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Psue - dark chocolate, chili and tangerine = heaven. I'll pass on the cigars. Obviously those parties had some positives.

R and I actually made the orange spice chocolate cake some years ago. He was the one who urged me to put tbsps of spice rather than tsps into the cake and then add cayenne and black pepper. He likes a bit of cayenne in everything - says it enhances the flavours. My contribution was the ground up orange -peel and all. It really was good. Never thought of a glaze!!! We used to put an orange glaze on the old fashioned orange raisin cake.

Have you ever tried black pepper on fresh strawberries. Yum!!!
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Golden, I’m back to being a cake rookie with my new oven and all the moisture in the air over here. Your spice cake is making me want to play!

Strawberries and black pepper - yes! Another party memory: hard frozen whole strawberries on skewers, dipped in a hot, black pepper, sugar syrup that hardened to a crackly crust while the berry thawed inside. I have no idea how she pulled it off with everyone watching but it was exquisite.
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Psue - Good morning. I would call it a spicy chocolate cake as despite the spices it's still very much a chocolate cake.

We never made it again and I've been wanting to. R is more a pie person and I can't handle many carbs. That may have been the last time I had a piece of cake. Once every few years should be OK. I just don't keep food in the house that I don't want to allow myself to eat. If it's there sooner or later I'll eat it.

Those strawberries sound awesome though I don't think you need the sugar with it.
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I’m sure you’re right about the sugar, Golden. At least half of the appeal was the presentation - like little speckled candy apples.

I’ve served fresh strawberries with balsamic vinegar on shortcake with whipped cream. Everyone loved it but me. I’m not a huge vinegar fan although it’s absolutely necessary to brighten up some things, like borscht, which can be too….earthy. I usually use half of what’s called for, even in salad dressings, and make up the rest with citrus.
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Golden, I eat peanuts and other legumes. I scratch tested a minor reaction. Walnuts mean fast anaphylaxis. Then pecans, cashews... hazelnuts aren’t as bad, almonds trigger the most minor reaction. Over the years I’ve accumulated a fair bit of data. And lived! (barely)

Now, a vent: I was born allergic. My relatives didn’t find out until I spoke up for myself. I just kept eating the food at family reunions and reacting. But my mother could tell you every one of my cousins’ food intolerances and aversions. Yeah, I’m still working through my many issues.
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Ana Woah - anaphylaxis!!! Scary!!! Glad some of the other ones aren't as serious. I gather you've had a few sessions. Great that you can eat peanuts and other legumes,

I hear you about your mother. SMH ((((((hugs)))))
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Golden, it’s anaphylaxis for all, but to a lesser degree as I go down the list. Molecule of walnut = entire almond. My DH is trained to use my EpiPen. I used to cook commercially so I have a bit more insight about cross contamination risks when eating out, and which bakeries are less dangerous. Keeps me alert!
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Earlier in the year I grabbed a pail of cherries that were marked down in price and I put them in my deep freezer, not noticing that unlike pails I have bought before these were frozen without sugar so they are now frozen into a solid 10 lb lump🤦‍♀, anybody have ideas on how to break this into usable portions?
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Ana - glad you have a handle on it and your dh is trained with the epipen. That's nasty stuff. I'm more sensitive to gluten and dairy now than I was a year ago, so am working out where the problems are. But I only get a very stuffy painful nose/sinuses and some throat involvement but not serious. I am also very sensitive to molds.

cw - no idea unless you partially thaw and separate then refreeze on cookie sheets. That's how I always freeze berries.

Thankfully I made something soft for supper tonight. R went to the dentist (didn't tell me) and related to the accident had 5 teeth prepped for crowns. So tuna chowder, mac cheese fortified with some cauliflower and sausages worked fine. Good snowy weather comfort food.
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Have not been in the cooking mood this week. There will be enough of that next week , for American Thanksgiving
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5 crowns, I can't imagine sitting through that, I freaked out prepping for one !!! 😱
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Golden, that seems crazy that they would do 5 crowns at once unless R is having a bridge or something made. Are they in adjacent teeth (I hope)?

