MaryIsobel

I'm enjoying Stash Licorice Spice Tea - very warming. Mild licorice taste with warm spices.

I have been making a lot more muffins as of late. I used to bake a couple of dozen weekly, it was a way to get something into my non-breakfast-eating daughters to have something in their stomachs before heading out for school. Recently our 25 year old nephew is staying with us while he finds a place to live and he is also not a breakfast guy (must be genetic as I am not either.) He is not opposed to taking a couple of muffins to eat at his desk later on at work. I used to make these muffins often as they are very easy. A whole orange; skin, pith and all buzzed up with a blender along with orange juice, eggs, melted butter, then quickly mixed with dry ingredients and chopped dates.

Your son sounds like a good man. Well done.

Because I didn't have a plan B, I just paid 5.99 Cdn for a head of romaine. Not organic and not huge.

At the end of the day, for me, the company is what it's all about.

There were two types of bread, a dense, seeded one and some baguette. The bisque alone is worth the trip.

A truly lovely experience, just a I anticipated, having been there before. We started with cocktails, a Negroni for me, a French 75 for one daughter and something with passion fruit for the other daughter. We all had the lobster bisque to start which was accompanied by a perfect cheese straw. I could live on the bisque I am quite sure. (We were all still talking about it the next morninig.) One daughter and I had the Beef Wellington which was the Chef's special of the evening. It was the most delicious, perfectly prepared piece of beef I have had in quite some time. My other daughter had prawns served with angel hair pasta. What the sauce was escapes me at the moment, but apparently it was "absolutely delicious." No room for dessert but we were served a complimentary pear sorbet with Poire Williams and of course the crocodile chocolates. The service was impeccable but not pretentious. Would not hesitate to recommend Le Crocodile, should you find yourself in Vancouver. We had breakfast at Breka where the assortment of pastries both savory and sweet is mind boggling. My daughter who is a nurse had an early shift and couldn't join us but I had ham and swiss melt on a wonderful croissant, my daughter had a chipoltle chicken puff pastry. London Fogs for both of us. It was a grand evening all together.

Thank you. I did take pictures with my phone, no flash and I was discreet. We had a rather early seating so the restaurant was not full when we arrived but by the time we left there wasn't an empty table. I will post in the Western Canada dining forum.

My daughters and I are headed to downtown Vancouver to take in Jesus Christ Superstar but before that we are going to Le Crocodile, my favourite special occaision place. As much as I want to share my meal with you all, I feel like it is kind of tacky to be taking photos. I'm old school, what do you think?

I've recently seen the recipe for cranberry curd pie and think it would be a nice finale to a heavy, rich dinner, so I'm looking forward to heating your comments/reviews on it.

When I was a kid in the 60's, we called them Japanese oranges and they came in a wooden crate. Each orange was wrapped in green tissue papaer. We only had one box a year, shortly before Christmas. The wooden crates were always re-purposed. A step stool for the bathroom sink, lego storage, dog bone container...

I buy a couple of Costco chickens (I think around 10.00 Canadian) once in a while. Usually on the day before we leave for camping. I break them down, separating the dark meat from white and save the bones for stock

Those are some fine looking lunches. Won't bother posting my half of the banana that my husband didn't put on his cereal, then a few tablespoons of the orzo with olive feta sauce that wasn't eaten last night, followed a while later by a cookie and a cup of tea...

It really wasn't bad at all. I made it about 2 hours ahead and just kept it on the lowest setting on my cooktop stirring occaisionally. My sister always offered to make the gravy. She is a lovely person in a lot of ways but cooking is not her forte and we have had some pretty gloppy, gluey gravy in the past, so this saved me having to tell her thanks, but no thanks. I can instead find a kitchen task for her where no knowledge, experience or intuition is required!

