Lol! We definitely like it there. Christmas time at the Granville Island Public Market is always something special.
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it is actually a dream of mine to take the train from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Vancouver, BC hopping on and off the train the whole way there . Seven years until retirement…
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That sounds great! One of our dreams is to take the train from Vancouver to Banff. We drove through the Canadian Rockies just after we first got married - one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
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Actuals & planned for Dec 18 week, cooking for 2 in MN. Where we’ll have a no-snow Christmas. A FB site (MN Weather) put together a clever graphic with counts of MN Christmas snow-cover over the past 70 years. Memorably for me, 1988 was one of no-snow. We’d gotten a riding lawnmower in the summer and a snowblower in the Fall. Neither got much use the first year due to drought conditions. This year, I got a new snow shovel in November…
Mon: Stuffed salmon (Yelloh/Schwans), baked sweet potato, red grapes
Tues: OUT - steak & lobster, using a gift card
Wed: Chicken & white bean chili, biscuits, farro apricot side.
Thurs: Meatloaf Querencia, mashed potatoes w mushroom gravy (jar). Mixed veg.
Fri: Meatballs (commercial) in orange sweet & sour sauce. NOTE – online recipe has typo in cornstarch amount for sauce – s/b 1 Tbl
Over white & wild rice with mixed veggies.
Sat: (today): Sausage coins potatoes, peppers, onions. Fruit salad - red & green grapes, diced apple, orange
Sun: Stacked crab/avocado/salsa tower. Recipe from CH’er articshark in 2015 is in a follow-on comment below.
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Avocado Crab and Salsa tower salad
Makes a pretty presentation whether as appetizer or light main.
MTT - about 1 hour of prep. Served as main-dish - I made half recipe and layered (salsa/crab/avocado) in 5 in x 2 in ‘grab-it’ bowls, then inverted each bowl on plate, added vinaigrette, omitted basil. Served with naan bread.
For appetizer size : Artichark said “Easy assembly – avocado on bottom, crab salad, then salsa. Use 3 inch ring or 3-inch PVC pipe cut to 2 ½ - 3 inch lengths to form each stack. Can be made ahead and kept in fridge until ready to serve.”
Crab salad has 3 Tbsp evoo, 1 Tbsp champagne vinegar, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 Tbsp mayo, 12 oz. lump crabmeat, salt and pepper. Whisk the evoo, vinegar, mustard, s &p together in a small bowl. Mix 3 Tbsp with the mayo. Add the crabmeat and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Set aside the rest of the vinaigrette until later.
Avocado salsa has 3 ripe avocados, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, Tbsp lime juice, salt and pepper. Toss everything in a medium bowl and set aside. Make this last or as close to service as possible.
The gazpacho salsa has 1/2 cup cored, seeded and 1/8 -inch (all the diced produce is the same size) diced yellow bell peppers, 1/2 cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber, 1/2 cup seeded and diced roma tomatoes, 1/2 cup diced celery (MTT- just used Beau Monde celery salt), 1/4 cup diced red onion (MTT subbed red pepper), 1/2 small stemmed, seeded and minced jalapeño (MTT halved this), 1 Tbsp chopped basil, 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1Tbsp sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss everything but the basil and set aside until ready. Add the basil right before service.
To make the towers, put the avocado salsa on the bottom of the form, crabmeat salad is next and the gazpacho salsa is added last. Gently lift the form. Drizzle some extra dressing around the plate, add the basil, and serve
CH Articshark Oct 1 2015
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I’ve been using a lot of short cuts and trying to clean out the fridge and freezer.
I’ll backtrack one day then go forward to Sunday, and post my Mon- Sun plans on Xmas Eve or Day!
Last night (Fri), I made salmon with butter, oregano, lemon, cherry tomatoes and some roast potatoes that I had in the fridge.
Slice of Leek quiche from a bakery called Pompette and.slice of Mushroom quiche from a bakery called Emmer, in Toronto. Both are so much better than mine so I splurge a couple times a month. Bush’s maple baked beans from a can, broccoli with evoo and lemon and a pinch of salt.
