Tam

Our favorite risotto is lemon ( lemon zest, use a bit of white wine as well as a bit of lemon juice) risotto with lots of parm reggiano and butter. I enjoy the addition of peas, green beans or asparagus. My husband is not fond of lemon anything but loves this dish.

As a tea drinker, I am enjoying your obvious devotion to coffee. I like the pride you take in your roasting, brewing and foaming. I believe that no one should work on their bday. So, if you can help it, only participate in things that give you joy today. Best wishes and blessings on this day, a celebration of your birth.

Mmm ... what a blog! G, I am salivating as I scroll through your wonderful pics. I am plate-challenged but am attempting to improve and you provide me with incentive! Ripe figs are incredibly rare in western Canada and I would so like to experiment with them. I hope one day to live in a warm country for an extended period of time so that I may cook with such *exotic* ingredients. We have good friends that emigrated from South Africa. They, however, cook very simple, bland (bordering on boring) meals. At best, some old gourmet (from the fifties) and British-based staples. As they are not adventuresome in the least, cooking for them is a challenge. Oddly enough, the husband considers himself a <chef> with an extraordinary palate. I am pleased to see that my friends are not representative of all South Africans. Are many of your friends as gourmand as you? Do you find yourself hosting gatherings often? Do your family and friends realize how fortunate they are to experience your food? Do you dine alfresco often given your temperate weather? Much thanks for this experience.

Here's a quick meal. Pound thin, cut into chicken "fingers", spread with mayo, season, dip in panko and bake at 400F for about 15 mins. Serve with homemade honey mustard (mayo with dijon and honey). Serve with vegetable chowder (toss veggies with OO, S&P, roast for about 30 mins, pop in pot with butter, make light roux and add veg stock and a little cream and simmer). Kind of like bar food at home but better. Drink with beer and finish with chocolate. Fits with cold weather. Also vote for Curlywurlyfi's tarragon dish and tanabutler's goat cheese. Mmm...

Beautiful dish, Ronnie!

What a wonderful beginning. Thank you for the photos, they really promote a complete view of your life. Out my window is a quintessential postcard of winter: snow drifts as far as the eye can see, trees frosty and white. We have received six inches thus far with another six to come in the next few days, -30C/-23F. This is the middle of our soup/stew/braising weather. Mmmm, I long for your relaxing deck, lush garden and grilled meals! We are a little more hot toddy than gewurtz! Really looking forward to your blog, I shall be living in warm weather vicariously through you.

Therdogg, I have been following Atkins for about eight months now. I too am female (in my thirties), not lactating though. This is the best I have felt in years! I used to have the same "shakes" problem but not any more. I always felt like I had an undiagnosed hypoglycemic condition. It turns out that I was eating too many carbs (about 60% of every meal) and eating infrequently. Therefore, withthe carbs burning so quickly, my blood sugar would drop and I would crash. Now I never get the shakes or desire an afternoon nap due to the stable protein-based energy. I found the first couple of weeks the most difficult (even dreamt about bread in my third week). I am not a sugar-junkie but quite enjoy rice and breads. However, now that I feel so great, I don't even crave the carbs anymore. This has not been a diet for me, it's a necessary, satisfying lifestyle change. As others have mentioned, consulting with a physician might be of benefit to you in case of an underlying issue.

Amen!

My mother always made home-made yogurt when I lived at home. It was tangy and richer, therefore, an improvement on bought. She used a yogurt maker with great success. Starters (with recipes on back of package) can be bought in some grocery stores with organic sections and in health food stores. I now purchase organic yogurt as the best tasting substitute. Good luck, keep us posted with your results. Side bar: we would eat the yogurt with home-preserves as a fruity sweetner. Excellent !

I concur, Marlene. Hard to protect the audience from grease spatterings when the cooktop is out in the open. At least one sheltering wall makes a difference.