Ana, I’m curious about food allergies bc when I eat certain things my throat and Eustachian tubes get itchy and swollen feeling. I’ve never had a reaction that required meds or a doctor visit though. How much warning do you get if you accidentally ingest something intolerable? And if you need to use the Epipen is the result instant?

cwillie, what are you hoping to use the cherries for? Smoothies, or something cooked? If they don’t have to be pretty you might just be able to icepick hunks off. Cherries in the winter sound so nice!

Ana, I’m waiting for the Saturday after Thanksgiving to do an abbreviated version- I think butternut squash stuffed with turkey sausage, cornbread stuffing and….quartered Brussels sprouts maybe? I want the flavors and the smells but not all the work.
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I don't know what's for dinner. My old man is going to attempt it. He has developed an interest in cooking though I don't believe he's ever turned on a stove.

We shall see. There's always Doordash if things go south LOL.
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Burnt, that’s going to be interesting! Hopefully you won’t be required to spend more time doing tutorials than you will eating.
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Lol, hubby will cook like once a week in the winter. He is either going to have to cook tonight or order out. Covid vaccine whipped me out.

Goldens soup world taste really good right now.

I'm on my 3rd Hallmark movie, so far. 😂

Actually Burnt, are oven only wants to work for my fingers. 😂 If he puts anything in the oven I have to turn it on. Ill hear him grumbling, talking to himself, and I know , I have to go start the oven
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Peasuep, have you ever tried local honey, my ex husband can't eat local honey at all. I heard it's because the bees are using the same pollen from the same flowers you are breathing in and already causing allergies. So you might want to stay away from honey, specially local honey
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Chicken and rice soup. Trader Joe’s sells the onion, celery, and carrot already chopped so I’m going to do the short cut. Exhausted with all the meal prep for Mom. I got her to eat it quick oatmeal today so that was great. She has been wanting eggs, toast, waffles etc, for breakfast for the past six weeks. I’m going to try and get her to eat cereal. Easy stuff a couple mornings a week.
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Nacy, no I haven’t tried the local honey; that’s interesting. I wonder if when something is labeled ‘clover honey’ or some such specific thing whether it doesn’t have a bunch of other flowers in it. I don’t know how big a bee’s territory is.

As far as your husband not being able to turn on the oven, if that’s your biggest problem, you’re lucky. Mine got his entire breakfast ready before bed last night - including milk on his cereal.
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Re the crown preps, I don't know the rationale behind it. I do know R has a high pain tolerance. Some of them may be repair of crowns cracked in the accident.

R is a decent cook thankfully but I am happy to cook supper most of the time. If I'm tired he will get his own food. He did the turkey on our Thanksgiving and the clean up.

Donna - just because your mom wants this or that, you don't have to fix it for her and get exhausted. Your home is not a restaurant. Give her easy stuff most of the time and the others once in a while for a treat as you feel up to it. She probably doesn't realize it's too much for you. Chicken rice soup soups good.

psue - that sounds like allergies. I like your idea about the flavours and smells but not all the work. I did a turkey meat loaf last year with pumpkin and cranberry in it. Got the flavours without all the work. Brussels sprouts on the side.

burnt - good luck! It would be great if he learned to cook a few dishes

nacy -hope hubby does well and you recover soon from your jab. I'm putting mine off for a little yet. I figure I my flu immunity is up so it will be covid first.

Going out today - R will drive. It's a snow day and very bright on the eyes. Got some errands to do and will food shop. Tonight will be a rotisserie chicken then that will form the base for the next pot of soup. Hopefully I will find a different coloured Christmas cactus too.
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Re: the cherries - I put the pail in the sink full of warmish water and left it until the water was cold, that thawed things just enough that I was able chop them into smaller chunks, which I then refroze in smaller portions.
Psue - I love eating plain stewed cherries, but there are plenty of cherry desserts I can make too if I feel like cooking.
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Golden, Cranberries! Yes! Mustn’t forget them - I think they would be great right in the stuffing along with some toasted pecans. I wonder if I can score some Delicata squash to use instead of butternut. Easier to split.

cwillie, I’m glad you got the cherry thing sorted. Are they sweet cherries like Bing or the old fashioned, sour, pie cherries? It’s hard to find those anymore but that tang is hard to beat. Cherries of all kinds are my second favorite fruit next to Italian prune plums eaten right off the tree. They are both a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds.

