I’m sorry to hear about the scallops experience. I used to buy mussels from the fishmonger (Lapointes Fish in the Byward Market) fairly regularly when I first moved to Ottawa. They used to sell mussels for $0.99/lb so the days I would go shopping in the market I would pick up a pound of mussels to take home for dinner. One time I went in and there was only one bag of mussels left and there was a little voice in my head saying I should buy something else but I chose to ignore the voice and bought the mussels. Needless-to-say I got very sick after. I continue to buy fish and shellfish from the same store to no ill effect so I guess I just got a bad batch.
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London, with a population of 423 000 people, as far as I can tell, only has 3 good independent fishmongers right now. 1 is too far, and this happened at one of the other 2.
One Loblaws also has a good selection, but I’ve had 5 separate disappointments since March 2020 mostly due to the new and young employees not knowing enough, or not knowing how to punch in the correct code, so I’m avoiding the Loblaws until they get staff that knows when something is off, knows when something shouldn’t be sold, knows the customer is often if not always right,etc. LOL.
We eat fish every Friday, and I’m guessing I’ve cooked fish 140 of the past 156 Fridays. Fish & Chips around once every 8 weeks, and maybe 5 other fish take-out dinners over the past 3 years.
Sometimes it is a bad batch. With mussels, toss the ones that have broken shells or are open before cooking, and toss the ones that don’t open after cooking, and if you smell ammonia before or after, toss them.
I have had really bad luck with sockeye salmon the past 3 years in both Toronto and London. Any Faroe Island, Irish or Scottish Atlantic salmon has been excellent.
Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga, where I now feel lucky to just have gotten a lot of rain instead of snow! The theme of the week is pork, which may not be ideal for someone whose doctor just mentioned she should watch her cholesterol…smaller portions!
Breakfast: King cake! Most of this will be shared with friends.
Saturday, February 18: Pork cutlet Cuban sandwiches, braised greens to counteract 
Sunday: More pork, this time in meatball form with cabbage; maybe potatoes; rice pudding with persimmon or mango purée depending on what’s available at the store today
Monday: One-pot sausage and mushroom pasta from Cook’s Country; some kind of veg on the side
Tuesday: scrounge
Wednesday: Mushroom and caper frittata; maybe a celery rémoulade?
Thursday/Friday: TBD
Hope everyone stays warm and dry this week! Happy cooking!
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Let me know how dreamland cafe is! It’s very close to my mother’s apartment…
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After my recent visit to the What are you Baking Group I should obviously sign up for a KA scone baking class LOL
In the meantime I will lurk and bemoan the price of eggs.
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Actuals last
Superbowl Sunday beef stew and baguette
Monday sauteed a box of mushrooms and added to the leftover beef stew and served it over egg noodles with some sour cream stirred in
Tuesday ham steak, spinach and a small casserole of potatoes gratin which bubbled over and christened the new oven
Wednesday Fried fish for me and leftovers for both
Thursday stuffed zucchini with mild italian sausage as the base of the stuffing mix
Friday cheeseburger and caesar salad
Saturday elaborate steak dinner with son and his family
Sunday a fish and shrimp fry with our son cooking
Monday tortellini and cherry tomato casserole
TBD for the rest of the week.
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Not snowing at all here in far western New England and the ice on the lakes isn’t safe for winter activities either.
There was a new temporary outdoor skating rink set up and that has been closed more than it has open been. Sad for the kids on vacation this week.
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We have the Rideau Canal in Ottawa and it is maintained for outdoor skating during the winter months. It has been too warm this winter to open it for skating. If it doesn’t open at all this year that will be a first in over 50 years as being used as a skateway.
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What is this snow thing of which you all talk? Is it the white rain I’ve read about?
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Ahahaha! Yes it is in fact white rain 
I will trade you our snow for your rain!
We havent had much rain recently. Bright and sunny today - and warm for February at around 12. I spent an hour or so pottering round the garden.
It has been a mild winter where I live too (Ottawa, Canada) but it has been mostly overcast. I am longing to see some sun.
