Went to Jag's for a chin wag.
got dill sausage, bangers, shrimp $7 each x2, Argentinian shrimp from SP. (24)
Cheddar, Irish grass fed, $20 for about a pound. its a square block of cheese. it was cut from a big long slab, we got about a third of it. (20)
Small Camambert cheese. No mozzarella in stock. (3)
we got 2 riviera greek yogurt, milk, and 2 dozen eggs, $3 each. (11)
got 2 bakers chocolate, dark $2 each. (4)
pukka Revitalize tea, 13 bags, davids tea roobis cinnamon 4 bags. 2 liters lentils, one red one brown, $2 each. Organic mustard 1 lb. coconut milk, minican 0.50 x3. (9.5)
bag of potatoes, 2 bags heirloom carrots, maybe 4 lbs. small cukes. 2 naans. 1 pack hotdog buns. and a Danish.(13.5) tiger balm, apples (3) It was a big shop. Came to $80. (88, my estimate of the prices)

still have a big shop tomorrow at HP. going to CA Tire the next day. Still need to find olive oil. it is now the same price as avocado oil. its very expensive. we might use it as a replacement for olive oil if it continues. Nations is selling avocado oil now inthe olive oil section. spent 60 bucks there yesterday, on cheese, eggs and 4x shrimp.

Yesterday went to cheese shop; got 3 cheeses, tagliatelle, a soft brie like cheese without much of the bloomy rind smell. Drunken cheese - aged 18 months, last 6 in a vat of wine, cows milk. its very good, astes like Prosecco, or liek the champagne cheddar we used to get at metro. but without the cheddar taste. its lovely. Third cheese is the wine cheese, which has streaks of red wine in it.
we already have enough food for the month.
have to go to SP and get milk on sale. make fresh cheese = lasagna. we have to make our own noodles and sauce but that's ok.
also have to get pizza dough, and do a BB shop, probably for our Xmas pudding.
going to make yogurt ice cream tonight with mystery fruit formt he freezer. probably blackcurrant or josta. goign to make apple pancake soon too. last time we made it we used 1/4 cup cocoa butter instead of butter. it was very good. would do again. no cocoa powder added.

went to BB. got 50 bucks of fruit and nuts. Going to make this recipe: Old English Dark Fruit Cake .
we have subbed the 3 cups raisins and 1 cup cherry with pineapple 210g(7.5), ginger 225g(8), and blueberry 170g(6). also got prunes 480g(17), dried cranberry 390g(13.9). molasses 345g(14oz or 3 and 1/3 cup). dates 135g(4.8). citron 255g (9)
also using brazil nuts 175g(6.2) and pecans 130g(4.6).
got the medjool dates 295g (10.5).
going to make 2 cakes. most of the ingredients are 6 oz = 170 g. 6 oz x4 + 8 oz = 32 oz. just one cake. 64 oz for 2 cakes. So, we have 71 oz of fruit. in theory, almost not enough because some of those things (citron, pineapple) are not one of the 6 oz things. Other than that the recipe is the same. Nuts are 10.85 oz.

got a pumpkin in the oven, going to make soup.

Got 2 4 L bags of 2% milk yesterday and made mozzarella according to Junket recipe. then made ricotta inthe oven overnight.
20 uses for whey
made ricotta using this recipe.

So we made the cheese. the mozzarella took all day to make, and the ricotta took all the next day to make. it was messy. cheese everywhere. for all the effort and cleanup involved, this may not be worth it. got 3 balls of mozzarella, which taste pretty good, and half of runny goo supposed to be ricotta. froze one ball already. I think we will stick to making easier, fresh cheese. however we haven't used the cheese to make pizza yet. which might change our minds.

we have to make either lasagna or pizza. we have tomatoes, cheese, pasta flour. no dough.
also have to start on xmas cake recipe. found one in a Santa Lucia calendar which looks easy.
Today cooking another pumpkin, almost out of dahl already. cat likes it and has been eating some every day. Ghost pepper sauce was not hot enough. i used 2 chopsticks worth. this time adding fresh coconut flesh we cut from a coconut, and froze.

put all the toms in the fridge now. they are all pretty much ripe. time to cook them. Made a great spaghetti sauce the other day, took a few handfuls of cherry toms, cooked in pan, throw in a can of tomato paste, and some Italian sun-dried tomatoes. made a beautiful thick red sauce. i would never make sauce without 3 types of tomatoes again. it's amazing.

