prasantrin

It looks like a quesadilla, to me. With a big blob of sour cream at 12:00. With either mushrooms or beans...I can't figure out what the butter would be for, though.

I used to live in Ujiie, which was three stops north of Utsunomiya. Nikko doesn't have much in terms of restaurants, as most are geared toward the tourist population. Utsunomiya is a relatively small city, and doesn't have much there, either. However, if you have a car, or are willing to pay for taxis, one of the best Thai restaurants I've ever been to (in or out of Thailand) is in Utsunomiya. I can't remember the name (perhaps I never really knew it). My best advice would be to find some JET participants and tag along with them. JETs are really the best sources of information for these kinds of things, and I'm quite sure there is at least one in Nikko (probably two).

Y'know, for all that those arancini did not turn out magazine-cover perfect, they still have a kind of homely/homey charm ... I'd at least try one. (And I think your tablecloth is cute.) ← I'd eat the whole plateful! They look perfectly good to me. In fact, they sort of look like they're entirely made out of cheese...that would make them even better!

Last summer, I noticed right off the bat that the tap water in Winnipeg was pretty horrible. We had a lot of out-of-town guests for a few days, and they also noticed not just the horrible taste, but also the smell. None of them would drink it. We use a Brita filter (on-tap, not the jug) and it helped substantially. But this was the first time I've ever used bottled water on a regular basis.

Are those....leeches stuck to the meatcakes?

I think you should put together a basket (using a soup pot as the basket) that includes your cookbook and some of the non-persishable ingredients used in some of the soups. You could have a "chicken noodle soup" basket, a "chocolate soup" basket, etc. I like baskets that include cooking equipment, so if you did cookies mixes, for example, including cookie cutters or a cookie sheet, or using a nice bowl as the basket, is a nice idea, too. For the higher price point baskets, that is... I once gave someone a sangria basket that included small bottles of all the liqueurs needed, red wine, a carafe, and a recipe. That went over very well, and the carafe was used for years before it broke (and it was always used for sangria!). And for people like me, I'd love to get a Kosher starter kit. My parents actually knew a lot about Jewish food, but with the exception of chicken soup with matzoh balls, and the occasional potato pancake, we didn't eat it much. I also love getting gift certificates for food stores (even Safeway!), fine quality teas (anything from Mariage Freres is always welcome!), cookbooks, etc. I don't really care for restaurant gift certificates, unless they're for places I really like, or have wanted to try. Too many people give certificates to places like the Old Spaghetti Factory or the Keg.

Sweet Maria's has a supplement to the manufacturer's instructions on their website, but not the actual instructions. I suppose it's better than nothing! But they might be able to send you a copy of the instructions, if you ask nicely.

Or... "Recent headlines proclaim that MEN CAN COOK!!! And in many cases, their skill and knowledge outweighs that of their friends who are girls! Even the well-educated and wealthy girls! This great feat has proven, yet again, that men really are much better at everything than girls, and that girls have, once again, proven themselves to be inferior." This is not an attack; it is merely how some of the comments being made can be interpreted, and have been interpreted (at least by me). You've got to admit, they do seem rather ridiculous. While it's most likely true that young women are less able to cook than their mothers or grandmothers, to say it's because of lack of interest or laziness is simplistic, at best. I'll have to add more later, since I'm in a bit of a rush.

I found Strawberry and Double Berry flavoured KitKats yesterday. Didn't buy any, though. Sure beats the banana flavoured ones they had a couple of months ago!

I have an idea...I think in the earlier, red x picture, you used a link to a picture on whatever photo storage website you normally use...from what I can tell, it's MSN. We used to be able to do that, but as far as I know, we can't anymore. In order to have pictures in your post, you must use ImageGullet, which is a pain in the butt. But I could be wrong.... Edited to add: That picture of pea soup truly was disgusting. I think it's my favourite of all the regrettable foods. Good work!

My lemon souffle cheesecake recipe was from a cookbook for junior high school students. I think it had furigana in it, so there must be more out there. You could check out amazon.co.jp, but you'd need kanji to navigate the site (the shop in English link doesn't really let you shop in English).

I'm not a good fish person...I also get salmon and trout mixed up! I looked it up and someone had told me it was threadfin???? Is that a kind of sturgeon? That sounds divine!

That was most unkind, making me look at that link to find pictures of that delicious looking gevulde speculaas! Now I have to look for a recipe and try to find some marzipan (probably outrageously-priced here in Japan!). Plus I now have a craving for something sweet, with nothing but a 2-month-old pecan pie to satisfy it. Cruel, I tell you, cruel!

