annanstee

And I have never used, heard, or experienced the term Pineapple Express.

Agreed. However, how to deal with this in time for 2010? How does Whistler house the staff needed to service the crowds given that the absentee owners are unlikely to be willing to rent at less than market rates- which presumably will be astronomical at the time? ← I believe the answer to your question is Squamish. ← From what I've heard, prices are zooming there faster than a head first luger.

Agreed. However, how to deal with this in time for 2010? How does Whistler house the staff needed to service the crowds given that the absentee owners are unlikely to be willing to rent at less than market rates- which presumably will be astronomical at the time?

I think too that while resort developers like IntraWest may be poised to cash in, things are not going to get any easier in terms of housing the people who actually live and work in Whistler, many of whom are in the service industry.

I'd rather eat butter once a week than margarine everyday- but I really would rather eat butter everyday. There are just certain predjudices I have- and food substitutes are a major one for me. I love vegetarian food, but not especially when it is made to imitate a meat dish. Same with Butter. Will admit to loving the Splenda though My body just can't take too much sugar.

Zuke, Thanks for the tip on Candlestick Cafe, as I work on the shore and this is within lunch distance. Got to get me some Roti. I wonder if they have Ball of Fire Lemon Pepper Sauce or similar.

Abra, were they on the menu, or did they do them for you especially? I remember when they first opened (and how excited I was- this was pre potatoes-in-butter-chicken) they had a breakfast menu that I really liked-but they got rid of it. Is it back? Shellback, I will chime in with thanks on the Sawa tip. I will definitely try lunch there. I pass that place all the time on my way to work.

Okay, but the Butter Chicken has potatoes in it. And that is wrong. I like Tony Only's- I think the Fish and Chips there are perfectly good. I heard that the cook used to be from the Only.

Those of you following Butirmoth's progress will be saddend to learn that an injury for Jason has necessitated the search for a new chef- Jason, it seems, is unable to work right now. Hope they can keep up the strength to keep going. I really admire what Terri and Jason are trying to do.

Oh- I thought it was part of the Persian word for cucumber!

I generally like to cut it into cubes rather than strips. Anything is game for me-tomato pasta sauces (Amatriciana especially), on greens with pan roasted red onion and shavings of parmesan and a sprinkling of pine nuts, in an omelet- anywhere in cooking that calls for bacon.

I think Wild Rice would be perfect- depending on how many are in your party.

Make a mignonette with good vinegar for oysters. Use instead of onions to steam mussels... In fact any kind of fish... I LOVE shallots, and will generally use them in a one on one ratio with butter.

You are exactly right. I remember studying this specifically in my "History of the English Language" course at school. You can tell a lot about our cultural history from the etymology of various words.

I keep fat in a juice can and keep adding bird seed to it. Alot of birds need the extra calories in the winter. Essentially, it is like a homemande suet tray. I just mix in the same kind of seed that you would find in those- you do need to have some animal fat in there that is solid at room temperature.

Really? Is that legal? I don't know why it wouldn't be, it just sound so environmentally unfriendly... but I guess disposal in any sense means returning it to the earth in some form... I guess I just assumed there was a more "friendly" form than just dirty grease... U.E. ← Geez, I hope so. If it isn't somebody speak up! I would never do it if it wasn't food grease or oil. I actually generally mix it with other fats and bird seed and put it out for the birds. And if there is a biofuel plant in my area I would be happy to contribute to it.

Alot of people filter the oil and reuse it. If you want to get rid of it easily, freeze it and then throw it away right when you are taking the garbage out.

Too bad we weren't there at the same time chocomoo- unfortunately, my name is the same as my egullet name, so the drama in exchanging egullet tags upon introduction would be a little one sided I am in full agreement on the mushroom soup. Best mushroom soup EVER. And my husband deemed it delicious, and he hates mushroom soup. And that Cherry lambic was absolutely fantastic.

