prasantrin

Any way to get the picture without having to have a Flickr account? I love croque, and I really want to see your picture. I hope the recipe is on Epicurious, because I'm off to look there now! Aren't croque madames made with chicken? I thought croque monsieur were with ham, and madame were with chicken.

Coconut-flavoured tea goes amazingly well with Karova cookies.

Great! We really wanted to go to a Farmer's Market, but going during the week was more convenient. Now we can meet both our needs/wants! And I'll look for your booth, too!

Perhaps they are Iraqi Kurds who came through Turkey? I used to have a student (Iranian Kurd) who lived in Turkey before coming to Canada as a convention refugee.

Great report. I really want to visit Seattle again, and go to all the places I missed when I was there (6 years ago!). BTW, have you lost weight, Sandy? You're looking a bit leaner in that photo!

A&W's Bacon 'n Egger and hash browns. Nothing's better...

If you send it to me, I'll break it up into chunks for you... but you might not get it back.

If I were in Chicago for only one weekend, which farmer's market would be the best to visit? We'll mostly be looking, not buying (since we'll have a flight and a few days in Minneapolis before returning home), but we enjoy just looking. We'll probably be staying around South Aberdeen and 31st (the Benedictine Monks' B&B), but are willing to travel anywhere accessible by public transportation. Also, for the Green City Market--are both the Wednesday and the Saturday equally interesting? LindsayAnn wrote different vendors sometimes come on different days, but if we end up in Chicago during the week, will the Wednesday Green City Market still be an interesting visit?

On top of the topmost brownie layer? Would you sprinkle it before or after baking? So many questions, so little time! Actually, I have about a week to make these since I still have 10 cinnamon buns left to eat (it's my rule, no baking one thing until the previous thing is finished--plus I ran out of corn syrup for the caramel, and my friend is bringing me some back from the US!).

Inspired by Desiderio's salted caramel cheesecake brownies, I want to make salted caramel brownies. I've been looking at recipes for caramel brownies and there are two choices--sandwich the caramel between layers of brownie batter, or have the caramel as a top layer. I'll be using homemade caramels (from Kerry's eGCI class), so I'll probably melt down some of the caramels and do the sandwich option. But now, what do I do with the salt? I'm going to use some very coarse French sea salt I have. I don't usually add it to the caramel, but I sprinkle it on top (actually, I dip individual caramels into a ramekin of salt as I eat them). Should I add more salt to the caramel, or should I sprinkle some on top of the caramel layer before adding the top brownie layer? If I sprinkle the salt on the melted caramel layer, won't it dissolve, especially with the wet brownie layer on top? Should I just sprinkle the salt on the topmost brownie layer?

I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you asked to observe for an hour or two the day before (or sometime before) you start, as long as you stay out of the way...

I'm not willing to use the gas/electricity to preheat my oven for that long. I guess I'll have to wait until I make more no-knead bread, and stick my stone in at the same time (except I usually use the round rotating pan, so I'll have to see if the Le Creuset fits on the shelf pan). So I hauled that heavy stone here for nothing? I'll try the double-pan/insulated method. That seems a bit easier and a bit less wasteful. And I've used my stone as a serving plate for my quiche, so I guess it wasn't entirely a waste bringing it over...

I bought a pizza stone last December when I was back home, and I've used it exactly once. I set my oven to 250C, or 200C, I can't remember, and when the preheated beep when off, I assumed it meant the stone was hot, too. It didn't take my oven much longer to preheat than usual, but what do I know? Well, the stone clearly wasn't hot enough, because when the pizza was done, the top was brown (just on the side of too brown for pizza), the bottom was still white! Any ideas how long I should try preheating my pizza stone in my teeny tiny Japanese oven? Or how I can test if the stone is hot? I'm guessing I can't throw a big of water on it, so is there another way?

I am now thoroughly convinced that torakris is buying up all available Pepsi stock, preventing any of it from reaching the Kansai area. I've been to who-knows-how-many stores, and I can find Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Next, Pepsi Twist (or whatever the lemon one is called), but no regular pepsi. Kristin, get your hands off my pepsi!! Or at least off my magnets!!!

Aha! I just got back from the UAE a few weeks ago, and this explains why Caribou Coffee was everywhere! I thought it was odd, since I've only seen Caribou Coffee in Minneapolis, but now I understand why... Now I need to research why Second Cup stores were so plentiful, too.

