Tcha.

*grins*

not for dinner - least ways not tonight ... but I tried my hand at my first batch of sweet pickled onions today. They are one of Him's favourites - hopefully they didn't come out too soft and mushy...

Eugh! Nothing worse than a mushy onion.
Except maybe an undercooked chip.

Not impressed by sweet pickled onions myself, but good luck to you. Especially as it sounds like they're being made with love.

A limp Onion God?

Limp I can work with darling, I'm a veritable faith healer when faced with that problem.
Mushy? Pass.

Yep. Nowt so offputting as a mushy one. Such a disappointment for a girl*.


(* a boy without a winkle!

apparently - not mushy, a little soft, but they are holding structural integrity.

*shrug* much as it bloody annoys me - gotta do everything a first time

Lesson learned: wider base pot, thus speeding up the time to come back up to boil, leaving the onions in near boiling brine for less time.

OTOH.... they're purrrrrrrrrrrrty :)
http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ocean...430617_600.jpg

We'll find out how they taste when Him gets back from the other side of the world

Oh I agree - I'm still to come to a proper recipe for Tuna Pasta Bake - which sounds like the easiest dish on Earth...
I'm defrosting and eating the remains this week - it's edible but not perfect.
So I totally get you being happy with your creation, but perhaps wanting to tweak it next time.

I'd be made up to be given one of those.
Like you say - purty.

there is something.... about the look of home canned stuff.

The strawberry jam is redder, the marmalade more golden, the pickles a brighter green....

Or maybe I'm just a sentimental sop.

But there is comfort in a pantry full of solid glass jars filled with the wonder of the summer's labours... or something

When I was a teen my BFF's Mum used to make her own jam.
I was not a jam fan.
Even as a child I never ate it - Laura would have jam sandwiches, I would have cheese.

Then I started spending time at Lou's house and lo and behold I started eating it.
My perfect breakfast was sitting in their tiny but sunlit dining room, eating homemade raspberry jam on wholemeal toast.

Like you say - there's something about it being made at home.

Sweet and sour chicken and an egg roll. Well, it wasn't a roll, it was kind of flat. Both home made, too.

Trying to decide between BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad next or Creamy Garlic Pasta and Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken to make next.

Since my dietary change we are eating a lot more seafood and vegetarian stuff. Last night I fired up the Big Green Egg grill and seared some really fresh miso glazed mahi mahi. I also grilled a sliced up block of tofu that I had been marinating for a few days. Served the fish with short grain brown rice and some stir fried spinach with minced ginger and a dash of soy sauce. It all turned out well and was quite tasty.

The left over brown rice come in handy for other meals and the tofu will mostly be eaten for lunches.

Former NYTimes food writer Mark Bitman has a new book out called VB6 "Vegan before 6" where he outlines his diet of mostly vegan dishes until dinner when he has whatever he wants in moderation. Says it lowered his cholesterol greatly and also helped his blood sugar get back in line.

That whole menu sounds really good, Chris. Do you have the recipes for them? I would love to get them.

Quinoa! Quinoa! Quinoa!

Although I'll get you to make me Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken when I come to visit.
Unless it has nuts in it.
I'm thinking of pretending I have a nut allergy. It would be easier than explaining my general antipathy to them.