My bad judgement: Champagne to chill in freezer. Mr Tam discovered it next evening while reaching for ice. Luckily, any spilled liquid was retained by ice tray and he cleaned it up. We left the remainder frozen and enjoyed mimosas with brunch next morning. Tasted foreign hot chile before adding to beautiful "salad" of bocconcini with herbs and creme fraiche. Hmm, not too bad so mince lots and garnish platter. Four hours later, served at party. Odd that so little was consumed. Funny how incubation time develops chiles' latent heat. Friend's bad judgement: Deep-frying turkey in too small of vat on wooden deck attached to home. Burnt down his domicile and half of neighbor's. FIL's bad judgement: Wanted fire for roasting hot dogs and it wasn't catching fast enough. Added gasoline and ensuing flame thrower licked his face (no eyebrows or lashes) and around the back of his head (he neede a hair cut anyways). Why would someone wish to cook food with gasoline fumes, I wonder?

Both an ulu and an mezzeluna were gifted to me. The ulu is too small, tried it, not my preference. The double-bladed mezzeluna (with a lovely wooden chopping board that is dished out/concave/convex) is great. I use it often for fresh herbs and garlic (also love my microplaner for garlic). Mine looks like the Amazon one. The Wusthof is BEAUTIFUL! I use a paring knife to clean off the inside of the blades.

This chain does not appear to be in Canada yet (at least western Canada). I have followed the Chipotle thread with interest as authentic Latino cooking is a rare phenomenom in our general area (Taco Time, ugh or rarely available Taco Bell, equally ugh). Can't imagine proper Latino/Mexican fast food. I thought that the purpose of all fast food was to bastardize real food. Do they serve burritos only? What do Latino people think of their product? I had my first real tamale while travelling in California a couple years back. It was a true work of art and I could finally understand why people rant and rave, steamy soft masa with green chile and cheese or spicy savory pork. Mmm... A local couple (Canadian male married to Guatemalan/Venezuelan female) make tamales for sale: hideous, grainy, stiff masa with ground beef and mixed vegetable (truly peas, carrot, corn mix from the frozen food section) filling - they ought to be ashamed!

Thanks for expanding my horizons. Never heard of fried brain sandwich before but will try if opportunity presents itself. I do like head cheese. I am of Ukrainian descent and it is popular amongst eastern Europeans. It runs the gamut from cubes of barely set aspic with bits of meat to very firm slices full of meat. Always garlicky goodness!

Mmm, please detail your dressing. Sounds delectable. Much thanks.

Just caught up, so enjoy your blog. You are very honest in your representation, what a delight. And quoting others, lovely writing. My food memories: Coming from a Ukrainian family, bringing borshch to elementary school in my thermos and classmates saying, "Eewww, what's that pink stuff?!" Avoided it for years, make it and love its rich goodness now. Asparagus growing in two huge plots in our garden. Steamed, with unctuous Hollandaise sauce gently blanketing. Still love it, tend to grill it now. Earliest memorable restaurant experience at a tiny, unknown Greek place. It was all new to my mother and I, spicy moussaka with its creamy topping, sharp, luscious avgolemono and rich, meaty lamb with lemony potatoes. For a little girl from a small Canadian prairie town, this exotic meal in the big city made me feel so proud and important, like I had an understanding of another culture just as unique as mine. I think that's why I love food so much now, it is like a window into another world/culture. It's a privelege to be offered the view. My mother's frequent chicken dinner was pieces plunked into a roaster with carrot, potatoe and parsnip and canned mushroom soup dropped over all. The resulting effect was greyish sauce over clammy-skinned grey chicken with bits of orange carrot poking out. Horrid, and I dislike that soup to this day. At the very least, chicken must always be browned! Happily, most of my food memories are positive and I love the way food has such strong connotations for me. My thanks for challenging my memories, Jennifer.

I find that the braised meat, shredded, combined with reduced braising liquid and mirepoix (from braised mixture), makes a rich, satisfying ragu for pasta. As well, assembled in individual dishes, blanketed with favorite shredded cheese and frozen allows for a quick baked meal at a later date.

In cooking brunch economically for a similar group of people, I have had great success with a "savory" bread pudding based on croissants. Cube bottoms, tumble in 9x13x3 pan, blanket with bacon/ham, green onion, finely diced red pepper and rich aged cheddar. Pour over custard (eggs and light cream, well seasoned) and tuck croissant tops over all. Assemble night before (saran wrap) then uncover and bake in med hot oven for about an hour. Rest some before serving. Can reheat without much disruption. Presents very well, beautiful crusty crown of croissant and smells divine. Hope this might be of aid.

Amen, Sister.

Hmm, are you a long-lost cousin? Our mothers must have been related. My mother's cast-iron stomach saved her from her own concoctions. The rest of us, however, were not so lucky. As with others, I also learned to cook well out of necessity. Even when I visit my parents, I will still do the cooking. The alternative is not appealing in the least. Oddly enough, I learned most cooking techniques from my maternal grandmother. I am always proud when my father says that my borshch tastes like my Baba's (Ukrainian for "grandmother"). My mother's never does. Guess the talent skipped a generation. My parents were first generation Ukrainian-Canadian, very much a meat and potatoes diet. Boiled potatoes and cottage cheese were the norm. Needless to say, I rarely touch them. That said, the worst dish was "Canadian" cuisine: boiled macaroni bound together with so much Cheez Whiz. The spoonful would glop onto the plate and not move, remaining a large mound of dry coagulation. Again, I rarely touch mac 'n cheese. BTW, great topic. Glad to know others suffered as I did.

Much luck to you, my friend. Hope yours goes smooth, Indeed, if it does, it will be the first I have heard of. My latest friends were six months in kitchen construction, five months without a stove, $35 000 later, with another $15 000 to go (and who knows how much more time). Almost caused a divorce, talk about high tension. It appears the key is to do the homework to choose a word-of-mouth recommended contractor. You are indeed brave and I admire you. I'm interested to hear about the process and progress. Sounds like you are off to a good start.

The first time that I hosted Christmas for my in-laws nearly ended in disaster. I was twenty-one (newly living with their son) and a novice to such events. Must explain that MIL is very particular, big on cleanliness, urban, lady-who-lunches type. The cost of the Grade A turkey and other ingredients was sizeable for our meager earnings. The night before their arrival, lacking a large enough freezer, the turkey was placed on the back step (-20C) and would be taken in to defrost the next day. At about 3 am, requiring a glass of water, I casually looked out the window to see a huge black dog gnawing and pawing at something in our yard. OMG, it was the expensive entree being mucked about by the neighbors' Newfie! I quickly put on clothing and boots (deep snow) and ran out to shoo away the culprit and save the bird. I was mortified to find the wraper chewed off, the breast skin missing and a wing gone (little bugger must have been at it for quite awhile). Due to the huge investment, I decided I must defrost, roast and serve. The in-laws couldn't understand why the Grade A bird was so mangled, I scape-goated the grocer (shame). I figured the roasting temp would kill any beastly dog germs and so should be safe. I have never shared this story before and would be distressed if my MIL discovered the secret.

So enjoyed this overview of South Indian breads. The pictures were excellent: very comprehensive and really allowed the viewer to grasp the concepts. This was new territory for me as I have never been exposed to these breads before. With the addition of chutneys, veg, etc., they are like a little meal right in your hand (snack?). I appreciate the time and effort that went into producing wonderful results. My thanks to Monica, Pushpavathy and Chef Vinod. Monica, your hands are indeed lovely.

A wonderous thing of beauty. I salivate.

I have a friend that I have known for years. He has, in my opinion, an extremely limited palate. He will only consume steak (well-done) and raw carrots and raw celery. He smokes (no alcohol) and has very bad asthma, allergies and ezcema (sp?). He does not think that his health is affected by his diet. Hmm... yet I would label him very intelligent. Might have to rethink that.