Barely a year an a half later... Sushi-grade fish of seafood isn't readily available where I live, so more often then other I'll use canned smoked mussels, smoked oysters, herring, tuna with spicy sauce, crabmeat... Not the best quality of course, but better than past-their-prime seafood in the fishmonger's shop.

Two weeks late, but oh well.

I took 4 medium belgian endives, pulled any damaged leaf and cut the very end of the 'tail', so it stills holds together, In a large pan I put a bit of butter and just lat the endives soften a couple minutes, turning them every so often. After that, I'd layer two thin slices of smoked ham one after the other and roll an endive in it, then put in a small casserole. Repeat for the three others.

I made a basic Béchamel sauce with one grated onion and two grated cloves of garlic, some fineley grated nutmag and freshly cracked black pepper. No need for salt with all this cheese and ham. When it's all thick and nice, I pulled it off the burner and then added a spoonful of grainy mustard and a good handful of cheddar. Mix to melt then pour over the casserole. Maybe two cups of sauce... who's counting ? Well not me. The sauce should almost cover the endives, they shouldn't drown in it.

I grated some pecorino atop then put the casserole in the oven for half an hour at 375°F to grill the top a bit.

Timtams are my weakness, the original flavour, pleasethankyou. Whenever I have the guts to buy a box I eat it in one sitting. They are addicting.

Crunchy Cheetos, as it has been said before, are the perfect snack crack. "Oh yeah, I'll eat a couple..." BAM the bag is empty. dangerous stuff, dare I say.

Yogurt. Yes, I said yogurt. Seems healthy, yes ? But let's talk like adults, here. I'm implying the good stuff, either Liberté's Méditerranée 10% fat plain yogurt or Olympic's Krema 11% fat, plain again. I mean, it's like eating spoonfuls of whipped cream cheese. It's so sooo good. I have to keep myself from eating the whole tub at once.

Fried shrimps, meat or vegetable croquettes, fish pie, crab cakes, chicken fingers, steak tartare (yes, really)...

Or anything fried really.

But served with steak does not strike me as particularily odd,many steak sauces contain capers, or cornichons, or eggs. The mayo part, maybe. But the sauce Ravigote strikes me as a 'similar' recipe, warm of course.

A big casseroleful of Endive and Ham Gratin was bubbling furiously in the oven, had to wait a bit before taking a bite. It was delicious, I added way more garlic than in the original recipe, some pecorino on top too. Really good to warm up in this weather !

Just made my version of a Cuban soup for o-so-cheap.

Braised 2 pork shanks (previously well browned) with bayleaf, half an onion and pepper for about an hour and a half, let it cool down aside and kept the broth. Take the skin and bones off (put in frezeer to make another broth!), shred the meat (put aside half of it for tomorrow's dinner -TACOS-.

.Sauté a diced onion, then add a diced carrot and some diced sweet potato. Throw in a minced hot pepper and some garlic. Add cumin, oregano, onion powder, salt, pepper, some tomato concentrate. Deglaze with some sweet vinegar (or beer). Add in 2 cups of cooked black beans and a ladleful of the delicious cooking liquid. Add the pork broth and let cook for maybe 15 minutes. Add the shredded pork meat and a handful of frozen corn. Cook 10 more minutes, blend half of it if you prefer. Could add some bell peppers, leeks, carrots or fresh tomatoes...

With pork shanks at $2 a pound, it makes around 6-8 large meals (counting the tacos), and even more if you add to the lot the delicious pork broth. NICE.

My instincts would lean towards the sour cream, but both would do fine, if the yogurt is tangy enough. Maybe a couple drops of lemon juice would help a bit.

I'll suggest a savory bread pudding with crispy sautéed button mushrooms (or really any of your liking), a handful of sharp cheese, butter and some spinach.

I guess it would be possible to make a sweet-savory bread pudding like a pear-goat cheese-almonds... I could see it served as an appetizer, or next to a salad.

To go on an italian style, you could add some rosemary, garlic, pitted black olives, roasted peppers and some chopped dried tomatoes in oil, with the oil itself as the fat.

I made a big dutch oven full of chicken cacciatore, to be served with rotini. I used Noilly Pratt in lieu of the white wine as I prefer its taste, it's going to be delicious !

Pâtisserie de Gascogne is reknowned for their galette des rois. I'd suggest to call ahead as they are very popular.

Where I live, frozen pearl onions are difficult to come by. An easy way out is to use regular pearl onions, but instead of slaving yourself by peeling them by hand for an hour, a quick plunge in boilling water will loosen the skin and it will be peeling right off by pinching.

I learned to like meatloaf quite recently, as I was stigmatized with an idea of it as being greasy, weirdly sweet, compact yet crumbly as it kept falling apart : well, unappetizing. The sauce made by mixing cream of tomato, ketchup and brown sugar and poured atop of it was the worst bit, it burnt as it cooked.

Sadly, both my brother and my father-in-law LOVED the stuff so it was a regular at the family table. Furthermore, it was convenient to my mom who apprehends cooking as a chore rather than a pleasure.

