prasantrin

I do most of my cooking on Sundays, too. I usually only make one or two things, though, for my lunches/dinners for the week. Mostly for lunches, because I often don't eat much for dinner. Also, because I cook for one, most of whatever I make lasts for many meals (they say something serves 4, but for normal people, it really serves about 8). I also tend to bake a lot whenever I have a lot of marking to do. I teach writing to about 150 9th grade students (EFL context), so it can get pretty painful at times. I always feel like not marking their compositions is much easier than marking them. (I have just 30 more papers to go, and I just finished making a batch of caramels!)

I have Thai Cooking in the Rattanakosin Era, too! I've never used it, though. It's somewhere back in Canada in storage. The only Thai cookbook I brought with me is The Elegant Taste of Thailand. It's also one of the only English-language Thai cookbooks my dad would ever use (for inspiration only, he never followed the recipes). I can't remember the name of the one he really liked, but our Thai friends make fun of it, because it's very old-style Thai cuisine. I can't believe you have that cookbook. I didn't think I'd see that cookbook on anyone else's bookshelf! Great minds think alike! Then again, I'd never have In the Kitchen with Rosie or that Victor Sodsook book on my shelf!

I had really amazing sushi tonight at Koyoshi Sushi. I think it's one of the places Anthony Bourdain has featured on his show (but I don't think I ever saw that episode). It's a teeny tiny place, with only 11 seats, and barely enough room to turn around (for example, I was sitting at the end of the counter, and I couldn't get up to leave until my friend left, first, because it was just too tight a fit to get out). The rice at Koyoshi is perfectly cooked and seasoned--not mushy at all, and not too sweet or too sour like at almost every other place I've been to. He doesn't provide soy sauce for dipping, but he dresses each piece of sushi personally, either with sudachi (or some other kind of lime-looking thing), a brush of soy sauce, or just salt (or sometimes the salt and sudachi). The anago is freshly grilled (just before it's served to you), and has the tare is perfect. I was with a friend, and we had toro, kampachi, anago, uni, ikura, and hotate. For the two of us, the bill came to Y5500. Is that a lot? I don't often eat sushi, so I'm not familiar with prices. It was a perfect meal. Well, perfect except for the cockroach that landed on my arm right before we left...

Update: my mother went to the place that used to be Marigold's on King. Here's her opinion: Guess I won't be trying that place! ETA: My mother said she talked to someone there, and it's true that the cooks are the same, plus two new ones. The original owners sold because they wanted to retire. And the place was packed Friday at lunch.

I've never tried Popeye's, but I really like Charley Biggs and Chester's Fried Chicken. I find quality control at each of the franchises, though, to be lacking, so some are good, but some not so good.

I don't know if this link will work, but you can get free samples of Ensure from their website. It might take a few weeks for delivery, though, so I don't know how much that would help you. If you do a search for "free sample" and "meal replacement" or "protein drink" or something like that, you could probably come up with more. That would help you taste them before you have to shell out any money. I don't know if your mother will be helping you indefinitely, but if not, a ready-made beverage might be better for you than a powdered mix. When you're really not feeling well, if no one else is around, you might not have the energy to mix up a drink. Opening a can would be easier, so it might be good for you to have both kinds (mixes as well as canned). ETA: Your doctor or nutritionist may also be able to get some free samples for you.

That cranberry upside down cake from Dorie Greenspan's book is very autumnal, and beautiful, to boot. I'd certainly want to eat it if I saw it in a bakery case! And it's easy to make, so you won't have to worry about frou frou tempermental baking projects when your mind is elsewhere. You're doing admirably given that you're still working while taking care of your mother. But don't forget to take care of yourself, too. Caregivers need care, too!

You're only allowed electric ranges? Why would that be? Is that a rule solely for the expat crowd, or does it apply to locals, as well?

Mmmmmm, I love oyster omelets. I was thinking of them the other day, wondering how I could make one myself. My friend makes a very good one at her restaurant in Winnipeg. My favourite food court is Central, but only because it's so pretty. I also like Emporium's food floor more than the food court, itself. I always find the food court to be too crowded and it's rather cramped in there. I've spent plenty of time at Robinson's food court. It's probably my least favourite in terms of food, but my aunt and uncle go there often. They live fairly close, plus my uncle almost owns it...or maybe he does by now...

