I’m sorry but I laughed so loud and hard Sleeve! Same here, DH asked if I was looking at diamond jewelry as we tend to see each other’s searches on our separate devices (separate, mind you!). I rolled my eyes and told him it was nearing Valentine’s Day, not to be concerned. Today I saw several ads for microgreens, pendant lighting, and… oh yes, a range hood! (I just ordered ours for the new kitchen). Nothing is sacred. I wouldn’t be surprised if “they” figured out a way to target TV commercials to individuals. It’ll come to that, someday. The Latvia comment sent me into more giggles. I know it’s not funny to you…

I do hope your Sis is all good. I think she may be the smart one of us all… going sans devices ; )

Jas, I can see Bud balancing on top of a door - Snow found her way onto my shower sliding door ledge… but that photo of Bud is hilarious and priceless! You can almost see him thinking “I must not move, I must not move”! Pretty boy, too : )

writersblock, thank you, and I needed that… we started, slowly, in May, so weekends only, plus one week DH took off (I didn’t), and I still feel we are moving like snails! To just work in the yard on a Saturday afternoon, or read a few chapters of a book on a weekend night without falling asleep from exhaustion before I turn the first page… will be heaven! No, having a kitchen, a new kitchen at that... will be heaven : )

Sleevendog, a member of the cast iron group I belong to takes outrageous photos of his grilled meat. He found one of his on the site of a restaurant in Mexico. His exact photo. I guess the cook can't grill :-)

I haven't posted meals here recently.

Okay... a pear upside down cake. I don't do desserts often, and I shared most of it with my local community center. I just simply wanted, for a vast change for me, to post something in the dessert family for Valentine's day on my blog. (Last year it was a shrimp salad where I shaped pairs of shrimp into hearts...) I do wish I'd been able to center that cake on the plate, but hey, at least it was all ON the plate!

For the Asian New Year; Vietnamese beef and watercress, with rice.

Love your cat Jasdip, that photo is so cute. So glad you’re ‘getting there’ 2 many. Well Artemis ma, what terrific looking meals All look so yummy.

A quick pasta meal for us Orzo and prawns.

I think it’s quite interesting how different countries’ speciality foods are quite similar. For example Paella and Jambalaya.

I have recently come to realise that one of my favourites Phillipines Pork Adobe, is very similar to the Malaysian Bak Kut Teh or Pork Rib Tea. Although a few different spices are used in each, the tastes and over all presentation are very similar.

I think I’ll just call it Pork in Spicey Asian Broth.

OK, try #4. I'm not even going to try to post a picture because the last three tries the post just went away. Everything looks delicious, but I want that avocado BLT to go with my beef barley soup, then some colcannon just because and some lemon chicken, and, well, everything.

Annie

OK, that worked, now I'm going to try a picture. This is Pane Bianco, made last weekend because Dave tells me he'll work for food:

Annie

OK, I've tried and tried. Houzz will let me post ONE picture per post, so here's some Shepherd's pie with butternut squash in lieu of the mashed potatoes:

Onward.....

Annie

Quiche with mashed butternut squash, trying to use up the squash in storage before it spoils:

Madi visited last night and helped me bake bread:

She says this is how she feels when she bakes with me:

Annie

And now my posting is at an end, apparently, because my last seven posts refused to "stick". I'm going to try tonight's supper with Sol's zucchini pancakes:

And some baked chicken tenders:

Annie

OK, I'll try this: While Madi helped make bread, Maci comforted their new shelter dog, Sage. My fat cat had the poor creature terrorized, chasing her from one end of the house to another.

Annie

What a precious photo, Annie!

Okay, a couple more.

Rooster legs with sage and wine sauce (and peppercorns).

Now I know what Annie is talking about, having posts with pics not show up. Twice I tried to post on the WFD and it's not showing up. Be forewarned, if it shows up twice......it wasn't deliberate.

Came here for food but leaving in love with a dog.

