MomOfLittleFoodies

If I recall correctly, the smoke point of sunflower seed oil is similar to that of peanut. I only know this because I've had to look it up to find a substitute so someone could make deep fried turkeys without the peanut oil. I use canola and rice bran oil mostly.

I use an Australian Olive Oil that I get at Trader Joe's. It's not my every day oil, but it's the only olive oil I use. I bounce between Canola and Rice Bran oil for my everyday cooking.

For what it's worth, the Iced Coffees at McD's are pretty good.

You can buy unsweetened soymilk by the way. I keep it on hand in Tetra packs for when I make casseroles or mashed potatoes that my daughter will be eating.

I'm coming to this late, but FYI, if you're making anything savory that requires an alternative milk, for heavens sake, use unflavored or unsweetened stuff. There is nothing weirder than garlic mashed potatoes made with vanilla soy milk.

My only experience with eating at a restaurant (not fast food) outside of the US was a visit to what was supposedly the best Chinese restaurant in Mexicali... and it was very good food.

Ce'nedra- when my mom doesn't have mirin on hand, she uses the sugar + sake substitution Hiroyuki mentioned, or if she's out of sake too, she just uses sugar. Hiroyuki- I'll have to ask Mom if she remembers the ratios the next time I call her. Mom is notorious for "approximate measurements" rather than really measuring things.

I used to use the organic palm oil based shortening when my oldest child couldn't tolerate soy oil. I found that it's generally "drier" than crisco and has a definite flavor to it where plain ol' shortening does not. You can't really substitute 1:1 with it without having to add more water to what you're making.

This sauce sounds a lot like something my mom used to make. Mom would take ketchup, barbeque sauce, shoyu and sugar and cook hamburger patties in it. It was one of my favorite things when I was about the same age as my 2 oldest children are now (8-10ish).

I'm a bad foodie... I use old fashioned oats, or McCann's instant and make them in the microwave.

When my sibs and I were kids, we used to play with the konyakku that Mom would put in the sukiyaki.

I made oatmeal banana muffins last night that used 3/4 cup of honey. They're delicious.

I do... I like the XXX one (Acai, Blueberry Pomegranate), the multi-v and the power c. Ounce per ounce, it has fewer calories and way less sugar than most soft drinks.

You forgot the corollary to the index finger injury. They hurt a lot more than you think they would. I'm short an index finger too. I put a sewing machine needle through mine, and the tip of the needle broke off.

I'll second the suggestion of the boneless skinless thighs. I think I've seen them in bulk at Costco... not certain though, as I usually buy them in smaller amounts (for the pet turtle).

I'm kind of lazy when I make corned beef hash. I shred or dice the leftover corned beef, and add it to frozen potatoes o'brien that is about 3/4 way cooked.

For the record, Frito Pie is actually kind of tasty... they used to serve it in the dining hall at the college I went to in SoCal. No mustard involved though... the stuff they served us involved fritos, chili, shredded cheese, olives and sour cream.

Seeing as many of the mom and pop Japanese grocery stores in the Bay Area are run by Sansei, it's not surprising that they cater to Japanese-American tastes rather than Shin-Issei tastes. If you're not averse to coming to the East Bay, you might want to check the little Japanese market right next door to the Ichiban Kan in El Cerrito. The name of it escapes me at the moment. I prefer Niijiya myself, but that's more because their deli section is awesome. Unfortunately it's a bit of a drive for us just for groceries, so I only go to Niijiya once or twice a year when I'm visiting my parents in the LA area. I just wish they'd open a Marukai up here. for reference, my maternal grandmother is shin-issei (came to the US in 1952), maternal grandfather is Nisei. Grandma seems to prefer Niijiya, where my great-aunts tend to prefer Marukai.

I have an eggless/milkless chocolate chip cookie recipe that uses quite a bit of honey. It's very good... you can definitely taste the honey in it.

Jumping off of DoctorPaul's post, the study that they're doing with desensitization doesn't make the allergy go away, but increases the body tolerance levels to the point where small, accidental ingestions are not a big problem.

Last night I was desperate, and made a concoction of melted butterscotch chips, marshmallow fluff, and sunflower seed butter. Ended up being a kind of fudgy texture. It was pretty good. Tonight I've resorted to konpeito, but after the nerf herders go to bed, I'll probably bake cookies or brownies.

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but if you don't mind a little drive, check out the restaurants in the Claremont Village and Old Town La Verne.

The only celeb labelled item in my home is the AB salt cellar that the hubby insisted on, although I'm lusting after those tea cup shaped measuring cups that Nigella Lawson uses.

The cakes at the Chinese buffet that I take my 8 year old to. They had a chocolate cake that must of been frosted with chocolate flavored cough syrup.

Yeah, in our family, it was a fixture at my paternal grandmother's holiday dinners. Now that grandma is gone, Mom makes it, because it's a nostalgia thing for us kids, and she's grown to like it too. That said, I think my sister and brother-in-law were the only one who ate the version with velveeta.