129 replies to this topic

[CaliPoutine]

Todays iced coffee and the view from my balcony.



We are currently discussing what we want to do for breakfast. I have a meet and greet at 1:30 for the Santa Clarita Valley Cooking and dining group on meetup.org. The group has been dormant for awhile and someone just took over the leadership. I need to bring an appetizer or something. I have some cookie dough and already baked 7 layer bars in the freezer so I might just put together a cookie platter.

[Jenni]

You mention mustard, are there any other Canadian food items (from restaurants or shops, either dishes or ingredients) that you miss now you are in the US? For instance, to look at your username, do you miss poutine?

On the other hand, what foods that are not found in Canada are you happy to be able to get again?

[CaliPoutine]

Breakfast. I was craving pancakes, Julie wanted oatmeal. I bought this mix from Opensky.com. I had a 20.00 credit that I couldnt let go to waste. In addition to this mix, I got 2 bottles of syrup and a choc. chip cookie mix and a brownie mix. I dont bake from mixes, but the ingredients are all natural so I'll use the latter 2 for J's work.



Today, its just regular rolled oats. The blueberries are for my pancakes. J is drinking non fat milk.








Here is my wirehair dachshund, Harley enjoying the plate. You can see the Cairn, Bella in the background.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 09 October 2011 - 09:32 AM.

[CaliPoutine]

You mention mustard, are there any other Canadian food items (from restaurants or shops, either dishes or ingredients) that you miss now you are in the US? For instance, to look at your username, do you miss poutine?

On the other hand, what foods that are not found in Canada are you happy to be able to get again?

Hi Jenni,

I never ate poutine, it was just a nickname given to me by my ex. I miss this fantastic restaurant, The Only on King in London, ON. The food was so freaking good. There isnt anything else I can think of. I do miss a few things from Michigan, I was only 62 miles from the Michigan border and I went at least 1x a week.

[Pookie]

I miss you too Randi!

And that Cake looks amazing.

We are heading to Port Huron this weekend for some shopping.
I should package up some Mustard and send it to you for Xmas/your birthday. Any flavour in particular?

There are some new places in town that you would love. I miss having someone to go out with.

[andiesenji]

Lovely flapjacks!

I no longer get down to the Valley very often but the last time I visited friends in Tarzana, they took me to Red Dragon Chinese restaurant in Woodland Hills, 22919 Ventura. I was very impressed with their food and with the prices as I have paid twice as much for less quality at some of the "upscale" Chinese restaurant.

I had the Tomato Beef and it was an eye-opener. Never had it before. I shared an order of Vegetable Chow Fun and assorted appetizers.

[Anna N]

Todays iced coffee and the view from my balcony.

. . .

The view is enough to convince me that I would quickly switch to iced coffee. I get hot just looking at it.

[haresfur]

Hi Randi,

Nice bowl & plate. Are they new or vintage & what make? Do you ever get over to Ojai which at least used to be a bit of pottery heaven?

The berry sauce looks good but I'm a maple syrup purist.

[CaliPoutine]

Hi Randi,

Nice bowl & plate. Are they new or vintage & what make? Do you ever get over to Ojai which at least used to be a bit of pottery heaven?

The berry sauce looks good but I'm a maple syrup purist.

I love maple syrup too. The bowl and plate are Fiestaware( new). I have a little collection of the new Fiesta. When we renovate our kitchen, we want to make one of our kitchen cabinets glass front to show it off. Never been to Ojai, its on my list

[CaliPoutine]

We went to Cousin's for lunch. Its a local place that isnt a chain. They make a salad that Jules really likes. I wanted to eat somewhere else, but a relationship is all about compromise( cough, cough). We shared the salad and an order of fries.


We brought our own drinks because this places serves Pepsi and we prefer coke products( diet for me, regular for J). The salad is served with a parmesean dressing. I dont know why they call it parmesean, because I couldnt taste that flavor at all. The lettuce was wet, so the dressing pooled in the bottom of the bowl. The fries were good though.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 09 October 2011 - 03:55 PM.

[CaliPoutine]

Dinner Tonight.

I bought these ready made cheese pizzas at whole foods. Buy 1, get 1 free, so 5.00 for 2. I cooked some onions, mushrooms and chicken sausage( from Sprouts, a grocery store). I added that to the pizza.





I made a quick cucumber salad too.

[CaliPoutine]

Breakfast.

