Maison Rustique

I can recall years back finding blends of beef and pork--and often veal--sold for making meatloaf, meatballs and the like. Sometimes they were be separate types packaged together so you could mix it to your liking. Haven't seen it sold like this in years.

That's a lotta feta!!

OMG! I can't wait to see what you make. I am all about pastry. Anything in pastry! This is a book I just might need to get. Sigh.

Elsie, that looks wonderful. Oh, how envious I am that you have the deep pan!! Darn those Box people!!

Ditto!!

This reminds me...during the pandemic, when some restaurants first opened and partitioned off tables, sanitized everything, etc., one of the things was they put no salt/pepper or menus on the tables (you had to look online). So, my sister bought me the tiniest s/p grinders ever to carry in my purse. I did and I kept them in a ziplock bag, but somehow, pepper ended up getting out and into my purse. To this day, I will pull something out of my bag and it smells like pepper. Cracks me up!

I finally remembered to take this over to the new house since I don't have cookware there yet. A few days ago I bought a package of the pork egg rolls at Aldi that I really like. (I hadn't taken this yet.) I nuked one for lunch while I was there and it was soggy and horrid. So, I brought "The Box" and I had one today that I heated in it. Put it on med/med hi, egg roll in, covered. I turned it several times. It wasn't quite as hot as I wanted it to be, but it was at least crispy and I had with some Aldi Thai Chili Dipping Sauce. Much better than the soggy mess the other day. Sorry, didn't think of taking pix since I was in a hurry. Just wanted to report that it worked just as desired.

@Smithy Maybe you need to start traveling with some coffee packets. That's nuts!!

Thanks for asking that so I didn't have to. 😆

I ordered a rolling island yesterday and it will be here next week. Then I have to figure out how I'll wrangle the package 100+ lbs. into the garage until my sis and BIL are here and can put it together for me. I did have a 15% off coupon from Wayfair and used that which paid for their 5 year protection package which will cover replacing various things that might go wrong. So, if the rubber wood top splits or warps, they will replace it free.

I can't wait until I get time to go to TJs. I really wish they'd open one nearer me. I seldom go during the summer anyway--35-40 minutes each way and even with a cooler, I'm leery of buying anything frozen.

@blue_dolphin Thanks! I hadn't thought of Wayfair either. I've never shopped them, but I am pretty sure I got a discount card in the mail from them at the new place. I'll look to see if I kept it when I get over there today.

@Smithy, yes you are correct. The Boos islands are definitely out of my budget. Sorry I'm not terribly quick to respond lately--I am frantically packing and moving stuff all the time. Owning 2 homes during this heat wave is giving me major heartburn with the cost of a/c running in both places. I don't want to get off-track, but also been sending photos to the auction company who is coming to pick up my militaria/home front/sweetheart/childrens' toys and uniforms collections. Too many irons in the fire! @TdeV, your island is beautiful, but definitely not in my budget. @blue_dolphin, my needs are precisely like those of your Mom--extra storage and stretch the prep work if it is a larger dinner that my sis is here helping with. Two people trying to work in a tiny space can get dicey--have a rolling island that can be moved out far enough that the other person can still get into the oven/fridge will be a huge help.

Now I'm craving hot dogs!!

Yes, I'm beginning to think that I should look on it more as a countertop and just put a cutting board down on it if I want to use it that way. Probably safer and certainly cheaper than needing to replace the island every so often because the top is warped.

I am looking for a small rolling kitchen island for the new house in order to expand my storage/prep space. It needs to be small and fairly inexpensive. I find no stores in the area that have more than one style in the store to see, so I need to order online. I am going to show my ignorance here. I kept rejecting many that looked good because it said the cutting board top was rubber wood. I thought they meant it was some sort of manufactured fake wood-look thing. I finally Googled it and discovered that it actually is wood and is supposed to be sustainable, etc. My question is, do any of you have experience with a rubber wood cutting board? I don't want to buy it thinking I can use it as a cutting board, only to find that it isn't really a good choice for that purpose.

Saturday, my sis and BIL brought me more home-grown tomatoes. Sadly, they were already badly split and very soft. I had one Saturday night and there is another I can slice to eat if I use it quickly. The rest, I peeled and chopped the best I could (not easy when they are so soft). I put in a little EVOO, some shallot, garlic, seasonings and capers and had it over gemelli (because there was a little left in the package and I want it gone). I failed to keep up with photos after I added stuff but this is the beginning.

My sis and BIL were here to help with packing/moving some things. They brought me overly ripe home grown tomatoes--the heat and extreme rain we had in a short period of time got them splitting quickly. I'd planned to have a bowl of soup that a friend had brought me, but the weather was so stinking hot and humid that after working all day, I only wanted something cold. Had some tomato, couple of zesty dill spears and giardineira (Why can't I ever spell it right?). It was perfect--cold and light. My friend also brought some banana bread that has Heath bar and chocolate chips, but I'll have it in a bit if I can cool down enough after a shower. And need to peel and chop the other tomatoes to use in a pasta sauce because they are too far gone to slice.

@YvetteMT That blend looks yummy. I would keep some in the freezer to add to some stock to make an instant soup!

I hope I've finally found and moved all the cookbooks to the new place. Every time I think I've hauled over the last box of them, I find another stack of books I left somewhere after browsing through them. These are just thrown onto the shelves--no order to them and right now, they are 2 rows deep. It will take a while to get them all organized. I hope I have enough room!!

@jedovaty, I absolutely adore tarragon. I seldom find it fresh. Looking forward to getting moved and hope to be back to growing herbs next year.

During all the packing and prepping for moving, I found a box of cookbooks that I'd packed in 2009 and it never got unpacked when we moved here! I made myself wait until I got it to the new place before I opened it. It had the cookbook with the recipe I have searched high and low for for several years! This was what I was making for 13 people when I first spilled the apples all over the floor. Then when Don went to buy more, goose fat dripped in the oven and started a fire. Don got home to every door and window open, smoke alarm blasting, dog barking and me nearly in tears. I got the fire out immediately, goose was unharmed and it was a delicious dinner after all. Not sure I'd make it again. It was a lot of work. I had working hands and a lot more energy back then!

I hadn't intended to have pizza this week. But when I went to Sprouts for bread, I spied the brand of frozen pizza I loved that I used to get from my milkman. The dairy hasn't carried it in a very long time and I've not found it elsewhere. So, they had the brand but only cheese-stuffed crust. I decided to give it a try. The crust is the same crust I fell in love with. Just has cheese in it. But not so much that it is greasy or gooey. I added a few pepperoni because I have some in the freezer to use up and sprinkled a bit of cheese over. I'm delighted and hope Sprouts continues to carry it!

I finally got to the grocery store and bought a fresh loaf of bread. I made and downed a delicious BLT so fast that I didn't take pix.

My sis & BIL brought me more home-grown tomatoes so I was looking forward to a BLT. I cooked enough bacon for a couple of days since I'm tight on time these days. I pulled out my bread and it was much too stale for a sandwich. I cut it up and fried in bacon grease and butter to make croutons. Only got a photo of the croutons because when I went to cut the tomato, I sliced my finger good. Been a very long time since I've cut myself that badly. Thought I'd never get it to stop bleeding--have about 9 band-aids on it. It is OK this morning I think. I'll unwrap it later and re-do. Anyway, I had my salad but it was just not as delicious with a cut finger.