prasantrin

I looked up Munchos. I don't think I've ever seen them in my part of Canada. I will try a bag when in in the US this summer. As an aside, I like how on the taquitos.net site, there are links to weight loss sites on every page....

Last night I made Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes. I used a recipe Ann_T linked to in the dinner thread. She had made two small loaves out of it, but mentioned making cupcakes instead, so I went with that option (they still took about 25 minutes to bake, though). I broke into one last night, and it was soooo good! It was still warm. I'm on weight watchers, so at 8 points/cupcake, I won't be eating many of them. I had 1/4 of a cupcake last night, then brought the rest to work today and gave them way. I still have 3/4 of one left!

I know Porn as a name in Thai. I'm sure it has a meaning, too, but I don't know what it is. I think I might have a cousin called Porn...

Many moons ago, when rfc was a place to talk about food, there was Susan Hattie's Goat Cheese Torta. It's not baked, but it's moulded so it could take on a cake-like form, and it can be served with anything on the side--vegetables for the non-flour eaters, crackers for the flour eaters, etc., and it isn't sweet. It would be pretty, too, I think.

What's your fluffing technique? My dad used to use a fork to fluff it up (you're cooking the fish first, right?). Also, my friend told me that frozen catfish won't fluff as well as fresh catfish.

Do you tend to mostly cook foods or recipes that spring from your home culture, or do you tend to mostly cook things from other cultures? Do you mean culture or ethnicity? They are two very different things, in my opinion, though there may be some overlap. Where are you from and what is it that attracts you to the things you choose to cook? I was born in Thailand--my father is Thai/ethnic Chinese, while my mother is Filipino/ethnic Chinese--but I grew up in Canada (from the age of 6 months) and now live in Japan, where I have lived for a total of 9 years on and off. (I think you can kind of see why I questioned "culture" vs "ethnicity". So where am I "from"? I mostly cook whatever I crave or whatever is easy, depending on my mood. How long have you been cooking, and has your cooking shifted from that of one culture to another over time? I've been cooking since I was a kid. The first real meal I cooked from scratch was probably when I was in junior high school. One year I remember making a full Italian meal (for a home ec. project). I also remember making my parents dinner one night--chicken a l'orange, some kind of pancake thing with apricots and meringue on top...I wish I still had the recipe for that one! Both my parents grew up in relatively multicultural environments, so they were exposed to many different kinds of food, and therefore exposed me to many different kinds of food. I've never been stuck with cooking just one type of food. How did you learn to cook - from a person, from books, from television, from (?) My parents cooked a lot (dad was the chef, mom was his sous), but they never really taught me how to cook. I supposed I learned techniques mostly from watching TV (we watched Frugal Gourmet every Sunday morning together, as a family, on my parents bed) and books and magazines. What direction would you like to see your cooking go in the future - do you have a "plan" or any ideas as to what focus you would like to take? That's not something I really think about, or frankly, care about.

Yep, here. You can scope out Osaka supermarket, Candyland, or Izumi-ya for it in a few months. ← It's Pepsi, not Coke. I still haven't seen it, but I don't usually go to the soft drink section. I'm still looking for ordinary pepsi with Le Creuset magnets!

You could just call one of the stores mentioned here to find out if they have them in stock. That would be the best way not to waste a trip out there.

May I ask what diet plan that was? I've just started with weight watchers, and I'm hoping my numbers improve, too. I lost only 3kg last year (not because of any diet, I'm not really sure how I lost it), and my bad cholesterol decreased (I'm in the normal range now, though the higher end), but my triglycerides are still high. Omega 3 and garlic supplements aren't working, it seems! That is so true!

Don't worry, Anna. I thought it was pretty clear that English wasn't your native language, and I'm sure most people didn't think your reply was offensive. It is not only interesting, but delicious! I love cake topped with caramel! One of my favourite cakes is Dobosh Torte with crunchy caramelized sugar on top. Unfortunately, if you live in a humid area, there's no way you can prevent the caramel from softening unless you eat it within a very short period of time. So if you want to make a cake like that again, finish making it within 20 minutes or so before you eat it. You might be able to make it earlier than that, but really no more than a couple of hours. Your cake looks beautiful, by the way. I'd certainly eat it, even with "gum-slicing, tooth-cracking shrapnel" on it!

It's arguable that this confusion would seem to indicate that the prevalence of these products in the marketplace is capable of being greatly exaggerated by one's perceptions. I don't think their prevalence is exaggerated, although I do think they are less popular now than they were 4 or 5 years ago. I haven't seen them in Japan, but when I'm in Canada and the US, I see them at almost every sandwich shop and supermarket I visit. It could also be argued that some people are taking this topic a wee bit too seriously. There's nothing wrong with having some fun at the expense of a really bad sandwich. You've not had horrible wraps, then. They leave a very very bad aftertaste. I would suggest you try one (remember, they're not flour tortillas, they just look like them) before stating your preference.