I haven't been, though had I been more together, I'd have gone there instead of Cafe Havana when I was at the MoE. According to Time Out Dubai, they were still at the Kempinski in March 2007. Here's the review. By the way, I had some pretty mediocre meals in Dubai--the Boardwalk (at the Golf and Country Club), Cafe Havana...those are the ones I remember most. I should have tried to find the food court at MoE, but I was beat by then!

I must admit, I am not naturally wired that way. It takes an effort for me to be compassionate and understanding, but I make a point of making that effort in the types of situations being described in this topic.

It's almost that time for my yearly visit to Winnipeg! Well, not really, since it's still 3 months away, but I like to plan ahead. This year, a good portion of my eating out money will probably be spent in Chicago, so my fine dining options in Winnipeg will be limited. Of places I've not yet tried, I'm thinking: Gluttons--despite my bad experience with the uppity hostess, I feel that Sadao Ono's win as the Canadian Culinary Champion almost forces me to dine there. I've "known" him since he first started working at his father's sushi place, and I want to see what he'd doing now. Mise--it's always on my list, but I never get around to going there. Their limited hours makes it difficult to cram it in (especially once Folklorama starts!). Those are the only two I can think of that I'd really like to try. I might go back to Bistro 7 1/4--was there last Christmas for a slightly disappointing dinner. The mussels were as good as I remembered, but I had lamb shank or some other braised dish, and the sides were almost like an afterthought. I might make it back to Tavern in the Park for a meal other than brunch, too. I've only eaten brunch there, so I'd like to try their dinner, too. Other maybes, depending on time and money--Tre Visi, Underground Cafe (must have a sunburger), bistro dansk, Fusion Grill, Won't be going to Bernard Mirlycourtois, Amici/Bombolini, 529 Wellingtong, or Dubrovnik's. ...are there any others I should consider? I'm especially looking for "new" places, any price range, though mid-range is best. Must save for Alinea.

I haven't watched The Food Network in years, but what the heck are Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Zeta-Jones doing at that awards show? Do they have a show? If not, how much were they paid to make an appearance? Must have been big bucks in order to stoop to something so low (seriously, foodtv awards? Lame-o)

About non-Americanized Chinese food, have you ever thought of asking the owners/chefs of the restaurants you frequent to make you something off the menu? When my family first moved to Canada, we were one of the few brown families in Winnipeg. There was one Chinese restaurant which, understandably, had a menu for non-Asian folks. We'd go there and my dad would say, "Just serve us whatever you're having for dinner," and we'd get a good Cantonese Chinese meal. If the owners/chefs know you're looking for something better than what they usually offer, if they're serious about their food, they're probably more than willing to oblige you. Take note, however, not all cooks at Chinese restaurants can actually cook.

Why would that be?

Unfortunately, we weren't able to learn the names of any of the fish we ate. The evening before, we had three different kinds of fish for dinner. One was quite large, and topped with a very spicy tomato-based sauce. One was very simply grilled, and I can't remember the third one. We asked the chef about the fish, but he couldn't tell us. One of our party was an avid fisherman, and he said something about jack fish (which I looked up, and found was a type of pickeral or pike), but he said it wasn't jack fish, but close to it. The lunch fish was very delicate, and very delicious. The head and cheeks were full of lovely fish fat, too. The sauce I mentioned wasn't really sauce. It was just lemon juice with a lot of chopped fresh garlic. There might have been a bit more to the lemon juice, but not much more, as it was very clean and fresh. In terms of food, this cruise was the highlight of my trip. I would highly recommend this type of trip to anyone who goes to the UAE. Musandam is an easy drive from Dubai (just time it so you're not at the border around noon--especially on a Friday, and don't get stuck behind the Porsche club, as we did), and the cruise was reasonably priced. We paid about $200/person, but you could rent the whole yacht for 12 000 Omani Riyal, and you can also just do a day cruise (with pick-up from Dubai). The company we used was Khasab Travel and Tours.

I'm not sure, but I think if the camels knew they were just going around in circles, they wouldn't move. The blindfold allows them to think they're actually going somewhere. I could be wrong, though... Oh, I had thought the mills were grinding some kind of grain, but my guide said olives. Research has shown, however, that they grind sesame. As I said earlier, I didn't get close enough to look (the smell was overpowering!). I asked, but no one could tell me, and I don't know enough about fish to even guess (except I know it wasn't salmon!). Most people in Yemen speak either no English or very basic English. My guide was fluent in both English and French, but not in fish names. And it was very tasty. I could only eat a little, so I gave the rest to the driver to take home for his family. It would have been a shame to let it go to waste.

