Home and Away

[Anna N]

I admit to being MIA as I try to type this with one hand. No - not a kitchen injury but a 3-week-old abandoned kitten that the Humane Society sprung on me! It has to be bottle-fed every 2.5 - 3 hours and needs help eliminating in between! Will post tomorrow about my cooking adventures. Tonight I need to sneak in a little shut-eye before the squealing starts again.

[Kerry Beal]

This is for Anna - eat your heart out!!! Not because of the booze though - I'll let Anna explain the significance.

...

Wow! How did you manage to get that many empty Absolut bottles? They are da best!

Back in the big city - Anna and I have had no luck accumulating Absolut bottles (which we both agree are simply the best empty bottle for trading booze, keeping liquids in the fridge etc).

Liquor bottles are returned by consumers to the Brewer's Retail which is the provincial government run beer store. They pay the 20 cent deposit back to the consumer then throw the bottles into a bin to be recycled.

Our attempts to get someone to save some bottles for us have not been successful - they give us lots of reasons, but essentially won't let us have bottles that they've already returned the deposit money for. Not willing to sit outside the beer store with our dimes offering to buy empties from people has resulted in a shortage of this valuable commodity in our homes (neither of us drink Absolut).

Well up here in the small town - they have no such compunction against letting us have the empties - I went in today and they had a box of bottles waiting for me. I let them keep the ones with no lids - cause they are a very specific size - but they said they'd save some more for me by the end of the week. I'm hoping to get a couple of the smaller ones - they are even more valuable!

I shall return with some chocolate for them - must encourage them to continue to help me!

[Darienne]

I shall return with some chocolate for them - must encourage them to continue to help me!

Nothing works better at encouraging others to do unto you.

Oh, maybe except for ice cream...

[Anna N]

This is for Anna - eat your heart out!!! Not because of the booze though - I'll let Anna explain the significance.

...

Wow! How did you manage to get that many empty Absolut bottles? They are da best!

Back in the big city - Anna and I have had no luck accumulating Absolut bottles (which we both agree are simply the best empty bottle for trading booze, keeping liquids in the fridge etc).

Liquor bottles are returned by consumers to the Brewer's Retail which is the provincial government run beer store. They pay the 20 cent deposit back to the consumer then throw the bottles into a bin to be recycled.

...

Only in Ontario do you buy your liquor at the LCBO, pay the deposit to them but return the empties to The Beer Store! The most amazing example of inter-governmental cooperation. Those of us who are skeptics believe that the people who can afford hard liquor with abandon don't want to have to mingle with those "cheapskates" trying to get their deposit back! And some refuse to be caught actually returning empties. But I have a new window a/c bought from the proceeds of other people's empties and $600 in a savings account.

[Kerry Beal]

Big honking batch of dough for coconut macaroons - I had a fair number of eggwhites left over from the Portuguese almond tarts - still had to thaw out some more from the freezer. I cook the dough in the microwave, refrigerate overnight before baking off.

[Pierogi]

You two are both amazing, and have provided me (and I know others) with countless hours of entertainment reading your exploits both at home in relative civilization, and in the wild.

Bravo to Kerry and Anna for coming up with the concept of these lovely sagas, and for the fortitude to share them with the rest of us.

[Anna N]

You two are both amazing, and have provided me (and I know others) with countless hours of entertainment reading your exploits both at home in relative civilization, and in the wild.

Bravo to Kerry and Anna for coming up with the concept of these lovely sagas, and for the fortitude to share them with the rest of us.

Thanks. Kerry always puts me to shame with her industriousness but it gets me out of my ruts and more willing to stretch my cooking muscles.