INSTANT POT MASHED POTATOES yield: 6 SERVINGS prep time: 32 MINScook time: 8 MINStotal time: 40 MINS INGREDIENTS 4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (see note about type of potatoes) ( Apparently I deleted the notes about the potatoes because I always use russets for mashed - I used an entire 5 lb bag) 2 teaspoons coarse, kosher salt 1 cup milk, preferably not skim ( I only used half this amount of milk initially and didn't end up adding more. I suppose it depends a lot on your potatoes) 4 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I skipped this - I think it would be good with beef or pork but just wanted traditional flavours with turkey) 1/2 cup sour cream INSTRUCTIONS Add the potatoes and salt to the Instant Pot insert (6-quart). Add at least 1 1/2 cups water or enough to cover the potatoes (either way is fine). Don't exceed the max fill line. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot, making sure the valve is set to "seal" and not "vent." Select Manual and then dial up or down to 8 minutes. The IP will start on its own. While the potatoes cook, warm the milk, butter and garlic powder in a saucepan or microwave-safe container until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm. When the potatoes are done cooking, quick release the pressure. If liquid bubbles and spurts from the valve, cover loosely with a damp dishcloth while the pressure releases. Drain the potatoes in a colander over the sink, discarding the cooking liquid. Return the potatoes to the insert of the Instant Pot and coarsely mash. Add the 2/3 of the butter/milk mixture along with the sour cream, and mash until the potatoes are the desired texture, as smooth or as chunky as you like, adding more of the remaining milk/butter mixture if you want creamier, less stiff mashed potatoes (I usually add it all). Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately OR return the insert to the Instant Pot, secure the lid, and select Keep Warm. The potatoes can stay on this setting for up to three hours. (I held mine closer to 4 hours) When ready to serve, give the potatoes a good stir and a drizzle of warm milk, if needed. NOTES Instant Pot: I buy potatoes in bulk (I do live in Idaho after all), so I always weigh out the 4 pounds (or 8 pounds if using my 8-quart Instant Pot) for this recipe, but you should be able to fit in a commonly sold 5-pound bag of potatoes into the 6-quart Instant Pot, as long as the max fill line isn't exceeded after water is added. Just increase the milk/butter/sour cream/garlic powder a smudge to account for the extra pound. ©Mel's Kitchen Cafe — https://www.melskitchencafe.com/life-changing-instant-pot-mashed-potatoes/

Okay, I'll post in in the recipe section. Hopefully that is the correct protocal.

Regarding mashed potatoes, last year at Christmas I was not feeling great and didn't want the last minute kerfuffle of mashing potatoes and making gravy so I (clutch your pearls) used packaged gravy and made mashed potatoes in the Instapot. The gravy was really good, I used the lower sodium Club House mix. Used less water than called for and made up the difference with drippings. The instapot mashed potatoes were also good and the bonus was that I held them in the Instapot on the Warm setting for nearly 4 hours. For the first time since I have been hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas (about 30 years) I received multiple compliments on the mashed potatoes! I didn't note the source but I do have the recipe if anyone wants to try.

Welcome from another PNWer. Not much experience with vegan food, save for a brief stint with my daughter - but I'm always interested to hear how vegans cook.

When my daughter inquired about the recipe and I told her that it was from a woman who lives in Costa Rica, she thought that that was a wonderful story - and it is!

I used your recipe for a filling in a cake I made for my daughter's engagement party. It has now been requested that this be a filling in her wedding cake. Your recipe will live on in many of our family's happiest memories. Thank you for sharing it.

My Dad poured evaporated milk on jello, which my Mom always made in a 9"x9" cake pan and cut into cubes to serve. We had dessert almost every night but unless it was a special occaision, dessert was either jello or canned fruit or jello and canned fruit. Neither of my two sisters nor I adopted the evaporated milk on jello thing.

True. I think his distaste for curry stems from eating at an "all you can eat" Indian buffet back in his work days. I think I could probably sneak in a Thai curry as long as I don't call it curry. (And yes, he is a full grown man, not a toddler!)

I am so envious of all your curries. It is one thing that my husband really doesn't care for, but he thinks that all "curries" have the same flavour profile. I am tempted to make one and call it "Spicy Indonesian Chicken" or "Fish in Spicy Sauce or some such.

Adding my condolences for the loss of your mother. All the "firsts" are a bit heart wrenching. I hope you and your family find strength in being together.

I am in dire need of a meal like this. Well done!