We were told that it wasn't related. Anyone, even those who are of perfect health, can have an aneurysm and not know it, and an aneurysm can rupture at any time. It's usually only then (when it ruptures) that a person would even know s/he had it (but it's usually too late by then). Some research I read after he died said smoking and high blood pressure (though he had quit smoking, he had high blood pressure) can increase the risk of it rupturing, though.

My father was a diabetic for more than half his life, and obese for a good deal of it, too. He smoked from the age of 8 till 50 (2 packs a day, king sized) and he never took care of his diabetes--he ate what he wanted, when he wanted, and eventually became legally blind (though he would still drive). He did quit smoking when he was 50 (very bad health scare), and he lost a good deal of weight (but was still overweight), but didn't really have a healthy lifestyle. He had always said he wouldn't live to see 2001, so I guess he didn't see much sense in depriving himself of foods he loved. Close to the end of 2000, he started to think he just might live a bit longer than he had thought. He went to a dietician, and changed his diet. He started eating brown rice (for a Thai man, that was really hard!), and exercising more. He had a lot more energy than he had ever had, and I think he was enjoying developing a new lifestyle. He was really taking better care of himself. But January 26, 2001 he died of a ruputured aneurysm. I wish he had started taking better care of himself earlier. Although he enjoyed his life, and always said he had no regrets, I think the loss of his eyesight and the years of uncontrolled diabetes made his life more difficult than it had to be. They had no relation to how he died, of course, but taking care of his health could have made his time living just that much more enjoyable.

My first thought when I read that was sucking on a BBQ rib bone. I'm so pure...

I wish I had been a guest at that wedding! Looked delicious! (Except maybe the chicken breasts--I hate chicken breasts, but if smothered with enough sauce, I'm sure I'd have liked it, too.) The cake was a bit strange for a wedding cake, but I think it suited the rest of the food. I'm sure it was delicious. I really enjoyed following your very busy week, so I thank you for blogging during a very very busy time for you. Oh, those bacon cheddar muffins??? 11 points each! Won't be making those for a while, but as soon as I'm half-way to my goal weight, they're definitely going to be on my "must make" list!

Here's a link to Mission Deli's website--according to them, they're the number 1 producers of wraps (the actual wrap part) in the world. And please notice the recipe for the ever favourite sardine and avocado wrap!! It does kind of sound like something Filipinos my eat (my mother loves sardines and avocados--and she especially loves the fried sardines that come in a can).

I hate wraps, too. The "tortilla" used in wraps (if that's what it's supposed to be) always has some sort of odd flavour--very chemically. And the fillings are always so dry and boring. I want someone to explain to me why they're so popular. Why do people like them so much?

I'd go to Lyon just because bleudauvergne is there, and who better to show you the local food scene? (Not that I'm volunteering her services, but seriously, you could just work through her blog and you'd get great eating and food shopping with nary a problem!).

If it's on soft squishy white bread, I love chicken salad with cranberry sauce I've never had a sub I liked, so I'm still looking for the ideal filling. I hate wraps. Genoa salami!! Hot!!! On an Italian bun--one of those hard crusty ones. I don't think I've ever had a hoagie. Now tell the truth, were you a bit drunk when you posted this? Some of the typos are hilarious! (oreas...)

I'd eat that, but I have to admit, it kind of looks like something from the movie Alien....

No way! No low-fat goods in my house, except 1% milk! I'm thinking of doing half a recipe, then just eating half a muffin each time. I can usually afford a 3-point snack every day, and when I exercise, I can have a little pat of butter, too! Thanks for the bacon cheddar muffin recipe! The recipe looks just as delicious as the actual muffins did! (There's something about orange cheddar that just screams yumminess to me!)

I looked it up on their website. It was the morning glory muffins that used 100% whole wheat or white whole wheat flour, so I assumed it was the same. Then I punched the ingredients into my recipe database software (which also calculates ww points, zone blocks, etc). I made a whole wheat banana muffin recipe from King Arthur, too, and got even more points per muffin. Muffins are not good ww foods! The one I got from the website is the wrong one, then. I love caraway seeds--must be a good recipe! I'm off to search again!

I want one of those morning glory muffins, too! But at almost 6 ww points/muffin, they're probably off my eating list for a bit. How come my muffins never look that good? And have you posted the recipes for the granola and the bacon cheddar muffins before? They look awesome! I'll have to reread previous pages to check, but if you haven't posted them, please do! Edited to add: I found bacon cheese muffins on the southern living site (does the recipe have sugar in it, too?), and I did a search on the granola recipe and guess where google took me? The first site given was your blog! So now I have the recipes, I just have to do the point thing, and see if I can fit them into my eating plan.

It seemed like the families with teenagers had the most processed foods. About the German family--did you see how much wine and beer they had? I think that probably accounts for a large part of their $500/week. Anyone know what those bread/pastry things the woman from Ulaanbaatar was holding up? They looked good! I love how the Japanese girl is hugging her bag of nori potato chips.

Where do you get your high-fibre bread? Is it a Brandon-area only item?