Excellent Adventures on Manitoulin ...continued

[Anna N]

Yummmmm!

I'm trying SO hard not to eat carbs--or a lot of carbs anyway. You guys do a great job at that while making great food. I'm envious.

Shelby,

It's so much easier when everyone in the house is on the same track. When Kerry goes home she will have to cater to her husband and daughter who are not low- carb. I have no one to please but me. Nevertheless I love to bake bread as well as to eat it so I have to find ways of shuffling it off to my family in short order. Here it's great because we can bake and indulge our baking gene and pass it all on quickly to the hospital/clinic staffs. The longer I go low-carb the easier it is for me to visualize a meal without bread, potatoes, rice, etc. without feeling deprived.

[Anna N]

Any reason you didn't do the duck in your new toy? The pictures in this thread make me smile, by the way.

It did not seem the appropriate cooking vessel for duck breast. It lends itself best to longer, slower cooking. We both like our duck breasts rare to medium rare and I think that would be hard to achieve in the BE for such a small piece of protein. I hope next summer to try a rare to med. rare roast of beef though!

[Anna N]

A couple of days ago Kerry made a large dish of tiramisu for the hospital staff. She forgot to photograph it to share with you, however she made me my very own personal version and here it is:

I ate it slowly over a day or two as it is quite an indulgence but oh so good.

[Anna N]

And so begins the big packing day! Remember that we are not just tossing a few clothes into a suitcase but almost preparing to move house. This townhouse will become home to others when we leave; locum docs and others will move in. We will be taking a car load of kitchen equipment and ingredients back south with us and safely stashing other stuff in locked closets. It is a major undertaking. So breakfast seems like a good idea:

A mushroom and scallion stuffed omelet for me. Kerry? Who knows. She is in emerg finishing off her last shift.

[Darienne]

Safe driving home.

I always enjoy your adventures together, up at Manitoulin, thrift shopping, lunches out, cooking and baking... What a wonderful friendship you both have!

[Kerry Beal]

Does breakfast get any better than this? Shrimps with cocktail sauce and a big honking cup of tea!

[Kerry Beal]

So all this -

Has to fit either into this -

or this -

I'm searching for the shoehorn!

[Anna N]

As we pack up and empty the fridge and freezer I am reminded of how far apart were my plans from my accomplishments!

These things didn't get made:

Naan bread in the BE

Apricot tart from Canal House

Hawaiian buns

Ciabatta

Sv'd shoulder of lamb

Brazilian cheese bread

Ah well there's the beginning of my list for our next trip.

[Kerry Beal]

And for me the apple bitters (Anna threw out the scabby apples this am), a tasty absinthe (though I did make absinthe), anything chocolate other than bark - so now I have about 20 kg of chocolate up here, something with the pie pumpkin, something with the second cauliflower, also the naan in the Big Easy - that's the main thought I had when we bought the thing.

Oh yeah - ramen burgers.

Shit Anna - a Brazilian cheese bread - how many cheese breads it that?

Edited October 19, 2013 by Kerry Beal (log)

[rotuts]

was the clay pot for the B.E. ?

[Kerry Beal]

was the clay pot for the B.E. ?

Yup - gotta find a spot for it too! Couldn't find a 12 inch clay stove liner anywhere so far.

[rotuts]

you need more closets.

[Shelby]

Yummmmm!

I'm trying SO hard not to eat carbs--or a lot of carbs anyway. You guys do a great job at that while making great food. I'm envious.

Shelby,

It's so much easier when everyone in the house is on the same track. When Kerry goes home she will have to cater to her husband and daughter who are not low- carb. I have no one to please but me. Nevertheless I love to bake bread as well as to eat it so I have to find ways of shuffling it off to my family in short order. Here it's great because we can bake and indulge our baking gene and pass it all on quickly to the hospital/clinic staffs. The longer I go low-carb the easier it is for me to visualize a meal without bread, potatoes, rice, etc. without feeling deprived.

My husband is with me on the no carb thing. Of course, it's easier for him than me. And, he doesn't need to cut out carbs.

I can live without potatoes--save the occasional mashed and fried, I can live without rice--mostly, but it's pasta the glorious pasta that could and want to live on morning, noon and night. Sigh.