Well, I finally got to go to our DOV at Aurora on Saturday- and man was it worth the wait! I love this room! Light and warm in tone, not fussy- but not careless. We were warmly greeted and seated immediately in the little corner "booth" by the window- which would be a great table for a date- you can see everything but you are still tucked away in a corner. Tonight I left husband at home and ventured forth with a girlfriend. I had a gin-gingerale cocktail, which was livened by the addition of basil... Vancouver seems to be experiencing a little cocktail rennaisance right now, and I for one am an ardent supporter of this trend. Anyway- to the food. The menu looked so good that I couldn't settle on any one thing, so I decided to order according to the wine pairings- but they all looked great too. Dammit. When in doubt, I go for the duck- so to start we both had the duck croquettes. They were fantastic- served with lentils and peashoots with a mildly acidic sauce (sorry, I can't quite remember what it was- too.busy.eating.). The duck confit was bound with enough potato to counter-balance the richness. Very satisfying. For the main, my friend had the lamb (cheeks?) - beautiful, rich and unctuous. I had the white spring, a fish which I far prefer to the regular spring. Perfect carmelized crust, fish tender and just done. It was served in a mild dashi broth on a bed of sunchokes with delicious tiny little sea asparagus adorning the top. There was some parsnip on the side roasted- just fantastic. It was a carefully considered blend of texture and flavour and the colour presented a lovely winter palate of green, white and caramel. Dessert- well, I can't look at Creme Brulee on the menu and not order it. I am usually a bit of a purist- tartar even- when it comes to creme brulee. No chai, chocolate or green tea for me. Well, this sweet potato creme brulee was a revelation- OMG. I don't think I will ever be able to bring myself to order anything else on the dessert menu. Oh- and I loved the wine pairings from the all BC menu, but the best treat of all was the Apricot wine that Kurtis brought us to try after dinner- which, importantly, he said you could actually find in town- but lord, I forget the name of it now. Seriously, brain like a sieve. This was much brighter, livelier and just yummier than other fruit wines I have tried. It is like ehrenfelser for dessert. The service at this place personifies what I consider to be perfect "Vancouver" service; not formal, but informed. Aurora has presented a DOV menu that, I think, really typifies what they are about, and did it while maintaining service levels that are up to the best standard. I am sure there will be no nasty comments about this place not meeting the mark during this event- because to my mind they hit every one. I can't wait to go back. Thanks Jeff, Kurtis and staff for a very memorable dinner.

I used buffered bleach- it comes in tablet form and I get through my mum at a hospital supply place. You could also just fill a spray bottle of water and add a couple of drops of water per cup. I also get stuff from that store on Broadway- janitorial supply- same one as Neil mentioned.

I have lumiere and love it... but haven't cooked from it in a while. Inspired by this thread, I went and bought Karen Barnaby' s The Passionate Cook, and at this moment the oven is preheating for the apple muffins. This recipe is also in Pacific Passions, her first book, which I have. I went by Barbara-Jo's at Granville Island the other day and the only local books I could find were Feenies and Jamie's Vancouver Chefs book. Wonder why? Edited to add: Muffins were a big hit. I decided to do six huge ones instead of 15 small, and they took about 35 mins. Next time I would add some ginger to the mix. Lots of good looking recipes in this book- I am looking forward to trying MORE!

Nice one Ling. Do you have any other pieces out there? Am going to Aurora at 5:30 tonight

... I am not sure what you mean- none of the DOV participants that I know of are offering their full menu for the dine out price- although some may offer their full menu as well... is that what you mean? I guess some may be offering a prix fixe based on their full menu... Edited to add "that I know of", in the interests of CMA, just in case somebody is, and if they are, please tell me immediately so I can proceed directly there. .

That Monteray guide is excellent- thanks for the link Winegeek and Arne.

Hi Onlythebest- It looks like this company boils their syrup- I have sent them an email to make sure- this takes you to the page where they describe how they make the syrup. Canadianmaplesyrup.com Hope this helps Ann