Wayne

Thanks for the review of High Street. I've been meaning to drop in for lunch one day when I'm in the area. Rumor has it they make an excellent toffee pudding

In my opinion, being neither Latvian or Estonian (my wife is Estonian), piragi appears to be the same thing as pirukad. These are stuffed pastries with a variety of fillings. A good modern cookbook is 'Estonian Tastes and Traditions' by Karin Annus Karner which a friend lent to us. It has a number of pastry and filling recipes. Saying that it is important to remember that pirukad is comfort food with all that entails

I'd go with Big Night, Tampopo and Eat Drink Man Woman as favorites. One that hasn't been mentioned is 'Le Declin de L'empire Americain (The Decline of the Americian Empire)" by Denys Arcand.

A useful book is "Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game" by John J. Mettler 1986. No photos but good drawings. I found the chapter on butchering venison very useful however the book also covers beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry and small game.

One other possibility is to try SeaCore/Seafood Depot. They do have a lot of Italian housewares.

I was fortunate enought to get some venison last season and made sausage. This is my version: Lean venison: 80% + fresh pork fatback: 20% Marinated for 24 hours in red wine, splash of brandy, crushed juniper berries and black peppercorns, rosemary, bay leaves, sliced shallots and some yellow mustard seeds. Remove bay leaves, grind all medium coarse, taste and adjust seasoning, stuff into casings, age 24 hours then eat or vacumn seal and freeze. The flavorings complemented the venison without masking it. I made 10lb. and wish I had made more.

Here is an alternate way of making cucumber cups: Use an english cucumber and slice off one end then make four or five diagonal cuts starting about 1.5 to 2 inches above the sliced end and equally spaced around the cucumber. End the cuts about 0.5 to 1 inch above the cut end. Each cut should end near the soft center. Then hold the cucumber and twist off the bottom. You should end up with a flower shaped cucumber cup. Then trim the bottom of the cucumber and repeat for the next cup. It takes a few tries to get it right then it should go fairly fast. It's also a nice effect to use a zester, the type that takes off thin strips, to scrape the outside of the cucumber lenght-wise. Pick small cucumbers to get bite-sized cups. Tuna tartare sounds great as well as other suggestions proffered.

A chef is the person who runs/manages a food operation, whether it's a small restaurant or a large hotel food service. It's managerial with hands-on requirements dependent on size. Some went to Culinary School and some did not. You do not go to "Chef's School" even though some institutions call it that. I'm a good home cook. I worked in the industry when I was young. I'm also a good carpenter/woodworker. Both are hobbies/passions. I would never call myself a chef or a builder although friends and family do I don't own a cook's jacket although I would not be adverse to getting one. It would serve the same function as a heavy canvas shirt when engaged in a home building project: personal and wardrobe protection

I'll try however I don't get out that way very often. Maybe next time I hit Nasr.

I've always found lime leaves available in the Spadina Dundas Chinatown. Specifically in the basement grocery store west side of Spadina between Dundas and St. Andrew. Unfortunately I don't know the name (a result of going there for many years). Marlene: The tubes of tomato paste you are/were looking for can be found at Highland Farms, Longo's and most Loblaw's/Superstore. For some reason the stores shelve the tubes with the pepper sauces, condiments...etc... and not with the tomato paste in cans BTW: I think this thread is a great idea and wish it a long and happy run.

Pho Hung and Mimi's are two good spots. I have not yet tried Rose Cafe as I am not often in that area. For banh mi one place I prefer is located on Dundas north side between Spadina and Kensington. The name escapes me but what sets them apart is a superior baquette and a choice of fillings. The vietnamese restaurant that used to be located at the north east corner of Spadina and Sullivan, which I believe was called Nai Dam, has moved to a strip mall at Warden and Eglington and is now called Crispy Roll. I thought they had the best pho on the strip and hope to try out Crispy Roll soon.

Another suggestion would be to head up to Harbord St. between Bathurst and College. I'd recommend The Boulevard Cafe.

My second post to this thread is something I'd forgotten: My wife and I would always have an arguement concerning resting meat after roasting, grilling...etc... She insisted it had to be served/carved immediatelly whereas I insisted it should be allowed to rest then served/ carved. This went on for a lon...g time until I suggested she could have her way if she could find one cookbook in our rather large collection (or public library) that did not advocate allowing meat to rest. There were no more arguements Cheers.

Dave: That was in 2001. Sorry about that.

My wife and I were last in Tofino and enjoyed a very nice meal at the Schooner before embarking on a six day sea kayaking trip. The only bad note was that the local oysters were off due to "red tide". Enjoy the drive from Port Alberni to Tofino

The Bagel Slicer. A plastic frame to hold a bagel while slicing to prevent slicing one's hand.

I'll add an incident to this thread despite being embarrassed: When I was about 19 I made my first batch of chili from scratch. Using dried beans seemed like a great idea so I did. I didn't know they had to be soaked and pre-cooked. The result was gravel in a meaty tomato sauce.

Well I did get out and spent about 3 hours foraging in spots I know produce morels and it was a big disappointment. I dug up some of the spots and the soil is powder dry. What we need is 3-4 days of solid rain then back to this warm sunny weather. If we get rain over the weekend I'll try again next week.

I'm planning on checking out a few of my spots tomorrow morning. Conditions have not been favourable this spring as I've found the soil very dry. Spring has also been late. I'll post if I have any luck.

Refridgeration: for many of the reasons already cited. One thing I'm surprised has not been mentioned is reliable electric or gas stoves. Think what it would be like to have to cook on a wood stove as my grandmother did.

Malcolm. You may be interested in the following Beyond Burgers segment: www.cbc.ca/metromorning/beyond_burgers/ The segment on Gourmet Bun has a link to the photographer's website.

George Brown College offers a Sushi course through it's Continuing Education Program. The course is 6 weeks (6 x 4 hour classes). The cost is $258.00. The instructing chef is David Chung. Sometimes it runs on a week night and sometimes on a weekend day. Here is the website: www.coned.georgebrown.ca/section/culi/asia.html I've taken the course and would recommend it.

I'm very picky about my cookbooks and only purchase one after I've read it and decided it's one I'll use. Cookbooks I've recieved as gifts are another matter, especially when recieved from someone who doesn't cook. I've asked not to be given cookbooks unless I choose the book. The one cookbook I did buy and have never used, and don't plan to, is The Roadkill Cookbook. It's hilarious. Found it in a sale bin years ago.

I shop St. Jacob's a couple of times a year. They are similiar in set-up to St. Lawrence in that there are permanent vendors and farm vendors (similiar to SLM north market). The market, due to it's proximity to many Mennonite farms, has many Mennonite vendors. Market strengths: Pork, beef, poultry, smoked meat products and sausages.Farmed game. Local maple syrup. Local produce. Fresh apple cider. Market weaknesses: Very limited seafood selection. Limited cheese selections. Lack of, for want of a better term, upscale items. Prices are generally lower than SLM and you can usually get discounts if you purchase in quantity (ie. 10 lb. of chicken breasts). We usually combine our visits to the market with a visit to Elora Gorge when we're entertaining out of town guests.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will look into Taro. I've also found a B.C. supplier so I can find out who they supply in Toronto.