Mooshmouse

Another great evening was had by all at last night's class. I swear, if our group of troublemakers gets any louder, Chef Tony will either have us out on our ear or doing penance in the dishpit. All my fellow eGulleter classmates are now in proud possession of the pictures that they took last night. Stay tuned for their meals; I see that Deborah's is already up. In the meantime, here's mine. Moroccan Beet and Fennel Salad Served with roasted beet slices, apple slices, orange slices, feta cheese, toasted walnuts, aruuuuuugula and shaved fennel. Vinaigrette dressing included orange juice, minced ginger, crushed cumin seeds and red wine vinegar. Masala Lamb Stew with Orange Gremolata served atop Roasted Yam Mash This was a damn fine dish. Gotta love any stew that has bacon in it. The roasted yam mash also had Middle Eastern flavours as it incorporated roasted garlic, cumin and EVOO. Of course, the rabblerousers' table was clamouring for butter in place of EVOO... and then there was Wes who demanded duck fat.

Suffice it to say, then, that your order was piping hot...

Yeah, I sure do. At lunchtime today, I managed to stave off the Mickey D's cravings; unfortunately, I caved in and had crappy steam-table Chinese food instead. The deep-fried breaded chicken in nuclear lemon sauce fulfilled my grease quota and yours combined.

This thread on Vancouver Late Night Eats might be of help.

All orders to go are wrapped in newspaper. Authentic away!

Guu has okonomyaki on its menu. ← Can't accurately attest to it's authenticity, but the okonomiyaki at Kitanoya Guu in Gastown is pretty damn tasty. The last time I was there for dinner with *Deborah* and snacky_cat, we demolished it in about 45 seconds flat.

Aw, you should've said, "Hi!" I don't bite, especially when Noah's with me.

Ha ha, you missed Mr. Cat and I by one morning - we went Saturday. I think I've eaten there almost every weekend for the last two months. I very nearly had the garlic and shiitake omelette this time, knowing it was your usual, but the bacon-y apple-y goodness was too much to overcome. Did they still have the blue/blackberry jam on Sunday? That was the best jam yet, and Mr. Cat and I ordered another round of toast so we could polish it all off. ← Damn, that was some mighty fine jam! I thought I was going to give myself a case of sugar shock because I spread such a thick layer of it on my toast. If we're counting dinners at other people's homes, last night's was Beer Can Chicken at my brother-in-law's house. First time I've ever had it and it certainly won't be my last. Served up with homemade Caesar salad (I heart real bacon bits), green beans, baked Gem squash (one of my new favourite things), and roasted sweet potatoes. Damn fine. And some friends cooked dinner for Noah and me on Friday evening. Figured we'd use the clear nights while we still have them, so we set up a table grill on their back deck and had Beef Bulgoki with baby bok choy under the stars. It's a good thing the three kids ate first, because we could hardly grill the meat quickly enough to keep up with their appetites.

Life has been clicking along at a frantic pace here at the Mouse house as we prepare for our imminent move. We've been subsisting on takeout/dining out, reheated leftovers (every last one in the house) and the kindness of friends who've taken pity upon us and cooked us a meal. The three of us took Ian's Dad out for brunch this morning at Seb's. Scanned the room for you, snacky_cat, but no such luck. Had my usual Roasted Garlic and Shiitake Mushroom omelette accompanied by a cappuccino and watched my son polish off two scrambled eggs of his own before tucking into a few bites of his Grandpa's Bacon and Caramelized Apple omelette. We've been to Pondok Indonesia Restaurant on The Drive twice over the last week: once two Fridays ago with a group of friends and then again last night with Ian's Dad. Rather than itemize the plethora of dishes that we've partaken of during these two visits, I'll choose a few of my favourite menu items. As an appetizer, I'm especially fond of the Tahu Sayur Isi which is deep-fried tofu stuffed with vegetables and served with peanut sauce. For main courses, I'm partial to the Ayam Panggang (sweet soy-marinated chicken), Ikan Rica-Rica (fried fish in a bed of tomatoes, garlic, shallots and chilies), Sambal Goreng Udang (spicy prawns with Indonesian herbs and coconut milk), Buncis (green beans, prawns and tofu sauteed with dried shrimp, chilies, garlic and shallots) and Kangkung Terasi (sauteed water spinach). For dessert, nothing hits the spot after an Indonesian feast like Pisang Gulung Manis (similar to Filipino turon, fried banana spring rolls with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream). Then there was Wednesday's Hungarian-food extravaganza with the usual suspects at Budapest Restaurant and Pastry Shop on Main Street. Daddy_A, peppyre and I each started our meal with a bowl of Goulash, while canucklehead opted for the Chicken Liver Soup special. The four of us also tucked into the most heavenly fry bread that I've had in a while. We split the garlic clove in half and rubbed it over the bread, then tore chunks of bread off and dipped it into the sour cream. Heaven. And for the main event? *Play opening bars of theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey* Lo and behold, I give you Mt. Schnitzel. Holy crap. An obscene amount of food. It was a veritable cholesterol festival. Three kinds of schnitzel: chicken, pork and veal. Kolbasz sausages. A behemoth of a cabbage roll. Sauerkraut. Roasted potatoes. Spaetzle. Dill pickles. Purple pickled cabbage. All this was supposed to feed three people and was accompanied by a basket of bread which we didn't even touch. We were left with enough leftovers for peppyre's lunch the next day. Urgh. Filling, but wonderfully so. Edited to rectify a pesky spelling error.

