peppyre

My mom was just bemoaning the fact that her less than desirable neighbors have let their lawn turn to dandelions. Now I have a suggestion for her. Anyone know if the chemicals from grow-ops could affect the lawn?

My mom and I both kept most of my grandma's kitchen items. We just couldn't bear to part with it and I am so glad that now we have almost everything. My mom had also kept most of her wedding gifts from her first marriage and I was slowly getting most of that stuff too as my mom upgraded. Unfortunately, after a nasty divorce from her second husband, he took most of it. I'm heading over to my mom's today and will borrow her camera to take pictures of what is still at her place and then what I have. My paternal grandfather was a butcher and I was lucky to inherit quite a few of his tools when I moved out on my own. I will be sure to get a picture of those as well. I love this thread and I think that this is a beautiful way to share your life experiences with other people. It all comes right back to food! The kitchen is always the soul of a home and the heart of the family.

Hmmm...how much food can a group of egulleters eat in one afternoon? It's like some kind of strange riddle. I used to go to trade events like this and there was always ALOT of food. Of course I never had to pay to get in, so that made it even more of a bargain.

Ohh....getting liquored and heckling a celeb chef.....I'm so in!! Actually, I wanted to go to this last year but something came up and I didn't make. I think I must go this year.

Uh, is this some new sushi-on-a-naked-man club that you haven't told us about yet? ← And Dammit, Why haven't I been invited yet!!

I love necks, too. Everyone knows that the turkey neck is mine--ALL MINE!!! Once, my uncle grabbed it when he came over for Thanksgiving. Abject silence fell over the table...my family fears my wrath when it comes to food. ← Sweety, even your friends fear your wrath when it comes to food

Well, if you can bear to head a little farther up Main there are some great restaurants. I should be getting my computer back tomorrow (Logic Board blew up...it's 5 mo old ) and I will post some links and as many other restaurants as my little brain can think of.

I've noticed the same thing and it makes me laugh too. I think it's the fact there really isn't anything else in that area. But then again, I haven't actually eaten there. Deborah, I would go with Tsunami. It's probably your best bet.

**really, I haven't been drinking...yet...bad computer...**

I just did some quick calculations and based on roughly 7 glasses of wine per bottle (if anyone would like to know how many "sample" pours you can get out of a bottle, I have that too) for 150 guests I think the minimum you should have is 7 or 8 cases. Since I don't buy wine in the States very often I'm not too sure of the pricing but I'm sure that you can get some pretty decent wine in the $5-8 range. Columbia Crest is good reasonably priced wine. I would think that any good liquor store will have a wine specialist that go through your budget with you and help you choose a wine. Maybe you can even get them to do a tasting with you. Good luck and congratulations.

OK, I've thought long and hard on this one and I think I finally have my decision. I ate so many wonderful and new things this past year but the one thing that I can still taste/smell was (oh this is so obvious) my first taste of Hanger steak at HSG. It's just sooo good! This was also the first time I ate any kind of red meat rare, so it was kind of an epiphany for me too.

Yet another vote for Solly's. I've done a side by side with bagels brought from Montreal and Solly's held their own. The location off Main tends to be a bit better than the one on Broadway.

Sarah, the best place to buy your meet in the city is Windsor Meats on Main Street. The butcher's there have been doing it for a very very long time and they know what they are talking about. Top Sirloin is definitely not a cut you want to be using for a recipe like that. I think the best thing to do if you haven't cooked alot of steak, pick up a nice rib eye and sear it in a cast iron skillet then throw it under the broiler for a few minutes. It's the easiest to cook and the flavour and texture is much nicer.

I find that Thai Away Home isn't what it used to be. I used to always order the Pad Thai and the Yellow curry for lunches and dinner, but I would much rather go to Arroy D (the new restaurant on 15th and Cambie). The food is really quite good and the prices are very reasonable.

They definitely don't have canned pumpkin. A friend of mine lives in Melbourne and after spending 3 years in Vancouver and falling in love with pumpkin pie, I heard many a cry about not being able to make one. She had never even heard of it, let alone tried it, before she lived here.