Crème Caramel in mason jars from Pompette bakery ( $6.50 each, enough for 2 people, the best value decadent dessert in Toronto, I think)
Tonight, Saturday, a duck cassoulet from a can that I purchased Boxing Week last Dec. It’s almost enough for 2 people, but we have 3 people for dinner 
Maybe Thursday’s leftover personal-sized St Hubert tourtières (a frozen tourtière from a regular chain grocery store). Boston lettuce salad with Renee’s Greek feta dressing from a jar. Not sure what to do with the celery that has become a little limp, probably will braise it.
Sunday/ Xmas Eve. This is a seafood supper for us. I want to make Dublin Lawyer, a lobster in whiskey cream sauce. I have 2 frozen Canadian lobsters for that. Baked beans, maybe from scratch. Frozen Oysters Rockefeller from the freezer (Metro grocery store, fka A & P/ Dominion, carries these and they are okay, not as good as mine but I want to clear the freezer!) Vegetables undecided. Off to grocery shop today! The Dublin Lawyer recipe is in this link: IRISH cooking - #4 by Phoenikia
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I hope all of you are successful in your cooking endeavors during this winter holiday season.
For two adults in San Diego:
Breakfasts: English Muffin bread
S: (tonight) takeout - cheeseburgers from the bar on the corner, followed by birthday cake.
Su: TJs beef and chicken tamales with red Hatch enchilada sauce, served with avocado and salad. Gotta have the red and green theme going. More cake.
M: A big breakfast in the morning (eggs, potatoes, sausage, toasted English muffin bread). Then for dinner, I’ll make chicken cordon bleu (braised, not fried) with pasta and peas. That’s my husband’s favorite. Yet more cake.
T: Something inspired by the apple bacon pizza mentioned on here. With salad.
W: Lentil soup - vegetarian/soup
Th: Tuna melts with apple slices on the side - seafood
F: Chicken curry fried rice with egg rolls.
Have a good week!
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Should I be wishing you a happy birthday? 
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Or maybe dustdude?
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Whoa - how did I miss that mention? I found more info and a picture on @MunchkinRedux Dec 6 post over on WFD
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With a nod to @Phoenikia, I’ve made the apple-bacon pizza twice now - both on pan-style crust and thin crust. Both good, but I think I liked the pan-style just a bit better for this one. My only other tips are 1) don’t skimp on the apples, and 2) the drizzle of something acidic (balsamic vinegar, boiled cider, or in my case - both) has a welcome place here.
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Ooh, tell us more! Link?
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Here is a photo of the apple flatbread pizza where I tried it first, at Foxy in Montreal.
I also enjoyed an apple risotto that I made a few times in 2021 (bacon optional, I added bacon). https://a-modo-mio.com/apple-risotto-with-walnuts/!
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It’s me. Thank you!
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Dustdude has another month. It’s me. Thanks!
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That’s the one!
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This looks like it. Honestly, it came from the Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook way back in the day. It was how we always made it at home, about once each year. I was so surprised to find out that most people think of it as a fried dish. I no longer use the paprika or cornstarch, and I add garlic now. I’ve also lightened it up a bit, by using a bit less cream and butter. Still good!
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Yum, thank you!
Greetings, People.
The final meal plan of 2023! Best wishes to you and yours in 2024.
Cooking for two adults in the PNW:
FRI: Senate bean soup (rolled from last week). Salad. Soda bread.
SAT: Leftover pan pizza from the freezer. Salad.
SUN: New Year’s Eve. Thomas Keller’s fried chicken. NYT creamy mac and cheese (gift link). Salad.
MON: New Year’s Day. Pan-fried ham steaks. Leftover mac and cheese. Salad.
TUE: Fish stew. Homemade oyster crackers. Salad.
THUR: Wings on the grill. Veggie stix. The last of the mac and cheese (if any).
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