anisette

Anyone know where to get Indonesian ingredients aside from Hen Long Market in Surrey, T&T's or South China Seas at Granville Island? I'm specifically looking for dried asam gelugor and cannot find it anywhere which I find surprising in the Lower Mainland. Thanks in advance!

Does anybody know where I can find tofu shirataki noodles? I know T&T sells the regular shirataki noodles, but I'm specifically looking for the tofu ones. Thanks!

I think I've seen those at the Indian stores out in Surrey. So why not try Main St. and 49th area? Or if you google it, looks like a Vancouver based company carries them online.

Try contacting Geoff and Randy at ospreyranch@telus.net They sell unpitted sour cherries for $3 per pound, pitted for $4.50 per pound. They do deliver to four various locations. Depending where you are, they will deliver to your door or sell from their truck. You need to make an order to reserve your sour cherries. I believe these may be organic as well. Good luck. ← Thank you so much for the lead!

Has anyone seen fresh sour cherries anywhere? I live in White Rock, but am willing to drive out to the Fraser Valley or Vancouver. The White Rock farmers market doesn't have them.

Obviously, I'm VERY late to this party. But does anyone know if Rosie's Buttercream can take color well? Does it cope well at room temperature for a few hours? And finally, does it pipe well (not flowers or anything fancy, just borders)? I'm also wondering, since the coversation earlier was of the safety of IMBC, is it considered safe or not to serve it to children? I've read that it is and it isn't safe. What's the deal? I'm making a cake for a kid's birthday party and don't want to get anyone sick.

Evidently, I do too.

Yes thank you Flowbee! That's great to learn there's another Indonesian option out there.

I'm just bumping up this thread as I'm interested to find out how you made this cake Tejon? (Hoping that Tejon will see this of course!) Did you assemble it in a bowl for the domed shape or did you freehand the dome? Did you make your own marzipan or did you buy it pre-made? Also, which recipe did you use? Sorry for all the questions -- I'm hoping you'll remember. BTW your picture is absolutely lovely and it definitely looks like you had no troubles. Ever since I had a slice of this cake at a local Swedish bakery shop I've been trying to find a decent recipe and the method to making this delicious cake. It's so very yummy!

Thank you so much for the offer Gregsem, that is very kind of you! I will ask my MIL for any recipes she may have, the only problem is I don't think she has too many written recipes, just memories of the food she ate there as a child growing up. Thank you again!

Thank you Gregsem for your insight. I actually had no idea what the differences were since all my MIL told me is that the spices they use are different. I will pick her brain tonight and see if she can give me a more definitive answer.

Thank you so much Grayelf for your help. Funny, I'd never heard of Sate Satu before, until today while asking around and someone mentioned the name. Let's say they did not get a glowing report. I guess we'll go back to Spice Island. I wonder if the burbs hold some hidden Indonesian treasures?

We've been to Spice Island in Kerrisdale and Pondok on the drive, but are there any other Indonesian restaurants in the Vancouver or outskirts area? My MIL was born on Sulawesi and is looking for non-Javanese (I know! PICKY!) But any and all recommendations would be very much appreciated.

You can find salt cod at Bosa Foods.

have you browsed either Yoahan or Aberdeen malls in Richmond? or T&T ← Karen, thanks. I know I really should do the trek out to Richmond and poke around Yoahan & Aberdeen, but living in White Rock I rarely get the chance to go out that way. I was hoping that one of you great egulleters would have spotted the actual product at a local retailer.

No leaf lard at Oyama, neither Armando's. Armando's told me I'd likely have to go to a slaughter house. As for the Mr. Bento lunch jars (as in my previous post), has anyone by any chance seen these in stores anywhere? I'm quite sure there's a store in Richmond that carries them, but I just wouldn't know where to begin to search. Thanks!

Still can't find leaf lard...not at Penguin, not at Ozark's not at Clancy's. Now I'm on the hunt for the Zojirushi Mr. Bento lunch jar. Mr. Bento Has anyone seen this anywhere in Vancouver or Richmond? I've emailed Zojirushi but they only sent me on a wild goose chase with phone numbers to Toronto. I'm sure someone somewhere sells this product locally. Amazon sells it, but they don't deliver to Canada, and ebay sells it but shipping is astronomical. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Does anyone know where I can get leaf lard? I live in White Rock and am pretty sure it's not available anywhere here, but am not familiar with what Vancouver (and environs) has to offer. Thanks!

