Dejah

Made 2 lasagna(s) in one 9 x 13 pan: Looney Spoons Vegetarian, and added ground beef on the other half for hubby. Sides were blanched green beans with sesame seed oil and crushed chili flakes, a couple leaves of Romaine lettuce with Kraft mango-chipotle dressing and toasted pecans.

Looking forward to this, as with all blogs! What better way to begin than with mapo tofu and fish fragrant eggplant...WITH beer, of course!

Keith_W: Beautiful presentation on the hotpot! I am sure the results were delicious too. MJX: This all looks fantastic, but the fried fish... would you mind sharing the recipe? I'm a bit of a fried fish junkie, to tell the truth. I started with Tyler Florence's recipe for English-style Fish and Chips but found it really unsatisfactory. It was too thick for the proportions of 2-cups flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 egg, and 12-ox can of soda water. Even when I added more soda water, it did not give me the texture and thin crust that I associate with my memory of English batter. It looked great, but did not retain the crispiness by the time we ate - right after I took the picture. Next time, I will go back to my tried-and-true batter mix from my restaurant days: nearly equal parts flour and cornstarch, baking powder, vinegar, a little splash of oil, salt, and water to mix into a batter. It's hard for me to give exact measurements as we used to mix up the flour-cornstarch in big barrels - 7 scoops flour to 6 scoops cornstarch. The scoops were those big ones used in bulk sales. Then when we do a batch of batter, we add BP, vinegar, oil and water accordingly. The batter was light, crispy, even after it was put into the buffet. I'll have to try my old recipe and see what proportions work the best... I would appreciate any recipes anyone here would share!

Fish'n'chips for supper, with curry sauce and peas. I saw a recipe in Aug. Bon Apetite - Eggplant fries and thought I'd give it a try. Followed the instructions but made the mistake of drying the "fries" too much before tossing them in the rice flour mixture. The first few ended up without "batter" but still good. The second batch, I added a little soda water to the rice flour mixture to make a batter. The eggplant fries were crispy on the outside and buttery soft inside. The za'tar in the rice flour was nice.

Randi: I love that you took pictures of the food on the next table. I like to do that too, especially if it's something I'd want to try and replicate at home. I once told another egulleteer to do that, and she actually used it as her signiture line. Enjoying your blog. Have some places I'll try next August. And I'd love to cook with you when I'm down that way again...or go for a meal.

My daughter's future M-I-L is gluten intolerant, so it was a bit more challenging this Thanksgiving. There were 12 of us for supper. I cooked two 7kg turkeys, one with regular day-old dinner rolls stuffing(cooked in an oven in another house), the other with gluten-free bread; a smoked picnic shoulder; crab cakes; Brussel sprouts with dijon mustard, blackpeppercorn crusted bacon, and pecans; carrots with cardamon; green bean casserole, (d-i-l's contribution); corn; mashed taters; apple,orange,cranberry chutney; gravy made with Better than Boullion chicken soup base and tapioca starch; pumpkin cheesecake with sour cream icing ( 2nd son's SO's contribution, and a pumpkin pie. Everything was gluten free except for the green bean casserole and the pumpkin cheese cake. The gluten-free pumpkin pie was more like a cheesecake. The crust was made with gluten-free flour, crushed organic unsweetened coconut flakes and pecans, and butter, all pulsed together and baked like a graham crust. The filling was pumpkin puree, cashew cream, coconut cream, spices. It turned out remarkably good! The gluten-free stuffing was made with rice flour bread and corn bread. It didn't have the same texture as my usual stuffing, but was acceptable. The extra poultry seasoning and fresh herbs helped. We didn't cut into the other turkey until next day (sent home with kids), but the kids helped themselves to the stuffing after our guests left! It was interesting cooking with new products and being vigilant about gluten-free counters, etc. I now have a stock pile of flour, bread crumbs, etc. I am thankful that our small city has these supplies.

dcarch: Your food and presentations are pornographic!

Canadian Thanksgiving with turkey and ham yesterday, so we needed a change for tonight. While I was shopping at Safeway early Friday morning, I picked up 7 packages of two 2 inch thick lamb chops at 50% off. Worked out to around $5.99 per pair. Did them up on the BBQ and they were terrific - tender and juicy.

Great to see you blogging again, Calipoutine - from an entirely different locale. We stayed in Valencia for a week in August and yup...it was hot! Do you go to Marie Callender's Pie and Pasta? There was one beside the hotel, and I found their custard pies and banana cream pies very good. Coming to Tarzana next August. If you want specific Canadian stuff, let me know! We'll be driving so no problem with weight/luggage restrictions - unless you want a whole pig or some crazy reuqest like that!

Kim, Blether, I'm in Manitoba, and the liquor commission here also put out a magazine called Flavours. It's free if you pick it up at the liquor store, and I see from the inside cover, you can also subscribe. Just picked up the fall issue and will be making the Scotch Pie later today - minced beef and lamb.

Made our first visit to my sister and family's home in Burnaby this summer, at the end of our +8000 km road trip. We had dim sum in Chinatown, Richmond and in Burnaby. Several of the items were a first and memorable for us: Ho fun in Shrimp and Egg Sauce Our first really good xiao long baos Deep-fried Spicy Chicken Knuckles?! Deep-fried Spicy Anchovies The flakiest Baked Char Siu Baos Golden Sand Tofu

Been on a +8000 KM road trip until Sept. 1 and have missed seeing all these gorgeous meals! Our daughter and fiance came for the weekend and he cooked both lunch and dinner yesterday: Burgers made from a combination of ground pork, beef, and venison from the deer he bagged last year. Add-ons: tomato, leaf lettuce, smoked gouda cheese, red onion, Spanish onion sauteed with chipotle, and sauteed beet slices,. all on a toasted kaiser bun: For dinner, he roasted a chicken that had been brined with buttermilk and fresh herbs. Served with the roasted endive, beets, potatoes (which were mashed with an egg yolk, rosemary, and butter before serving), sweet potatoes, and his first attempt at homemade stuffing. I made a salad dressed with store-bought mango-chipotle dressing. Both meals were scrumptious!

