Pam R

Camping AND baked brie? Very nice

Any special meals planned? Anything other than the typical bbq'd burgers and hot dogs?

What is Red River cereal (asks one who lives along the Red River)? Smoked Goldeye Smarties Shmoo!

Everything looks wonderful. As we say in these parts a hardy yasher koach! You have every right to kvell. Mazel Tov again.

I think the issue is more about what finding the sick cows has meant to the economy. When the first cow was found and linked to a Canadian farm, the US closed the border to all Canadian cattle. This devastated many Canadian farmers. It had an impact on the towns the farmers lived in, meat processers, cattle buyers, etc. If the US has found another sick cow that is traced to a State rather than a Province, it begs the question why not open the border?

Yay!! I'm catering bar mitzvahs today and next weekend... and we're moving - but I'll be there within the next month myself. Thanks.

I would contact Mariner Neptune at 1.800.668.8862 - they are my supplier, the people I would normally get it from. Or, the Gimli Fish Market at 204-589-3474. I'd say these were your best bets. How much fish do you need/want? I'm not sure how one would go about sending smoked fish to the US, but I'm sure they've had to deal with this before. Winnipegers who move to other locations are known for trying to get their hometown food favorites shipped to them.

Canadians... and I used to sell Israeli ones..

The iced tea makers work buy brewing the tea through a drip (just like a coffee maker) into a pitcher filled with ice. So the tea does't sit in the water for a long period of time. I liked the tea the machine made, but without an ice maker and just a small freezer, this method wasn't practical for me. I make a pitcher every other day - it's a lot of ice. As I said before, I'm now on an herbal tea kick, so the bitterness isn't an issue.

I've spent the last two days baking cookies and brownies and cakes in a synagogue for a bar mitzvah (the rest of the week will be doing the savoury stuff). Reminded me that we haven't heard how things went. And pictures! Please

I have an iced tea machine... and haven't used it for about 2 years! I don't know why... but I just stopped using it and then it got misplaced in a move. Now I take a pitcher - about 2.5 liters. Boil water in a kettle. Tie about 4 teabags around a wooden spoon and hang over the pitcher - pour in the water and leave for 5-10 minutes. I now do this using herbal teas though (right now the favorite is Passion Tazo tea from starbucks). I think the bitterness comes from the tea leaves themselves ... herbals don't have actual tea in them - so my tea has no bitterness. Then add some splenda to taste and refrigerate. Serve with lots of ice. Using regular tea, I like to add some lemon juice as well. The other morning I was at a coffee place and they had no iced tea - and that's what I wanted. To I just asked for a cup of tea (cherry vanilla) and a big glass full of ice. Made it right there and it was great! (It wasn't bitter either... and this one had tea leaves so maybe somebody who actually knows about the bitterness could explain )

Desserts Plus is the name. We've been on North Main for about 15 years (and salter for about 5 years before that). It looks like our lease is likely to be signed tonight (or tomorrow) and some of our equipemt will be moved over on Monday.... soooooooooo.... the new address will be 1795 Corydon Ave. We're catering over the next few weeks - and the kitchen at the new location basically has to be gutted and we have to start from scratch - so we're hoping to have the kitchen up and running by September. Plans are to have showcases full of prepped foods for pick-up and take-out and of course baking. There will maybe be some tables where people could sit down, but there will definately not be table service and we are not really thinking of it as a restaurant at all. We'll see how the floor plan works out when we figure out how big the walk-in freezers will be. NOW, my question is - has anybody eaten at 529 Wellington? I've heard mixed reports on this one, but am thinking it's time to try it.

I have no idea what the name is - but I'll try to remember to ask my sister. It's on Scurfield (my new neighbourhood that I am just beginning to get to know). The food was good - it's not the best I've had, but good. I grew up eating chinese food in the city, but in the last few years my family hasn't really been happy with the places we used to go to.... I'm not sure where to go for great chinese anymore. I still think Victoria Seafood has good food... For the last few years the chinese restaurant in Gimli was amazing - but I think it's changed owners... haven't been since last year. The place in Winnipeg beach was good as well. There is another place on Regent (right next to the Louise Bridge) that used to be good... many people I know like Dalat and go often... and others go to the vegetarian place on Pembina. Always looking for a good place though... know of any?

No... but we did have what this restaurant called Peking soup... very good.

I love em. I'll jump on the anti-popcorn flavour ones though. I'm also in love with the Jelly-Belly candy coated chocolate things now... (don't know what they're called). The Jelly Belly flavours and chocolate? What more do you need?

I always assumed they were named after the city of Saskatoon They are tasty though - especially good when made into Saskatoon Perogies... yum. Chrome - I'm really enjoying your blog. I'm facinated by everything that you do - when I get home from work I often just want to rest. I'm in awe. Thanks for sharing with us

We, of course, took my father for chinese food last night. But I think that's Jewish tradition.... Chinese food on all non-Jewish holidays ... Christmas... New Years... Father's day....

LoveToEatATL - Thanks for the response. I actually came upon this thread when I did a search for agar agar. Then I read the whole thing and I guess I was just hoping that somebody else had tried using it and found that it worked well Although in the end, my shipment from Eden was missing the agar agar - so it'll have to wait for the next order - unless somebody can tell me where to get a hold of Emes gelatin.

I agree. I've never used stabilizer in my whipping cream and it lasts at least 2 days in the showcase (it's also good frozen and later thawed). I use 33-35% whipping cream - that's all I can get (partially due to kashrut). It's got enough fat in it to whip up stiff and not weep. It doesn't squish when you cut it - though I always use a knife dipped in warm water and dried off then I cut cakes/tortes. I've often catered events and had to decorate tortes on Friday mornings that weren't served until Saturday or even Sunday nights. The only times I've had whipped cream issues is when it's been extremly hot and muggy - which is probably a factor to consider. I've found that whipping the cream with cocoa does make it set up more - almost as if the cocoa makes the cream seize up

I can't wait to see the pictures! Mazel Tov on your Simcha! I hope you have a wonderful and frailach weekend with your friends and family - enjoy!

Bumping this in an attempt to remind Zilla to share her story

I know it's not my blog, but well... I know this one! The West Edmonton Mall is the largest shopping center in North America - larger even than the Mall of America. Huge in fact. Canadians like to shop, eh.

My blueberry soup. Garnished with sour cream it reminds me of a cold borscht.... made with blueberries! Strawberry soup - either go the dairy route and add some cream or yogurt - or the other way and add some black pepper and sambuca. Grape soup - or puree melons/mangoes/oranges/any fruit you like. Add some fresh herbs (even garlic). I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure watermelon would be good in a soup... maybe doing something classic with it like mint and feta? hmmm... I'll have to try that myself. Chilled green pea and mint. Soup's good stuff.

Yay! Edmonton! I love your city - only been there once, but really enjoyed it. (I hope your river isn't on the verge of flooding as ours are). I took a quick glance at your two job sites and they look like lovely spots - can't wait to see what you do there. I'm not sure if this is food related but you mentioned the highest utilities in the country - wouldn't the oil keep these things down? What kind of berries grow in your area? Are they out yet? I'm really looking forward to your blog!

While I like the canned ones, I'd say you hit it on the head here. The fresh ones are superior if you can get them (and they're good). If I'm eating ones from a can, I like them in a bowl with some crushed ice - that's it.