(But the food looks great, too!)

Neely, I love your shrimp and orzo. Your Asian soup makes me want to dive right in, it's so appealing.

Annie, WFD wouldn't be complete without your family stories. I love, love reading about your life. And Sage, welcome to the CF!! I'm such an animal lover and you're a sweetie.

Today was a holiday for most of Canada, a provincial holiday. I celebrated my defrosting the chest freezer. That plus shoveling a girlfriend's driveway and my back is feeling it.

I roasted a chicken, the first in a long time, and it was delicious. I'm hoping that I keep enough leftovers for chicken noodle soup.

Oh Artemis, you did take me down memory lane. My grandmother used to make stuffed tripe soup and the taste lingers with me to this day. No cut of beef has that unique savour. This recipe is the closest to what she used to make:

http://www.mideastchef.com/middle-eastern-and-chaldean-recipes-blog/pachastuffed-tripe

It was a lot of work, so she made it only rarely. Talk about taste of home :)

Artemis, your Vietnamese Beef and watercress looks so delicious! I sure miss watercress. Used to grow wild here, easy to find, now no more. I hope to grow watercress microgreens (or minigreens, as Sleeven would say/do!). Why is it when one is trying to put a cake neatly centered on a platter it never happens, but when you don’t care so much, it’s always perfectly centered?! Your pear cake looks so moist and beautiful : ) And chicken so perfectly delectable when sage is used. I’m still re-visiting your stuffed trout… !

Neely, another home run with your shrimp and orzo dish – very pretty and you’ve got me hungry for a hearty shrimp meal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dish like your pork and Asian broth – sure looks rich and good!

Annie, you’ve been doing a lot of cooking! Between you and Ann I’m also ‘hankering’ quiche : ) Used to make it quite often, but haven’t in some time. Need to correct that! Love that you used butternut squash in a shepherd’s pie. The closeup of your pane bianco makes my stomach grumble… if I remember correctly, that’s the bread that should have taken first prize, right? I shoulda been the judge!

Jasdip, I have to admit, your roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and Brussel sprouts (with the perfect ‘char’) is my favorite this time around. I think I can smell and taste it! I keep clicking on the closeup and just staring at it… : )

Sleevendog, I just realized you’d mentioned (above) how you kept spring rolls fresh for a few hours – thank you for the tip! The photo of yours with your mustard (on the Valentine’s thread) had me swooning… that lovely pop-in-your mouth mustard on spring rolls – genius flavors!

Here… lotsa salad bar salads (not what we’re wanting in cold weather, but better than fast food to our stomachs and bodies); a Pizza Hut pizza, soggy crust and all; and a chicken dinner from KFC. We’re at the 10-month mark now, living without a kitchen, bare plywood floors, and a couple plastic chairs. The wood for our floors was delivered last night – yay! They said won’t be installed for another 3 weeks. The finishing process takes 5-7 days, and another 7 days we can’t walk on it. That means DH, myself, and the ‘kids’ will be relegated to the front foyer and bedroom for 2 weeks. I hope we survive! LOL! Meanwhile Snow Kitty now sports nail caps (black, against her white fur makes quite the fashion statement) – she doesn’t scratch or bite, ever, but loves to sharpen her nails on everything. She tolerates the nail caps incredibly well… ‘soft clawing’ everything in sight! Our small dog is in diapers… her age has caught up with her. She’s been a sport about it. I have dreams about loading dishwashers, missing a real sink I suppose. You’d think I’d dream about cooking, but clearly seeing these wonderful meals all the time keeps my subconscious from torturing me!

Artemis, your Vietnamese Beef and watercress looks so delicious! I sure miss watercress. Used to grow wild here, easy to find, now no more. I hope to grow watercress microgreens (or minigreens, as Sleeven would say/do!). Why is it when one is trying to put a cake neatly centered on a platter it never happens, but when you don’t care so much, it’s always perfectly centered?! Your pear cake looks so moist and beautiful : ) And chicken so perfectly delectable when sage is used. I’m still re-visiting your stuffed trout… !