I am in the same position as Rona as I teach both mainland-China born and HK-born Chinese. Their tastes and opinions about food are quite different. The HK students will go out and try different foods, even eat cafeteria food! The mainland Chinese will bring their lunches everyday, and I don't see anything difficult about what they cook: stir-fried veg. and rice, tomato - egg, etc. What they prefer to eat is hotpot every possible day. The prep.takes time, but it certainly isn't difficult. I cook all kinds of food but mostly Chinese. There are certainly simple dishes and difficult ones in all cuisines, but I don't think one is more difficult than another.

Bruce! We were on the same wave length! But, your wings are prettier. One whole cut-up chicken marinated overnight in lemongrass, cilantro, fresh green peppercorns, ginger, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves,Thai chili peppers, a bit of palm sugar, olive oil, lemon juice then grilled. The charred veg. bits were very tasty, as was the chicken. I squeezed a drizzle of lemon juice onto the chicken just before eating. AND...jasmine rice soaking up the extra butter from the corn was pretty dang tasty too! Dessert was more of the saskatoon berries, blueberries, and salty roasted walnuts and vanilla ice cream...

KIM: That roast chicken looks perfect - along with the price. We're paying $2.99/LB for a roasting chicken, or $2.50/LB from a Hutterite Colony. I'll have to plan better and be more patient next time I want roast chicken. I presume it air-dried all day in the fridge? We all enjoy Brussel sprouts. I usually make them up with bacon, basalmic vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Kim,I am especially enjoying your England trip write up. Brings back a lot of memories - of food and of places we visited. Shelby: I just know the green-coloured gooseberries, so was a bit puzzled when you said they reminded you of them. Then I googled them. Gooseberries - first time I tasted them was in England. They seem to grow wild everywhere - even at train stations! I also saw "Cape Gooseberries" mentioned in google. Had them for the first time at our farmer's market - called ground cherries. They are lovely to eat out-of-hand. Thanks for the complements on the pie. It really was perfect! I used a recipe from Canadian Living - lard, butter, ice water. I've used the egg/water/vinegar recipe for so long I was a bit skeptical. But, WOW!

Thanks for an educational and fun week, Kate! You ARE, indeed, "Rare", and me thinks you took along many "rolling objects" on your trip.

Breakfast tagine and beautiful pottery in the same post...sigh...

Supper tonight was all done on the BBQ - quick and simple: BBQ chicken marinated in Bull'e Eye Southern Cajun BBQ sauce, very sweet white corn on the cob, and tater patties. The highlight was the much anticipated fresh saskatoon pie! I think this berry was mentioned in Peter the Eaters foodblog: This picture shows the difference between blueberries and saskatoons - the darker berries on the bottom of the plate. They are smaller, sweeter, and I love them on cereal or just in a bowl of cream Incomparable in a pie! Even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

RRO: First of all, that kaffir lime white pepper gelato would have been my first choice! Great combo. I wonder what it'd be like with fresh green peppercorns? I'm so addicted to those little balls of fire and flavour! Then that paella - you followed the "philosophy" for great paella perfectly! Won't be doing much cooking the rest of the month as we'll be on our annual road trip in the USA, but I promised myself that I will be cooking from your blog come Sept! However, I will be substituting some ingredients as I am not privy to the wonderful shops and markets that are the envy of many here. Blog on Girl!

This is a timely thread as we will also be heading out from the Canadian prairies to Pocatello, Idaho and onto San Francisco next week. We're planning to travel northward along Highway 101 from San Francisco thru' to Seattle, then homeward to the prairies thru' Vancouver. Would appreciate any suggestions - no high-end, but highly unusual and memorable eats - of any kind.

I believe my grandma cooked the oatmeal first, and then add the meat. Since the oatmeal holds the heat so well, it cooks the meat quickly, keeping the meat tender. If flavor is more important, then the meat goes into the water the same time as the oatmeal. Same applies to the way my Mom taught me. The pork is sliced very thin, seasoned and marinated with a bit of oil and cornstarch. With conpoy, she'd add it shredded at the same time as the the oatmeal. The "all-things-envy" has not stopped! Thank you for posting the Chinatown fish market. I especially appreciate seeing the TOPSHELL image. I have used them from a can but have never seen an actual topshell- the poor man's abalone. You seem to eat the craziest, most unconventional breakfasts. I love that about you! Blog on!

My Mom always soaked the stomach in water and baking soda before braising so it wouldn't have that slightly off smell. I usually buy it in the Chinese BBQ shop. My brother and I are the only ones who will eat this - SO GOOD! I like it cooked with dried beancurd soup too.

I grew up eating savory oatmeal in Hong Kong, but not nearly as eleaborate as your version! My Mom made it with pork broth, ginger, and slices of pork or minced pork. I remember it being so good in the winter before heading off to school. Once in a while, she'd soak the conpoy overnight and shredd this into the oatmeal. I didn't like green onions in the oatmeal but I love it in rice congee. I tried to introduce this to my husband - blasphemy! The kids agreed with him... Thanks for bringing back a wonderful childhood memory.

I have "total envy" of everything RRO! Have been following all your wonderful postings in Dinner thread. Great to have this "comprehensive coverage" of your life. Thank you for blogging!

SO enjoying your England trip report, Kim. I loved the full English breakfast, and trying to replicate it back home is just not the same...Even the cress that I grow from seeds I brought back doesn't taste the same. Must be the air... Looking forward to more!