[Anna N]

As explained earlier I have been MIA for a couple of days but yesterday I managed to get a bit of cooking done. It has been cold, windy and the rain never seems to stop here in Southern Ontario so my thoughts turned to chili and soup. I no longer place much store in Cook’s Illustrated recipes but an old chilli recipe is still my favourite. I have made it so many times and it takes hours so I wanted to try my hand at something different. J. Pepin makes a very simple and fast chilli in the pressure cooker so I decided to give it a try. Everything is dumped into the pressure cooker, stirred well and cooked for 50 minutes. I figured I could manage that even with a bundle of squealing kitten in one hand! While it is not as good as my usual recipe it was perfectly adequate and I was glad of a warming bowl for lunch yesterday and there will be a meal ready for my son tonight:

For dinner last night I fancied soup but something not too heavy after a lunch of chilli. Thai soups always appeal to me so I made a nice big pot of Tom Ka Gai:

Not sure what is on the menu for today but am thinking something Japanese with a few leftover chicken thighs.

Edited to correct the name of the soup! My Thai is very poor.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Anna N (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Anna,

Why the lack of love towards Cook's? Every recipe I make of theirs comes out fantastic. I love them!!

[DesertTinker]

Mmmmm... Absolut Fish Sauce. Now I'll be watching for those bottles in all your posts.

I have a thing for the Knob Creek Bourbon bottles, great shape for the fridge or shelf. :wub:

[Anna N]

Anna,

Why the lack of love towards Cook's? Every recipe I make of theirs comes out fantastic. I love them!!

I find them to be uninspiring, often dumbed down and honestly, how many "bests" can there possibly be? I don't bake so perhaps if I used their baking recipes I might feel differently. I think we each find our "mentors" as it were and Cook's Illustrated no longer works for me.

[Anna N]

Mmmmm... Absolut Fish Sauce. Now I'll be watching for those bottles in all your posts.

I have a thing for the Knob Creek Bourbon bottles, great shape for the fridge or shelf. :wub:

Yes, if I could buy boxes of their 375 ml and the even smaller one, 100 ml maybe, my house would be full of them! Those Bourbon bottles look to be equally useful and a lovely space-saving shape. Don't think I'll be taking up Knob Creek Bourbon though if it is even available here.

I've seen alarming looks on people when I pull out the "vodka" to make a vinaigrette. I am, finally, smart enough to label them with their contents.

[Country]

Anna,

Why the lack of love towards Cook's? Every recipe I make of theirs comes out fantastic. I love them!!

I find them to be uninspiring, often dumbed down and honestly, how many "bests" can there possibly be? I don't bake so perhaps if I used their baking recipes I might feel differently. I think we each find our "mentors" as it were and Cook's Illustrated no longer works for me.

Same here. I liked it at first, but gave them up years ago.

[Hassouni]

Anna, I'm curious why you transfer fish sauce to the Absolut bottle...is it because fish sauce bottles are too tall to fit in most cupboards or fridges?

By the way, your chili looks awesome!

[Anna N]

Anna, I'm curious why you transfer fish sauce to the Absolut bottle...is it because fish sauce bottles are too tall to fit in most cupboards or fridges?

By the way, your chili looks awesome!

Actually it is to limit the damage should I drop a bottle of fish sauce! But you are right, the tall bottles won't fit in my cupboards so I transfer a lot of liquids to other bottles and then store the larger bottles in the basement pantry.

Thanks for the note on the chili. It needed something - perhaps more chili powder, perhaps more oregano - I dunno - just not as good as my usual recipe.

[Anna N]

One thing you can be sure of it is that in my house breakfast is non-traditional. You won’t find cereal, yogourt, toast, or anything sweet on my breakfast table. Cold or reheated pizza, leftover steak or roast beef, quesadillas and today chicken karaage. A few leftover chicken thighs from other dishes, some soya sauce, sake, ginger, toasted sesame oil, potato flour and vegetable oil for deep frying make up the easy mise.

If there is anywhere that induction cooking comes into its own it is in deep-frying. There is no open flame or red hot electric coil to ignite the oil if there is a spillover, the oil can easily be kept at temperature and clean up is a doddle. I could have made the clean up even easier by covering the whole hob with newspaper.

Here’s the mise:

The deep-fry set up:

And the finished chicken:

After chatting with my sister on Skype (she is in England) I wanted to attempt the Bombay potatoes she was raving about. I cooked a couple of russets in the microwave and then threw them into the fridge until lunch time.