More square plates with cheffy touches to come! A lot of the newer restaurants in Dubai and Sharjah are very frou frou. I'm sure they have a lot of very good hole-in-the-wall type places, but all my friends are ex-pat workers, so they tend to dine at ex-pat type places. I almost went to an Automatic, but got lost and ended up at...shhhh....KFC. I was delirious with thirst from an accidental 3.5km walk (and the prospect of the 3.5km return walk), and needed something fast! The last place I dined at was a fairly new Lebanese place in Sharjah at the Qasbah. I told our server I'd post the name on the internet, so they could get more business, but I can't find the card right now. It was a beautiful space, and the food was quite good, though I don't know if I'd say it was the best Lebanese food I've ever had. I much prefered it to Bastakiah Nights in Dubai, though, and it was also quite a bit cheaper! Restaurants in Sharjah have a difficult time, because Sharjah is much more conservative than Dubai. There was a time when a woman couldn't even wear short-sleeved shirts in the Emirate, but now that the Sheikh has paid off the debt to Saudi Arabia, the Emirate is loosening up a bit. Still no shisha (aka hookah, water pipe, etc.) in Sharjah, though, and that's what sends diners into Dubai rather than Sharjah. Cold mezze and fattoush. I liked the chunky thing closest to the front. And the pomegranate seeds were a very nice touch, not just in terms of presentation, but for their flavour, as well. The fattoush was a little more tart than I like, but my friend loved it, and said it was the best fattoush she's ever had. Hot mezze The cool bread bowl, which I think was shell. And the dessert sampler, from left to right, a coffee-flavoured square, cheese filled cheese, two kinds of...mamoul? and some kind of pudding/custard. And I flew out later that night (at 2:30am), laden with dates (plain and filled), pastries, jilebi (I couldn't help myself! I love the stuff and can't get it in Japan), spiced nuts, cookies from Wafi Gourmet (also seen in arbuclo's foodblog), and assorted spices. Quite honestly, I hated Dubai. It was dirty, crowded, and not very tourist-friendly. Sharjah was a little better, but I still wouldn't want to live there. I was in the UAE in part to visit friends, but also to do some reconnaissance since I was thinking of teaching there after my term in Japan is done. I have a feeling I missed my chance to be happy living in the UAE by about 3 years. My friends tell me I'd be happier in Abu Dhabi, but I'm not so sure. Perhaps in another 2 or 3 years, I'll try again. For now, though, I think I'll stay away. Oman, on the other hand, is still an option, and I'm looking forward to going back to the area and exploring there a bit more. And Yemen...I haven't been to very many countries, maybe only about a dozen, but Yemen is most definitely my favourite country, and I will most certainly go back there one day. I must go to Socotra and Shibam of skyscraper fame, after all! More Dubai/Sharjah pictures on webshots. Oman post Yemen is here and here.

Oman...what can I say about Oman? We only went to the Musandam peninsula as my friend arranged an overnight cruise. We got the entire yacht for our party of 12, and it was fabulous. In Khasab, where the cruise departed from, we had lunch at a popular place. Now if only I could remember the name, or I had pictures of what we ate. I know we had a mixed grill, fattoush, grilled chicken, and maybe hummous. It was very good, but that's all I can tell you. This was what we saw most of the time. We were going in and out of coves, and all coves kind of look alike. But when they look like that, it's not so bad. We dropped anchor once every so often to get in some swimming, snorkelling, and kayaking. Our first afternoon/evening out was very very windy, but the weather was glorious. Unfortunately, some of our group were very sun-sensitive so they had to bundle up. Finally, a food picture! We had dinner, breakfast, and lunch on this cruise, but I only got pictures of the lunch. All the meals were delicious. Both the dinner and the lunch revolved around grilled fish, but there were other dishes, as well. Here we see (from right to left) two kinds of hummus, mutabal, coleslaw-like salad, green salad with shredded stewed chicken. And on my plate we see all those things plus grilled fish topped with a lemony garlic sauce, grilled chicken (that the thing sticking out from under my fish at 7 o'clock), and spicy stewed chicken up at 1 o'clock (you can barely see it from under my fish). Obviously my appetite was back. Ahem...I gave away some of the food on my plate (the grilled chicken) so I could go back and get more fish. It was awesome! That was the cook on the right. He was Syrian, and he was very willing to talk to us about the food, and also the sites. We talked about baklava, and he said he never makes it because the pastry is too time consuming and difficult. A last shot before arriving back in the UAE. Unfortunately, I'm not the long-legged beauty on the right, but the short dumpy one on the left. But as my friend said, I'm sun-kissed! (My back was quite painfully burned, in fact.) Oh, more Oman pictures up on webshots.