Darn! I wasn't able to get to the festival this year. But last year we got there very early and I found it educational and fun. I've been specifically looking for Northern Spies - but don't recall whether they were represented at the festival last year. Does anyone know if they are locally available?

There's always Greco's Specialty Foods on 6886 King George Highway. A bit of a drive south from the hospital area on King George, but if you're in the area, definitely worth a look.

We freeze them just as soon as they are made, so before boiling. We roll them in extra flour and place them on a cookie sheet well separated (think IQF). Then freeze until frozen solid and transfer to air tight freezer bags. When you want to cook them, you simply cook them from frozen (do not defrost or they get gummy) - have the water boiling and plop them in making sure not to crowd them. I usually cook up 4 or 5 at one time, so they lay in an even layer on the bottom of my saucepan, stirring frequently so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the water comes to a boil again, turn the heat down slightly to maintain a boil, but not so much that your pot boils over. Cooking time is about 15 minutes, but I always go by visual cues - once they float (usually after about 10 minutes of boiling), you cook them for another 5 or so minutes, fishing out any that have burst or ruptured. You don't want any of that plum juice to go to waste!

Forgot to mention that my Mum has made a variation on these apricot dumplings (with Italian prune plums) ever since I was an infant. Every fall she cranks out about 500 of these babies and we freeze them to enjoy them all year long. We always serve them with a dollop (or two, or 3!) of sour cream and extra sugar. Once the dumplings are boiled, the plums inside burst and release wonderful plum juices that flavor and color the sour cream. We simply call them "knedle". Comfort food at its finest!

Thanks Smithy & Ludja for the photographic vote of confidence. I had tried to take a more 3-D photo, but somehow it just didn't look right. Ludja, BTW those pics above - fabulous! Ludja, It's funny, I thought the same thing as you that I'd get about 8 slices. I used a jelly roll pan - 17 x 11, but only got 6 slices out of it. I had to trim the edges a bit since they were a little ragged looking. Plus it seemed that once out of the oven the nut layer tended to shrink a bit and then I was afraid that I would only get 5 slices. Again, it is an absolutely wonderful recipe, although I think next time I may try to use a stiffer fondant topping as for a Napoleon as I found that this one didn't set up as much as I would have liked. I hope to bake more from this book soon, the recipes (and stories) are so inspiring. Do post your results once you've made this recipe, I'd be curious to find what you think of it.

My favorite uncomplicated family style Japanese cookbook is Japanese Family-Style Recipes by Hiroko Urakami. All the recipes I've tried so far have been easy and straightforward with very tasty results. Also somewhat helpful is that there is a picture for each recipe so you know what to expect.

I *would* like to make the Esterhazyschnitten pictured on the cover of Rodger's book! I've tasted them before but have not made them myself. I'd like to try them with the kirsch-flavored buttercream although he also mentions rum or cognac as a substitute flavoring. (For those that don't have the book, here is Rodger's version of Esterhazy "slices": Six thin, nut meringue layers made with a mixture of ground hazelnuts and almonds. The layers are filled with a kirsch buttercream The top layer is covered with an apricot glaze and is then covered with a faux fondant icing which is feathered with melted dark chocolate. (The dessert is named after a well-known Austrian/Hungarian noble family: The Esterhazy's. Among other things, the family was the major patron for composer Joseph Haydn.) With the marbled fondant icing on top and the layers, the Esterhazyschnitten look like a Napoleon at a quick glance. The rest of the pastry is quite different though given the nut-meringue layers and buttercream filling. Austrians and Hungarians make something similar to Napoleons that also use crisp puff pastry layers. The filling, as Rodgers describes, is usually a pastry cream lightened with whipped cream unlike the straight pastry cream used in Napoleaons. He give a variant with coffee icing called, "Francia Kremes" although more generically without the icing they're simply called "Cremeschitten" or 'cream slices. ← I've made the Esterhazyschnitten and it is fabulous. The only problem, if you could call it a problem, was that the chocolate 'marble' design tended to smear a little into the fondant. This cake is actually easier and more forgiving than it appears, although it is time-consuming. I found that the nut meringues did get a bit soggy out of the oven (it was a damp day), but did well when assembled with the buttercream. I did the rum version. This schnitten was a serious hit with family and friends and I've been requested to make it over and over. Here's a rather pathetic attempt at a photo: