MaryIsobel

When I read the menu, I thought "I bet he got the rabbit." I would have too.

Could you please describe the texture of the edible jellyfish? Is it raw or cooked?

I think turnips need some marketing! Such a great veg but they get so little love.

I probably would have too - I am a fair to generous tipper as I have worked as a server, as did my daughters. Too bad you are not close enough to share. We had 3 crabs between the two of us and I'm pondering what to do with the leftover.

Wow - that all looks lovely. We are having Dungeness tonight that my husband caught last night. Just steamed with lemon butter on the side, garlic bread and Caesar salad. Nothing better than fresh Dungeness. Does the "automatic 17% to ensure fair wages" bother you? I mean why print it, why not just add 17% to the cost of the food. Sorry, but curmudgeonly me really detests mandatory "tipping."

Frustrating bake today. Tried a different recipe for Hot Cross Buns. They didn't get nearly the browning desired but the internal temp was spot on and they feel very light. 6 for us, 6 for each of my daughters and 6 for our elderly widowed neighbour who loves any kind of baked goods.

The recent change to short cords ( like 12") drives me crazy. I have to put the appliances so close to the edge of the counter, I am always afraid they will get knocked or "walk off" the edge. My food processor before last had a retractable cord - was perfect.

Another that I had forgotten about. I made this a few times every fall years ago. We live in an area that produces cranberries and even has a Cranberry Festival in the fall.

When I am fortunate enough to find fresh poblanos (I love chili rellenos) often they are not much different heat wise than a green bell pepper.

Well, when I say quick bread, I think of something baked in a loaf tin, without yeast. The breakfast cake does look good but might be messy to eat in a car or at a desk.

Long before the chili and chocolate combo became popular, I found a cut-out gingerbread cookie recipe that had a good amount of ground black pepper in it. This was long before the internet and apparently I didn't write down the recipe but now I always add finely ground black pepper to my gingerbread cookies. Makes the ginger more gingery if you will,

Another that I had forgotten about. My mom used to make date bread; smeared with cream cheese and cut into fingers. Will definitely make this, thanks.

Oh - mango is a good idea. I usually buy a case to make chutney when they are cheap but never thought of using them in quick bread. Puree is a good idea too. I often use 1/3 applesauce/2/3 oil but never thought to use other purees. Great idea, thanks.

Thank you. I do make pumpkin but usually in the fall (and definitely with canned pumpkin!) Gingerbread is a great idea that I hadn't thought of.

Wow - thanks Kerry. So simple and I will think of Anna when I make it. Great way to use up bits and bobs of dried fruit.

I make a couple of loaves of quick bread each week. My nephew likes it for a portable breakfast and my husband and I have a slice with tea in the afternoon. I've made banana bread, cinnamon swirl, apple, pear... Just looking for something different.

Oh my gosh - I can taste those pears - with or without the blue cheese!

Love following you on your trips. I particularly love the photos of the Octopi. Now I feel bad for eating them!

So happy to see you posting again @Kim Shook!

It truly is a keeper

I agree on the cabbage. It is a winter staple here. I make a slaw with a vinagarette dressing that lasts for days, roasted cabbage wedges and like you mentioned, I use it in soup, stir fry or braised as a side. It is one of the few vegetable bargains left. We are having perogies and kielbassa tonight and I'll make sweet and sour red cabbagae to go with it.

I can think of a couple of North American politicians who would be behooved to use this as their platform!

I see a classic wedge salad in your future!

I'm sure it is even more lovely and inviting when the patio is open. I really was a great meal.

My husband and I did a two night trip to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Victoria is located on Vancouver Island, a 1.5 hour ferry ride from Vancouver (actually Tsawassen.) We booked a room at Huntingdon Manor, an old, but well kept up hotel, a block from the harbour in one direction and a block from the Parliament buildings in another. Our first afternoon, we strolled around the harbour, looking at menus and making a couple of stops for libations. The Santiago’s Cafe https://www.facebook.com/p/Santiagos-Cafe-100063685808391/ was literally attached to our hotel so that was our first stop. Just wanted a snack so had a margarita each and some chips and salsa. Chips were hot and fresh and quite tasty, as was the salsa. There was also a great housemade hot sauce that was really tasty and fruity. The margaritas unfortunately had that bottled lime taste that neither of us cares for so we only had the one and moved on. Next stop was Steamship Grill and Bar. https://steamshipgrill.com/ We had a cocktail there (margarita again for my husband and a cocktail with Absolute Mandarin, soda and a Bellini slush topping for me.) We perused the dinner menu but I detected an "old fryer oil odour" there so we moved on. Walked around and browsed in a few shops. My husband stopped at Goodfella's Cigar store https://www.goodfellascigarshop.com/pages/cigars-1 to buy a cigar so we enquired of the friendly proprietor where we could have a light seafood dinner. He recommended Nautical Nellie's, which was on my list so that was dinner the first night. https://nauticalnelliesrestaurant.com/ We weren’t overly hungry so a cocktail each; dirty martini for me and another margarita for Himself. His margarita was so bad he sent it back, I don’t think he has ever done that before. They took it off our tab and he ordered a dirty martini. We both had the mussels and garlic toast. Perfectly done and just enough food. The next day we wandered around Chinatown (supposedly the largest Chinatown in North America after San Fransisco but I do believe that the Vancouver one is bigger now.) Bought a few housewares and then decided to escape the snow and slush and seek refuge at the Irish Times Pub https://www.irishtimespub.ca/ for an Irish coffee to take the chill off. It is a lovely pub, situated in what was a building originally built in 1897 for the Bank of Montreal by architect Francis Rattenbury. Rattenbury was also the architect of the Parliament Building and the Empress Hotel. He had quite a chequered past and was murdered by his young wife’s lover! Our dinner that night was pre-planned and reserved at Il Terazzo. It was quite honestly one of the best restaurant meals that we have had in quite some time. The ambiance is lovely, we were seated near but not too close to a fireplace. Our server was a middle aged guy who was the epitome of a great server. A perfectly made Negroni for me and yet another margarita for my husband. This one met with his approval. The complimentary starter was focaccia and the best olive tapenade that I have ever had. I took what we had left in a to-go box and when we got back to our room, I put a tablespoon on a napkin and spread it our so that I could taste it bit by bit to try and re-create it. (By this point my husband said “most people would say you are weird, but I get what you’re doing.”) I had the Frutti di Mare della Casa: Prawns, mussels and scallops tossed in white wine, cherry tomato, leeks, crushed chili flakes, garlic red onion, lemon, parsley cream and linguine noodles My husband had the coppino; Traditional seafood stew with, halibut, prawns, mussels, peppers, onions, chipotle, and tomatoes. Topped with spaghetti aglio e olio Both were amazing - it was hard to stop eating once we were full. As to the parm on fish - ya like what ya like. Of course I always like to peruse the dessert menu, even when I have no stomach left to give! Brilliant marketing on their part, they have cookies to go. The menu description was Biscotto della Casa. They were a flourless chocolate cookie, almost meringue like. A fabulous dinner all in all, I would highly recommend a visit to this establishment should you ever find yourself in Victoria, B.C. I see that I have buggared doing each photo with a caption - sorry about that but they are in chronological order and self explanatory I think. I have to dash now to put on my face and change into seem decent clothes. Today is my birthday and my daughters and their fellas will be here shortly with dinner and drinks!