Perhaps. We never know the full names of things. Mom just calls it "Chan's". She might remember New Canton. How long ago was it around? Where was it, exactly? Our default Chinese restaurant in the early days (for most of my childhood, I think), was Hong Hing on Sargent. It's still there, but is now owned by nephews (?) of the original owners. My mother saw the original owner at that A&O Mid-Autumn festival thing, and said she looks really good. We never ordered off the menu at Hong Hing, but my dad would just say, "Just give us whatever you're having for dinner." I actually can't remember eating anything except consomme (or is that consume? ) soup and sugar cubes there! It can be arranged if you wish! But then I'll be all jealous.

Peter, if you and Scud come my way next year, I hope you get in touch with me! It would be fun eating with you and Scud (assuming it's not just a boys-only trip!).

Bruce, your char siu looks fabulous? Care you share your recipe/technique? I'm looking for a good char siu recipe that I can also use to make char siu pao. Sometimes, simple dinners are best. Last night, I returned home close to 9pm, and having just completed a killer half-primary ashtanga class, I was in no condition to cook. Sliced figs on saltine crackers, with some bleu cheese stuffed in the middle, and stuck in a toaster oven for a minute or two. Six of these babies were my dinner last night. I usually do it with brie or camembert, but it was very good with bleu.

I had the same mabodoufunasu that I had yesterday, but this time I had the brilliant idea of adding an onsen tamago! It was awesome! I wish the egg had been a little runnier, but what can you expect from store-bought onsen tamago?

If you have the space, I would get two racks, with different purposes. I like (but don't have and haven't tested) this rack by Oggi. This could be your plates/lids/cups rack. If you notice the plates in the picture, the grooves look deeper, so it would hold your dishes more securely. Then, I would get a larger version of this one for my pots. I prefer to have a flat surface for my pots. Actually, even the draining tray of Rubbermaid tub-type dish racks would work well, plus they have a slope for drainage. I have one of those Rubbermaid tub types, though, and it holds everything including my Le Creuset pot. I'm single, though, so I don't usually have a lot of dishes in there.

I was in Chicago from August 20-23, scheduled specifically so I could take in the Green City market that Wednesday. I was disappointed. I thought I had read that the Wed. and Sat. markets were not much different, but the Wednesday one was kind of...pathetic. Maybe it was the time we arrived (10am) or the week (near the end of August) or the weather (hot and humid!), but there was really very little to be seen in terms of variety. I did buy some butterkaese from a dairy in Wisconsin, but that was all we were interested in. Most of the other booths were more or less identical with their peaches and apples, and more peaches and apples. Or maybe nectarines and apples... The Minneapolis Farmers Market, on the other hand, was a complete joy. We spent a couple of hours there, at least, just wandering the stalls, and amazed at the Asian vegetables they had available. We brought back a couple of coolers full of greens for our friend's Thai restaurant in Winnipeg, and her cooks (recently arrived from Thailand) were so excited to see our haul. They used some of our purchases to make us an impromptu dinner the night we arrived home. I have some pics of MSP's market, but none of Chicago's. Must find the time to download them. Oh, the chef from Blackbird and Avec (Chef Kahan?) was doing a demo at the Green City Market. We watched a bit, but couldn't stay for all of it.

Couldn't decide whether I should post this here or in the Gallery of Regrets, but it was my lunch, after all! A bit blurry, but it tasted better than it looked. Mapodoufunasu I wanted to add a bit more in terms of nutrition, so I added eggplant in addition to the tofu. And of course, I used hzrt8w's recipe, minus the brown bean sauce plus fermented black beans thrown in at the end.

I've only been to Cabbages and Condoms once, and I didn't really like what we had. Krathong thong and khao tang na tang (sp?) are two of my favourite appetizers/snacks, but I didn't like what they did to them. The krathong thong filling was pasty, and the khao tang na tang dip/sauce was too sweet. I probably shouldn't complain about the sweetness, though, because I find most Thai food in Thailand to be much sweeter than what I'm used to. I will have to try the crispy duck salad if we go again. There's a branch of Cabbages and Condoms in Kyoto now, by the way. I haven't been, yet, but one day I'll try it. It's quite a bit more expensive than the one in Bangkok, though!

I don't have one, but I check the Cuisinart Stand Mixer Forum fairly often. People over there seem to be happy with their purchases (but it is a Cuisinart website, so I don't know if they're all unbiased consumers). I posted a couple of questions for the moderators over there (whom I assume are Cuisinart employees) and never got replies. That was a bit off-putting from a service stand-point.