Neely, another home run with your shrimp and orzo dish – very pretty and you’ve got me hungry for a hearty shrimp meal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dish like your pork and Asian broth – sure looks rich and good!

Annie, you’ve been doing a lot of cooking! Between you and Ann I’m also ‘hankering’ quiche : ) Used to make it quite often, but haven’t in some time. Need to correct that! Love that you used butternut squash in a shepherd’s pie. The closeup of your pane bianco makes my stomach grumble… if I remember correctly, that’s the bread that should have taken first prize, right? I shoulda been the judge!

Jasdip, I have to admit, your roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and Brussel sprouts (with the perfect ‘char’) is my favorite this time around. I think I can smell and taste it! I keep clicking on the closeup and just staring at it… : )

Sleevendog, I just realized you’d mentioned (above) how you kept spring rolls fresh for a few hours – thank you for the tip! The photo of yours with your mustard (on the Valentine’s thread) had me swooning… that lovely pop-in-your mouth mustard on spring rolls – genius flavors!

Here… lotsa salad bar salads (not what we’re wanting in cold weather, but better than fast food to our stomachs and bodies); a Pizza Hut pizza, soggy crust and all; and a chicken dinner from KFC. We’re at the 10-month mark now, living without a kitchen, bare plywood floors, and a couple plastic chairs. The wood for our floors was delivered last night – yay! They said won’t be installed for another 3 weeks. The finishing process takes 5-7 days, and another 7 days we can’t walk on it. That means DH, myself, and the ‘kids’ will be relegated to the front foyer and bedroom for 2 weeks. I hope we survive! LOL! Meanwhile Snow Kitty now sports nail caps (black, against her white fur makes quite the fashion statement) – she doesn’t scratch or bite, ever, but loves to sharpen her nails on everything. She tolerates the nail caps incredibly well… ‘soft clawing’ everything in sight! Our small dog is in diapers… her age has caught up with her. She’s been a sport about it. I have dreams about loading dishwashers, missing a real sink I suppose. You’d think I’d dream about cooking, but clearly seeing these wonderful meals all the time keeps my subconscious from torturing me!

Just peeking in and loving the food pictures, recipes and friendly chatter.

Annie: I love those pictures of Madi and Maci and that beautiful dog. Madi expressing how she feels about baking bread with you is a picture to cherish!

I whipped my potatoes yesterday instead of the usual hand mashing. I should do it more often. They're delectable! LOL

Tonite was a sausage with leftover whipped potatoes and yes chicken gravy. I have no idea why the pic is so close, I wasn't laying on the table!

Jasdip, mine went away again and I just typed a long reply. (sigh) Your chicken looks delicious but those mashed potatoes, that's what I'd go right for.

FOAS, that poor dog is just a sweetheart. She was a rescue from a puppy mill, used as breeding stock. She's less than 2 years old and has already has puppies. She's also about 15 pounds underweight, she only weighs 20 pounds and that's now that Ashley has put a couple of pounds on her. She isn't completely housebroken and has spent her entire life in a cage, so when the girls went to visit everyone was apprehensive. Except Sage, who came bouncing out with a happy tail, licking the girls and playing with the toys they brought her. Just like that, Ashley had a new dog. She won't be the size of Rex, their prior German Shepherd, who tipped the scale at over 100 pounds. She's already figured out where the food is in my house, though, and will sit at the refrigerator and wait for me to give her bites of beef, LOL.

writersblock, that picture is deceiving, they're both naughty and now they get in trouble together. (grin)

2many, that IS the bread that was supposed to win, she was beaten out by a no-knead loaf, I still don't agree with that, but I'm not the judge. And now Madi wants to bake for the fair! So SnowKitty doesn't mind the softclaws? I'm thinking about trying some for Elery's cat, who was supposed to be a barn cat but somehow ended up here at the house, and now I don't have barn cats. I clip Spark's claws, but somehow I think there wouldn't be much left of me if I tried to clip her's...

