prasantrin

Where in the Philippines is your friend originally from? Coconut milk isn't really common in adobo, but I think they use it in Bicol or maybe in the south. Allspice, cloves and cinnamon aren't common anywhere, though, not even in non-adobo dishes. Traditionally, the only herbs and spices used in adobo are black pepper and bay leaves (and a lot of garlic, if you want to count that as an herb). Interesting variation! Just makes me wonder which part of the Philippines she's originally from.

This doesn't really have anything to do with restaurants, but you have to remember that some cultures have a much more casual relationship with other people's children. It's no big deal to offer to carry a stranger's child or even to scold another person's child without fear of consequences from the parents. If you don't want them oogling your child, stay away from their restaurant, and you may want to stay away from any kind of restaurant owned/operated by people from similar cultures (don't bother with Filipino places, for example, and possibly Malaysian).

I think most of the coconut oil sold for consumption in the Philippines is virgin coconut oil, if that makes a difference. Or at least the pasalubong we buy is.

That's why I asked. The default table setting should only include a spoon and fork, and chopsticks should only be offered with noodle dishes.

I wouldn't use shortening if you're trying to create a quality product. Instead, consider using some kind of nut oil, or if you want to avoid nut products, just use a neutral but decent quality oil. Take a look at David Lebovitz's recipe for Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread and use it as a base from which to experiment. He uses cocoa nibs, not chocolate.

They give attribution sometimes, but not always, and it seems from reports that they never ask nor receive permission. That being said, afaik, in the cases where attribution is not given, someone else isn't necessarily claiming to have written the article (i.e. there's no other author listed). In those cases, is it still plagiarism or is it something else? I have always thought that plagiarism is claiming someone's work as your own, but if no one is claiming it, then what is it?

Cooks Source (no apostrophe) is acceptable if "Cooks" is adjectival rather than nominal. Much like how "Girls School" and "Ladies Room" do not always have the possessive "'s", especially when capitalized (i.e. when used as proper nouns). Surely there are more egregious crimes committed by the publisher/owner of the magazine than that.

onrushpam has one of those, and when I asked about it (on page 1 or 2 of this thread), she said: I think I'd still prefer it because of its versatility, but after having so much trouble with the heating of my current crock-pot, I'd be a little more concerned about being able to control the heat with the 3-in-1.

You might have already thought of this, but if you go the "put in a pouch and squeeze" route, make a loop or knot at the top of your pouch and put a stick/wooden spoon handle/similar item in the top and twist using the stick. You'll get much better torque that way (increased torque? Higher torque? more torque?) and more juice.

Canadian/British spelling in the Daily Gullet!?!?!? Never thought I'd see that happen! Hope to see more!

Any chance of getting the date tamarind chutney recipe from your friend? I've tried so many commercially-made tamarind chutneys, but none of them are very good. A samosa just isn't right without tamarind chutney!

Really? You're just being ironic, right? US chefs never throw tantrums? Or behave in an arrogant manner? Or are jerks to staff or customers?

So true! This is the second time recently that you've pretty much taken the words right off my typewriter keyboard. Regarding taking risks, no matter how "out there" diners are willing to go, they often also want at least one familiar dish to keep them "safe". When I go to Thailand, I'll eat whatever is ordered, but I still request gai pad grapow because it's familiar and it reminds me of my dad. For many, that familiar dish will be pad thai. FWIW, I rarely see Thais eating pad thai in Thailand and I don't think it's nearly as popular with Thais as it is with farangs. Other rice noodle dishes like rad na are more popular, at least amongst the crowd I hang with, but perhaps those are too Chinese for a place like LoS. There's another dish similar to pad thai that uses coconut milk that I think is much tastier, and if a restaurant owner wanted to offer something in place of pad thai, it would be a good choice. Familiar enough for those who look for familiarity, but different enough to offer a "risk". Just out of curiosity, does LoS offer chopsticks as a part of its standard table setting?

Yay! I don't know why the audio technica one wouldn't have worked, either, but I'm glad something did. It would have been awfully expensive and cumbersome to get it shipped back to the US! Hope you can return the other adapter without any problems!

Just to clarify, did you try running a cleaning cycle before you tried putting food in the container? And is the lid on tightly/properly? According to the literature, btw, Vitamix blenders are all 50/60hz, so that is likely not your problem, though that may just be food service models. I would guess the problem is with your plug adapter (can't imagine why, though. I might try another kind like one for computer equipment--cheaper, only about Y600, they have them at Yodobashi, too, maybe some in the appliance section, too), or with the way you're using it. If the power light is on, then it should be working unless there's something wrong with the way you've set it up.

