'm going to be a GRANDMA IN JUNE!!! Best gift ever🥰