Neely, I'm glad your heat moderated. Even with air conditioning it's not much fun to cook when it's so hot.

Artemis, I agree with 2many, that cake doesn't need to be centered on the plate, it looks perfect the way it is. It wouldn't last long here anyway, not long enough for anyone to notice!

Lizbeth, I agree, I think that picture needs to find a place in my kitchen, quick, before she gets bigger and things like dances distract her from my kitchen!

I stopped at a little "farmer's market" on the way home from Grand Rapids yesterday and they had cooked crawfish for $4.99 a pound. I bought a pound, brought them home and cleaned them and today we had etouffee. In spite of the dreaded cauliflower rice, it was pretty good. Mother wouldn't touch it, she ate leftover baked chicken. And Houzz won't let me post a picture, so you'll have to trust me. Home canned green beans as a side.

Annie

Great price on those crawfish, Annie. I do see crawfish on occasion at our grocery store, not sure how fresh… I should ask. As we love jambalaya, I’m sure etouffee would be good. I know yours was : )

Heartbreaking how some animals are treated… the crazy thing is, when you ‘rescue’ a pet they enrich your lives far more than you improve theirs : ) Sage is in loving care now, and it appears she has a co-conspirator in Maci – don’t they both look like they’ve got an amusing secret?!

The Soft Claw caps are easy to apply, but you need to be able to hold the paw(s) gently, press to extend each claw. They do recommend clipping the tip off the nails first, and I do with Snow. Cats also shed the sheaths (outer claw layer) around every 3 months, so the Soft Claws will come off at that time. Snow has had hers on for 2+ weeks now. She did pull 2 off with her mouth after a couple days of working on them (glue dried too much before I got those on), but I just popped more back on and she gave up bothering with them. I’ve read they typically last around 2 weeks, but everyone’s mileage varies. They come in colors which helps when one falls off.

I clip her claw tips off… then we sit in the bathroom (small room so I can get her back if she jumps off my lap). I don’t use the little applicator tip for the glue (it just dries and clogs for the next use), but stuff the tip of the glue bottle into the caps one at a time, give a good squeeze. Lay them on a paper plate. Put Snow in my lap, hold a paw, and one at a time extend her claws and put the caps on, pressing a little. I let her take a break between paws as I ready the next set. She wears the mediums and is 8+ lbs. You can have a vet put them on if you wish. Snow can extend her claws just fine, they don’t touch her skin, she climbs every bit as easily (rubber gives grip). Goes without saying but... I wouldn’t let any cat outside with these as they could not defend themselves.

ETA: Pic of Snow in her usual 'paws out position' asleep in the TV light last night. Her soft claws caps are sticking out a bit because her claws have grown since applying them. As you can see, she could not care less : )

ETA: Jasdip, I just saw your post and laughed so hard! Had you set that meal in front of me, I'd have laid on the table if I'd needed to to eat it! Ah, whipped potatoes. : )

I've been MIA this year after a super busy January and February but I can't post any pictures. Hello to everyone! Hopefully this one will work!

Argh! I do see your post cookebook - glad to see you again! My post re: cat soft claws for Annie shows up on the pc, not on the cellphone. %#%$# Houzz!

I posted one yesterday with lots of pictures but it never showed up! Glad you are done with your chemo and the remodeling is going full blast!

Thank you cookebook : ) You might try again... sometimes it takes a second (or third) try.

My post re: cat soft claws for Annie shows up on the pc, not on the cellphone. %#%$# Houzz!

I don't see it on my desktop computer, either. This place is a wreck these days.

