prasantrin

You should really rest a little more. Make sure you're 100% before you start again, lest you relapse! Maybe two weeks--that's how much time you need to recover! I'm leaving the day after tomorrow, but I finally finished Cambodia!

OooooohhhhH!! Well then, I'm going to suggest sending some to me to taste. Now you're obligated to overnight a piece! And I'm going to suggest making the one abooja linked to, and send me a slice of that, too! (It looks seriously good, but it's more caramelly than peanut buttery, which is OK with me since I like caramel more than peanut butter). I want peanut butter pie, but I can't eat a whole pie by myself, and I don't think it would go over too well at work. I wonder if I can find some in the Philippines.

Why the obligation to use cream cheese? Could you use mascarpone instead? I don't find it to be as tangy as cream cheese (but I've never done a side-by-side taste test).

About the spiders--I found this little bit, and shivered the entire time I was reading it! The silkworms--after they're boiled, the last of the cocoon is peeled off and the remaining larvae is eaten. He said it tasted like popcorn or something like that (not chicken!). Pan--I did not go to McDonald's! I don't even know if there's a McD's in all of Cambodia! OK, I'll confess. We went back to Le Tigre de Papier and had pizza and french fries. We did have our daily coconut fix, too, so it wasn't entirely sad! And we also scoured the market for phlai teuk-doh koh and swaay chantii. Those were the only two words I learned in Khmer (aside from or-kun "thank you"). For those not fluent in Khmer they mean "star apple" and "cashew nut"! About the cashews--at the rest stop I posted about, there was a man selling freshly roasted cashews. He wanted US$5 for a large bag, and I think US$2 for a small one. Expensive! We thought for sure we were being ripped off because we were foreigners, so we didn't buy any. Later, in Siem Reap, we searched everywhere for them, but it was difficult to find any. At the market, we finally found large bags of unroasted cashews--for us$5 a bag! The same price as the rest stop guy! And the ones in SR had bugs in them, too! So we left Cambodia without any cashews :sad, but my mother did get a couple of star apples to munch on for breakfast before we left the next morning.

The next day we went to Artisans D'Angkor's silk farm. You might be thinking, "What does this have to do with food?" These are the cocoons being boiled so the silk threads can be extracted. Once all the threads are gone, what's left can then be eaten! The Artisans guide popped one into his mouth to show us that they were edible. I asked him if these get taken to the market and sold as snacks, but he said they're sold to a chicken farm near the factory. For lunch we went to Khmer Kitchen. No, not that one. This one which is in an tiny alley-like pathway. I think it's the original, but they now have three locations. I had something like chicken with basil, but it wasn't as spicy or as flavourful as the Thai version. Or maybe it was pork with basil. My mother ordered chicken larb. This one was actually called larb. It was sort of like the Thai version, but not as spicy or flavourful. Ha ha. My mother really liked it, though. It's a bit more citrusy than the Thai larb we're used to, but she liked the addition of the bean sprouts or mung beans or whatever those were. This was the best Cambodian food we had. It was OK, but it probably would have been better if it had not been served lukewarm. Our last meal was something I'm not going to tell you about, because you'll kick me out of the club. We discussed our trip at length, and decided if we returned to Cambodia, it wouldn't be for the food. I think we have too many emotional ties to Thai food, and Cambodian and Thai cuisines are too similar for us to see them as separate entities. Whenever we tasted something, we'd say, "Oh, Dad used to make this, but it was better," or something similar. If we could have found a way to divorce the two, we'd probably have been happier with the food. Whew! I managed to finish before Peter finished his trip!

