MaryIsobel

Husband is getting better at bacon! He went so smoke heavy for a while, I put a moratorium on it. Pretty sure that your house, your clothes, your sheets, your dog are not supposed to smell like a campfire after a smoking session! This batch was good, my only complaint was that it was just a tad sweet. Carbonara and a salad tonight.

That's a new one to me - sounds well worth a try, thank you.

An embarassment of riches, one might say. Neighbour just showed up with these. I had just finishing sauteeing and stashing in the freezer, the remainder of the mushrooms they gave us the other day. Since dinner tonight is halibut (in the style of LiamsAunt) with balsamic beets and sweet potatoes, I wasn't feeling that mushrooms would go well. Maybe creamed mushrooms on toast or mushroom risotto tomorrow night and then back to sauteeing and freezing. As far as gills go, it depends on what I'm making and how dark the gills are. I once made a mushroom, red pepper, asparagus stir fry where the gills turned the whole dish a rather unappetizing colour.

If only you were closer (and this side of the 49th), I'd be more than happy to share. You can imagine the look on my face when the doorbell rang at 8 pm on Christmas Eve and there stood the neighbour with a 10 pound flat of mushrooms!

Neighbours across the street who moved in last summer, have relatives who own mushroom farms. Mushroom farming is big business around here. Most are under contract to big companies (Money's for example) and are not allowed off sales or farm stands. Our new neighbours have been exceedingly generous and have probably given us over 50 pounds of mushrooms since August. They normally bring 10 pound flats at a time. 10 pounds is a lot of mushrooms for two people! My standard procedure is to slice and saute and freeze after eating our fill of fresh. I was introduced to creamed mushrooms on sourdough toast while visiting Ireland and that is a favourite, along with stroganoff, mushroom soup and just sauteed mushrooms. Anyway, last night they brought over 6 of these. I guess their size makes them portabellas, which apparently are just larger, older, cremini which are older white button mushrooms. Gave two to my daughter; she and her low carb boyfriend make "mushroom pizzas", we'll have some tonight and then I'll freeze a bag or two of sliced and sauteed. Next time I get smaller ones, I'd like to try pickling them.

I'd love to know specically how you did your haddock. Looks like a good treatment for the halibut we have.

My current batch is looking worse for the wear but I plan on going out tomorrow for more, so will snap some photos.

In my area there are many daffodil farms with acres and acres of different varieties. Their main income is from bulbs but they sell the flowers too. Tons of roadside stands with honour boxes. I buy armsful as the are indeed smile inducing!

That looks fabulous! I can almost taste it.

Our Easter dinner doesn't vary much from year to year to avoid revolt. Ham, Schwarties potatoes (from Best of Bridge - I think they are more commonly known as "funeral" potatoes.) Rolls, asparagus, peas, devilled eggs and angel food cake cut into 3 layers filled with lemon curd and frosted with whipped cream. Daffodils in a shot glass in the hole in the angel food cake. This year as a nod to a couple of low-carbers, cauliflower with cheese sauce made with chicken broth, a sploosh of white wine, sharp cheddar, gruyere and sodium citrate. There is alwaysa second dessert which varies from year to year however other than last year we are usually 12-16 people, only 5 this year so a second dessert isn't necessary but may still appear as one of my daughters loves any excuse to bake. (It's genetic.)

That cake is calling to me. Had a chocolate stout cake last year for the first time - it was amazing, but your Bailey's buttercream would be over the top!

Dinner was one that's on regular rotation, I think it was originally from the NYT but don't quote me on that. Chicken thighs braised with onions, garlic, tomatoes and olives, broiled feta on top at the end. Served with orzo (always) and asparagus because it's in season and I love it! Sloppy plating - everyone was hungry.

I'm impressed that you have memories of St. Patricks Day in Dublin. I would have thought it was more like "I think I was in Dublin for St. Patricks Day!"

I had the same thought, kind of. I was thinking 4" spring form pans.

Rainy day and no much planned so decided to give this a try- upright baked rigatoni. Rigatoni is cooked just shy of of al dente, then stuffed with a ricotta,spinach and pesto mixture via piping bag. Covered in tomato sauce and then cheese. Additional sauce served on the side. It was fun to play with but in the end it was baked rigatoni.

I agree - terribly noxious stuff.

Thanks @chromedome I was never happy with the self clean anyway.Had to dinish it off by hand. Next question is; The manufacturers of self clean ovens say that you should never use oven cleaner (Easy-Off in Canada) as it will damage the oven. Is there any truth to that?)

You've echoed what my husband has said - his career was troubleshooting railway system problems which involved electronics, but my question is why is it even an option if it is damaging to the unit? Can a company be so blatantly promoting planned obsolescence?

Our 7 year old Electrolux induction cooktop/electric oven decided it needs a new motherboard. Techician's first question was "have you used the self-clean lately?" Apparently the self clean causes a lot of issues with the electronics and he told us not to use it. Just clean it with oven cleaner "just like back in the old days." Curiousif this is good advice?

Lame first post... I have just joined in and to spite me, our 7 year old Electrolux induction cooktop/electric oven decided that it needs a new motherboard. Should be here by Sunday. Not terribly concerning since I have an induction hot plate, a large convection toaster/air fryer oven, an Instapot, a crockpot, a microwave.. However, I can and will use this as an excuse to go easy on meals for the next couple of days. Breakfast for dinner tonight. New recipe for oatmeal pancakes, some locally made pork sausages and fruit salad ( for which the fruite cost 4x as much as the rest of the ingredients for the meal!) @Kim Shooka very similar croissant casserole (although ours has mushrooms, which I realize you can't abide) is a must have for our Easter brunch.

Thank you. Maple Ridge is a stones throw from me.

Can't comment as it is a running joke in our household that we keep the temperature so low that butter on the counter is never soft enough to spread. Having said that, I have often thought lately that butter (Dairyland is the brand I usually buy for everyday) doesn't taste as "buttery" as it used to.

We are looking at the Salmon Arm area for our forever home. My sister is in Blind Bay and the Okanagan is a favourite destination of ours. I was just saying to my husband that we should definitely plan on a few nights in Naramata this year.

I've been retired for exactly one year today. My husband I and became Covid restricted empty nesters shortly thereafter. Obviously our plans to travel extensively have been curtailed, so have to be satisfied with cooking at home. A long anticipated trip to Costa Rica was cut short, so camping in our 5th wheel was our only option. That was also cut short due to dealing with my rapidly declining 93 year old Dad who went from being a vibrant, worldly guy to having to be put in long term care after a number of hospital stays, in a few short months. Also had to cancel a trip to Tuscany that my sister and I had planned. Our whole trip was centered on food and wine. I have enjoyed the blogs on this site so much and get a lot of inspiration from all the fabulous cooks here. I like to bake bread and enjoy looking for something new to cook every night.