Thursday, December 15, 2016

Shopping, Turkey, Dry Aging,

Busy day, went shopping first of all and spent a lot of money, some of which was for Christmas. Actually, although my bill totalled over $200, I had 50,000 points so got $50 knocked off the bill and then earned 26,000 more points. I love this point system. I have been looking at turkeys and was talking to a local market about fresh ones, they are somewhat expensive, but when I looked at the ones in the grocery store today, they were not cheap either and one had a choice of a Butterball which has synthetic basting in it, or a two stuffing turkey which could be stuffed with who knows what. So when I got home I ordered the more expensive fresh turkey. I had never been on the website for the market store, called Victoria Street Market, and when I did I was amazed to find that they do dry aged  meats. We have been buying the odd thing from them for a while, particularly sausages, but now I am going to try their beef. It will be expensive, but better than Matt throwing stuff away because he says it's too tough. The picture shows their dry aging room which is visible from the store.

I have been searching for a Carrot Cake recipe for ever. It was first published in the LCBO (lquor board) magazine Food and Drink but I didn't know when. I did know I had blogged about it once many years ago. I even asked the LCBO if they could find the recipe. However, I was looking for straight carrot cake - it turned out the title was actually Honey Butter Carrot Cake with Toasted Pecans and Citrus Cream Cheese Icing. which explains why I couldn't find it. The picture of the cake was on the cover of that issue of Food and Drink but the picture they have that I can find online, only shows a slice of the cake. I am hoping they can provide me with the cover picture.

When we got home, the bug man had been for the ants. Couldn't see anything. Eventually I found
little bubbles of something all round the apartment. Clear liquid but obviously thicker than water. Not touched it though. Hope it works. Not my hand, but I wanted to show you how tiny these things are. I am not even sure the ones in the picture aren't bigger than ours. I gather they are sugar ants, but, in that case, why the heck are they in the bathroom?

After lunch I was too knackered to go to exercise class so we hung around until it was time to go get my CPAP machine replaced. That didn't take very long at all. The rest of the afternoon we just relaxed. Forgot, picked up The Santa Clause, one of my favourite Christmas movies. Watched it in the evening and Matt said he couldn't understand why I liked it so much. Not sure whether he is a Scrooge or a Grinch. Tomorrow we are joining the Travel League for lunch and then bowling. First time for a while. Not joined them for a couple of months.

Being Christmas time I thought a nice easy dessert might be useful. I love Tiramisu and this looks like a pretty good substitute.

Brownie Tiramisu

Coffee, raspberries and sweet cream cheese take brownies to an even yummier level in this easy-to-
make tiramisu.

6 brownie squares (2-1/4 inch)
1/4 cup brewed strong MAXWELL HOUSE Coffee, cooled
4 oz (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided

1. Cut brownies into bite-size pieces; place in 6 dessert dishes. Drizzle with coffee.

2. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; beat on low speed 2 min. Add 1/2 cup COOL WHIP; mix well. Spoon over brownies.

3. Top with remaining COOL WHIP, berries and grated chocolate.

Servings: 6

Source: Kraft

Have a great day

27 comments:

  1. I hope the ants are vanquished. They might have been after the toothpaste in the bathroom. A lot of those are very sweet.

    That brownie tiramisu sounds delicious. Pity I can't eat anything with sugar in it. This time of year is the only time I wish I could eat it because there are so many wonderful sweet things around.

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    1. Didn't think of that Helen. Although below someone says water.

      Could it not be made with sweetener?

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    2. They do come into my bathroom in search of water in summer. Can't blame them for that I suppose.

      he problem with sweeteners is that they affect the texture. I've finally this year worked out some fruit muffin recipes using only fruit and a minimum of artificial sweetener that are quite tasty. The texture doesn't matter so much with muffins I find.

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    3. More so where you live, doesn't get so hot here.

      Luckily I still eat sugar - in moderation of course.

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  2. Hi Jo - Turkey sounds good ... and that you've found quality beef for Matt. Those ants will be in the whole building .. but as I said yesterday - sugar and bi-carb will kill them ... not too much sugar - otherwise you'll attract others. Hopefully the ant-man will have dealt with things.

    Brownie Tiramisu sounds delicious ... cheers Hilary

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    Replies
    1. I don't think they have treated the whole building though, just those apartments who have sent in work orders. If necessary will try your remedy.

      I thought it sounded good too.

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  3. I love carrot cake and have a couple of very good recipes. Well, most carrot cakes are really good.
    As for the ants, sugar ants have been a problem over the years and I was told by one exterminator that they come in looking for water. They are a nuisance. But better than mice which have found their way into the basement. The exterminator thinks he found a spot under the siding where they are getting in. Trouble is, I live on an open field and wetland, and there are just too many critters. Next move is to a high rise, lol.
    I aged a rib roast a couple of times in my fridge - one of my culinary instructors told me how to do it. I am not a beef person, but my boys like it. I just hate cutting off the outside and throwing it away after spending so much money. Hope you enjoy your fresh turkey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too Denise and the one I'm talking about is fabulous. I will post it when I get the pic. I do believe mice have been in this building too and one stupid woman was actually feeding them.

      I have thought about aging beef in my fridge, I have a method, but now there is a place to buy it, I will try theirs first. I hope we enjoy the turkey too bearing in mind the price.

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  4. I hope the ant situation is eradicated. You've had enough issues with bugs to last a lifetime!!!

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  5. We had a fresh turkey years ago; there was a difference in taste over the frozen ones. This has not been your year with bugs between the bedbugs and now ants. One thing or another to keep you on your toes.

    betty

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    Replies
    1. I have been told there is Betty. I could write a book, my buggy life.

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  6. Hope you find the kind of carrot cake you like. Did you try BBCGoodFood Magazines? Yikes on the ants. Hope they're gone for good soon.

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    Replies
    1. I was just looking for one particular carrot cake recipe, from 2003 as it turns out Ivy.

      I hope so too.

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    2. Does putting 2003 in the search engine help?

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    3. Probably not Ivy. I think I found the recipe anyway, just wasn't the picture I had in mind.

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    4. Did you see my radio active fermented veggies? I'm on day 5 with the big one and I sooo want to eat it now. But will wait one more day. I still have a wee bit of the store-bought in the fridge. Now that I know the difference, that fridge stuff isn't tasting all that good.

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    5. Radio active? No I didn't Ivy.

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  7. Scary the stuff they put into animals and meat.
    I guess sugar ants go after anything edible.

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  8. The stuff we used to get rid of our ants sounds like the same stuff. We used Terro. Great stuff. They sip it and take it back to their nest and it kills them all. We were totally infested. We were keeping our food in the dishwasher and fridge- no other places were safe. Now, we grab the Terro if we see a single ant invader. We don't ever want them again.

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    Replies
    1. I have Terro Liz, but this time they didn't seem interested. It worked the first time.

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  9. I've had those ants in my bathroom a few times. We had horrible bitey ants in our backyard when we first moved in. Their sting would last for hours. I think they're back as I was stung yesterday. Looks like we'll have to get the ant man back in too!

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    Replies
    1. Had enough of bitey things with bed bugs thank you Pinky. I would be on the phone instantly. They are very small these, but not bitey thank goodness.

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  10. I have had sugar ants also. They are tiny but not as bad as some other critters...as you well know. I ended up putting some paper towels down wetted in pure javax. I rolled the paper towel up so I could just lay it down and eventually they went away.

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    Replies
    1. The first time I had them I used Terro which worked albeit slowly. That destroys the nest too. The building manager insisted I submitted a work order so they sent the pest control guy.

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