Be very careful with Essential Oils. There are actually very few that you can buy commercially that are food grade. My mom and I have a moonlighting business where we make a line of skincare and alot of research went into the essential oils that we will use. Cinnamon will burn your skin and if I remember correctly, Clove can be toxic if used in large amounts. I know we don't like to use it straight on the skin. (I don't have my "bible" in front of me) Bergomot has far fewer warnings and the bottle that you received may be good for cooking, but if placed directly on the skin it can cause discolouration. Most of the citrus oils will discolour the skin when exposed to sunlight. I would suggest that you search for the company that makes the oils and ask them if they are food safe. If you want to start cooking with Essential Oils or learning much more about them, I would suggest picking up the Fragrant Pharmacy by Valerie Ann Worwood. I use this book for almost every issue and it has a section on cooking with oils.

KALYNA!! Thank you Zuke!! Many years of having know idea how to spell my favorite condiment....Ahhhhh...eGullet!

I do this all the time and have never had a problem with it. I find most restaurant portions, including appetizers, far too big for one person to eat. Fortunately many of my friends feel the same way.

Hmmm, wish I had known that. Beaver is prized for making medicinal soups by the elder Chinese. My Mom said it's because there is such strength in the tail that if you eat it, it will make you strong...increase stamina, etc. A friend of ours trapped one for her years ago. My neighbor butchered it for us. I couldn't look at it...She stewed the meat with herbs, gingsen, etc, but the tail was the prize. It looks like a huge piece of fat...but didn't taste fatty (So says my Scottish/English hubby). I didn't eat it; one of the few times I wouldn't eat something my Mom made. ←

You are correct But come on...sticking to our Ukranian roots here, would they really be called ravioli? I think not! My grandma still insists on calling pasta "Noodles".

The INSANE AMOUNT OF TIME AND WORK THAT GOES INTO MAKING THEM!!!!!! If you have not watched a roomful of Ukranian women cooking you have not lived. My 81 year old grandmother can dance circles around me in the kitchen. If you have ever had homemade perogies, you know that's enough for about 3 meals. 5 HOURS and 3 MEALS!! There are also many variations on the perogy. What you see here is just a small portion of what is available on the prairies. My Baba used to make blueberry, prune (my mom's favorite, I don't know why) sauerkraut, etc. etc...You can fill them with whatever you can think of. I was planning on making some with a duck confit and potatoe filling, maybe drizzled with a little truffle oil.

I know the Purple Crab on Main Street has some pretty good live music, however, I don't recommend the food. Or service for that matter. Also the Main has live bands on the weekend and I would certainly recommend their food.

Didn't Northern Pikes sing She Ain't Pretty? (This did start off as a thread abut the Juno's after all ) A. ← Norther Pike The Northern Pikes Hmmm...which one is prettier?

I just thought of another thing that I would never ever even think of eating. There is a bit of a beaver problem in Northern MB and many of the ranchers find that they water resevoirs are being damned and the cattle can't get to the water. To solve this problem Agri Canada has allowed a cull. All ranchers need to do is take the beaver tail to the local representative and they are given $ and they get to keep the tail. He asked my dad and I if we were interested in some Beaver Tail stew. At first we thought he was just kidding, but no, pulled out the recipe and said "I've got enough in the freezer if you're interested." Needless to say, my Dad and I turned down his offer. Oh and Northern Pike! It's the only reason I want to go visit my Uncle in Cranberry Portage.

A native food item that no one has mentioned, the high bush cranberry. For Ukrainan families in Norther MB, I found that this is a staple. For our family, it started with my Baba when she moved to Rorketon. She would make "Kalana" (SP - I have no idea how to spell, and when I asked my grandma, who is fluent in Ukranina, she had no idea either) which is a type of cranberry sauce that would be slathered on perogies, fried in butter and oil (it's not as easy as it sounds. It took me many many years to master it) and with sour cream on the side. The high bush cranberry has yet to be cultivated (that may have changed in very recent years) and hopefully will be around for a very long time. Pam, do you know of anyone producing or freezing the berries commercially? The women in my family that still know how to make and where to find them are getting quite old. As it is, my grandma has handed down perogie making to me. Oh, and the Thai restaurant was in Osbourne by the freakish intersection. I think it was the first Thai restaurant on that long strip and everyone was talking about it. The fiirst time I was there 3(?) years ago, it was just starting to blossom and the second year back, the number of restaurant and cafe's had tripled, especially the ethnic food. It was certainly starting to become a very lively scene. **Edited: do not type when really really tired