Low Carb French Coconut Pie

NYE Dinner Toronto Restaurants
"Lee Restaurant Chef Susur Lee is bringing in a six-course meal listed at $280 per person at this restaurant near Richmond and Spadina. Some of the dishes available are spiced coffee rub striploin, char siu duck canneloni and caviar."

Made the olde english christmas cake! added about 1 cup of spiced brandy we had been saving for a year now. only used 1 cup sugar. we made a double recipe which would have used 2 cups. it made 3 cakes: 2 in loaf pans, 1 in the casserole dish. lined with parchement. added 1 tsp vanilla bean paste.

so its a bit different. its a blueberry, cranberry, ginger xmas cake. with brazil nuts, and pecans. in at 5:55pm. done by 8pm.

we will soak it in rum and garnish with the rum soaked pineapple and pecans.

we were planning on getting some xmas chocolate bars, but we've already had so much i think we are done for the season. got 2 theobroma, in raspberry, and milk; dark chocolate covered maple birch sponge toffee; maltballs, choc ginger and cranberry, and cashews from BB.

at metro the passionfruit dark choc is on sale. ive wanted to get one for a year. but i did not because of the sugar. at HP Chocosol has a Jaguar bar that we want to try. and maybe one of the Camino white choc with dark choc bits.

not much of a good range of holiday chocolate. camino has a ginger and cranberry etc, but they both have hazelnuts in them. chocosol has mint flavour. and cranberry. kinda boring.

Got the italian peach cookie at Tre Mari, its like a little angel cake, with a vanilla crea inside. it was wonderful. nice to get a seasonal thing once ina while. im already ready for the zeppole for easter which i had missed this year.

the tre mari croissants are nice, with filling and italian spices. we had apricot, almond and apple so far. 3.50 for 2 on reduced rack. we also bought a big jar of huge olives. they must be colossal size. eating oen is like eating an apple! they are wonderful. it was 14 bucks for about a liter.

went to metro, lots of lamb, no sale yet. they had sold out of mincemeat. will check back there later. got 3 liter of olive oil for 30 bucks. cold pressed but not first cold preseed. oh well.

made 3 small containers of goat cheese 2 days ago. we have 3 or 4 liters of duck stock. the duck said 500g on it. we had 3 meals of it so far, breast on xmas eve, legs on xmas, and some bits yesterday. Made Hoisin sauce with sesame paste and miso paste and other stuff. its very good. had it ont he Mu Shu pancakes, and today on rice noodles with shrimp.

Duck Soup:
-wild rice
-pho
Or we can make one more round of mu shu pancakes. and then make wild rice soup. and add chicken.
Turmeric-Infused chicken and Wild Rice Soup

whole prawn dimsum - leave tail on so it sticks out of the wonton shell. sweet thai chili sauce or red szechuan sauce. light bright red with ginger garlic, chillies. salmon & shrimp fried rice. salmon egg custard with truffle cheese.

made Christmas version of apple pancake last night with brandy pineapple fermented over a couple months in the month, spiced poached pears, lots of apples, milk and coconut flakes. we poached the pears in a tbsp. of sugar and water and accidentally dropped some Sichuan peppercorns in. they made it smell spicy in the kitchen and definitely smelled like them. but when the pancake was made the pears didn't taste much like the peppercorns they tasted nicely spiced. cremem brulee
xmas cake version 2: double the pecans, less fruit, more coconut flakes, coconut oil, coconut milk. add figs. keep prunes + blueberry.
keep the coffee+ molasses + coco powder. use powder ginger instead of candy ginger. less brazil nuts. lots of macadamia nuts cut into quarters.