Dejah

That lovely tendon came from Burnaby, B.C, three provinces away from me. Ain't air travel wonderful? I do have dehydrated tendons and need to try cooking them myself one of these days. Do you have a good recipe? I go to acouple of dim sum places in Winnipeg, but neither has beef tendons. And I haven't had any razor clams either! Yummy post!

Thanks for your response on the pinot grigio vinegar. Your desseet figs look delicious! Wish I had saved some of the fresh figs my sister brought from BC. I was a piggie last week.

Both varieties have thorns. The ones for leaves only will have thorns after they've become really too mature and bitter for eating. These branches can be cut, stuck back into the ground to increase next year's crop. There is no other vegetable like it for flavour. The bush ones always have thorns, but then, you just pick the berries. These berries have been targeted as one of the ten Best food: MSN Men's Health: http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/slidesho...75&imageindex=9

Happy Birthday! What a cleaver lady to design and reward yourself with the beautiful ring. I love your fridge and freezer shots (and all those that came before). Is your husband a guitar player? I noticed guitar magnets on your fridge. Nice choice of beers: Newcastle Brown is a favourite of the family. (eta: Guiness too ) I remember your mention of pinot grigio vinegar. Is that a commercial vinegar or home-made with the wine? I don't know much about vinegars but I enjoy the wine.

Anyone know what the Chinese name is for purslane? I don't remember ever eating this plant.

Thanks for starting this thread! Spanish onions, shallots, garlic, I keep in paper bags in a basket on top of the air vent by the backdoor in the summer - air conditioner. In the winter, with the heat on, I just move them off the vent, over closer to the door (open closet there). They stay cool and in the dark there. Potatoes are in another basket. Scallions I wrap in paper towel and wrapped in Saran. They seem to keep well for about a week. Ginger, I just keep it in a plastic baggie and in the crisper. It gets used up PDQ and I just buy more when it gets down to the last nob. I was given an armful of rosemary branches. I can dry them but really prefer them "fresh". Can they be frozen and still retain flavour? The branches of kaffir lime leaves I also scored are sitting in a glass of water. I'm trying to use up as much fresh as I can 'cos I've got lots frozen already. I suppose I can make bunches of SE Asian marinades, etc and freeze in containers?

Yorkies is the other reason I wanted the fat. There never seems to be enough from the roasts.

Thanks, Peter and Marlene. The fat I got was trimmed from other cuts they prepared. It's mainly long pieces from steaks, etc - solid white waxy fat. There doesn't seem to be any membranes, meat or anything else on them. From google, some instructions said to dice the fat first. Is that necessary, or can I just stack them into a big heavy pot? Our former IGA stores were changed to Soby's. I like their meat, and always watch for their Sterling Silver sales. A couple months ago, they had a sale on prime rib. I ordered a 6 rib one, several 2 ribs, and single rib. Enjoyed the 6 rib last Sunday, and the single ribs are perfect for the kids cooking away from home. Last week was T-bones on for 4.99/lb. Good eats!

English friends tell me that the best fish'n'chips is deep fried in beef fat. I just picked up 5 lbs from Soby's - for free. Now, how do I render this?

Chris: That's the size of wok we used for fried rice only when I had the restaurant. Lapyuk fat to season - what a waste. With all that work in curing, I'd rather use it to make lap mei fan! My cooks used to season a new wok on the stove too. With the commercial gas stoves, it was much easier, especially when they did it for me. Will look forward to the seasoning report.

Looks great, Robin! When "aromas" stay in the house, I boil some vinegar in water (about 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water) on the stove. It seems to get rid of all kinds of smells. I use an old pyrex pot. A friend gave me branches of fresh kaffir lime leaves and basil, so it's back to Cradle and Thai cooking by the end of the week. It's been an insane 2 weeks of beef, bison, and lamb during our son's wedding. Need curry and spices to cleanse my system!

Ditto for me AND the nian goh. Amazing the amount of food one can pack in in an short time - when one has to.

Double posting this image in Weight Watchers ( because of the noodles = 0 points) and here (because of the tendons and yu choy): Shirataki noodles, chicken broth, bean sprouts, Thaio basil, yu choy, chili sauce, and dim sum style beef tendons that sister brought from Burnaby. I love it when she visits!