I must take advantage of Peter's lull in posting to finish up my trip! The bus ride back to SR was much better than the ride over. The bus was in slightly worse shape, I thought, but we had a much better rest stop! This rest stop not only had a restaurant, but also a little market! I was a bit confused about these things. Up close, they look like spiders, don't they? That's because they are! The woman lifted up her basket to show me the live ones. I'm not a terribly adventurous eater in that I don't seek out weird food, but I'll try pretty much everything at least once. These, however, would never ever ever touch my lips. Ever since Kelly Reimer put a dead spider in my hair in the 4th grade, I've been very afraid of them. Especially dead ones! More bugs. I might have tried these had someone else bought them and offered me one. Yum! Cooked poultry sitting out in the mid-day heat! With their innards, too! I think these were mostly dried fruits and nuts. And lots of dried fish. My mother wanted to buy some, but I put my foot down. The air conditioning wasn't working too well--imagine how stinky the bus would have been! That evening we ended up at Le Tigre de Papier for dinner. My mother had amok--I think this was chicken. Sorry for the dark pictures. She said it was "ok". I had pizza. We found out most of the staff (or all the staff) at Le Tigre de Papier was from SalaBai, so it's good to know the graduates are being employed!

If you call or ask at the service desk, they should be able to tell you when they're expecting it, or if they're expecting it at all (I found out my local Costco would no longer be carrying frozen cranberries that way).

I love the skin, too! He should have tried chicken butt. Seems gross eating a chicken butt, but it's sooooo good!

The current issue of Kateigaho International (Spring 2009) has a great section on sweets in Japan, with listings of various shops, mostly in the Tokyo area. I think it's mostly a translation of an article which was published in the Japanese version of Kateigaho a year or so ago, but the photography is beautiful, and they've got quite a few shops listed that you could visit (the issue is at work, so I can't list them right now). As part of the article, they have an interview with the pastry chef who was part of the team that placed second in the World Pastry Cup (or a similar competition), Norihiko Terai. He owns (or is part owner?) of Aigre-Douce in Tokyo, and is a member of Relais Dessert. Relais Dessert also has three other members in Japan, in addition to are in the Tokyo area. (Sadaharu Aoki is a member, as well, but he's listed as a member in France.)

All of the ones I've seen used in Japan are just touch pads with different dishes on each key. You don't have to type in anything. But I imagine the letters on the keys are quite small, so it would be difficult for some people to use.

Yakisoba! That's a great idea! Or okonomiyaki. Everyone loves okonomiyaki, plus it's really easy to make, and it isn't so bad if served cold. One normal-sized okonomiyaki could serve at least 10 kids, more if cut into small squares. Cheese okonomiyaki. . . mmmmmm. . .

To me, regular mochi wouldn't be a good idea unless the kids were used to that sort of texture. Most adults (from the "west") I've met don't like mochi, and it can be difficult to eat (how many people choke on it every year?). For the kids the gooey chewy stickiness might have a fun-factor to it (or a gross-factor), but would they eat it? I love it, and toasted with butter and sugar is the best! I liked the idea of cream pan, too, but bread-things would be more labour-intensive than sushi. I'd do curry pan, baked not fried. I've got a craving for Japanese curry these days. Can you tell?

I hate gift certificates, but I think in this case, you're better off with one, or with something else. You don't know what books she already has, or what topics she's interested in. If you send her something and she returns it, she'll have to wait about four weeks for a refund, and then she may not even get it since the refunds usually go back on the purchaser's credit card. Plus she'll have to pay for shipping the return (directly or indirectly). I'd go with sending food. For example, make a care package of local specialty items that would probably be difficult to get in Iowa. The don't even have to be local items. Or make a bunch of different baked goods and send it along with a nice basket or tray. Or a gift certificate. I hate them, but in terms of pleasing the person (whom you know little to nothing about), it's the best option.

He sold off his shop? Just the Japanese branches, or the entire shebang? The eclairs are the only things I like at SA. I didn't care for his cakes or chocolates, but perhaps I just chose the wrong ones.

Makizushi is not quite as labour-intensive as nigirizushi, and you can slice one roll into quite a few pieces. Kappamaki would be perfect. Then only problem with suggestions involving different kinds of sushi is the rice. It would really need to be made the morning of, unless you want to turn the kids off sushi forever. Would karaage be too western? If they have a microwave handy, I'd like some curry rice served in little cupcake liners or something similar, with little plastic spoons with which to eat. Not as labour intensive, and students could dish out their own stuff (or you could have the servings ready--your son could help, since it's his project), and just make sure he keeps the plastic container or whatever upright on his way to school.