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Me too. We usually spend three week in Tenerife in January/February but couldnt travel this year due to medical issues preventing us from getting travel insurance. I’ve really missed those January days with temps in the mid 20s.
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Thankful for a short workweek coming up.
For two adults in San Diego:
This week’s breakfasts: Banana walnut bread, because there were some bananas languishing on the counter. I have a feeling my husband will want a share of this.
S:(tonight) - takeout. Green chile and bean burritos
Su: TJs turkey meatballs in sauce, with spinach and cheese. Sourdough to scoop up the goodness.
M: Fish tacos (with purchased battered fish) - seafood
T: TJs spinach tortellini, veggie stock, veggies, parmesan - vegetarian
W: Butter chicken with veggies and rice
Th: Maybe https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021698-sheet-pan-sausages-with-caramelized-shallots-and-apples - using kielbasa? Served with salad?
F: TJs orange chicken with veggies and rice
Have a good week!
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If not, then the kielbasa recipe on this link works very nicely
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Actuals for Feb 13 week, cooking for 2 in MN. Where the chocolate bread pudding mentioned in the top post did NOT get made, since we still had brownies lingering. Now we also have Valentines Day dessert of lemon cream cheese Bundt lingering (in the freezer). Saturday’s roast chicken meal was especially good, and some of the leftover restocked my small ready-for-anything stash of shredded frozen cooked chicken. I’m declaring victory early with the plans this week to use the last of the freezer overstock, leaving a reasonable 1 week supply of various proteins to cover meals if I choose not to shop. Now on to more focused pantry-driven meal planning – using up excessive pastas, rice sides and canned goods.
Mon: lunch - Lasagna (from freezer), garlic-butter English muffins, spinach salad. Dinner - Shredded pork (from freezer) w/BBQ sauce, baked beans, potato salad, skillet cinnamon & allspice apples
Tues: Valentines Day feast - Steak with mushrooms, baked sweet potato, (commercial, frozen Stouffers) spinach souffle, (commercial, frozen Salt & Sky brand from Costco) lobster risotto bites. Unusual for us – a glass of Cabernet red wine each (Truth and Valor). Dessert - Lemon cream cheese pound cake Bundtlets w/ (from frozen) berries and whipped cream.
Wed: Meatball crescent muffins from freezer, spinach salad, red grapes.
Thurs (and reheated Fri): A particularly satisfying clear-out of ingredients from freezer.
Individual chicken pot pies with puff pastry top crust. Red grapes. Filling modified from Betty Crocker recipe with added/substitution of 1 C diced/cooked potato in place of 1 C of the chicken, added 1 tsp. Greek seasoning mix. Veggies were combination of frozen mixed veg and a box of lima beans. Dessert – BAKED - cherry (from frozen with added sugar and cornstarch) mini pie with puff pastry top crust, dusted with “berry spice” – cocoa/cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Sat: lunch - Individual Grinder sandwiches (ham, pepperoni, cheese, tomato and salad-topped) on Hoagie rolls. Dessert - Lemon cream cheese Bundt w fruit and whipped cream.
Dinner - Roast chicken, with mustardy/lemon potatoes and onions from Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert. Normandy vegetables. Red grapes.
Sun (today); Marinated salmon, sweet potato, salad
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Feeding two adults and a tween in the Boston burbs, where it’s school vacation week and DS has offered to cook dinner. See if you can figure out which meal he’s going to make…
Sun: gochujang meatballs (https://food52.com/recipes/21537-spicy-korean-style-gochujang-meatballs), rice, snow peas
Mon: enchiladas (https://pinchofyum.com/simple-enchiladas-verdes)
Tues: beef stew with tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and red wine - Cooking Light. Not my favorite beef stew recipe but DH proposed a change-up from our usual Guinness-based stew.
Weds: queso chicken chili https://pinchofyum.com/queso-chicken-chili hold the jalapeños
Thurs: chicken nachos
Fri: tbd
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That’s my guess. 
for what your DS going to make.
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Congrats on reaching reasonable freezer clean out!
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Ding ding ding! We have a winner! 
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