Stuff from home: Old Dutch BBQ chips, almond joy, nuts that are far cheaper back home than in Japan (pecans, for example), corn tortillas I often bring back things I use with great frequency that are much much cheaper back home, but I only do that if I have room in my suitcases. Those aren't usually things I would ask people to bring over, though.

I have no problem with what he's doing, but I have to wonder, how many people on eGullet who bashed Rick Bayless, Rocco DiSpirito, et al for doing similar things will now bash Thomas Keller? Or will his situation be considered different?

I would be fine with that, and I think it should be done, as long as the auto grat did not exceed 15%. I often leave 20%, but don't want to feel obligated to do so, especially if I think the service sucked.

My mother says Double Greeting is now owned by Vietnamese Chinese, no longer by my classmate's family. The last time she was there, she just had pho, and it was "just OK." (btw, McDiarmid is the home improvement store, McDermot is the street ) We used to get take out Chinese cruellers there, too, and it's also the same place that had the diamond-shaped sweet doughnuts. Even after my classmate's family bought the place, they continued serving those things. But I don't know about now. We didn't move to Winnipeg till 1969, but my mother thinks Chan's (where Jeff of KKG used to work) used to have siu pao and other dim sum items. We used to just get take out, so she doesn't know if they had a full dim sum menu, but she doesn't remember them having a great variety. This was in the late '70s. Chan's was on Main Street, sort of near Portage, and my parents had a branch of their import store next door. Jeff bought the place in '81 or '82, and it either became KKG just before that or just after that. Then KKG moved to it's current location (pre-expansion), and the building where Chan's was located was demolished to make a parking lot. Dim Sum Garden, before it became Dim Sum Garden, started offering dim sum in the early '80s. My mother can't remember what it was called before DSG, but it had the same owners. We went there a lot for their steamed chicken with scallions and ginger. We used to buy from them, too! I loved that green building the dim sum shop was in (adjoining? the dim sum place was a bit on the side, wasn't it?). We used to go to the Chinese grocery store in that building all the time when I was a kid, and the one treat we children always got was Bontan Ame--the Japanese candy with the melt-in-your-mouth rice paper wrapper and the little toy at the side! I always thought it was Chinese, but after moving to Japan, I discovered it was a Japanese candy, that's called Botan-ame (botan is a type of citrus fruit). My mother says the woman who had the dim sum store still sells it, but she doesn't know if she has a storefront. She's not sure, but she thinks Sun Wah still sells (sold?) the woman's products. She said she would look at the address the next time she goes. Maybe they have xiaolungbao? I think either Kam Ho or Victoria had "soup dumplings" on their menu, but I don't know if it was dumplings in soup, or xiaolungbao. My mother is certainly willing to do more research if it involves eating! And talking! (She likes to talk to people as much as she likes eating...)

Ken died? When did that happen? I don't remember my mother ever mentioning it. We were never frequent diners at Ken's. Has anyone ever been to Foon Hai? I don't think they have dim sum, but they used to have the best mapodofu. It's been a long time since I was last there, though. It's unfortunate that there isn't just one Chinese restaurant in Winnipeg that does everything the best. We've always had to go to one place for one dish, another place for another. Same goes for dim sum! (bringing this back on topic... )

I opened up my gravlax, rinsed it off (I probably wasn't supposed to do that, but I did!), and sliced a bit. It's not as hard as I thought it was, just not quite as soft. It is quite salty, though. Nothing a good bit of cream cheese wouldn't off-set, but a bit salty to eat the whole thing on its own. Nice pics Gifted Gourmet! One of my problems is that I can't get a nice thick cut of salmon in Japan--or at least it's more difficult to do so. I can get a thick slab at Costco, but it doesn't have any skin. I'm not entirely sure it's salmon, either, but it might be "salmon trout", while the little filets I can get at the supermarket are definitely salmon. This piece was left in the fridge for about 31 hours (I forgot about it this morning). I think next time, if I use a similar sized piece, I would cure it for much less time. When I checked it yesterday at 12 hours, it seemed ready, so maybe I'll try 12 hours next time. I will take a look at the charcuterie topic as dougal suggested. This is going to become addictive, isn't it?

My mother made some kind of alcoholic beverage with them. I think she just put a bunch in a jar, and covered them with vodka and let it sit for months. She said it was really good. I'd have to ask her for more details.