MaryIsobel

I couldn't get past the Garlic Dough Balls. To me, dough is something that has not been cooked. Surely that is not the case?!

I'm a scofflaw I guess. Our Insignia air fryer was recalled about a year ago and when I read about the hoops I would have to jump through to return it, I decided to keep it. I am always in the kitchen when the air fryer is on, and I use it on our island which is far from anything that might be flammable, so I decided I would take my chances. One year later it is still working fine and no fires. Not saying everyone should take this route, just that I did and I'm here to tell the tale.

Where I live, the best bagels that I've found so far are at Costco. And by best, I only mean that they have a little more going on than the "white bread shaped into bagels" that are the norm around here.

We had nopales on our last visit to Mexico. They were served as a side dish. I think they may have been brined but not pickled - we really enjoyed them. Some of the Mexican grocery stores have a person in the produce department who was shaving? de-prickling? de-scaling? nopales. They wore gloves and goggles.

Having lived in the Pacific Northwest most of my life and never having visited New York and just passed through Montreal, I'm certain that I have never had a real bagel. Going to have to remedy that one of these days.

As much as we love mushroom barley soup, I have yet to take a pcture of it where it doesn't look like sewer sludge...

Pure joy - That young man will either be a restaruant critic or a chef! Thank you for sharing his reaction.

Sorry if your grandmother is rolling, but that looks like a perfect breakfast to me. I'm sure that my Irish/Scots grandparents would be rolling when I add pesto to my breakfast eggs or don't include 'neeps in my stew.

These are my go-to treats, as they can be catered to anyone's taste. This batch is for my daughter's boyfriend who loves anything Oreo. The base is cookie and cream cheese and I just add in whatever the recipient likes; M&M's, Skor Bits, nuts or in this case, chopped Oreo Thins.

Sounds like a great fall back, plus it looks delicious. I would be happy with even just the baked potato.

That looks really good. We were in Costa Rica at this time 3 years ago and I still dream of the mangos, papayas, pineapple and melons!

I like sauce on the side too. I do baked wings with the baking powder method - they turn out so crispy, it would be a shame to soak them in sauce. Plus my husband likes them hotter than I do so that way we both get what we want. Your poached egg looks great. After about 40 years, I can now make consistently good poached eggs, finally!

Thanks for the source Ann

If only I could send you some...

I love sherbet. When I was a kid, it was called sherbeRt. Raspberry or orange sherbet would always be my first choice. You can keep the lime. I have never liked anything lime "flavoured." That said, I always order my Hendricks and Tonic with "extra lime", but that's real lime that we're talking about.

I too am an unashamed Cheeze Whiz fan. I love all kinds of great cheese but Cheese Whiz holds a special place. Also, Cheese Whiz and peanut butter on toast is a great combo. (Waiting to have my e-gullet membership revoked...)

Here's the recipe from the cookbook I made for my daughters. "Grandma with the sore knee" was their name for my mom who had just had her second knee replacement when they began to talk. The title was used to differentiate between her and Grandma Roro - their grandma who lived in Ontarion.

Interesting - when I researched, several sources said that kidney beans are not the same as red beans. The brand that I can buy just over the border are the Camellia that you mentioned. They are noticeably smaller, darker and rounder than kidney beans. Having grown up in the pacific northwest, beans were never a huge part of our diet so I acquiesce to those of you with more bean knowledge. Canned pork 'n beans, kidney beans for chili and the dreaded lima beans as a side dish were the extent of my bean experience growing up.

Well, if you're going to bastardize, go big or go home. Along with above mentioned abominations, I also dumped a pound and a half of languishing spinach in at the end. It was suprisingly good. Lots of leftovers, not a bad thing. I am doing a half-hearted shop the pantry/shop the freezer this month and this meal met those parameters.

Dinner is in progress. We'll call it British Columbia Red Beans and Rice. British Columbia because I cannot find red beans here. I can buy them just a few miles away, in Lynden WA, but that involves a trip across the border and today is a snow day so making do. I used kidney beans, put to soak last night. Also had to use turkey keilbassa instead of andouille because that's what I had and even if I cared to venture out, andouille is not to be found within a 30 mile radius. Funny story on that; we have a great local butcher whom we love to patronize. They are great for custom cuts and I can get veal shanks there with a day or two's notice. They also smoke a lot of their own meat - their bacon is fabulous. A while ago I called them and asked if they had or would have andouille. The young woman who answered my call said "no, but we have chorizo and I think that's the same thing." Bless their hearts - they are great community supporters and hire a lot of local kids. Smoked ham hocks are increasingly difficult to find and again, snow day so using a few rashers of double smoked bacon from said butcher. Using some smoked paprika to up the smokey taste - I'll let you know...

30 minutes at 425. Second pic is a quick flip to show the underside. Cut a square off the corner to taste. Crispy, salty - perfect in my humble opinion, considering the little time involved.

Ready to go into the oven at 425 for 30 minutes. Was going to incorporate olives but concerned about how salty it might be so left them out.

I have had ricotta gnocchi in restaurants, but have only ever made the potato ones at home. Do you or your daughter have a recipe that you'd be willing to share?

Decided this morning with no forethought, that I want foccacia to go with our "soup from the freezer" dinner tonight. The basis of this is the King Arthur recipe for No Fuss Foccacia. I have bastardized it to death many times to align with how much time I have from start to table. I adjust the amount of yeast and the temperature environment where I let it rise, depending on how much time I have. I have also adopted Siman Nosrat's method of pouring a salt water brine over the dough prior to the second rise. 15 minutes into the second rise and it is getting lovely bubbles.

I've had it but only in restaurants - I've never seen it sold anywhere. It's called sea asparagus around here, but whatever you call it, I love it and wish it were more accessible.