prasantrin

Has anyone ever found gai lan (芥蘭, ガイラン) at a regular supermarket (like Daiei, Ikari, Izumiya)? I've been craving it, but I can never find it it my local supermarkets. And what about bok choy? 広東白菜（カントンパクチョイ）I've never found that, either, so I usually just end up using chingensai. But sometimes, a girl just wants some bok choy (and gai lan). btw, I found the kanji for these vegetables at http://www.c-kimura.co.jp/vegetable/ . I really like the website, even though I can't afford anything I want!

Leeks--those big things that look like way overgrown green onions, and are often used in making soups. According to wiki, I'm looking specifically for

I admit, I always feel a wee twinge of sadness for the animals, but at the same time, I think, "Cool!" I have questions which may seem stupid for hunters. . . Why do you trim off the fat? Fat is usually good, no? Why do you hang some deer and not others? Does it affect the flavour or quality of the meat in some way? I'd like to know what you do with the hides, too. Not food related, but still of interest! At least to me!

How I envy you! Those are all countries on my list of places to visit--I love the Middle East! I've only been to Morocco before, and was on a pauper's budget, but are you looking for any kind of food? Or specifically Moroccan? Rabat doesn't have much in terms of good Moroccan food (the only decent Moroccan food I had was in people's homes), and I certainly looked during the three months I spent there. There were some good cafes, though, if you're interested in those. . .

e-bay. search "salad tongs" silver, and check the "include title and description" box.

I recently read about a store that was selling goods past their "best by" dates for very very cheap prices. I can't remember where in Japan it was located, though. They were actually told to stop (by a local or federal goverment agency, I can't remember which), but since it's not illegal to sell the products, they have continued. Their prices are around Y10 or Y20 for a bottled beverage (non-alcoholic), etc.

I've never seen coupons like in the US or Canada, but in my area of Japan, some only Co-op has special prices for members (never buy-one-get-one, though). They just don't really do that kind of stuff here, at least not in my area.

Can't wait to hear about your trip! It's only the tuna auction that's closed to tourists, as I understand it. They were really getting in the way of business, and they tuna auction is a business that doesn't need distractions (poking the fish? Where are these tourists from?). The rest of Tsukiji is still open, though, so if you're interested in seeing the rest of the market, you can still go.

If you're willing to PM your address, I'd be happy to send you one of my tins. They were selling it in the special section at Hankyu (where they just have temporary vendors), and they had a special price--2 tins for Y1050 so we bought two! They had regular kobu cha, too, but we weren't offered a taste of it.

I told my mother what you said and she said, "That's because she can't see my stomach!" I like Fontegara better, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's a better pizza. The crust at Fontegara still has crispness, but it has a softer chewiness. Spacca Napoli was crispier, but had a tougher chewiness to it. My mother liked both, though. She said she couldn't remember Spacca Napoli's well enough to do a real comparison, though. Fontegara's chile-infused olive oil wins hands down, though. Spacca Napoli's isn't spicy enough for me. Kobu cha, not kombu cha! I don't know why I always add extra letters all over the place! It's an instant product made by Nagaike (I think that's how to read it) in Osaka. It's very tasty, and not too salty for an instant savoury product. I don't normally like ume-flavoured things, but even I really liked it. I can't understand much more about it (all that kanji...), but I know you only need 1 spoonful for 60cc of hot water! (Not very helpful, I know, but at least I could find the website all by myself!)

They won't let me watch the video! I don't understand why I have to be in Australia to watch it online--or at least not in Japan. Maybe other countries can watch it, just not mine! But my mango pudding is like the ones at dim sum, but much richer and mango-y. I actually don't like dim sum mango puddings, because my first experience with mango pudding was my own, and it's so much better!