The Vancouver Courier Wednesday, September 21 edition Latin Lolita’s seduces West End – “Lolita's is a no-holds barred "Binimitation" that blends thoroughly made Mexican, other Latin and Caribbean influenced small plates with a dash of West Coast, beside a lively drinks list.” (Tim Pawsey) ”Sausi’s closes at month end with a special Oktoberfest wrap,” to be replaced by Banana Leaf’s third location. The Georgia Straight Thursday, September 22 edition 2005 Golden Plate Awards: Readers’ Choice Best of Vancouver Dining: Simi Sara Best of Vancouver Dining: Sid Cross Best of Vancouver Dining: Alain Rayé Best of Food and Drink: Readers’ Choices Uncorked: The best wine cellars do things by halves – Jurgen Gothe deems Sebastien LeGoff’s half-bottle selection at CinCin the best in Vancouver Straight Goods: Are you experienced? – HSG’s first wine-and-appetizer tasting of the season is a perfect precursor to the Australian Wine Experience 2005 Straight Goods: Swap ‘n’ Shop – Check the dates for a reprise of the cookbook swap at three local farmers markets (Judith Lane) Straight Goods: Pie for everyone – A Lovin’ Spoonful partners with Urban Fare for its fourth annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser (Judith Lane) Straight Goods: Buffalo Stampede – Hanson Bison Ranch is selling their wares at Granville Island Public Market this weekend (Judith Lane) The Westender Thursday, September 1 edition (Lifestyles section) Get stuffed in hip Yaletown – Neil Wyles and Jack Lamont spearhead the first annual Taste of Yaletown offering “11 days of dining deals”. (Andrew Morrison) Food that was once furry is not my friend – profile of Prophecy Sun of Wink Café. Terminal City Thursday, September 22 edition Don’t Pity This Foo: Kickin’ it old-school in the heart of Chinatown – Ian King’s search for a “canonical Chinatown eatery” leads him to Foo’s Ho Ho.

My favourites? Mussels Diablo. Pear and Stilton Salad. Black and Blue Tuna. Any risotto that comes out of Neil's kitchen. Hanger Steak. And Warm Gingerbread Pudding. Enjoy your dinner!

Dunno why you've never found menudo at turo-turo style restaurants in the U.S.; it's available daily at Josephine's, the restaurant at which I documented lunch in my Foodblog. Found two recipes for menudo on PinoyCook.net: this first one using pork belly is more traditional, and this second one substitutes ground pork for pork belly. Like your Mom, mine also used ground beef or pork more often than cooking the traditional version. And raisins too. Can't forget the raisins.

Ooooooh, Chilliwack airport pie. My uncle used to run the Hope airport weather station; though he's been retired for a few years now, he still raves about his regular stops in Chilliwack en route to or from this side of the Fraser. I've been dying to try this pie for years and will happily take you up on your offer!

Oooh, thanks for the heads-up on Minoas. Mr Cat and I tore out the Entertainment Book coupon for this place months ago and keep meaning to go, but our dinner peregrinations rarely take us out Burnaby way. I will upgrade this place to must-try-soon status thanks to your review ← Once upon a time, about a million years ago or so it seems, I lived in Burnaby. Briefly. My Mom and I always thought of Minoas as our go-to Greek restaurant, the place where I had my first taste of roast lamb. It's been a donkey's age since I've eaten there but, from what I remember, it was always reliably good.

Hormones a'blazin', I rummaged through the cupboard this evening and pulled out some graham crackers, peanut butter and honey. Sounds normal enough. Nuh-uh, considering that I needed some salty to balance out the sweet... back into the kitchen I went and emerged with a tin of smoked oysters, vegetable thins crackers and cornichons. I felt remotely guilty while snorfing through this dining catastrophe... that is, until I thought of this thread. Suddenly, I felt vindicated.