I finally got around to making the salsa last night. OMG it's addictive. I checked out the ingredients on some canned whole jalapenos, and the only acid in them was citric acid, so I used them. I used two of the whole jalapenos, and one small can of whole tomatoes. The only problem with my salsa is that the tomatoes are quite acidic. I just had some again, and it seems to have mellowed nicely. This is not a good thing--I envision myself buying more and more tortilla chips to keep up my salsa habit! I've got a year to go till I leave, so perhaps I'll give it a try this summer along with more cilantro. I did add some dried cilantro to the salsa, but dried cilantro is really very tasteless, so it was really just there for colour. I'll check out my tomatillos, and hopefully make some salsa verde upon my return from spring holidays! Thanks! (I'm off to eat more chips and salsa now!)

I'm in the bean-hater camp, too. The only bean dish that I will eat a whole bowl of willingly and happily is foul/ful mudammes (there are a number of different spellings for it). I like the sub-saharan version that's served hot with chopped onions, chiles, and I can't remember what else. But after one bowl, I can't look at it again for a few months (it's a bean thing).

The most efficient ordering system I've used was a table-top touch screen. No worry about someone writing down the wrong order or forgetting it. We just selected what we wanted, and waited for our food to arrive. This was, of course, in Japan.

It has been established that while one can copyright directions, one cannot copyright ingredients and amounts. Most of those "adpated from" recipes to which you're referring do have the directions re-written. Regardless, at least those "adapted from" recipes have attributions, whereas the copied blog content does not. From the time one learns to write bibliographies, one learns that copied content without attributions is considered to be plagiarism.

The Spice House says to keep it in the fridge in an airtight jar. I'd separate it into several small jars and if you have a jar-attachment for a vacuum sealer, that would probably come in handy.

HC's salted caramel cake is my favourite!!! It's a bit expensive, but well worth it, in my opinion. I love their macarons, too, the caramel one in particular. It's much better than Pierre Herme (I don't care for PH macaron, actually), but I'm not sure how it ranks against Chez Cima, my number one macaron from my taste test last spring. Also try their financier and madeleine. They're so underrated, but they're really quite delicious (very buttery!).

I'd have snapped up more of the tomato powder. If it's like the stuff that the Spice House sells, it's expensive! (And it's perfect for when you need a little tomato paste and don't want to open a can, or can't get a can).

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/06/so...trawberry-cake/ But I would probaby make a standard genoise and brush it with strawberry-flavoured liqueur. I'd use a whipped cream-based icing, and have strawberries in between the layers, and I'd do sliced strawberries on top. Like this http://junkoterada.blogspot.com/2007/07/gotta-bake-more.html

His cakes can't be found anywhere else in the world because there's only one shop in the world. I'm quite sure his cakes are delicious, and I'd love to try some of the flavour combinations that Nick featured on his blog (The Bresilienne, in particular, attracts my attention. While hardly an original combination, I'd like to taste how he balances the coffee and caramel flavours), but I would not dare to compare his cakes with others and say they are better or worse since I have not tried them. Best not to speak of what I have not experienced. I carry around disposable ZipLock containers and bags just for such occasions! Then when no one is looking, I slip little treats from my plate into them. Did you find the sit-in area to be quite busy, even when they first opened? I'm wondering how long I'd have to wait for a table. I could certainly go early enough to stand in line, but if I should get lost (which often happens), I may arrive later than planned. Although I don't have a trip to Tokyo planned in the very near future, I like to plan my eating far ahead of time.

FWIW, I have never said they were in the same league. I said they were both French-style patissiers, and you seemed to think Hidemi Sugino was not, simply because his cakes were mousse-based. Regardless, your statement is a rather ignorant unless you've tasted both, and you've stated you haven't. That being said, I don't really see how Hidemi Sugino's cakes are any less French than those at, for example, HC. In fact, they seem even more French based on the descriptions. Perhaps you could elaborate on that, since you're such an expert?