I ran out and got us bagels. In my case, a bialy. I scoop out the inside and use light cream cheese. Julie doesnt like anything on her bagels, no cream cheese, no butter( except on my homemade bagels). She also likes her bagels warmed in the microwave. You have no idea how much that kills me to do.

I went to a local place, I usually go to Western Bagel( a chain), if I dont have time to make my own.




Morning iced, I got my undergrad at CSULB.




Here is my ice. I LOVE this ice cube tray. I bought it in Ontario and I have yet to find more here. Ive searched thrift stores high and low. It makes the best ice. The cubes are solid and they last for hours and hours. I use filtered water( Julie calls it my princess ice". We have an icemaker, but I much prefer this ice.

We are off to Santa Monica/WLA. See ya later.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 10 October 2011 - 10:12 AM.

[EatNopales]

Julie is a police officer with LAPD. We were in Vegas last week ( we came home last night)for a Legal Conference. We had a city car that we needed to bring back to the motor pool today. Motor Pool is in downtown LA. After we dropped off the car, Julie suggested we go to Philippe's for lunch. Philippe's is the home of the orignial french dip sandwich. Julie told me the restaurant has been around since 1927. I dont eat beef, so I had the turkey. Julie had the original french dip. You can order it single dip, double dip or wet. J got a double dip. We also got an order of potato salad, macaroni salad, a pickle and a slice of cake. The cake was just meh.

I took a bunch of pics, but I'm having problems uploading. Let me go see what I can do about that.

Congratulations & good luck on your move & relationship! Phillippe's! My dad was the headcook there for 20+ years. The lamb sandwich is by far the best... baked apples are good too.

[Marlene]

My parents had ice cube trays like that. I don't think I kept them though, or I would send them to you.

[Kerry Beal]

Saw one of those ice cube trays at a thrift store a couple of days ago - didn't grab it cause I can't stand the noise they make when you crack them open.

[annabelle]

I don't like those ice cube trays, either. The noise is like scratching on a chalkboard to me. The plastic trays that twist were better but didn't last long. I heart my ice maker.

[andiesenji]

I like my ice maker but I also have several of the Tovolo Ice cube trays, both the JUMBO and the Perfect.

I use them for freezing juices, purees, herbs, concentrated soup stock and whatever else takes my fancy.
I have them in different colors because even with a double pass through the dishwasher they retain a faint hint of garlic if the stuff includes it.
The jumbo ones are really nice if you want to freeze a piece of fruit in an ice cube.

I used to line the plastic ones with plastic wrap but don't bother with the silicone just because they do come in different colors so are easy to identify.


You can buy the lever-action ice cube trays made of SS from several online vendors.

Edited by andiesenji, 10 October 2011 - 02:10 PM.

[Kouign Aman]

EatNopales, now that's a recommendation!

Awesome cake, Randi!

[Kerry Beal]

I like my ice maker but I also have several of the Tovolo Ice cube trays, both the JUMBO and the Perfect.

I use them for freezing juices, purees, herbs, concentrated soup stock and whatever else takes my fancy.
I have them in different colors because even with a double pass through the dishwasher they retain a faint hint of garlic if the stuff includes it.
The jumbo ones are really nice if you want to freeze a piece of fruit in an ice cube.

I used to line the plastic ones with plastic wrap but don't bother with the silicone just because they do come in different colors so are easy to identify.


You can buy the lever-action ice cube trays made of SS from several online vendors.

I got myself two of the Jumbo and two of the regular after reading about them on eG. I haven't used them for anything but ice - but I do love them!

[ScottyBoy]

Oh I actually have some of those too but have never used them for ice

[heidih]

Randi - what is your "go to" bagel recipe?

Also that fried tofu from the Thai place looked quite well done - was it melty in the middle?

[EatNopales]

EatNopales, now that's a recommendation!

Awesome cake, Randi!

Sorry CaliPoutine I will get out of your way now.. just one last thing... always ask for a double dip (or some au jus on the side)...

the lamb legs go into the ovens very early (like 4 AM or so)... they are their best early in the day (11 AM is a good time if you can lunch early)

Also their biscuits are pretty good... I don't know what their coffee prices are now but back when my dad still worked there it was 10 cents a cup (for a drinkable cup of Yuban).. yup 10 cents and that was in the current century.

[maggiethecat]

Good news -- back in May , last time I ate at Phillipe's, coffee was still a dime.

[CaliPoutine]

Randi - what is your "go to" bagel recipe?

Also that fried tofu from the Thai place looked quite well done - was it melty in the middle?

