maxmillan

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will try that flan recipe, sounds deeeelicious. Now to buy me a tin of guava paste.

There is an interesting editorial by someone who is tired of the same restaurants getting the top nods. I can understand Lumiere, C, Bin, etc. I think they are all great. With the many good Chinese restaurants in BC, why is Pink Pearl always in these issues? Just my rant

Someone who critiqued this restaurant many years ago for the Georgia Straight told me that the kitchen was disgustingly dirty and I never went back. I liked the Foundation on Main (and 14th, I think) and their food is excellent.

I love guava and found the paste in a Brazilian restaurant's display. Can it be used in cheesecake, jello, buttercream....? I like to experiment it on dessert. Someone on eGullet mentioned it can be crumbled on top of some crackers? Has anyone used this stuff?

I was wondering about sealing marinated meat. It was mentioned to put a paper towel in the bag so the juices won't get sucked into the vacuum. I don't have a unit yet, but what exactly do you mean by putting a paper towel in the bag? Does the paper towel get sealed in with the meat? Thanks for answering.

I received this tea and was told to pour hot water over it for a few seconds and then pour the water out. It was suggested that I clean the leaves before steeping it. This tea is highly expensive and I would like some expert opinion on this. When I first saw this tea, it looked like poo from a large rodent. I also had some Dragon Eye tea made by a friend and it was beautiful. I like to get some of this and wonder what the steeping method is for this type of tea? The leaves are wrapped very tightly into little balls and only requires one or two balls per cup. When it unravels it looks like spiders! Thanks!

I'm baking with spelt and find it's expensive compared to wheat. I prefer to find the whole grain and grind it myself if possible. But I want it to be fresh and not so costly and I don't like ordering thru the computer. I bought organic spelt flour prepackaged from Choices and also from the bulk bin at Capers. Surely there must be some places in the lower mainland that supplies what I need without having to go to these store$$$$. I plan to experiment with other grains (soy flour, rice flour, buckwheat, etc.) and would certainly appreciate what you eGulleteers could suggest as far as purchasing goes.

Went to Featherstone Farm in Richmond (No. 4 and Steveston) and got myself 20lbs at $1.15 per pound. It's a little bit more than the neighboring farm but the berries here are nicer. Lot's to pick still and I did my picking in under an hour. But somehow, these BC strawberries are not as sweet as I remember. Even the strawberries I bought last week at a roadside in Chilliwack was not as sweet, but at least better than USA. I have a feeling BC farmers are using different seeds than a few years ago to increase production and avoid blight. Are we heading towards Californa's bland strawberries?

I know that the lady dropped off a whackload of Cityfood at the Maple and Broadway liquor store on Monday. She just dropped off some yesterday at the Marpole (70th and Granville) liquor store. Granville Island Market gets a good amount of it too. I would suspect that featured advertisers would supply them, too. As suggested by barolo, you can contact www.cityfood.com for locatons of the paper drop off and check when new issues are put out. Last resort is to pay a $36 subscription fee to have it mailed to you. Good luck. BTW, not all liquor stores or other locations will have them immediately as it seems like there is possibly one person dropping it off in the greater area of Vancouver.

Here's info from "Healing with Whole Foods", by Paul Pitchford: 1 kanten bar = 1/4 tsp powder = 3 tblsp light flakes = 5 tblsp dark flakes. 1 kanten bar will gel 2 cups liquid. Uses: Pies, fruit desserts, jams, aspics, and vegetable molds. Notes: Agar will not set in distilled and wine vinegars or foods with large amounts of oxalic acid (spinach, chocolate, rhubarb.)

I know some of you don't care for this paper but the newest issue is out right now and you can find lots at the gov't liquor store stand. They are now focusing on BC rather than just the lower mainland and there's a bio on Victoria's restaurant and food scene. I don't like paying the ferry fee but this issue have me salivating a trip to the island.

Let's see...average of 30 books per shelf, 5 shelves...about 150 books...not counting the piles I trip over on the floor...need more shelves.

Unlike KT, I love to pick berries because I've never done anything like this during my youth and I get to control what berries goes into my bucket. Just got some local strawberries from the Trout Lake Farmer's Market and had some rotten ones in the middle! Rip off! I can get the freshest stuff by picking it myself. Plus, I can stuff my face while I'm picking. Aaaaaah, and those early days of trying to make money in the summer and those wonderful strawberry fights..... Also, there are loads of free blueberries and blackberries in town. Basically it's something I do to get the city out of me. It's not the $$ saving, I think it's fun...as long as it's not a job. Back to the original question. Where do you go to pick strawberries and other produce?

It's almost local BC strawberry season! I usually go pick at No.5 Road in Richmond. I plan to pick other berries, fruits and vegetables. Where do you go for good pickings?