Just to clarify, you would prefer to bake and freeze, not freeze the dough and bake later? Pretty much any high-butter content cookie freezes well after baking. Shortbread is excellent even after being frozen for a few weeks (or a month or two), for example. Snowballs, or those Mexican wedding cookies are good, but if you roll anything in icing sugar, do it after they've defrosted. I try not to freeze any kind of caramel-y cookie (like florentines) because they can get a bit sticky when defrosted. If you want to freeze doughs, Korova Cookies are so easy to make and bake from frozen. I've got some oatmeal cherry cookie dough balls in the freezer right now--I made them several weeks ago, and have been baking them off when I've got a craving. They're still good, too. Truffles usually last a few weeks frozen (at least mine do, but I don't dip in chocolate), so you could do those now and cookies later if you prefer.

The roll-eyes was for Rachel Ray's lunchbox! It and Salman Rushdie's are the only ones that have pictures of themselves (and at least Salman Rushdie's picture is a little artistic, not just a blatant attempt at self-promotion!). When should I expect my cake in the mail?

The measurements and volumes are listed on the site. I like the fruit and veggie one, but why does it have to be round? I'm trying to avoid round containers...

It's for charity! Most of them are pretty normal--Achatz's is the most far out (Tom Colicchio's is not-so-bad wall art). I like the Beastie Boys one, and also James Earl Jones' (I like things that are simple--and how can you not want a blessing from Darth Vader's voice?). Did you look at Rachel Ray's?

I'm trying to figure out how I would bring my lunch to work in this box by Grant Achatz. All the ones I want are already too expensive.

What time do you close? In my area (of Japan), most stores only give 10-20% off for the last half-hour before closing. I think if you're going to give a discount, give less than 50% (no more than 25%), and do it for as little time as possible to maximize regular-price sales. People will be more willing to buy at full price if there is greater danger their favourites will be gone so late in the day.

Just because Jeffrey Steingarten says it, doesn't make it true. This, to me, is analogous to all those people who say alcoholics can eat dishes where alcohol is an ingredient because the alcohol burns off. Science has shown not all the alcohol burns off, and how much alcohol remains depends on many factors, including the cooking process, itself (flambeed vs. braising etc) Not all lactose is always consumed in the cheese-making process, and not all cheeses have equal amounts of lactose. Hard cheeses because they are aged have much less lactose than a cheese like ricotta. The woman says she's lactose intolerant, and as a guest, she's entitled to be believed. WebMD with further references from scientific studies. (Note that Jeffrey Steingarten belongs to the "people of European descent" category, so perhaps when he wrote "very, very few of us", maybe he meant "very, very few of us of European descent.")

When we make it, we use almost 100% cream for the liquid (just barely enough water to bloom the gelatin), so I think evaporated milk might push it over that fine line between rich and sickening for us. I love evaporated milk, though. Thai people like stale bread, shaved ice, and evaporated milk (and flavoured syrup sometimes). Kind of like halo halo. I prefer it without the stale bread...More like halo halo but without all that weird corn and stuff (I'm half Flip, half Thai, so I take the best from both worlds ).

mango pudding--cream or milk, sugar, canned mango puree, and gelatin (and water). I've never met anyone who didn't love it. Recipe is in recipe gullet.