Sad day for the WFD postings. It seems Ann_t has been evicted. I don't visit hot topics or any other categories much. But some 'heavy hand' made a choice to cancel her. Things do change as houzz advances in their interests. Obviously they kept all her photos and content as powers do. Also why I deleted some of my content that they may have wanted to 'own'.

If all this continues, ann_t is on egullet. A nice friendly exchange with all things food but not stuffy. (some of the 'whats for dinner' pics are as sloppy as some of mine) haha. Possibly they might welcome a 'What's for Dinner' GardenWeb OldTimers thread to get acquainted. Or just visit and lurk.

Thankfully she has a blog she keeps up with that I have saved on my desktop favorites.

I've been leaning more and more to private forums without pocketbook interests. I get it as money is the goal for most. But a pleasure when some just want to support content and community.

If this is true, I'm pissed. Who would not see her contribution over the years sharing her recipes and methods !!!

NOoooo! I've never visited hot topics (I don't think I have, anyway) but I don't care. Second person I am aware of who's been kicked off. I can't believe this. Thank you for the heads up Sleeve.

%#^&!

Ann, if you're reading this, when things slow down (remodel has kicked into high gear now) I will join egullet if only to read your posts (I feel I might be a bit intimidated to post there), but in addition, I have an old email which takes me to your blog easily (and I visit often to look for recipes of yours) so I'll enjoy seeing you there. I hate this, for you, for me, for everyone who absolutely will miss you. I'm shocked.

Uh, is there anything I or anyone could do about this? Do you think Ann would come back if there were?

And lastly, NOooooo!

There are some extremely petty people on HT. Don't understand why H---- allows them to get away with some of the things they do.

Totally Noooo.

AnnT has been a cooking and photography inspiration for nearly 20 years.

Even if she is excluded from Hot Topics why this Forum as well.?

I’m quite shocked about this and don’t know how to proceed.

I was banned from GW a couple of times, they thought some of my daily threads over on the Kitchen Table were Spam. I was able to read, but not post.

I hope Ann can write to Tamara, if she's still part of Houzz and ask to be re-instated.

Hot Topics scare the bejeebers outta me!

As well, here's an article about Houzz laying off a bunch of staff in the UK where it originates and in the U.S. It might be just the beginning and be bad news for GW all around.

Houzz Layoffs

Tamara has been gone a long time now. There is a great deal of, uh, enforced exiting of people who post in HT, without any warning. If you read there much, it quickly becomes clear whom they target. ETA Be aware that use of the ‘b’ word tends to get threads disappeared these days.

A lot of people on HT have been getting tossed lately. Many come back with a new account, as hopefully will she.

Well, one more reason why I stay away from other forums. I found the Tomato forum extremely unfriendly and I did check out Hot Topics. Once. I very quickly decided that it was certainly not for me. But AnnT? Really? Of all the stupid things Houzz has done to alienate users, that one tops it for me.

What's for Dinner? I made venison burritos. Low carb tortillas, low fat cheese. They sucked and I have heartburn, plus now I'm just generally ticked off. No pictures.

Annie

Lots of good eating happening here.

Jasdip, love that picture of "Bud". We also have a tabby, Molly, who loves to get up high.

Annie, I think I'm in love with a dog too. Sage is beautiful. What a lucky girl to find her way to your family.

I got back into making sourdough bread at the beginning of February and made a batch of

Sourdough Rye. No commercial yeast.

Really happy with the flavour of this rye bread.

Went great

with smoked salmon.

Platter for two.

Monty_Abby = Ann_t?

dcarch

Well, those are familiar pictures, and the bread looks delicious. I think rye bread is my all time favorite.

Thank goodness....

Annie

Monty you're my hero!

Annie, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your venison burritos. Restricted diets can be so hard. DH has been told by his doc he needs to lay off carbs and cut his quantities back (hard for him to do with fast/takeout food). He’s been doing modestly well since but is always hungry now. A minimum of 2+ months to go before I can get him back on track with healthier home cooking.