Here’s the easy mise:

And the finished potatoes:

These were my lunch and since I usually limit my carbs it was a tasty treat. A great way to use up leftover potatoes.

[Hassouni]

Actually it is to limit the damage should I drop a bottle of fish sauce! But you are right, the tall bottles won't fit in my cupboards so I transfer a lot of liquids to other bottles and then store the larger bottles in the basement pantry.

Are the vodka bottles more durable?

Also...karaage for breakfast, how intense!

Edited October 20, 2011 by Hassouni (log)

[CaliPoutine]

I have a huge fear of frying. Maybe the induction burner might be in my future.

Anna, I know you dont bake, but try the tall and fluffy buttermilk biscuits from Cook's. They are amazing and would make a fabulous egg sandwich for breakfast.

PS: are we going to see any foods from your country of origin?

Edited October 20, 2011 by CaliPoutine (log)

[Anna N]

Actually it is to limit the damage should I drop a bottle of fish sauce! But you are right, the tall bottles won't fit in my cupboards so I transfer a lot of liquids to other bottles and then store the larger bottles in the basement pantry.

Are the vodka bottles more durable?

Also...karaage for breakfast, how intense!

Not more durable but smaller so any spill will be a bit less! There is nothing like spilling fish sauce to convince yourself that smaller is better!

[Anna N]

I have a huge fear of frying. Maybe the induction burner might be in my future.

Anna, I know you dont bake, but try the tall and fluffy buttermilk biscuits from Cook's. They are amazing and would make a fabulous egg sandwich for breakfast.

PS: are we going to see any foods from your country of origin?

I really do try to limit my carbs so even biscuits don't show up in my kitchen but if I ever feel the need I will certainly give CI's a try.

Since I am from the Midlands I think both the cottage pie and the plain beef stew are highly representative. I would have to do Bakewell tart to really showcase my birthplace and I did that one the last trip to Manitoulin. I might attempt bubble and squeak before too long but not sure I will have time before Kerry is on her way home and Home and Away comes to an end for this year.

Is there something you would especially like to see?

[Kerry Beal]

I took a loaf of yogurt bread to Wiki this morning along with some of these coconut macaroons. I arrived there shortly after 10 and by 11 there were only crumbs!

Tonight I decided to make some Apple and Shrimp rolls based on a recipe that the folks from Georgian College were handing out with samples at the Owen Sound market on my way up here. I found myself lacking a few ingredients - but I was able to substitute. I didn't have any mint - and since the recipe called for mint and vinegar - mint sauce seemed perfect and it actually tasted just right! No mirin so a bit of wine and some sugar subbed for that. Peanut sauce was a bit thicker than planned but I was quite happy with the final result.

Went for ThinkingBartender's take on a Manhattan. Half and half carpano antica and Bulliet Bourbon, dashes of angostura, a spritz of Absinthe, dash grenadine and orange liqueur and lemon twist - and of course cherries! They make the drink (my deviation from ThinkingBartender's opinion).

[heidih]

I like the apple and shrimp rice paper rolls. I have some tart, crisp apples looking for a new use as well as frozen shrimp.

[Hassouni]

Sorry to harp on the Absolut thing, but are they half-size bottles?

[Anna N]

Sorry to harp on the Absolut thing, but are they half-size bottles?

I have 375 ml (the most useful size in the kitchen for me), 1.14 l and 1.75 l. I think the ones Kerry got are the 1.14 l which would be the most commonly purchased. There is also an even smaller one which I suspect is around 100 ml but I don't have that size as it is a poor bargain when filled with Absolut!

[Kerry Beal]

Sorry to harp on the Absolut thing, but are they half-size bottles?

I have 375 ml (the most useful size in the kitchen for me), 1.14 l and 1.75 l. I think the ones Kerry got are the 1.14 l which would be the most commonly purchased. There is also an even smaller one which I suspect is around 100 ml but I don't have that size as it is a poor bargain when filled with Absolut!

The ones I got are the 750 ml size - hoping that today they might have some of the 375 ml or even the elusive 100 ml - but my suspicion those ones get thrown in the bush around here.