As with any foray into the unknown, I was a bit nervous before the start of Monday evening's first installment of the Serious Foodie course, wondering how my kitchen skills would stack up against those of my classmates. However, this small case of nerves was quickly put to rest as we all settled in and got to know each other a little bit better. By the time we sat down to partake of our Gypsy Soup with a glass of white wine (Talus '04 Pinot Grigio), there were lots of "Cheers" among the folks at our table. Chef Tony quickly commented that ours was a very "clinky" group since, in the past, this level of camaraderie usually didn't develop until at least the second or third class. To prepare our dishes, our class of 22 was split into working groups of 2 and 3 people each; we'll be rotating cooking partners over the duration of the course. Fortunately, everyone in our group was reasonably handy with a knife as there were a lot of vegetables to prep. First up: Gypsy Soup. There are chunks of fresh avocado beneath the mirepoix with shredded chicken mixed in; the topping is crushed blue corn tortilla chips and grated mozzarella. Accent flavours include cumin, coriander seed, cilantro and parsley. A little lime juice, perhaps a little jalapeno for heat, and it would have been perfect. Moving right along, Chef Tony deemed us competent enough to give us the run of the spice cupboard for flavouring our own poached salmon. Fennel, red potato and saffron were our only two required ingredients, and we were free to choose any or all of the vegetables we had prepped earlier for our mirepoix. After a quick huddle to strategize, our group opted to keep it simple and focus on a somewhat Middle Eastern flavour, using crushed cardamom pods to complement the saffron and a squirt of lemon juice at the end rather than lemon zest to avoid overpowering the dish. There may have been a pinch or two of either coriander or cumin thrown in there for good measure, but I can't recall exactly as we didn't write anything down. We also used a sprinkling of wild rice (emphasis on sprinkling) for textural contrast. Garnish for our group was a few pieces of finely minced lemon zest, a tiny pinch of crushed cardamom in lieu of pepper and a sprig of parsley. I'll let *Deborah* and Daddy_A weigh in on their groups' chosen salmon prep. In the meantime, here are photos that they snapped of their respective dishes. All in all, a fun first class made that much more entertaining by Chef Tony's relaxed, humourous teaching style. Can't wait until next week! Edited because, apparently, I had a momentary spell of illiteracy with my wine notes.

Rhea, I have relatives in PoCo and we also head over to PoCo Ocean every now and again as my relatives are semi-regulars, so to speak. Good quality food; we've never been disappointed. And, yes, certainly better than Hon's.

Make sure you introduce yourself next time! ← Arne, I think I just really needed a chocolate fix. And Wes was the one seated at the end of our table with a query as to the salmon's provenance.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Either croquettes, or a riff on arancini with a cube of smoked gouda cheese in the centre. Deep-fried goodness!

I defy you to say, "Luk Fuk is ridiculously cheap!" three times quickly in a group of unsuspecting people and not have every one of them think you're a lunatic. Szechuan Chongqing is in the neighbourhood but, oddly enough, I've never even remotely considered it for dim sum. Shall have to rectify that soon.

Dessert wasn't one of the menu items we prepared at last night's first Serious Foodie cooking class, so Daddy_A and I trekked back over to Stella's on The Drive for something sweet. Quaffed a couple of cleansing pints (Hoegaarden for Arne, Strongbow for me) and shared a slice of their warm chocolate cake. Damn, did that hit the spot. A generously sized portion. Remarkably moist, almost pudding-like in consistency. Deep chocolate flavour nicely accented by the sour-cherry Bellevue Kriek sauce and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Nary a crumb left on the plate... surprise, surprise. A perfect autumn dessert. I'll definitely be back for more.

Vancouver Magazine September 2005 edition Diner: Few Many Fish in the Sea Only Connect – Watermark offers C-minus food, while Nu promises the city a real ocean meet (Jamie Maw) Bar Star – Meet George, a Yaletown lounge for grown-ups (Andrew Morrison's inaugural article... congratulations!) The Vancouver Courier Monday, September 19 edition Sorbet the Island Way – Manuel Otero's fruit-packaged sorbettos are a refreshing low-fat treat (Tim Pawsey) Wines of Chile Fall Festival – On September 22, this fundraiser featuring "30 plus [Chilean] wineries and principals pouring over 150 wines" at the new Rocky Mountaineer Station benefits The Roundhouse Youth Programmes

Whoohoo! Great to see you blogging again Susan... we're in for a real treat... and some great photos, I'm sure. Happy Birthday to Russ, Happy Moving Anniversary and Happy Foodblogging!

To that end, here's Tim Pawsey's review of Toshi's in the Vancouver Courier.

Don't know which Pine House you've been going to, but I still say that the one down the street from our house does a damn fine job. Besides, I figure that taste is directly proportionate to the dollar value of the food item and the distance travelled to obtain such food item. Factoring those two variables into the cocktail bun equation equals a fine tasting cocktail bun from our neighbourhood Pine House!