Going to embarrass myself… I realize I’m tired, my brain is overwhelmed right now with other things… I literally cried with happiness! Yes, I’m a happy-crier : ) Ok, no more blubbering… Monty_Abby… welcome : ) : ) : ) Ah!!! Sourdough rye??!! Some people can do it all! I made rye a few times and called it quits (brick dense, hard, taste was off). Yours is perfection. And it’s sourdough. Heavens. While the platter looks wonderful (capers, fresh cracked pepper, salmon… oh my), I’m fixated on the bread. Hopefully, someday, I can tackle sourdough… and I’d love to try sourdough rye! I’m hoping you’ll guide me as I flounder! Uhm… I found a recipe on a blog I love, but the sourdough uses spring water. May filtered water be used instead? If not, is the spring water bottled? (Making notes for not too distant future baking).

Here? We ‘enjoyed’ tv dinners. Night before was Taco Bell. Enough said.

Hoo Rah Monty_Abby............this forum MUST survive one way or another.

Thanks Wintercat.

Thanks Shirl.

2ManyDiversions, :). Let me know when you are ready and I'll be happy to help you get started with Sourdough baking. By filtered to you mean something like Britta? I don't use filter water, because Amy's Bread (NY Bakery) recommends bottled spring water and that is what I have always used to get a starter "started" and every time I feed the starter. I use our regular tap (well) water for the breads though.

I still had some smoked salmon from Tuesday's dinner. Enough for two more meals, both

of which were breakfast.

Wednesday morning I made Potato Latkes topped with smoked salmon

And yesterday morning for DH only I made Eggs Benedict with the remaining smoked salmon, served on rye toast and topped with Hollandaise.

Yum, that looks amazing!

Houzz finally will let me post a picture, so here is last night's burrito, along with some squash that I took from storage. I also made a pie with some of the squash, but didn't take a picture yet. Well, maybe I spoke too soon, let me try again...

I've made mashed squash, squash soup, pie, muffins, and I have a stack of ziplocks full of cooked/mashed squash in the freezer. These are left:

I think I planted enough squash, LOL.

Annie

But have you made pumpkin scones? One of the few ways DH will eat pumpkin/squash.

Thank you, Monty : ) That’s very generous of you. Yes, by filtered I meant similar to Brita, not Reverse Osmosis though. When I read ‘spring water’ my mind went to collecting the water trickling from natural springs in Colorado and New Mexico, eons ago. I thought to myself I’d probably get lost traipsing around the Smoky Mtns here trying to find a natural spring! LOL! I’m very sure I can find bottled spring water at the grocery : ) Aaah, more sour cream (or crème fraiche), capers, salmon, and cracked peppers… my latkes never look that good – I tend to squash them too much. And not enough crisp. That is the most perfect photo of eggs benedict I’ve ever seen. I’ve got to stop staring at it… I’m salivating.

Annie, really? That burrito looks fantastic! I find it impossible to believe it ‘sucked’ in any way! Your mashed squash is so vibrant and pretty : ) And I adore squash soup.

Colleenoz.. if you’re going to bring up pumpkin scones, I’m going to request the recipe… please :)

I will refrain from mentioning what horror we might be dining on this evening. ; )

2,many, the problem with the burritos was in the wrapper. Those low carb atrocities are STRETCHY, and I have a big problem with the odd texture. So the taste was OK, but the texture was awful. Add some sauce and you get stretchy mushy ickiness. Ugh. Plus heartburn, LOL.

Annie

Annie, I know just what you mean. I was on a very low-carb diet for a while and it was better just to skip wrappers and taco shells and such. Ick.

2Many, today I can see your soft claw post. Go figure.

Monty, nice to see you here. I don't care for most sourdough, but I bet that rye is divine. I'm salivating over that smoked salmon platter--heavenly!

Monty_Abby welcome to the Cooking Forum! I'm so looking forward to see more of your wonderful meals. Beautiful plating and photos :D