Golden again, are you able to get The Bear on tv? (Hulu) If you can get past the utter chaos and constant F-bombs it’s a really good drama series for foodies, and ‘peoplies’.
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Sour cherries!! Sweet cherries are good for fresh eating but sour pie cherries have all the flavour and are superior for everything else (and I think they're delicious fresh off the tree too).
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Peasuep, my oven is older, instead of pushing the button in you have to roll your finger on it. Takes a knack , hubby just can't do.

I'm going to have to try and watch the Bear again. For some reason I just couldn't get into it. Even though everyone raves about it, wasn't the language. It just bored me.
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Cwillie, then I’m jealous of your chunk o’ cherries. The only sour cherry thing I’ve had this year was a milkshake. It was way, way, way too small.

Nacy, this was my second shot at THE BEAR. I barely made it through the pilot the first time. Then my sister told me to give it another chance and after about the 4th or 5th episode I started to fall in love with the people.
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Psue - I was on my own that Thanksgiving - before I moved - so the meat loaf was perfect. As far as TV is concerned, we have one but it isn't plugged in. I haven't got the service yet. I'm quite happy without it, but R would like it for sports and news. I'll get it hooked up one of these weeks.

We got so excited about a variegated hoya, a red Thanksgiving cactus and a full in flower hellebore, I forgot to buy the rotisserie chicken. I'll pan fry the salmon we did remember to buy, make some carrot/cabbage fritters, and a strawberry spinach salad.

Don't think I ever had a sour cherry.

Found out the hellebore is very toxic to us and to cats. Rocky got up on the coffee table and started to lick the petals. I said "No" and she stopped, but I will have to move it out of reach at night. I don't want a trip to the vet b/c of that plant. Normally she is very good about avoiding the plants that are toxic but not this time.
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Golden, I’d be happy without a tv from dawn to dusk, especially in the winter and in this house where there is no escape from the noise. Last year we solved the problem by setting up a separate room for DH complete with a tv and a drawer full of snacks!

Hoyas were my favorite house plant in our high desert house. I had two that were many yards long, trailing across whole rooms. One, I had inherited from a GF - it was at least 70 years old.
Both of them promptly died when we moved into this house in the woods. I think it was a combination of low light and too much moisture in the air. GFs hoya lives on though, because 20 years ago, I rooted a dozen starts off the original plant and gifted them to relatives at a family reunion. My Mini Hoya survived relocation and remodel and is doing well in the new east windows. It’s a much better size for this small house.

I did not know you could grow hellebores indoors! I have a few in the garden but they die back to the ground every year. I wonder if yours is a different variety. Wonderful plants - toxic to deer too, which is why they’ve been left alone!

Your dinner sounds absolutely wonderful! You put together such lovely flavor combinations! I took stuffed cabbage out of the freezer yesterday for dinner tonight - hot and satisfying but definitely not exciting.
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Peasuep, we will definitely give The Bear another shot.

I don't know what I'd do without TV lol , got ice road truckers on now, background noise mostly, while I folded clothes.

Stepson that lives upstairs, he is a bit autistic, works as a janitor, we told him all we want him to pay for is TV. We have Hulu, apple, peacock, Paramount, Disney, you name it we got it. Netflix we pay for. But yeah we are pretty bad about to much TV.
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Nacy - I read, play games on the computer, look things up - I have a 'satiable curiosity. Anyone remember Rudyard Kipling's the Elephant's Child who is full of “ 'satiable curiosity”. That's me.

Sounds like a great idea for your dh, psue. Tv and snacks!

Made another soup yesterday - sort of a curried chicken and veg. I used some pureed roasted eggplant I had in the freezer as a thickener and will do that again. It worked well. Since I am more limited in the veggies I can eat I am having to be creative.Threw in some chopped baby bok choy as well. Must get my green leafy veggies.

My father used to make what he call "Zoop". He made it from whatever leftovers were in the fridge, often a beef base, and finished it off by adding a glass of sherry. It was always good. Hmmm! A glass of good red wine added to a beef stew definitely brings it up a level.
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We actually have a few of friends coming over to park at my house, so they can walk to the parade. so I made a big pot of chilli.

Golden, actually I do all that and knitting, while hubby watch cop and spy movies. 😂
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