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Megaroo

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Everything posted by Megaroo

  1. If you have a chance - try and stop by a town called Nelson on your way up or on your way home. There are so many excellent restaurants in that tiny city it's crazy. I think that the Province or Sun ran a huge article on how they have better restaurants than Vancouver! Let me know if you want some suggestions....
  2. As I work for the 'bucks, I can answer some of the questions posed on here. *waits for the large horrific gasp* First, there are two different types of stores, actual Starbucks and licensed concept stores. Employees of Starbucks are trained by Starbucks - licensed concept store (Safeways, Albertsons...) employees are NOT trained by Starbucks at all. As for the god-awful blended drinks, I am shamed that we sell them... so I agree with the general thought. I also agree with the inconsistency of Starbucks... however, I think the trick is getting baristas who care. (Not to sound like some sappy manual ) My store is mostly locals who know what drinks they want and we start it as soon as they walk through the door - because we have it memorized. However, go to the one down the street and it's way different (even when I hand them my employee card to get my discount)... snobby and so forth. However, in their defense, their worst latte is better than the local coffeeshops around here. Do I like working for Starbucks? Yes... I get paid fairly well and get all sorts of perks (No pun intended ) and I have great regulars and great co-workers
  3. I used to really like going to Dante's in White Rock... however, the restaurant changed hands (sorry, I can't remember what the new name is)... while the food is still pretty good (at least when I was there), the whole feel of the restaurant has changed and I don't like it as much. For something quick (sometimes, HA!), Moby Dick's in White Rock has very good fish and chips. However, the last time I was there, the service was completely awful. (They forgot our order - so for a place where you are usually in and out in 30 minutes, it took us almost two hours... no apology and nothing off of our bill) I doubt I'll be going back. Unfortunately, I live in Langley and find our nicer dining options VERY lacking. I've heard that the Lamplighter Cafe in Fort Langley is very good (and reasonably priced) but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. I've also been to the Bedford House in Fort Langley, and while the food is usually excellent, for the prices, I'd rather have a night out in Vancouver (but that's just me). La Masia is supposed to be really good as well - it's on the border between Surrey and Langley. I'd LOVE to hear other people's recommendations though! - Meg
  4. Megaroo

    Cranberry Wine

    I ended up popping over to the winery yesterday afternoon and did a couple of tastings. Surprisingly, I found it to be very yummy! (And I'm VERY picky about what I like). It was light and refreshing, lightly sweet, but also dry. I thought it was fabulous. We also ended up picking a bottle of iced apple wine as well that was spectacular. Like an ice wine, but a cleaner, crisper, less sweet taste. I think I may have found a new favorite fruit wine! Now before I get bashed on here - I know that it's fruit wine and not the true traditional grape wine, but if you're wanting to try something new and different, here's their website: The Fort Wine Company I thought it was a nice change of pace for a special dinner (I usually use a bottle of wine on my turkey while it's cooking - I might try a cranberry wine for Christmas!) - Meg
  5. Megaroo