Bought a whole-wheat loaf of bread from Transilvania. Not bad for $5. He also sells day-olds for $4 (bread pudding, French toast...) I mentioned this site, as it is here where I found his place and he gave me one of the special mineral water to try for free. He claims that it's the best so we'll see. BTW, I didn't see any rye bread, eatrustic, I should have asked. Does it sell out early? Since it was close by, I had to buy some more cakes from MIX, key-lime pie (so-so), tiramisu cheesecake, raspberry dacquoise, framboise chocolate cake and, again, the heavenly passion fruit tart...very yummy! The tiramisu had me jumping with non-stop energy at the gym!

Went to MIX bakery on West 10th and I am impressed. I bought a loaf of olive bread, a baguette, passion fruit custard tart, Oblivion (chocolate mousse) cake, ambrosia cookies and chocolate chip cookies...boy am I full. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I bit into the passion fruit tart. The baguette had a thin crunchy crust with a velvety inside. The ambrosia cookies had apricots and white chocolate. The chocolate chip cookies weren't even warm and the chocolate was gooey and yummy. The olive bread had an intense fresh olive flavor. Their signature Oblivion cake was a mousse covered in Callebaut with a toffee-like topping. They have much more desserts, breads and sandwiches which I plan to try but they only open Tues to Sundays 7am to 6pm. The clerk said they are looking into opening late night....o-boy! Maybe I should work there! I went to Savory Island Pie Company looking for a raspberry and white chocolate pie that someone mentioned...and they don't have such a thing. So I tried their lemon pie with berries...very good. Bought a loaf of spelt bread -- need to reduce the sugar. And, yes. I believe the donut coffee shop is called Honeys Donut.

Thanks for the advice on refrigeration. Since I have no experience or knowledge about truffles, I will cough up the few dollars for a small bottle and try it. I will have to check out Gourmet Warehouse and Urban Fare. I saw some at Cioffi's in Burnaby. Granted, a lot of truffle oils may be a sham so I'll have to trust the experience of eGulleteers. BTW, I checked out Cioffi's due to several positive comments from this site and I am impressed. It is comparable to Bosa Ent. on Victoria and Frances but Cioffi's have a bigger FRESH deli section and very friendly staff, so unlike Santa Barbara on Commercial Drive (so overrated!)

First of all, excuse my ignorance, what exactly is truffle oil? I saw some truffle oil with an olive oil base. I thought truffle oil was simply that, oil from truffles. Is this just a flavored oil then? Secondly, where in the Lower Mainland can I find a good-price excellent quality truffle oil? What consitutes a good quality truffle oil? Thirdly, I had some risotto at Trafalgar with truffle oil and thought it was delicious. I thought of sprinkling this on mashed potatoes, steak, rice, noodles, etc. What should be the proper way of using this to get the best flavour out of the truffle oil? Thanks for your expert advice.

Tried the New India Buffet last week and it wasn't bad. They had a deep fried sweet ball, which, I'm sure, had sweet condensed milk throughout and it was very very good. It wasn't the best Indian restaurant but it was a good value. I plan to lunch at Maurya on Broadway and Granville, Goya on Fraser and 41st and a place on Fraser and 25th, Nuru Mahal (excuse my spelling.) I saw an ad for Dosa Hut on 1279 E. Hastings @ Clark (South Indian) and don't know anything about that one. Thanks for all your suggestion.

I've bought a few things from the Danish bakery in Edgemont and it was very good. Too bad they're closed. Gotta check out the Harmony Donut Shop. There's also good donuts to be found in Deep Cove, a coffee shop, forget the name. The place is owned and run by previous South African residents. The donuts are heavy, sweet and comes plain or chocolate covered...very good as a meal in itself. Also, at Safeway, Little Debbies are in town. I know it may be god-awful to most of you but I lived on it while hiking through the states. It was very cheap and comes in a variety. The pies at Chilliwack airport sounds a lot like the pie places I visited in the USA and at Home Restaurant in Hope. They advertise that their pies are the best homemade blah blah blah. It was diner standard.