I now make mine by mixing different minced meats, adding a whole lot of grated veggies and apple to the mix, an egg and some panko. Sauce is on the side, could be tomato-basil, could be beer gravy ou a kinda sauce Robert. But it certainely looks and tastes better than the original version.

Chicken thighs, broiled then braised in a roasted red pepper sauce, with kalamata olives and slivers of green pepper, with lots of rosemary and thyme. Roasted potatoes, cut in large wedges, covered in my secret spices until crisp. Mmm... Ready in just over an hour, with about 10 minutes of work.

The evening meal was served pretty early (around 5:30-6:00), but coming home around 4:00 I'd usually nibble on:

-crudites (usually celery, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower) and a little dipping sauce (ranch or hummus)
-fruits
-cookies sandwiches made of Social Tea cookies and PB
-crackers and a little cheese
-banana 'hot-dog' (a slice of bread smothered in either PB or Nutella, with half a banana atop and a little blueberry jam atop, eatean as a hot dog... haha, I still eat this as breakfast sometimes)
-a big mug of ''mocha'' (2 Tbsp of instant coffee + 1 Tbsp of cocoa + hot water and milk)

I already was a coffee fiend a 13... But I stopped using instant coffee a looong time ago.

Margarine
Lemon juice in a plastic lemon
Kraft's Singles
Any ''cream of'' can
Dried parsley (As it's a tendency here,all of her spices are easily older than me.)
Iceberg salad
Kraft's ''parmesan'' (simply smells like dried puke)
Cake mixes
Canned cake icing
Canned frozen juices
'Snack cakes'' like swiss rolls
Bottled salad dressing, tons of them
Jam jars, ton of them and nobody in my family eat it, except me, so they are untouched for at leats five years.
Bologna
Frozen fish sticks
Chicken flavouring powder, full of MSG
Bisto
Sweet drinks, lots of 7up, Pepsi and Orange Crush
Frozen pizza
Lipton's
Canned vegetables
Canned creamed corn
Canned sandwich meats
A stash of fast food places sauce packets
A stach of fast food salt and pepper packets
Shake 'n Bake
Chocolate syrup
Minute Rice
Boyardee canned noodles
White bread
Pickled veggies nobody ever eats
Instant coffee (actually I have some, but SHE gave it to me so SHE can drink it when she visits, haha)

Felt like eating lots of veggies, so I made a big 'taco salad', with diced tomatoes, shredded romaine, diced avocado, a bit of cucumber, bit of garlic, some minced spring onion red and black beans lightly sautéed in bacon fat, oragano and cumin, corn and shredded Emmenthaler. A dollop of sour cream on top, of course. No at all tex-mex, but of so good. Would be even better with some crushed corn chips...

Depends on how you plan to use it. To add to a meat base or a sauce, a couple drops of fish sauce (nuoc-mâm or nam pla) should do the trick, as they are also made of anchovies. A bit more pungent, though. The same way, one or tho smashed anchovie fillets with a splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar can do the job.

Seldomly, I use Marmite in the same way as Worcester sauce, to add a depht of flavor to stews or ragùs.

But I'd have to agree that sometimes, nothing can replace Lea and Perrins.

Tonight's feast will be a 'luxurious' salad of butter lettuce, baby spinach, shredded red cabbage, julienned carrot, tomatoes, onion, fresh basil, crispy bacon and poached eggs with adobo chipotle vinaigrette.

Tomorrow's dinner is on the way, just made a thick lasagna sauce made from bacon (you see the trend...), spicy italian sausage, onions, adobo chipotle, carrots, celery, San Marzano canned tomatoes, a homemade herbs mix and garlic of course.

Not very fancy, but gotta do with what you got. Gonna be good, though.

Apart from the usual cookies, i seldomly make chocolate truffles, chocolate and nut bark and the occasional fruitcake (really more of a dried fruit/citrusy/boozy poundcake). The idea of make pannetone interests me, I'll look aroud for an begginer's recipe.

That chicken dish sounds awfully good ! Might just try it this weekend, adding a bit of vermouth and leaving out the sage. Mmmm.

Not a lot of dough (pun intended!) to bake a lot, but I still made buttercup squash galettes and orange crackled cookies these days. I thought these would make fine gift for a friend who loves baked goods.

A garlicky roasted chicken, brined overnight to keep it juicy, will be served with leftover gratineed root veggies (sweet potato, carrot, turnip, leek and cabbage) and gravy. A kind of pre-Thanksgiving feast, I'd guess. Not very light, but lots of veggies at least.

I'd like to make a batch of cookies for dessert, but I got no butter nor eggs... Any ideas ? I should look for vegan ideas, that would be a nice remplacement.

I've been looking for juniper berries (baies de genièvre) in regular supermarkets and in a couple specialized groceries (Bulk Barn and health food stores) in the last few weeks, but I haven't been able to find any. I don't remember them to be so hard to find in the past, but oh well...