Was that Science Diet I saw? He is a cutie, that little one! Were the arancini coated in very fine breadcrumbs, or something else? The ones I've had usually have more breading on them. I'd love to have some as light-looking as yours!

What's your favourite kind of salted fish to use? When in Thailand last year, I bought this fish . Someone told me what it was, but I can't remember now. I'm hoping to pick up something similar when I'm in Singapore in December. Japan just doesn't have any good salted fish! (known in my family as "stinky fish") Edited to fix the link.

I hope there's a Dutch apple cake/pie that'll be demo-ed! There are many Dutch where I grew up--both naturalized and first or second-generation Canadians, and it's their dessert tables that I remember best! One of my friends, whose father was Dutch, used to complain that they couldn't even have spaghetti at their house--just meat and potatoes every night. I thought it was weird, but now thanks to you, I understand why that was!

Anyone try the new premium KitKats? I saw two flavours: Noir (bittersweet, I think) and Wine. They're mini-KitKats in bigger boxes--about the size of Melty Kiss boxes--and run for Y288 a box. I'm on a tight budget this month, but I may have to spring for a couple! Edited to add: I saw on the boxes that these particular KitKats are designed (?!??!) by the same patissier that did the Passion Fruit one. I wonder if they'll be putting out a couple of new flavours every year?

This hazelnut pie, from Bistro Dansk in Winnipeg, is my favourite restaurant dessert. I've had many that have awed, and which may have even tasted better, but I always come back to this hazelnut pie. I'm a nut freak, though, and I love whipped cream, so this pie has the best of both worlds. I also like it because it's pretty much just caramelized hazelnuts (though there might be a wee bit of cream in there somewhere). I should say, however, that sometimes this pie is better than others. Sometimes the crust is too hard, or tastes a bit stale. But the nuts are always good!

The article says the flavour resembles yuzu, but with "greater subtlety and depth." It's grown organically, and the vinegar made with it has only been available locally (in Yasumachi or around there, I guess) until this year. The article mentions that kizu may be the original fruit vinegar, since the word, itself, means "wood vinegar". I'll have to do more research. It looks like the distributor is located in Kyoto (A Zen Corporation) so I'm sure it must be available somewhere near me. Maybe they'll have free tastings??

The article, entitled "Sampling the Izakaya Scene", is in the Summer 2004 issue. The new food/recipe section is pretty small, so I don't know that it's worth buying the magazine just for that. I love the photographs, though, and that's really the reason I bought all the issues. That and the arts and crafts section--they often focus on Kyoto, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, so I can actually visit a lot of the stores and temples they showcase.

I'm a little confused about Ramadan in Malaysia. I thought that generally, during Ramadan people weren't supposed to eat between sunrise and sunset, but it looks like those stalls were out during the daytime (maybe late afternoon?). Are Ramadan rules different in Malaysia, or are the stalls out just for buying food for the after-sunset feast, or are they mostly for the non-Muslims? Those pictures certainly made me hungry, I can only imagine what the sight and smell of the stalls does to someone who hasn't eat for several hours!

What kind of oatmeal do you use? Steel cut? Old-fashioned? It looks so toothy...I normally abhor oatmeal because of its vomit-like texture, but I'd eat that bowl of oatmeal in a heartbeat!

"Not customary" is not the same as "can't be done". There's no reason you can't break the trend and start bringing your lunch with you (unless it's strictly forbidden by your employers). Perhaps you could still eat with your co-workers in the canteen, if they allow outside food there, and eat alone when they go to restaurants. Eating alone isn't necessarily a bad thing, either. Sometimes it's nice to have a break from work, and I've always found that eating with co-workers almost always involves work-related talk at least part of the time. Smaller portions, more exercise, better metabolism???

I still haven't finished with all my Winnipeg eating adventures, but my mother and I went to Gluttons one afternoon. It was around 1:00 when we dropped by, sans reservation, and despite there being just one or two occupied tables, we were told they were full. There were no indications that the other tables were reserved. We were not impressed with the way we were handled by the woman we spoke with (with annoyance and a certain lack of grace), and I'm quite certain we will never be eating there, just based on that. As for their desserts, they looked very pretty. In fact, they looked very much like the desserts served at Hotel Fort Garry's Sunday brunch and it wouldn't surprise me if they were, indeed, from the hotel. That day we ended up in St. Boniface at Step 'N Out. We had a fine meal, with friendly service, and I would definitely eat there again.

Anyone know where a single diner can get a single-diner-sized dish of chili crab or some other yummy crab dish? I'm headed to Singapore for just a few days (late Dec. 30 till Jan. 2 evening) and this time, I really want to try some crab. I'll be on my own, though, so I don't think I can handle the full orders at Sin Huat (?) or other such places.