jayt90

Check your warehouse store. They may have blends at lower prices.

I really don't care to see pictures of your food from your trip especially if it involves impinging on the attempts of other diners to have a nice meal without distractions. If you attempt to photgraph next to me, I now have management make a decision, stop the photography or lose a customer in the middle of his meal. Societal restraints against imposing on others have been rapidly lost . Individuals feel free to impose unwanted distractions on others and don't consider whether they might be annoying others. Of course if you are eating at McD's, go ahead and shoot, because I won't be there. -Dick ← From his post, it is clear that Shaun does not want to be an obvious distactor, and wants to avoid flash. He may need a camera upgrade for low light situations, more than a stern neighbour.

I find him mostly irritating and ocaisionally helpful. The travelogue series across the country was interesting. (Edited sheepishly: I guess that's "Chef at Large".) Somehow he keeps getting invited back for a new show every year...

If yours is the retro design that looks like a 1930's gas pump, well, I have it too! Whenever the grinding becomes slower, or inefficient, I empty it and give it a good cleaning, with a brush or Q tip, in all orifices. Depending on the beans, it is usually good for another two or three weeks.

Yeah, it makes you wonder how the Food Channel puts together their entertainment. Last night's repeat of the Ramsay series (at least a year old) showed Ralph as a domineering, flirting, egocentric, and pedestrian team leader. But the Food Network has chosen to capitalise on his commercial value, or perhaps give Flay an easy win after the controversial tie with Susar Lee. (Lee and some critics felt the judges were pro-Flay).

The Wed. night ICA (repeated Sunday) put Bobby Flay against Ralph Padamo. Flay won easily. Padamo looked familar to me, then I remembered him as a contestant in last year's Gordon Ramsay show, 'Hell's Kitchen" . Was he the runner up then? He seems to be moving along pretty quickly, from a lowly grunt contest to the prestigious ICA! There was even a 1 second appearance by Ralph in a spot for a repeat of the Hell series starting soon. Anyone notice this?

When you consider all the problems, the one piece of equipment that should work best is a high resolution SLR with a low signal to noise ratio at very high ISO, 1600-3200. And attach an image stabilising lens with good f/2.8 performance in the 20-50mm range. That's asking a lot, but it is available, from the two major players, Canon and Nikon. Some of the high end 'all in one' cameras may duplicate most features, except for the low noise level at very high ISO's. In our Shutterbug thread, Eleanor recommended using a 50mm F/1.4 lens (about $400, or less used) for low light restaurant shots. This is a neat solution, obviating the expensive f/2.8 zoom,IS,and expensive L or ED glass. With this lens used at f/1.4, you could shoot almost all restaurant plates in available light, unobtrusively, and there will be a narrow depth of field, apparently popullar with food editors.

If they are getting to have a mature, almost woody stem (say in August or September, you need only take the top parts (6-8") and strip off the leaves. At this time of year it won't matter, as all the stems will be green and vigorous, and they will be replaced by new growth. Basil needs to have the flowerets pinched early in the season, otherwise they will go to seed, and the plant will stop growing until frost. It is the only one that won't last the winter, on your list.

I've forgotten about the Cab I have from Musar; I think it is '82 and well cellared. Did I wait too long? James.

Rustic, chewy, puffy but dense. Nothing that even remotely resembles what passes as a bagel here in Ontario. Where is Open Window Bakery? ← I haven't been to Open Window recently. They are (or were,) a smallish chain, with a good shop at Chesswood and Finch. Nothing came up after a brief Google. Bagel World, on the north side of Wilson Av., just west of Bathurst St., has the N.Y. style bagel. Their unsung secret is a Sri Lankan baker! You'll want to avoid Gryffe's on the east side of Bathurst near Fairlawn, for their soft chewy Montreal style... But people line up for them Sunday mornings!

I still use one but grind separately. After a couple of years the the top latch broke, and I have to weight it down before it kicks in. I'm not impressed with the overly-plastic design, but it works, and keeps the coffee hot. I've tried to monitor the brew temp., and the highest I get is 170 F. But it needs a good clean out. I'll be looking for the Dutch unit MG Llloyd referred to.

Forgetting tradition, I generally grab a bunch and break them before boiling. Otherwise we'd look like sloppy teenagers in a Spaghetti house!

I didn't know that French was politically correct.

Small dixie cups of beer will attact them, and they'll drown, drunk!

I have used the paintbrush method successfully; it is quite easy, and a good chore for children. Just take a damp watercolor brush and brush over the flower. You will move the pollen and the brush will pick up enough pollen to fertilize the next one. Just like a bee.

I have seldom had the Mediterranean style salt cod described here. But I have a Gaspe (premium priced) skateboard waiting to be soaked. I have always done brandade de morue, or salt cod with Ackee, both of them mellowing and blending well with the pungent fish. Haven't decided what to do, so I"ll wait and see what shows up here.

If you can find it, sparkling shiraz will fill the bill, and be a crowd pleaser as well as a conversation piece.

The luxurious photos make this magazine popular. I usually skim over the articles, which are rarely current. The recipes by Lucy Waverman. are O.K., but in the current issue there is little emphasis on emerging local food, from spring and summer. The magazine is designed and written many months in advance, and it shows. It's too bad the LCBO has no real competition, as from a warehouse club, or specialty wine merchants.

I inquired about the poutine (in Ontario), and found out they use coated frozen fries, mozzarella shreds, and Trio gravy (the same as the Nestle Trio in the aisles. They said that most chip buyers (Fish 'n chips, diners, chip trucks, etc.) buy the same Nestle Trio powder. Emboldened, I asked why the take out roast chicken changed recently (for the worse, and 50 cents more!). They changed suppliers, (Flamingo instead of Lilydale aka Maple Leaf) and changed the basting to a dilute sugar salt solution. If it goes on too soon before roasting, the birds come out emaciated and shrivelled. I also learned to ask for 'fresh' smoked meat at the food court counter. If it has been in the steam holder too long it becomes tough and brownish-grey. It should be pink and fresh, and they'll get it for you if requested.

I learned to forget the theory, decant old burgundy, and wait until it comes around, while I was a student in N.Y. I had one bottle of a 1959 Chambolle-Musigny les Charmes (don't know who bottled it) purchased for $5. from a liquor store on 2nd Ave. and St Marks Pl. Opened it 30 years after vintage. It was dead on opening, so I decanted it. It did not come forth for two hours, but it was spectacular, everything we expected, for about an hour, then it died for the last three half glassfuls. Ethereal, and truffled, and unlike any new world pinot noir. Burgundy is a crapshoot, but when it pays off it is devine.

Well, yes, but it is sometimes difficult to get a new thread going...I suggested 'Cheese' a couple of years ago, and was underwhelmed by the response.

John, I was being more timid than snobbish (at least in my mind). I envisioned a large-table, community event.

When I have a lot of sorrel I use it in spinach and chard recipes. The taste is sharper, but most people like it better.

I think Jamaican sorrel is a totally different plant. The sorrel I grow does not do well in mid-summer, and attracts more bugs than in spring or fall. Maybe the punch was made with shav grass, which is sometimes called sorrel. It appears in some flavoured vodkas, from eastern Europe.

As usual I'll get a copy but with mixed feelings, about the power of the LCBO's editorial and commercial control, to the detriment of all other publishers in that area.