I guess it would be easy to find them at Épices de Vienne in Jean-Talon market, but I'm in the Longueuil area and guess they'd be pricier there. I would prefer to find them on the South Shore, although I'd go to 'Montreal if I still can't find'em around.

So, any leads ? Have I just been looking wrong and it's under my eyes; is anybody looking for them too ? Has it became rare all of a sudden, an out-of-date spice or what ? It's simply sooo good in homemade sasages, hearty stews, with rabbit or turkey... Anyways.

A glance in the refrigerator and I knew I had to deal with a load of veggies, since a couple of them started to wilt. Grabbing what I thought would be good together, I knew what I was going to do : veggie curry with cashews and coconut cream. Add a red lentil rice and good to go. T'was pretty tasty and quick to whip up for two.

Yesterday night was herbed turkey leg with potatoes, carrots, swede and caramelized onions all roasted in the same pan, with a white wine, garlic and cream sauce. Dessert was strawberry mousse with blueberries and a small scoop of pistashio ice cream, so colorful.

Tonigh we'll use the leftovers to make a creamed turkey soup; puréeing the veggies in the turkey stock made with the bones, some heavy cream and then adding the leftover diced meat back. Add a freshly baked rosemary bread on the side and mmm mmm.

Not sure yet what I'm gonna do for dessert, maybe french toast and strawberries ? Sounds good. Or just berries and greek yogurt.

-Tea, about a litre a day (to cut down my coffee addiction, I got to say.)
-Dark chocolate shavings with fresh fruit and meringue, one of my fav desserts, yet so light (Either just whipped as is or in the fashion of a pavlova)
-Steamed or broiled edamame, by the handful
-Fresh silken tofu, as is, or tofu in any kind of dish
-Avocadoes, as often as I can
-Mixed legumes salad, with some crushed almonds, a bit of olive oil, lemon and pepper
-Thai spring rolls, loaded with lettuce, rice noodles, hot sauce, julienned carrots,julienned cucumber, julienned swede, omelette... DAMN IT'S SO GOOD.
-Veggie, omelette or tinned seafood sushi. I mean, it's loaded with nutrition.
-Fresh berries, with a dollop of greek yogurt.
-Oatmeal with fruits or leftover meat (yeah.) pretty much every morning.
-HONEY (sure it's sugar but OH ISN'T GREAT THAT WE CAN EAT BEE NECTAR ?!)

My faves are:

-Mangoes: even more the yellow ones (ataulfo ?) So much more sinfully creamy and spicier.
-Avocadoes: the butterier, the better; cold, hot, salty, sweet, WHATEVERRRR.
-Litchees: I like them even more puréed, in a drink or jellied with agar agar.
-Figs (are they considered exotic ?) are some of my favourite fruits ever, so luscious and delicate.
-Kiwis: so fresh and peppery in their way.

I just can imagine myself eating durian, as their fragrance turns my stomac aroung anytime I walk past them in Chinatown.

I agree with you, so bland, like a mix between an unripe melon and a kiwi. Might be okay just for the looks in a fruit salad, but again... Disappointing.

Spending about $75 a week, for two people and a hungry cat.

We eat a lot less meat than last year, and pretty much only when it's on sale (read: less than $3 a pound), but I choose to cook the best quality I can find at a reasonable price. Hence the volume of meat is smaller but sill delicious an nourishing. Big tougher cuts like a single bone-in pork shoulder are great to make carnitas, pea soup, sandwiches, mixed with mash and cabbage; all from the same piece of meat, over the week.

I tend to grow a lot of my herbs (parsley, lemon thyme, basilic), the easiest is spring onion, just keep the lower 10 cm with the root in a glass with water, it'll grow back for a couple weeks, 50/50 chances it'll live if you put it in soil.

I bake pretty much everything, which I love and is a lot less expensive an tastier. Ive calculated it costs me around 80c for a 900g loaf of wholewheat bread at home, where it would be tricky to find a 600g loaf under $3 at the grocery store. Sweet baked goods just don't compare.

Exotic grocery store have rare finds at crazy good prices: a kilo of great tofu for $2, 2 large fillets of basa (8 portions from it) for $4, 1.5 L of mild tasting Korean soy sauce for $6, a kilo of fresh Medjool dates for $5... Couldn't believe my eyes.

Gotta learn the fair price of things, be frugal, stay loyal to your grocery list, look for the deal, never throw good produce or leftovers (bones and veggies bits for stock!)

On a workday, nine time out of ten, it would be a pretty stiff oatmeal, with either lots of diced apple and cinnamon, or sliced banana, lemon zest and honey, but sometimes I feel more inclined to the savoury side and add some gomasio, fried onions and some pickled veggies (congee style).

When I have a yesterday's baguette on hand, one or two tartines grilled, with copious amounts of butter and honey make me utterly happy. With a strong coffee, of course.

Week-ends are covered by my boyfriend, making pancakes, pain perdu and english-style breakfast with bacon and beans.