    Cranberry Wine

    Since Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up and I live in a cranberry producing area, I keep seeing cranberry wine advertised everywhere... so I thought I might pick some up for Thanksgiving (should go well with turkey , you think?). I'm the one who always brings the wine for Thanksgiving, so I don't want to mess up. My family usually likes to drink merlot or shiraz (yes, with turkey dinner ) so I'm not sure how a cranberry wine would go over. I'm not sure if it's a grape/cranberry blend or just straight cranberries, so I'm not much help in that area... Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated... - Meg
  6. This year I've decided to change my "baking list" a bit... - Scottish Shortbread... a recipe brought over from Scotland from my great-grandmother, with a few tweaks by yours truly. They're wonderful once they've been aged for about 2 - 3 weeks, but unfortunately around my house that rarely happens. - Sugar Cookies... I found a recipe several years ago in an old cookbook from our local library for a plain sugar cookie to use for cookie cutouts. Not even poor Martha's recipe compares. It's just a great melt in your mouth cookie. - Godiva Biscotti... my fiancé is a big biscotti freak, so he's begged me to make some this year. I found this recipe in a thread on Egullet and figured that it sounds good. - I haven't chosen a fourth cookie yet... I used to do gingerbread, but my family isn't really into gingerbread so they didn't all get eaten. I have a tweaked version of the Neiman Marcus cookies that everyone likes, so maybe I'll make those... not really Christmasy though.
  7. Mmm... that looks like too much board for me Sometimes bigger isn't always better... I'm 5'2" and I think that thing would probably do me in!
  8. I loathe cleaning up... in fact, usually my dear fiancé will clean up for me since he knows I hate it. He can't cook to save his life, so I cook, he cleans. I've been told that will change after we're married When I do large get togethers like Thanksgiving, Christmas and such, usually I wait until the next morning to do dishes. I'd rather visit with my guests and by the time they leave, I'm on the couch watching the fire with a glass of merlot.
  9. Ohhh!! There's lots of people who I socialize with who are vegetarians... when we have a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, I get this Worthington Foods veggie meat roll (think a sausage 6 inches in diameter) from a local healthfood store. It comes frozen, so I thaw it out, slice it into round discs and then in half, and then make stuffing. I then layer it (the veggie meat on the flat side standing up), stuffing, veggie meat, stuffing.... bake @ 350 for 15 minutes to crisp it up and then drizzle with veggie gravy (available at health food stores). It's usually a big hit, with the carnivores eating just as much as the herbivores.
  10. I agree that it usually comes down to a couple of things: 1) What type of food are YOU looking for? Are you looking for traditional Chinese food or the watered down American version that we see so often in buffets? There's a BIG difference. 2) I think it really does matter who you're eating with. I have a friend who I work with who is from China and has only been here three years. Once he took me out to a place nearby that he liked. I asked him about another restaurant about two blocks away and he explained that the one we went to was more traditional, like what the middle class in China eats. The other one? "Cheap, poor class food! Don't waste your money!"
  11. I would have to say to say that my absolute favorite soup is one that I got the recipe for 12 years ago (from a cookbook from the "American Girl" series). It's a Cream of Carrot Soup, with lots of butter, cream, carrots, onions and seasonings (including a bit of cayenne, so it has a hint of a kick). It's really simple to make and is soooo good. It's the ultimate comfort food for me on a cold day!
  12. Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! It's really helped us narrow down what we need and want. Another quick question though: Everyone keeps suggesting that we register for a Kitchen-Aid. I have always wanted one, but this last year, my grandmother moved from her large townhouse into a small apartment and gave me her Bosch mixer. It's from the early 80's and has all sorts of attachments (whisk, paddle, dough hook...) as well as a blender that fits on it as well. My mother has one (they bought them at the same time) and it has been through the war and back (including my rather harsh usage of it while I was a teenager). So I know this thing will last a lot longer, since my grandmother babied the dear thing. Should I register for a Kitchen-Aid anyways?
  13. Everyone in my family has been nagging my fiancé and I to register for gifts for our upcoming wedding. Although I feel bad about asking people to buy me something specifically, our families have encouraged and convinced us to do this in order to "make it easier" for those who choose to buy us something. So, I'm looking for the best tools, gadgets, utensils, cookware... anything kitchen related. Since I'm somewhat of a foodie and we already have some basic stuff, I'm looking for some of the fun stuff, but also the practical never-leave-home-without-it ones you've found as well. For instance I know that I WOULD use a butane torch, so we're going to register for that.... what else would you recommend?
  14. Ling, if you ever head down to the States (I'm right across the border from you), there's a place in Bellingham called Cash n' Carry, which is a restaurant supply store open to the public. They've got the best prices by FAR that I've seen. They also have a great selection. So, if you're heading down this way, try heading there to stock up.
  15. Since reading the Salon/Slashdot article, my dear fiancé has decided that this is the diet for us (we're both trying to lose weight for the wedding). I've done the Atkins before and lost about 15 lbs, but unfortunately, since I was the only one eating that way, it was REALLY hard to stick to it. However, I think this time around it will be better, since Greg's on it too now. I'd like to say that the people who say that Atkins doesn't let you eat veggies have never read the book. Dr. Atkins WANTS you to eat veggies, but only specific ones (or the others in moderation). Last night I grilled some fresh veggies (carrots, broccoli & califlower) and had that with a marinated salmon steak for dinner. You can't tell me that that doesn't sound good or healthy! Skip those Advantage bars and the shakes too. The only time I eat the shakes is when I'm having a bad sugar craving, so I end up blending it in the blender with some ice (Slim-Fast style). Anyways, I've got to head off now, but I'd love to revive this thread and get some new ideas!
  16. I've never seen an electric one either... however, I do have a "manual" tortilla press that I happen to use all the time. I would try and find a manual one at a local ethnic market (depending on where you live, your selection could be great or scarce) you should have good luck there. Of course you can always just hit Mexico if you live close enough... I got mine in Tijuana.
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