Maison Rustique

Well, KAF calls it brotform. I can call it a banneton. I just need to find a place to keep it and actually use it!

After all these decades of not having one, I finally got a brotform.

Hey, give me enough breakfast wine and I'll eat all the stale bread you can throw at me! What on earth do we think dip bread is?

I started doing it during the pandemic when we got so many deliveries. Just kept it going. And since I don't get out much right now, I get a lot of deliveries again.

My weekly haul. Was happy they put it in two boxes. And really happy that it got here just before we left for an appointment so it didn't have to sit out in the heat all afternoon. And I caught the driver while he was here so I could show him where I keep the snacks and water for delivery folks. I have a new friend. 🙂

Our yard and the woods behind us have been nearly taken over by invasive plant life. You're all welcome to come forage!

I haven't noticed the mango oranges, but am going to look for them now. They sound delicious. Today is my order day--mid-afternoon. We are decorating family graves all day today, so most everything might be sold out by the time I get on to order anyway. Sigh. I do want to say how pleased I was with the strawberries I received from Misfits. I was hesitant to order them, but they were perfect. We had some in a salad last night and they were just delicious.

I've cut this little pork roast into chops and frozen in packs of 2 for convenient, quick dinners. I am completely addicted to the packs of asparagus and am excited to try the artichokes.

Today's Misfits order which got here early again. Most of the cheeses are for my sister since she loved them when she had them here.

And I'm right behind her!!

Oh, my! That looks and sounds wonderful. I might have to buy that book just for this recipe!

I love the Lamp Chopper and the Purple Haze. Also wouldn't eat it every day, but I got one of the blueberry/thyme/something goat cheeses to serve with croissants last weekend and everyone loved it. Last time I ordered one of the little Coleman pork loin roasts and a little flank steak. I put the steak in the freezer but cooked the roast that day--very tasty. I may order another one and cut it into thick chops to freeze. One of the things I tried on a whim and have fallen in love with is the steam and marinated asparagus that comes in a bag. I expected it to be slimy and mushy like canned asparagus. It is not at all and it is great to put in salads. I ordered another couple of them to keep in the pantry. And noticed yesterday that the same brand now has artichokes, so am putting one of those in my order to try. Sorry for lack of photos--for some reason I'm having trouble posting photos here.

Not sure. Maybe someone else will know?

What do you plan to put in with the duck? If it will have a lot of liquid, I'd make it more of a "crumble" type topping, which you could do by either actually baking the cornbread and crumbling it over, or to cut in some butter (or duck fat!) into the dry mix and sprinkle over the top.

Yes, we really like them--when they arrive safely. Sigh.

I didn't take pix as I was in a hurry, but had issues again with Misfits. Pork chops were completely defrosted and apparently had a puncture in the package because the cold bag was full of meat juices. There was also a package of goat cheese in it. Yuck! And for the second time, the ice pack had a hole in it, so everything in the cold bag was covered in the gel that had melted. What a mess. I have really been enjoying what I get, but not sure it is worth the hassle. I reported the issue, but have not heard back from them yet.

You can get a free dried starter from the 1800s here. You just send a SASE to them. I haven't tried it, but keep saying I will.

@MaryIsobel, sorry to hear but glad you are home now. Hope you are back to 100% soon!

Make that three!

I made the dandelions and collards yesterday. I did cut a few inches off the bottom of the dandelions--they are huge! I pre-cooked them, drained well and sauteed in EVOO with s/p, finished with a drizzle of agrodulce (Trader Joe's) and a sprinkle of Penzey's air-dried shallots. They were really good!! I wish I had more!! If they still have them when I order this time, I will get a couple of bunches instead of just one. We had this with Rancho Gordo Marcella beans and the boneless thick pork chops from Misfits, which were also very good. I over cooked them slightly, but they were still very good. I'd order them again, too.

I forgot to mention that I had them put me on a la carte ordering instead of pre-packed boxes. I was able to go in and shop at will, so didn't have all the issues with everything I wanted being sold out within 5 minutes of my appointed shopping time.

OK, my first order from this new try with Misfits has arrived. I was pleased it arrived early in the day. It was delivered by Imperfect. Packed much better than previous go-rounds with them. Produce stayed intact and not battered. Meats are still frozen. I purposely ordered a variety to see how they did with it. If they continue like this, I'll stick with them. Total for this order was roughly $70 and I got free delivery.

OK, I have signed up for Misfits to give them another try. Wasn't pleased with my second try with Imperfect and I know they are same ownership now so I don't know that I'll be much happier but I see what you all get and just have to try again.

One of my favorite fast food pantry meals is to make soup with a can of pumpkin and a can of coconut milk. Spice as you like--curry, cumin, sage, or whatever you like. I know you said ideas other than soup, but I could eat this for lunch every couple of days in some form.

I literally threw out a can of them yesterday because they had expired, though I'm in the US. Can you order from Amazon?