I use Peter Rhienharts recipe. I use High Gluten flour too. I also make the bagels a lot smaller, I usually get 8 from a half batch. I blew out my first kitchen aid from making those bagels all the time. The dough is very stiff. I just bought a 50lb bag of high gluten flour from Restaurant Depot, so if you ever want to try those bagels, let me know. I'll never go thru that much flour.

The tofu was great, it was sorta melty in the middle.

[CaliPoutine]

EatNopales, now that's a recommendation!

Awesome cake, Randi!

Sorry CaliPoutine I will get out of your way now.. just one last thing... always ask for a double dip (or some au jus on the side)...

the lamb legs go into the ovens very early (like 4 AM or so)... they are their best early in the day (11 AM is a good time if you can lunch early)

Also their biscuits are pretty good... I don't know what their coffee prices are now but back when my dad still worked there it was 10 cents a cup (for a drinkable cup of Yuban).. yup 10 cents and that was in the current century.

No dip for me. I dont eat beef and the au jus is beef.

[CaliPoutine]

We're back. It only took us 30 min to get to W. LA, but over an hour to get home. There was an accident on the 405 and traffic was horrendous.

First up is my upright frostfree freezer. When I moved back, I really missed having an extra freezer. We have a side by side fridge in the kitchen and it barely holds anything. About 6 months ago, we bought a freezer for the garage. I knew I didnt want a chest freezer because I was constantly losing things inside and it was so cold on my hands. I hated defrosting it too.

As you can see, I dont have a problem filling it up. I made some corn chowder( Cook's Illustrated) when corn was 5 for 1.00. I made some Lentil soup yesterday too.

[CaliPoutine]

First we went to Clementine for lunch. This place is very popular and gets really busy. Its a favorite haunt of celebs too. A few months ago, I saw Barbara Hershey and family there. We got here around 11:40, so no line. By the time we left, there was a really long line.

We both got the lunch specials. Half a sandwich, soup and a drink( or cookie) for 9.75. I got a medium soup so mine was 1.00 more.



J had half a BLT with applewood smoked bacon and heirloom tomatoes on country white bread. The soup is chicken pozole. I love their soups, very balanced and not oversalted.



I had smoked turkey with herby sauce, iceberg and white cheddar. I subbed cheese for the heirloom tomatoes. I'm not a raw tomato fan. The soup was butternut squash. It was slightly sweet. I get a horrible rash when I cut up butternut squash( and its hard for me to cut with my arthritis), so I order the soup when I see it.



They have really tasty baked goods. This cracked me up. I bought a sour cream bluberry muffin because it was voted best blueberry muffin by LA Magazine. I'll have it for breakfast tomorrow.

They sell a lot of ready made soups and other entrees.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 10 October 2011 - 05:21 PM.

[CaliPoutine]

It was really filling up as we left.



Next stop, Santa Monica. It was a really overcast day today. You can barely see the ocean. Santa Monica Pier.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 10 October 2011 - 05:28 PM.

[CaliPoutine]

Last Saturday, we took Julie's dad( who was visiting from Milwaukee) on a walking tour of Santa Monica. It wasnt just any walking tour, it was a "foodie" walking tour from a company called SixTaste. We have taken 2 previous tours, one of downtown LA and another of Hollywood. We absolutely loved them. I grew up in Santa Monica so I thought there wasnt much I could learn, but I did learn a lot. The tour guide took us to a British Tea House, where we sampled these pot pie things? I cant remember the name. One is filled with chicken and mushrooms, the other was filled with a chicken curry. We went back today so I could get them and throw them in the freezer.




I didnt realize that Santa Monica has the highest number of British expats in LA County.

I guess it makes sense, there are a lot of British pubs in Santa Monica as well.



They also make a lot of little British pastries. They have a tea room attatched to the store. The store sells all the British foods you could ever want. I recognized a lot of items from Canada.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 10 October 2011 - 05:36 PM.

[heidih]

The soup was butternut squash. It was slightly sweet. I get a horrible rash when I cut up butternut squash( and its hard for me to cut with my arthritis), so I order the soup when I see it.

I get that rash thing with butternut squash as well. My solution is to take the whole squash, pierce a few times and set right in the microwave. I usually do 3 minutes, rest 10 minutes, do another 3 and a rest and start to pierce with a knife to test doneness. Once I can cut it in half or so and remove seeds, I return to the microwave until soft enough to easily peel. It seems, for me, the skin irritation is related to the raw state. Once it is soft enough to handle it is easy to peel and chunk up for soup or whatever use you like.