[Kerry Beal]

Not quite pasta - but have you discovered shiritaki noodles?

Edited October 19, 2013 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Last of the chicken curry for my lunch.

[Dejah]

Wait...! Clay pot for the B.E....How did I miss that? Show me please...

Shelby: Shirataki noodles are not as good as pasta but makes for a good substitute. I use them a lot. I use 2 kinds: the transparent ones and ones from Safeway which have tofu in them. They are softer whereas the transparent ones are more "springy". Some even said they are like rubber bands. I believe there's a thread somewhere from wayyyy back.

[Dejah]

Kerry: Just so you know how you've influenced my daughter as I am always showing her your posts. She's a radiologist and she bakes and takes it to work for staff and colleagues!

[Kerry Beal]

Wait...! Clay pot for the B.E....How did I miss that? Show me please...

Shelby: Shirataki noodles are not as good as pasta but makes for a good substitute. I use them a lot. I use 2 kinds: the transparent ones and ones from Safeway which have tofu in them. They are softer whereas the transparent ones are more "springy". Some even said they are like rubber bands. I believe there's a thread somewhere from wayyyy back.

See post #3 - it's not likely to be big enough though for cooking - and never got to try it out.

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry: Just so you know how you've influenced my daughter as I am always showing her your posts. She's a radiologist and she bakes and takes it to work for staff and colleagues!

Ah yes - we saw her grad pictures on your website. And somehow I came to the conclusion that your name was Deb (I think I read your website as hillmandeb.com) - I realize now I made that up out of whole cloth!

It is wonderful to have a place to take food - allows lots of experimentation without the weight gain.

[Shelby]

Not quite pasta - but have you discovered shiritaki noodles?

Wait...! Clay pot for the B.E....How did I miss that? Show me please...

Shelby: Shirataki noodles are not as good as pasta but makes for a good substitute. I use them a lot. I use 2 kinds: the transparent ones and ones from Safeway which have tofu in them. They are softer whereas the transparent ones are more "springy". Some even said they are like rubber bands. I believe there's a thread somewhere from wayyyy back.

I keep forgetting to look in to those! I'm pretty sure I can't find them around here, though. I would need to order them. Could you eat them as you would spaghetti bolognese?

EDITED to say: Never mind about the Italian question. A quick google found me the thread here that discourages that.

I'll stop hijacking your thread now, Anna and Kerry, I promise!

Edited October 19, 2013 by Shelby (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Not quite pasta - but have you discovered shiritaki noodles?

I believe there's a thread somewhere from wayyyy back.

I keep forgetting to look in to those! I'm pretty sure I can't find them around here, though. I would need to order them. Could you eat them as you would spaghetti bolognese?

I have - they are kind of texturally incorrect - but I still enjoy them with that kind of sauce. They are getting easier to find all the time - even the mainstream grocery stores are starting to carry them. They seem to end up in the refrigerator section even though the non tofu ones don't require refrigeration. Rinse well in several changes of water (don't sniff them before you do) then either rinse with boiling water or cook for a minute or so at a simmer.

[Anna N]

My lunch today was a very casual plate of cheese and some cut up semi-dried tomatoes:

[Kerry Beal]

Back to using a mason jar for our cocktail shaker - from Serious Eats 'cocktails with aperol'. We needed to finish the bottle and pack away the booze. A Two-One-Two. Tequila, aperol and grapefruit.

Anna used the remains of the broccoli, shrimps, portabellos and little tomatoes to make this excellent stir fry. Salt, pepper and garlic.

[Smithy]

The packing and storing and moving make my head and back ache even at a distance. How cool that the two of you can go indulge your friendship and love of cookery like that...and it's doubly cool that you've been willing to share it with us. Thank you both!

[Dejah]

You've got me thinking prime rib roast - med-rare...It snowed last night but I'm game to use the B.E. tonight! Also have 3 chickens salted and airing in the fridge. Making some for a couple of wonderful neighbors who love playing with air-compressors (for lawn sprinkler system clean-out) and snowblowers.
Always enjoy your excellent adventures in Manitoulin and lunch dates! Rock on!