prasantrin

I did write About 10 years ago, an rfc friend was cooking a full Thai meal and looked for corn oil. She lived in LA, but she could not find it at any of her local (large or small) supermarkets. She asked, and none of them carried it, not even Mazola. Instead, she had to go out to the Thai stores to find it. Even in Winnipeg, it was hard to find until recently (and at our local Superstore, it's in the Asian section, not with the regular oils).

I vote for a Donut Day vs Annie's Donuts apple fritter taste off! That apple fritter does look delicious. . . I can't wait till my next trip to Portland! BTW, are you planning to visit Clear Creek at all?

Corn oil is hot! It has a high smoke point! It's supposedly cheaper than many other vegetable oils! It's the recommended oil for Thai cooking! So why isn't it more popular? For a brief time, it was difficult to find corn oil on supermarket shelves, unless you happened to be shopping at an Asian supermarket. Plus there's that nasty Omega-6 controversy, but I have yet to see proof that the amount of Omega-6 found in corn oil directly causes any kind of mental or physical illness. I think it's time to give corn oil more love. Don't you?

Sure, he's called "management". I admit that I do take the occasional produce bag, but never with the intent to take it without using it. I usually take two or three off the roll and open them all up at once (to facilitate filling them--I don't usually shop with a basket or cart so I hang the bags from my wrist) and I often end up with one bag that goes unused. No one uses "used" produce bags, so I take it home and reuse it somehow. At least it's not ending up in the garbage unused, I think to myself (although that's just another rationalization, probably no better or worse than the other rationalizations for bad behaviour floating around this thread). I also take single pieces of grapes, cherries, and blueberries to test them. But I ask the produce clerks before I do (I tell them I want to check if they're OK), and if the stuff is good, I buy more. In this case, I've asked permission, so I think I'm cleared of unethical behaviour here. But I never just "graze" on food while I continue shopping. Nor do I snip off parts of food that would end up in the garbage as a loss for the store (I do break off one or two bananas from a bunch, but that's different since the leftover bananas are still buyable, and I do strip my corn of its husk at the store, but corn is priced by the piece, not by weight, so it does not affect the price I'm charged). Nor do I allow my goods to be mispriced--I inform the cashier or customer service of errors both for and against me. I've even gone back to a store to pay for a carrot that I had forgotten to ring up in self-checkout. I don't even take more than one sample unless I've asked the clerk (sometimes there are two or three different types of the same item, like three types of cheese, and they'll usually let you try all three). I was not raised to think everything in the world was "all about/for me", so I do tend to think more about how my actions affect other people. In many ways, this manner of thinking has left me behind (I rarely accept freebies from restaurants, I don't make a stink about small mistakes just to get special treatment, and I wait in line longer because I won't cut in front of others just so I can join friends who arrived in line earlier). But I'd rather be thought a sucker than be thought a selfish, self-centered jerk. And I know when I see people do some of the possible "unethical" things that have been discussed here, I tend to think of them as the latter. (ETA: And I don't speed beyond the allowable amount, and even when I lie, I eventually end up fessing up. Like when I had to estimate overtime for this week and I estimated 15 minutes too much, I fessed up instead of letting it go. I was trained not to lie, which is probably why I get into trouble on boards like this.)

And taking advantage of free stuff is a sign of greed and self-centeredness?

And for what reason do you feel the need to have one hundred or so of them in your home at any one time? I can only think of two, maybe three plausible (or perhaps probable) reasons. ETA--and why not just buy some plastic bags that you can use as small trash bags, picking up dog poop, packing sandwiches, etc.?

If the bags and twist ties are cheap, why aren't you buying them yourself? In your case, the twist ties would be a legitimate business expense which you could claim on your tax return, so there really is no justification for stealing them.

I have a few family members in Murrayhill. They're the ones who introduced me to Annie' Donuts, and also to some Chinese restaurant in PDX that has very good salted pepper squid. Generally, though, they're not fond of Chinese in PDX. Nowhere near as good as YVR or even YWG Chinese, they say.

That's because you said it first! So really, I agreed with you! Regarding Jainism, there was a previous topic here that explains a lot about the food restrictions. As I understand it, any food that results in the death of something (animal, plant) is forbidden. So not only onions and garlic, but also potatoes and other root vegetables. Also, nothing fermented, so no yoghurt or cheese, and no milk that is not absolutely fresh. Like Jenni, I would not assume anyone in this particular group is Jain or does not eat garlic and onions. I'm sure someone would let you know if that were a limitation, since it's a pretty big limitation.

In Winnipeg water is heated through natural gas. How do these spigot things work differently? I assumed they'd have a tank type of thing just like a regular hot water tank.

I'd ditch the Indian spicing altogether. They probably prepare Indian food at home on a regular basis. And when they go out to eat, it's likely they choose Indian so they don't have to cook at home. But as guests in someone else's home? Unless you're Indian, I would cook something more familiar to you. Likely if they wanted to eat something that has Indian spicing, they'd rather just eat Indian food rather than bbq with some Indian-influenced spicing. It would be like when non-Thai people want to impress me with their Thai cooking, and they make "green curry" with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. For another main, something like a large bourek or two--one filled with spinach and cheese, another filled with meat (ground chicken?), etc. falafel would likely go over well kofta, too, if you can use chicken. I'd probably do some kind of grilled fish, too, with sauces on the side. Grilled chicken with Mediterranean spicing rather than Indian. You could also do skewers so they can eat them in pita, rather than cooking large pieces of chicken. Just think of a typical meal you'd make for 20 of your friends, and consider those options. You don't have to make special concessions just because they're Indian (other than taking into consideration standard dietary restrictions).

