shelora

I love that!! You said that you hadn't had any decent sushi while you were there, what, on the other hand, has been the food or ingredient highlight of your stay there? What market do you shop in or do you just make a list and someone else does the shopping for you? s

Yes. Thankyou Ling! Shiang Garden. If you've eaten there, how does it compare to Sun Sui Wah? s

Does anyone know of a place on No.3 rd. called Shiang? Anyone been? Any good?

Thanks for the hot tips Nickarte. Will be in D.F. in December and always stay in the Centro Historico, so can check out your recommendations on Isabel la Catolica. So sorry to hear you are leaving Cooking Fire, I so enjoyed your mercado adventures and photos. But, I know you'll be back.

I'm curious about those mushrooms. Is there solid evidence of their indigenous-ness? I know some forms of boletus and chanterelles grow in Europe, couldn't their spores travel to our shores quite easily?

I had a job when I was 14, serving foot long hot dogs at the exhiibition. The dogs started out fine and dandy, showcased glistening in the front window of the stall. If business was a little slow, the hot mid-day summer sun turned them green. We served those puppies, regardless. Smothered in onions, who could tell?- except later, when the suckers were whirling about on the Zipper. The only thing I loved about the exhibitions like the PNE, were the well seasoned, fast talkin' carnies, hawking the latest rip off kitchen tool. Watching those guys was mesmerizing. My girlfriend had a job that same year serving cotton candy. Her boss - a snaggle-toothed chain smoker - did most of the twirling. One evening under the make-shift lights, my friend observed a moth fluttering, oops, right into the cotton candy. Boss lady kept on twirlin. Stunned, my friend politely told her what happened. The boss never missed a beat and said, "we're charging 50 cents extra for the meat!" I admire your enthusiasm quattroporte. Bon appetit!!!

Another killer treatment is melted butter, lime juice and chile powder. I like mixing it all together first then pouring over either boiled or roasted corn. Oh, baby.

Yes please!!!!!!! I'll gladly reimburse you for the chiles and postage. Thanks, for the cantidad clarification. It would be fun to do a back-to-back tasting for this mole.

Great bit of sleuthing as usual Theobroma! I managed to track down a thistle rennet cheese through a cheese purveyor in Vancouver. Queijo de Azeitao, is a raw milk sheep's cheese from Portugal. One of the problems with finding cheese using plant rennets, is the labelling, or lack thereof. The azeitao cheese has thistle rennet right on the label. I've heard that stinging nettle is another plant coagulent, but have yet to find the corresponding cheese. F.Y.I. - To bring this back to Mexico via the U.S., Topolobampo in Chicago makes all their fresh cheeses with lime juice.

I love little parcels of food. Steamed, fried or poached, the variations on the theme of dumplings seem endless and figure in many cuisines of the world. Lately I'm smitten with Chinese pork and watercress dumplings. I'd like to hear about your favourites, no matter what style, and if anyone has theories or facts as to where the first recorded dumpling might have come from. China? Japan? The Ukraine?

I'm a little miffed at the moment. What I thought were chilcoztlis, were chilhuacles. And I'm looking at my guajillos and they are all on the small side - any cantidad that you can think of for this recipe??? Shall I proceed or wait until I get chilcoztlis??? (Not until next year). I'm steamed. s

I swear by stainless bowls, in varying sizes. You can't put them in the microwave, but every other place, no problem. You can use them right on top of a heat source, in the oven, freezer, they take a lot of abuse and stand up to all of it. If and when I make tamales, I use a big old pyrex bowl - I love big bowls, but for everyday and everyway, its stainless. There are flimsy weights of stainless steel bowls out there, but if you can find a good source for restaurant quality stuff (as in good price), buy them up. I would steer you away from the plastic stuff, I'm sure you've consumed enough bits of plastic by now. Plastic is so porous as well, not the best thing for beating eggs.

Wait a sec. Is this the same David Peake that used to have ViVa restaurant in the late '80's??

I love the brown Paul Robeson tomato and the red pleated varieites I can buy in Mexico. There is another that a friend is growing for us in Canada. Teeny tiny wild tomatoes from our other friend's cactus patch in Oaxaca. This powerful little tomato is killer in a roasted salsa - can hardly wait until they are ripe.

A barista here is soley pulling shots from what he refers to as a "crotchless" - the bottom half of the portofilter has been removed (sawed off). Have you heard of this technique? He claims much sweeter shots, but I've always found his espressi sweeter, regardless of the crotchless flourish. The current trend here is for double shots, but I'm sure once we all get used to this, we shall be craving triples. Ristrettos are definitely in favour over the usual espresso. Good bit of info, phaelon56.

What I enjoy are the restaurants that incorporate everything into their name. So and so's restaurant, cafe, bistro.

Well put, but this is a major breakthrough for Saveur, who have long ignored B.C.'s food and wine culture. Hopefully, this is only the beginning of their curiousity.

This is indeed good news. Any author's name attached to this?

When I was doing a stage with chef Roberto Santibanez in Austin, we made a guacamole using papalo, tomatillos de milpa, serranos and salt. Everything was used its raw state - we didn't cook or roast the tomatillos - all handground on the molcajete. Delicious.

Gone but not forgotten places in Victoria: Pina's Grocery Store A Touch of Greece - always made me laugh. Never did make it to Rong's Restaurant - I think I made the right decision! And the classic Portland restaurant, Hung Far Low. Its a beaut!

Theobroma, You have made my day! A million thanks for this recipe. I've printed it off to use this week. In reading it over, I have a few questions that hopefully you can clarify. The chilies are not soaked? How did you grind them? In a molcajete? Should the resulting mix have texture? This is intriguing. Is the resulting broth so overpowering that you throw it away? The recipe looks like it makes enough for a crowd. What did you serve it with? Rice? Tortillas? Salad? Finally the sexual abstience rule is odd indeed. Is the dish worth the wait? My hoja santa is coming along nicely, but may look too bare for the 18 - 20 leaves required. I will probably halve the recipe. Again, thanks so much. Shelora

Comals are extremely low fire - so fragile. Mine did not make either with all the fragile stuff I bring home. I think you'd almost have to carry it in your arms.

Joke 1. a thing said or done to excite laugher. b. a witticism or jest. Obviously none of it working.

The sound of the coffee grinder in the morning is enough to immediately coax me from deep slumber. Food hitting hot oil - music to my ears. There are also tactile sensations I enjoy. I love the feel of penne pasta on my flesh. Let me explain. When I worked in restaurant kitchens, there would be big bus tubs filled with dry pasta. I would enjoy running my hands through them. It felt cool against my flesh and the sound was like water running over pebbles. I've often fantasized about how it would feel to have the same sensation over my entire body - like part of a spa treatment for foodies.

It is odd that a restaurant would find inspiration in naming itself after a stain.