Maison Rustique

I use Copy Me That to capture the recipes and save them as pdfs on my PC. I don't use their storage.

I cancelled my Misfit subscription yesterday. Just too much rotten food upon arrival. Will stick with Imperfect Foods as long as I can push out the orders for as long as I want. Right now I have a lot of produce to use up.

I wanted to report that the avocados I got in my last Imperfect order were fantastic! I always seem to get bad avocados here in the midwest, but these were perfect in every way on the inside. The skin had blemishes, but who cares! Also, I felt I was taking a chance on them because they were so cheap, but I got some of the boneless, skinless chicken breast chunks. At $2.99 for 14 oz., I felt like I couldn't go wrong. They arrived frozen and I put them promptly into the freezer. I used them yesterday in a chicken potpie. My husband had no idea, but said it was some of the best chicken he's had. I was very pleased. In the package, there were 2 pieces that were very close to breast half size and a few smaller pieces. I ordered a second time from Misfits and was just as unhappy as I had been the first time. The radishes were so soft they were unusable. A rotten lemon and eggplant that was nearly gone, too. I am cancelling them and will continue with Imperfect as I need them. I am so overstocked right now that I just skipped this week's shipment.

That mushed together stuff (I think their website says it is a recycled paper product.) is good for insulating bins to make outdoor shelters for feral cats. I have a couple of people who have asked for mine.

Looks nice, but not available in my area.

I have been getting Bon Appetit because it was ridiculously cheap, but I've become very disinterested in it. I just don't find much of interest in it any more. Maybe I'm too old and not urban enough to be their audience. I have been having a great time going through the thousands of recipes I ripped out and clipped from magazines and newspapers over the past 40 years or so. It certainly makes food and food magazine trends apparent. And also shows how my own cooking and food preferences have changed over the years.

Yes, that was an issue with my first order. I am giving it a second chance and hope I chose things that will not be so vulnerable to the cold. And I hope the shipping is a bit better (not having to sit on the truck so long) now that Christmas is past.

If you've ever had an MRE, you know there isn't much you can to make them better. I reckon powdered catsup and Tabasco sauce are about as good as it gets. 😆

Another few booklets I dug out this morning. I love the one shaped like a can of tomatoes!

@Anna N and @BetD Here are a few pix from the inside of the Mort Walker. As you can see, the back cover is missing a piece. Boo. This booklet was sponsored by Tabasco.

I pulled out a handful of my old cookbooklets. These are just a few--will share more as time permits.

I subbed kale for the usual greens in my black eyed peas this year. Couldn't easily find mustard or collard greens and had kale. I'm sure we will survive. Edited. I forgot to say that I signed up for both Misfits and Imperfect at the same time. There are good things and bad things about both. Still evaluating, but will probably cancel Misfits and go with Imperfect as a fill in for stuff I can't get at Aldi or the grocer where I do curbside pick up. A big issue for me has been that in the deliveries I have gotten so far, on the days of delivery, things have gotten too cold from the weather. It doesn't sit on my porch--it is from the time spent on the delivery trucks. Frozen tomatoes, lettuce, etc. are not a good thing.

After using one online recipe service and losing everything I had stored there, I gave up. I now just save everything as a pdf on my pc. Easy to email to anyone or if they want, I can take a snapshot of the pdf and give it to them as an image.

That egg salad!

Seems like good idea, but I don't see it catching on. Many of our grocers here won't even sell wheatgrass because of the liability of salmonella, listeria, etc. For those of you who grow indoors, how do you control the gnats/fruit flies that come with it? I've given up trying. The pests aren't worth it.

I saw that and did not buy it because I couldn't figure out how I'd use it either.

I buy any and all versions of their Spekulatius cookies. Yum. Bought our spiral-sliced ham there, too. I got the brown sugar glazed version.

We also do not have a decent Chinese restaurant, but we do have locally-owned Thai and Indian places that we patronize. There are also some newer Vietnamese places that we want to try soon.

I have a much earlier version of this Braun immersion blender with food processor attachments. I'm not sure I've dragged out my Cuisinart in the 25 or so years that I've had this. I also have a heavy duty blender and hand mixer. I find these serves most of my needs. I also have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer that almost never gets used. Many of you cook a lot more and have different needs than I do, so might not work for you, but I find appliances that combine tasks are space-saving in my small kitchen with limited storage.

Good choices! My favorite cookies. 🙂 I got one of the frozen ducks last year and it was very good. Last time I was at my Aldi, they also had roasted frozen duck halves at a pretty good price. If I had room in my freezer, I'd have gotten a couple of them to keep on hand for making salads or "instant" cassoulet.

I had some Fromage Pave from Trader Joe's with LGD for lunch today. Great combination!

Yes, I am a huge fan of the Fromage Pave, too! I bought some when I went recently. Might just need to have some for lunch today.

It was been a different sort of week for eating since I was cooking for Thanksgiving, so I haven't used LGD as I might have under normal circumstances. For lunch the other day, I pulled out a Goat Cheddar (Aldi) and the LGD and crackers and dove in. It was delicious! We did not have a family dinner yesterday but I cooked some things and so did one of my sisters. We both portioned everything out. She brought all her stuff and I had mine. We exchanged foods and took dinner to our other sister and nephews. While she was here, I had her taste the LGD and showed her the book. She loved the LGD, as I knew she would. I told her she could borrow the book at some point, after I've made a few more things. She looked at me and said, "Well, I think that book would be a great Christmas gift!" So, I will order and can knock off part of my Christmas shopping.

Those crackers look so good. I'm a sucker for carbs.

It must have been one of those weekends because I also made my first batch of LGD. With the arthritis and tendon issues I've got in my hands and wrists, I was more than happy to use a food processor. I did not break out my Cuisinart, but used the bowl/blade attachment for my Braun stick blender. It worked perfectly. I did take a photo, but don't have it on this device (Chromebook) so will try to remember to add it later when I'm on my PC. I love the olives, but think I now must have 6 open jars of various types of olives in the fridge. ☺️ I tasted it right after I made it, but not since. At that time, I felt like there could have been more anchovy in it, but maybe it will come through today.