We've got one of those super duper hot water spigot things at work. Not the type on a water cooler, but the kind that's installed next to your sink. It's very handy, and now I'm thinking of installing one at home. Questions: What's a good model? What will I be able to do with the surplus of hot water I will have? Instant ramen, tea, coffee. . . surely such a fantastic system will have other far more interesting uses than those. And I'm sure with a new toy, I will want to use it as much as possible. What are the drawbacks of installing such a system at home? Increased gas bills?

Yelp has Annie's Donut's address as 3449 NE 72nd Ave Portland, OR 97253 I just remember my cousin and I bought a dozen apple fritters, and we ate 4 of them on the way back to Beaverton. They were very good. My family members don't bother much with dim sum in PDX anymore. Too spoiled from living in Canada. I will suggest Jin Wah to them. What's a rice ball? Doesn't look familiar. Is it just like onigiri?

I hope a trip to Annie's Donuts is on the list! When I tried them 10+ years ago, I thought they were the best apple fritters I'd ever had! They may be tied with Dimo's in Ann Arbor now, but I'd have to try them again to make sure.

MFF--Mouthfulsfood AOD should actually be OAD (can I claim dyslexia?) Opinionated About Dining Just two other forums out there that sometimes talk about food.

I would eat everything listed above, everything that will be listed below, plus everything listed in this "Last Meal" thread since it's more or less the same topic, anyway. Plus I'd add some Old Dutch Bar-B-Q, Sour Cream and Green Onion Rip-L, and Nacho Cheese and Zesty Taco tortilla chips. And root beer.

I think, perhaps, whether something is "dead" is very subjective (at least in the case of the internet). rec.food.cooking, for example, is still in existence and there are still a number of on-topic posts, but I would argue that the quality of what is being posted is a far cry from rfc of the '90's. To me, rfc is dead. An example closer to home. . . I'm fairly certain eG will still be active in 10 years, but with discussions around topics such as "What should I do with excess ice cubes" how relevant will the group be to those who are "seriously" interested in food, aside from (as Simon_S mentioned) as a search resource? There is, of course, still a community here, but I think it is much smaller and much less diverse than it used to be. Some of the international forums, such as England, France, and Japan, used to be some of the most well-trafficked forums, and posts are few and far between there now. If you look at the eG food blogs, which were one of the prime attractions and which encouraged a strong sense of community, you'll see they are mostly frequented by the same dozen or so posters. Even the best example of community--the eG Heartland Gathering--seems to be attended primarily by folks who rarely participate in the forums anymore. It's as though people think it's still interesting to hang around people who are interested in food, but it is much less interesting to hang around food forums. It's true that there are cycles of participation in any group, and people's interests do change. People come and go, and there are those stalwarts who will remain forever loyal. And this is not exclusive to eG; I am merely using eG as an example since it is in this forum which this topic is being discussed. Just out of curiosity--what percentage of active eG members (by active I mean those who actually post) live outside the US, and how does the current percentage compare to the same group in 2003? Or 2007? (I chose 2003 since it was the year I joined, and 2007 because it's in the middle of 2003 and 2011)

It all started with various Bulletin Boards which eventually morphed into Usenet. Thinking of rec.food.cooking and its ilk, usenet forums gradually declined in popularity with the introduction of Chowhound (now Chow) which (if you read about food forum lore) begat eG which begat MFF/AOD/etc which have probably begat other avenues by which people talk about food. Looking over the different (self-proclaimed) "serious" food fora around the Internet, I have found a surplus of what I would consider silly, somewhat vapid, "let's try to introduce 'content' in whatever way possible" threads; repetitive threads; and completely off-topic threads (similarly, threads that start on-topic but rapidly decline into off-topic or argumentative banter that serves little purpose but to show how smart one person may be compared to others). It's Usenet all over again. It makes me wonder how much longer these food fora have left in the virtual world. Some say blogs are on the way to extinction, but judging from what I see, I would say food fora will die out earlier. What say you all?

Did they say they would sell to the general public? If not I can get you some from them. They haven't emailed me back, yet (I just emailed this morning before I posted here! ). It was really warm today, so now I'm a bit worry about transporting chocolate by mail, but I'll let you know! Thanks!

Other than ChocoDirect, are there any sources for Valrhona chocolates in larger quantities (like in 500g or 1kg) for the average consumer in Canada? ChocoDirect mostly has chocolate for eating out of hand, and the only 1kg block they have is just 61%. I'm looking for higher percentages (like 70%+, but maybe also Caraibe, etc.). I don't want to ship from the US, but am looking for a Canadian source. I did email Lentia to see if they'd sell to the general public, but am looking for other sources, too.

Not to be picky, but I'm prasantrin, not presantrin. Rona, Ruth, prasantrin, presantrin... I'll answer to whatever.

Since I don't have access to the above magazine, i'll ask a Buyer's Guide kind of question. I hate beer, but I think I should like it. So I want to try to drink more of it, or at least learn to appreciate it. I find that I don't like bitterness in food (which is probably part of the reason I don't like beer), but I like that nice malty aftertaste. So if you were writing a Buyer's Guide for me, what kind of beer/lager/ale/whatever should I buy?

Hershey's chocolate is disgusting. One can argue it should not fall under the "candy" category, but it's really an insult to chocolate to call anything made by Hershey's "chocolate". Great thread!

Take some plastic wrap (like SaranWrap) and cover the exterior surfaces with it (I don't mean to wrap the whole fridge in it, but think of it as wall paper). Then you won't have to worry about fingerprints or dirt, and just replace it once every so often. What a great thread!

I love glass jars, and keep all with which I come in contact. And so what if those little pantry weevils and moth larvae can get into them? What are a few bugs when you can have a pretty jar? Excellent thread. I want to see pictures of people's reused jars. Any blue or green ones out there?