Hi tasty, You sound like me a few years ago. I was bored with my banking job and thought I just needed a creative outlet so I went to PICA to do their 6 month intensive pastry course after quitting my 10-year job. I'm not pleased with PICA as they had a chauvinistic attitude (particulalry Chef Walter, one of the partners.) I felt they just wanted my money and when I came out I did not feel prepared. Plus the one week practicum they sent me to did not involve pastry and I ended up cutting vegetables. Plus now they are inundated with foreign students where English is a second language and you could be partnered with someone who can slow you down (as I was.) This is just the tip of the iceberg and I won't waste your time. When I went to the real work world of baking many chefs and owners told me they prefer to hire someone from VCC because the very basic is taught, without any preconceived frou frou and much less 5-star ego attitude. Needless to say, after a year of several different jobs, I was disillusioned. I was itching to "create" and all I did was a lot of production work...which at first was fun but eventually bored me. I was given jobs where apprenticeship was promised, another job where I was told I could give creative input, and many more promises that never materialized. If you really must go the private school route I would go Dubrulle. I don't know anything about www.nwcav.com but it's worth checking out. Don't knock VCC. You are competing with a lot of EI students, some which are not motivated, but don't let that stop you. The programs are much cheaper and you learn so much more (more than I did.) The instructors are good and they have additional courses you can take to further certain skills. I took a sugar art course which I found very valuable. Plus, they get a lot of well-known restaurants looking for the best graduates. Ask the counsellors for a list and you will be impressed. Don't worry about not doing "finer" dining stuff, you'll learn that on the job. In fact, I had more intro into honing my craft in the real world than in PICA. Or you might consider studying in the states, as a semi-sabbatical/vacaction. As mentioned by others, it is very hard physical work, not to mention the early hours you may have to work. It is far less glamourous, professional and predictable than an accountant job. Sorry to sound like a downer, but that is the reality. But I think it's wonderful if you have enough passion to go thru all this as I believe that's what it takes to get you to the first few rough years. I know the pastry chef for Gary Danko in San Francisco and when I see her, she is absolutely a perfectionist, totally dedicated to her craft, and she sleeps, eats and breathes baking. But that is how she moved her way up to work for a reputable restaurant. Having your accountant background is a real plus if you want to open up your own business, so that's something to consider as you're shlopping that 215th muffin tin. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Frankly, I find Costco's prices no different than the Canadian Superstore, and you don't need to pay a membership for the latter. I have been buying my unsalted butter at CS for the last few years. Although the price has crept upwards, I still find it's the cheapest anywhere and the same as Costco. But ditto on the organic salad sold in the one pound clam shell for $5...it's the cheapest anywhere but that alone is not worth the $$ for a Costco membership. Due to past recalls on defective/dangerous products, I'm skeptical about buying meat, fish or any protein from Costco. They have one too many product recall for my comfort. My sister has a card and the whole family and her friends and coworkers go with her. As a member you can bring a couple of people. I think it's only worth it if you have more than several mouths to feed. Unfortunately, Costco does have whipping cream with a higher fat content than other stores and cheaper than other stores that has the same product. Also, Costco buys large "rejects" and overstock from brand name suppliers and that's when the good deals are offered. They had Mountain Co-op waffle shirts for a third of the price at MEC. You couldn't even see the defects, if there were any. Plus, I bought a 350-watt KitchenAid mixer for $400 (including tax) which is probably the cheapest you'll find anywhere in Canada. Up-to-date popular books are cheaper (I"ve bought a few cookbooks.) Their produce looks of very good quality, none of which are organic. So you have to wonder how much crap they spray on their crop to bring it all the way from California, Mexico, Florida, etc. Redhead, unfortunately, Capers is becoming very corporate (American owned for a few years.) They get a lot of their organics via California, Washington... I use to work there and during the ripe season, they ordered strawberries from California. Of course we know BC has the best strawberries! Betty K, if you have time you should go with someone who has a membership to see for yourself. Then hop over to Canadian Superstore. As a bargain hunter, I enjoy going to ethnic communities to buy my stuff: Butter, nuts, dairy and Callebaut chocolate at Superstore, Oils and exceptional pasta at Bosa Ent. on Victoria and Frances, Cheese, cold cuts and produce at Santa Barbara on Commercial Drive, Produce at Apple Market (West Broadway), Donald's Market (Hastings and Nanaimo) and of course, the Farmer's Market all around town, Lamb at IGA when it's on sale, and meat from a store on skid road downtown East Hastings, I forget the name (my previous boss use to buy his meats there.) I find all this researching fun and I've discovered a lot of good deals on things I didn't expect. Be forwarned. The lineups at Costco are long, especially Saturdays and Sundays. Think about that when you buy your ice cream. The best times to go is early when the door opens. Plus, the corporate card holders get in an hour earlier than regular members! Be double forwarned!! As others above have mentioned, you may end up buying a kajillion amount of junk processed food you never intended to buy. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will be eating, breathing and dreaming Indian food for the next few months. A co-worker told me to try the vegetarian food at the Sikh Temple and that it is free. There's one in Richmond and on Marine Drive? As for Costco, I'm guilty of buying my organic mix salad there. It's the cheapest anywhere...one pound clam shell for under $5!!!!! I agree with the 50 cents samosas on 49th and Main...deeeeeelicious and a good value when you have your poor days.

I've taken notes on all the books you've read. Thanks. This will give me lots to read for the rest of the year. Also, I am presently reading "Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America" by Harvey Levenstein. I found this in a bargain bin and find it quite interesting.

I'm presently reading James Haller's "Vie de France" and I absolutely love it. His writing is poetic and I like his non-formula way of expressing recipes and methods. I have read Robb Walsh's "Are You Really Going to Eat That?" and love his humour and perfectionism in pursuit for the "best of". I'm starting Victoria Abbott Riccardi's, "Untangling My Chopsticks" as well. What books have eGulleteers read that are not cookbooks but, rather, an adventure in food? And why did you like/not like the book?