She's baaaaack! My mother arrived last night, and we're already eating too much! I met her at KIX with Beard Papa chocolate choux in hand--she ate one while we were waiting for the airport bus. I don't eat Beard Papa stuff very often, but when they have the chocolate ones, my will power weakens! Then when we arrived home, she ate some chicken soup I had made for her before leaving for the airport. It was surprisingly tasty--poached chicken thigh (with skin, of course), kabocha, and onions. I liked it (and so did she)! Today I got out of work early (last day of exams--yay!), and we headed to her favourite Italian place for lunch. Look how happy she looks to be back at Trattoria Ihatovo! She's gained a bit of weight since last year, but so have I. You know what they say...apples...trees...blah blah blah. She had shrimp and mushrooms (and broccoli) in a cream sauce. I had the same thing yesterday when I ate there with my exchange student, so I can tell you it was very very good! I love cream sauces in Japan. I never thought I'd say something like that, because in Canada and the US, I've always hated cream sauces--rich, goopy concoctions that are heavier than my mother and I combined. But cream sauces in Japan tend to be very light and they let the flavours of the other ingredients shine through. I had eggplant and bacon. It was good, but quite tomato-y for my tastes. In honour of my mother's return, they gifted us with a piece of stawberry cream cake. They offered us each our own dessert (the other option was chocolate cake--a very dense, rich almost flourless chocolate tart), but since we're both in need of a good diet, we opted to share. Immediately after lunch, we went on a very new shopping experience. A year ago, in this very topic, I said I spoke too soon! Nishinomiya Gardens is the largest shopping centre in western Japan, and it has a Hankyu Department Store! And it's just a 10-minute bike ride or a 1-minute train ride from my house! Woe is me! In the two weeks since it opened, I've been there three times, but only to three different stores--Seijo Ishii, Izumiya, and Hankyu--all for food! My students all make fun of me when they hear that... Today we walked all around the mall, leaving Hankyu for last (save the best for last, doncha know). There isn't really a depachika at this store, because there's no chika in this depa (unless you count me ), but half of the first floor is devoted to food. There's much less variety than you would see in a full depachika, but there's certainly enough to keep me occupied! We walked around and did some taste-testing, and bought a couple of tins of ume konbu cha, which is really more like an ume kombu broth than a tea. It was tasty, and my grandfather will like it. We didn't buy anything else, though, because we were on our way to Florido to pick up my brand new cool prescription sunglasses with funky frames, and imagine that! Florido just happens to be two doors down from my favourite Neapolitan-style pizza place, Fontegara! Mom had pizza with homemade sausage. I'm always wary of Japanese sausage, but this was very very good. It had nary the sweetness I associate with sausage in Japan, and it wasn't heavily fennel-ed, either. And there was a lot of sausage on it! It also had some slices of red and yellow bell peppers buried under the sausage, but just a few. She loved it. I had my usual--napoletana--black olives, capers and anchovies. It doesn't look great in the picture, but I assure you, it's very good. They use just the right amount of anchovies, and their olives aren't those tasteless canned things a lot of North American places use. It looks a bit greasy because I have a very bad habit of pouring chile-infused olive oil all over it. They make the best chile-infused olive oil, and I'm addicted to it! I love the crust--when you first cut into it, you can hear the crunch crunch crunch as the pizza cutter slices through. But it's so tender--you don't have to struggle to bite into it like at many other places I've been to. We took about half my mother's pizza home, but I managed to finish mine. I'm taking the leftovers on the bus tomorrow--it's "marking day", so I don't have to go into work, and although I still have 290 papers to mark by Tuesday, I'm going to Kurashiki! But shhhhh...don't tell anyone!

Another question...when served cappuccino with foam art, what do you do? Do you mix the foam into the espresso, thus destroying the art? Or do you try to drink your cappuccino without destroying the "artwork"? And what if you want to...shhhhh...add sugar? I'm going to my favourite Italian restaurant for lunch tomorrow, and you bet I'm going to use my bread to mop up any leftover sauce! My mother would be so mortified! On a related note, if you are eating Neapolitan-style pizza, and you are given a little cruet of chile-infused olive oil, do you pour the oil all over the pizza? Or put some on a plate and sort of dip (or slap) your slice of pizza into the oil? Do they actually serve chile-infused olive oil with pizza in Naples? Or anywhere else in Italy?

Rob--what the meringue-y looking ones? I love a good meringue! How did the peanut butter thumbprint with salted peanut caramel cookies turn out? I really want to try them, but I have too many other things on my to-make list right now!

Thanks! I'm going to need some lemons, but this will be my next next project!

Good idea! I'd have to pay $5/order plue $4/book, but it would still be cheaper than buying it in Japan. Plus I'd have my Art & Soul! I'll have to wait until January, though, just in case it arrives while I'm on holidays. I really want this book!