Your plug adapter is to turn a 3-prong into a 2-prong? I wonder what would happen if you used a power strip designed for 3-prong electronics like computers. IIRC, you're not supposed to plug power strips into converters, but I'm not sure about that. Might want to check it out. I really doubt the 50-hz/60-hz thing would prevent an appliance from working. It might slow it down (or speed it up), and it would affect the appliance in the long run (it would probably die sooner), but it would still work at first. Like I said, I used a North American hair dryer as well as a food saver, blender, slow-cooker, etc. in Japan without a problem, and have used a Japanese rice cooker and hot plate thing here in Canada. And in both countries, without transformers/converters/etc. What advice does the Vitamix troubleshooting guide have? They must say something about cases like this. Or the transformer troubleshooting guide?

FWIW, I lived in Japan for 11 years (8 years in western Japan, 3 years in eastern) and used US/Canadian appliances there without a problem and without a transformer. Not sure how many watts (I think my hair dryer was 1200W), but I've also used Japanese appliances in Canada (up to 1200W, I think) for years without problems (including a rice cooker that I've used for 15-ish years). I would recommend reading your manual (both for the machine and the converter) carefully to make sure you've got everything set up correctly. You may have missed something small but important. I doubt the problem is because of the voltage of the appliance. (Just to make sure, you bought a transformer, the kind that costs about Y15000 or Y20000 at places like Yodobashi Camera?)

Mine is Anana. Another memory is of my dad's garlic pepper spareribs and pork corn balls. I used to scrape the fond out of the pans used to cook them and slop it on my rice with a little bit of the oil. Very tasty! And I remember the first time my mother caught me doing it, instead of scolding me, she said, "Boy! You really know how to eat!" With that kind of encouragement, it's no wonder I'm chubby now!

I've used psyllium husks, and if you don't like the texture of flaxseeds, you most likely won't like psyllium husks. You have to drink your smoothie fairly quickly before the psyllium expands and becomes kind of slimy. Think basil seed beverage/desserts in terms of texture. I don't mind it, but others I know do.

I use roasted milled flaxseed that I get from Costco. It's very cheap for flaxseed, but I think I once read that once ground (and/or roasted), the flaxseed deteriorates more quickly (not only becomes stale more quickly, but also loses its nutritional value more quickly). I use about 2T per smoothie, so I can use up a bag in roughly 6-8 weeks. Either buy it pre-ground, or grind it more finely, and you won't notice it as much. I like the roasted stuff because it adds a nice flavour to my smoothies. Sort of peanuty.

I prefer panko, but cornflake crumb ones were a favourite in my childhood. That being said, my absolute favourite schnitzel has breadcrumbs made from stale french-like bread. The restaurant makes their own baguette (which aren't true baguettes), and then grinds the leftover ones to make breadcrumbs. Their coating is fantastic, but I think that's also in part because they fry it in a cast iron skillet using a lot of oil.

I was waiting one pins and needles for the Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe one. I wanted to see what they'd do in Kobe, and I really didn't expect that many, but there were a lot more than I had imagined! Most were restaurants I had never heard of, too. Too bad it came out several months too late for me to really take advantage of it.

I had a discussion on another board that touched upon food snobbery. We were discussing a restaurant that the others had proclaimed was "authentic" Mexican food, and one guy mentioned that he really liked their pupusas. I replied that pupusas were not Mexican, but were El Salvadoran, and then asked if they were just using "pupusa" to provide a familiar name for a similar Mexican dish, or if they were really serving pupusas. To make a long story short, someone said I was being a food snob for being a stickler about the origin of a particular dish. I say it's not snobbery, especially since I'd have eaten it, anyway, it's just being respectful to other cultures. But I will admit, this is not the first time I've been called a food snob. Thing is, I eat Cheetohs, and I don't think McDonald's is the scourge of the world. But I won't say something is delicious if it's not, and I won't let you put ketchup in my pad Thai. So what makes a food snob? Am I being a food snob when I insist that pupusas aren't Mexican? Or because I don't like ketchup in my pad Thai?

Now that the Michelin guides have expanded their territory like crazy, is the value of a Michelin star less than it once was?

A FB post reminded me about my love of roasted peanuts in the shell. I have fond memories of hanging out with my mother and a bag of roasted peanuts. I'd go to the corner store and buy a can of Hires root beer which we'd share, and she would crack open the peanuts, rub off the skin, and split a little peanut in half. Then she'd peel out the little peanut heart for me to eat. Eating roasted peanuts always reminds me of that time. If only I could find Hires root beer again. . .