I would suggest using shallots instead of green onions. The fried bits of shallot is lovely to bit into. I used to make my own using fresh AND dried red chilis, even with habanero peppers for extreme heat. I have been using a store bought jar: Saigon Hot Sauce - Oil'n'Chili. It's a product of Vietnam and imported by a company in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I used to buy it in Chinese grocery stores, but I see it is also available in our Safeway stores. It's expensive, at between 3.50 - 4.00 /250 ML, but very tasty.

Regret not taking any pictures, but I just HAD to tell someone! I believe I cooked my best ever prime rib tonight following jackal's slow roast method. The roast was a 6-rib Sterling Silver from Sobys when they had a sale on 2 months back. It was saved for a "last supper" before family went back west after our son's wedding last weekend. I thawed the roast in the fridge for 3 days, brought to room temp, seasoned, then into the oven at the 200F mark in my oven. The process took 6 hours to reach 63F (med. rare temp on the thermometer), tented for 30 minutes, and it was perfect. It was med. rare from top to bottom!

When I have too many fresh tomatoes (is that possible? ), I wash then put them in freezer bags. Frozen whole, they add such a bright spash of colour to the freezer on a dreary winter's day. When I need tomatoes for sauces, soups, lasagne, I just thaw and smush. The skin comes off very easily if you need to peel them. Most of the time, they just decorate my freezer.

Check this link for conversions: http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenGelatins.html

Chicken stew with vegetable chunks (carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, etc) served with soda biscuits.

I have never used kosher gelatine, but I have used agar agar in place of gelatine in desserts made for my Muslim students. Agar agar is a seaweed. You can buy it in Asian stores, in "leaves" or in powder form. Hope that helps.

Memories of 1958: arrived in Canada from China via Hong Kong - first taste of cheese - Velveeta! Dad had the typical prairie town restaurant, and his grilled cheese sandwiches were made with the square sandwich slices, thick cut-it-yerself slice of velveeta and browned on the big grill. The bread would be golden brown with oozy cheese peeking out on all sides.Yummmm. Then I discovered Velveeta, tomatoe and lettuce sandwiches. These would be made in the morning, kept in my lunch box, and became a googy mess on slightly soggy bread by lunch time. Sounds and looked disgusting, but I actually enjoyed them like that - for a little while. Now the thought kinda turns my stomach. Does anyone remember the rolls of Velveet or Velveeta-like processed cheese? I remember these little round slices served on Ritz biscuits at community wedding showers. Then they came out with the squeezable tubes with the hole on the side. You poke thru' the opening with a knife, squeeze, and the cheese came out in a "decorative" swirl.

I was talking to my Mom and she said the leaves will be bitter if it is too mature - or if it has been boiled for too long. It is best used when the leaves are young and tender.

I added frozen mixed vegetables into hamburger soup and to chicken pot pie topped with puff pastry.

Definitely mapo tofu can be made without szechuan peppercorns. I like the numbing but not the flavour, so mine is always made without Szechuan peppercorns.

If the greens were more bitter and acrid than fu gwah, then you were probably eating from the berry bush rather than the soup green type. Most older Chinese ladies grow them in their "backyards."

Toisangirl: Welcome also from me, another Toisangirl. There are two varieties of the wolfberry plant: one is more of a bush and grown mainly for the wolfberries (gow gai gee). The other is grown for the leaves where the gardeners usually cut the stalks when the leaves are big enough to be used for soup. These leaves are more round in shape whereas the bush leaves are more elongated. I am usually given bunches of the latter for soup - my favourite from the time I was a child. I love it with acouple of salted egg yolks and egg white in the soup.In my country home, my former garden is overgrown by grass now, but the wolfberry bush still lives, and produces the berries. The fresh berries make a wonderful soup with just a bit of chicken or pork. My kids used to eat them right off the bush. If you want to dry the berries, make sure you pick them with the stem intact. Dry them in a single layer out of the sun to maintain the lovely red colour. Edited to add: I've never seen it sold in stores but my sister said it is now availabe in Vancouver.