lexy

Ooh, don't mind if I do!

I've tried candying both ginger and citrus with the first method you mention (cooking in sugar syrup for about an hour). The results were good, but not great, so if anyone has a different method, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

Oh dear, I'm never going to get through all my school reading with threads like this! I could only hold for so long - I just got back from the library, copy in hand, and this book looks like a real winner. I've only skimmed it so far, but I totally agree. It's homey, comforting reading.

Aha, thanks! As others have mentioned, this pasta-making is addictive! I made fettucini the other night, and used the leftover scraps of dough to made deformed little pasta shapes for minestrone soup. I have to say, I've never been a huge fan of pasta itself - I like it mainly as a vehicle for butter, salt, sauce etc, but homemade pasta is good even by itself Since little ms foodie mentioned herbs, I think for my next attempt, I'll try adding some parsley to the dough, since my parsley plants are getting out of hand. Oh, and for those having trouble using pasta machines: you might try simply rolling out the dough and cutting it by hand. I don't have a pasta machine, so that's what I do out of necessity. It probably takes longer, and the finished product isn't as elegant, but it's also pretty hard to go wrong. Edited to add: As for freezing, I've only made fresh pasta twice, and I've frozen the extras both times (since I'm only cooking for myself, I usually end up with more dough than I need) The first time, the dough that I froze was incredibly rubbery when defrosted, I could barely roll it out, and it was tough and leathery when cooked. On the other hand, the second time I froze dough, it didn't behave any differently than fresh dough once it had thawed. Not very conclusive, but at least it shows that you can freeze leftover dough successfully.

Is that a coffee mug stuck into the gelato on the upper left?

Does anyone know how to make flavoured/coloured pastas (i.e. the red tomato and green spinach ones you can buy dried in stores)? I'm guessing you just add some spinach water or tomato juice to the dough, and adjust the flour accordingly …

What purpose does an acid like vinegar serve in the pie crust? My recipe (an old 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening one the my mother got out of Cook's Illustrated years and years ago) doesn't use it, and since I'm always fiddling around with the recipe, I'd be interested in experimenting with a little bit of acid.

I really wish the Italian Pastry Shop hadn't closed. Any other Kingstonians remember this place? Good coffee, homemade gelato and pastries, and when I was little, the owner would occasionally bring me free desserts

Wait, are beach plums a kind of rose? I've just returned from a trip to Nova Scotia, and I saw plants that looked like that growing all over the south shore. I assumed they were roses, and that the 'plums' were the rose hips. edited for clarity

Oooh yes, the Liberty yogurt is so good. Forget the flavoured ones, even just their regular yogurt is fantastic. My family is like a Liberty yogurt cult - we spend a few weeks by the seaside in Nova Scotia every summer, and I swear we spend half the time driving around the nearby little towns trying to hunt some down!

Tempeh can be nice on the barbeque. Make sure it's oiled, and I find it needs some seasoning, either before (as a marinade), or afterwards (as a sauce or condiment). I hav'nt tried this myself, but you could barbeque halloumi cheese (I've run across a number of references to grilling it). Ears of corn go on the barbeque nicely, although I don't think they taste any better (or worse) than ones that have been boiled, so it might not be worth the bother. I would recommend vegetarian kabobs - you can let people choose what they want to have on their kabob, and then offer a selection of dips. A good option if you're not certain what 'level' of vegetarianism your guests adhere to (or if you have a mix of different kinds of vegetarians). edited to add: I just read Milagai's post, and I second mushrooms. Stuffed and grilled portabellos can be really excellent.

I'm usually a fan of fatty foods, but when the ketchup has difficulty adhering to your fries because they're so greasy, I draw the line. (Actually, the real moral of this story is not to order food in run-down student bars).

I don't know about the chicken per se, but I was in a Indian restaurant once, and our table had ordered a selection of curries, a few of which were dyed (the chickpea curry was rather an alarming red). We were wondering the same thing, so we asked our waiter. His explanation was that many of the curries look pretty similar when sitting in pots in the kitchen, and the chef dyed some of them so that when an order came in, he could be sure (without having to do a careful scrutiny) that he was serving, say, chickpeas, and not pork.

Popcorn with lots of salt and a little parmesan, or dry cereal usually. Right now I've got a fridge full of raspberries (went berry picking on the weekend), so it's a big bowl of beautiful juicy berries for me (not so good for my white iBook though )

Thanks! Something to keep an eye out for …

What are tayberries? They look like raspberries to me, but having gone through a couple of cookbooks, food reference books, and the Cook's Thesaurus online, I still can't find anything on them.

I've never seen fresh edamame for sale in Toronto, but someone must sell it, because I've had it in Japanese restaurants in Toronto. If you find yourself in a restaurant serving fresh edamame, it might be worth your while to ask them where they get it from.

Ooh, those sound good. I wish there was a mooncake festival around here

What are these? They look like jelly rolls to me, but I'm pretty sure that's not what they are …

Hey, you're just across the lake from me - hi neighbour! What's your farmer's market like? Ours is nice, but with somewhat limited selection, and a lot of the stuff isn't actually very local (California berries, etc).

Not entirely on-topic, but does anyone have a good recipe for making cornichons? I've got a cucumber plant in the back yard, and I'd like to make my own. I've found lots of pickle recipes, but nothing specifically for cornichons.

It seems that fate has spoken, and I'll have to pay Lebanon a visit - french is my only other language

I have it on not-the-best authority (Thomas Harris/Hannibal, episodes of ER) that there are no nerve endings in the brain. The brain itself requires no desensitizing drugs during brain surgery. So once the monkey gets over the trauma of its skull being removed, it shouldn't really feel anything. ← Funny coincidence, but I was just leafing through this month's Scientific American, and there was a piece answering the question "why do we get headaches?". The article explained that the brain itself is not equipped to feel pain, and that headaches are actually pain felt in the tissue surrounding the skull. So anyway, you're probably right that monkeys would not feel pain upon having their brains eaten. They probably wouldn't enjoy having their skulls sawn open, though.

Great writeup, I'm dying to visit Lebanon myself now! (Do you think it would be difficult for a non-Arabic speaker to get around?) I'm wondering what goes into an 'authentic' Lebanese felafel sandwich - the closest I've had to the real deal are from middle eastern places here in Canada.

wow that looks good I may just have to try my hand at one myself …