akaShag

back to Mr B........... ..........we often see the cryovac packages of "eye of round" beef on sale. It is fairly tough stuff if you wanted to roast it or cut it into steaks - this is the cut that butchers put the long needle tenderizers through a half-dozen times to make them into steamboat steaks. But it is very lean and generally pretty flavourful (for packaged beef) and when it hits less than two bucks a pound I generally buy a couple to grind into burger. Why pay big bucks per pound for regular ground when you can grind your own extra lean for two bucks? Doug

Seems like we are all into good deals these days. I was at a local grocery store yesterday and there was a sign about a special sale, "GRANT ORDERED TOO MUCH" They had chicken thighs and chicken drumsticks on in "club packs" for a buck a pound. In both cases they were nice meaty pieces of thigh and drumsticks. I bought thirty pounds...........

back to Brian B............sirloin tip also makes nice lean ground beef...........so on Friday when you stock up again that might be an idea for you. (I am assuming a guy like you owns a good grinder) Doug

This is a very positive development, and I am happy to see it. I note some "cup half empty" responses, but suggest this really is a "cup half full" situation. I do hope it is successful, and it beats the snot out of doing nothing. Doug

And there I thought the china was the heirlooms................

Potatoes, hard boiled eggs, lots of mayo, green onions, sweet peppers (yellow, orange, red) maybe even a small amount of dill, seasoned salt, fresh ground pepper, yes please. Mustard, no thanks. PICKLE, no thanks. Buddy some some deli potato salad and I took one taste, said this has pickles in it, buddy says no way, I say I can TASTE the stuff - sure enough, the last ingredient was sweet pickle relish. Hey it's potato salad, not a hot dog, right! But by all means, add your ketchup and chopped onions and whatever else tickles your fancy............... Doug

MUSTARD in potato salad, SACRILEGE!!!!!!!! But hey, whatever floats yer boat, as they say.................. Doug

and how about that one-man construction crew and his beautiful camp, eh!!!!!

Thanks Steve, this is all news to me. Here in Eastern Lake Ontario there are lots of lakers caught, but I rarely hear of twenty pounders. Maybe I need to listen harder! Doug

back to Steve...............I have never heard of even a 35 pound laker coming out of Lake Ontario. I would wager a very, very large sum of money that large numbers of 40 lb lake trout will never be caught in Lake Ontario. Not to rain on your parade, just saying that this lake has been stocked with lake trout for decades, there are millions of angler/rod hours, and big lakers over 20 pounds are pretty uncommon given the amount of angler effort. Maybe a question of genetics, maybe a question of food, I do not know, but count me as a die-hard skeptic for big Lake O greys. Just sayin'................... Are there any published stories with confirmed weights for Lake O lakers? Doug

And another 42 lb laker from Great Slave, last summer. My buddy holding it has a 56 inch chest, for a comparison perspective.............

back to mr b, yes I am quite aware of the distances. But postage is not THAT much more for a package from Ontario than it would be for one from Alberta. I mail fairly heavy packages quite frequently and the difference might be ten bucks. Of course, your case of relish that cost twenty-five bucks will be fifty bucks or better by the time it hits YK.......... Do you know any member of the military up there? There are flights to and from Edmonton with some regularity and they might be able to help you out. (If Edmonton has the relish you want...........) Doug

Brussel sprouts!!!! Little balls of hell, even make the toilet puke..............

Willie's in his 80s and by all accounts has lived pretty hard, I reckon he is already on borrowed time...............

Is this the Swiss stuff? If yes, looks like you can buy it via Amazon.......... http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Chalet-Chicken-Marinade/dp/B00283TPYE

If your brother can buy the Bick's red relish in Mississauga, why not ask him to ship you up a case? Doug

I will see you about a year from today, or maybe a wee bit later in August 2016. But I will be sure to coordinate it well in advance, never being one to pass up a chance to catch (and EAT) some fresh walleye! And there might be some canned goodies onboard too, like canned goose breasts with bacon.............. Doug

Sounds like a fair deal, as long as you do the guiding for the fresh walleye fillets!

ummmmm, there are two sausages there, one with goose and one with deer. Both use a fair bit of fatty pork for flavour and consistency. But when I visit you next August, I will bring some. DEAL? Doug

back to Brian B, I make most of my own fresh sausages and about half of my prepared sausages (pepperoni, salami, etc). But I really HATE working with ground turkey, it's like working with snot. So I thought I would try this store-bought turkey sausage, but.................................yeah, it was not the best thing I ever ate. Back to my own Canada Goose with maple syrup, and venison honey garlic sausages! But they are NOT 70 calories per sausage......... Doug

Well one of the big chains has turkey mild Italian sausages on sale this week, and only 70 calories per sausage. Not quite like the ones I make for myself, but hey, why not try something new? OK I have tried something new and my advice is do NOT buy the turkey mild Italian sausages from No Frills. VERY disappointing, to put it mildly................ The leftovers will probably be OK sliced up on a sandwich with mayo and some sharp cheese or something, but there is not much there for taste. Doug

I said it before and I say it again, absolutely unbelievably AWESOME!!!!!! Working solo, you have done more than a crew of ten in the same time frame, just outstanding! When you go back to your gubmint job it will take you three weeks just to slow down to the usual pace of work. Doug

Hoax http://en.mediamass.net/people/willie-nelson/deathhoax.html

Back to Mr Blizzard, your True North smoker is electric, correct? I have seen them and they look a lot like the Luhr-Jensen Little Chief and Big Chief smokers, which I have been using for almost forty years. YES your smoker will get hot enough to do hot smoking. In the wintertime, place a cardboard box over it, with about 2" clearance all the way around. Or if you are a handy fellow, make a thin wood box for it, leaving about six inches at the bottom for the smoke and heat to dissipate. Doug

ah............. si tu parles le francais......... elle: "Tomatoes" lui: "Jai pas tes toasts." Doug