Pam R

Oh, I liked the tomato and chipotle more, but it wasn't bad. I even wrote an email to my supplier saying 'is it as terrible as it sounds?'. I thought it might be sweet, but it only added a hint of sweetness -- I bet the caramelized onion was sweeter.

I just tried some samples of Sabra's new flavours. They include caramelized onion (didn't try this one), sun-dried tomato, peppadew (a sweet and spicy pepper mix), chipotle (really smoky first bite turned into a spicy second bite), and . . wait for it . . . fig & cranberry. Though classic is still my first choice, I really liked all of these -- even the fig and cranberry, which I didn't think I'd like at all. They've also come out with 'sauteed Mediterranean vegetables' and a mild and hot salsa (refrigerated) that I haven't tried yet. Anybody try them yet?

Yeah, I agree. If you're in Winnipeg on your way to Regina, Alycia's is famous for theirs (though we make our own). And try some smoked goldeye and some good rye bread. Do you have an idea of which provinces/cities you'll visit while you're here?

Updates: The jarred version, according to one customer, can be used 'as you would use mustard' -- further questioning and what he meant was 'on anything'. He likes to use it on falafel, sandwiches, etc. The powdered version -- he likes to use it for chicken. Liberally sprinkle on chicken, let it sit for a while and grill. Also can be used for 'kabob' or sausages if you're making your own.

Not quite the same, but I had an amazing dish prepared by a couple of Israeli chefs last year. Warm hummus topped with braised beef cheeks and a rich sauce that had hits of ras el hanout . Not recommended for a light summer meal, but as a winter dish it was fabulous.

Will the heat gun melt the chocolate if it's not protected by a box? They use this to do things like pizzas, where the plastic is in direct contact with the food, but of course, a pizza isn't as heat sensitive as chocolate. .

The plastic has to be perforated to work with the heat gun and they have food-grade plastic. The nice salesperson at PAL Distributors explained this to me, but all I remember is that it needs the holes or it burns. I don't know if you need the food-safe plastic if you're going to be covering a box (vs. using the plastic right on the food).

I'm looking at shrink wrappers right now -- not for chocolates, but for other food items and when I was at the store the other day, the salesperson told me that they have customers who use the heat guns to shrink the wrapping over chocolate boxes and the chocolates are fine.

What about a simple pickle? Not sweet, just salt, herbs/spices and water. I've never had the sweet pickled rind, but if it works texture-wise, then it might be just fine.

I don't know. I'm in Canada and I've had Krembos but not Whippets and I'm not sure about Viva Puffs. Are Viva Puffs the ones that have some jelly in between the marshmallows and cookies?

It's Krembo. A soft marshmallow sitting on a biscuit, covered in chocolate. There are also knock-offs like Mambo. I believe they stop making them during the summer because it gets too hot to make/ship them. eta: I don't think people actually bake these, but I could be wrong.

The Clay Oven on Inkster used to be a Coffee Time. I've never been, but will try it when it opens in Lindenwoods. I don't have Indian often, but I've enjoyed Ivory the few times I've been there.

I agree. There are a lot of condos and apartments in the area though -- if I lived on River, Wellington, Evergreen, etc. it could be a really nice addition to the area. And this could be something that helps turn that little part of the area around.

Interesting . . I'm close to Assiniboine Park myself. Is it me or are we getting Sushi restaurants on every corner? On another note, the Falafel Place is moving from it's location on Corydon to a spot closer to Little Italy (at Wilton, I believe) and I've heard a couple of rumours about what will be going into it's old location (all the rumours have been for chains). Same goes for the Grapes spot on Kenaston. There are 'for lease' signs in the window but rumours are flying about what might go in there.

I thought it would be good to have a topic to keep track of what's going on in the city. As we know from the Glutton's topic, they're up and running with a new chef running the kitchen (Mark Wrigley). Gordon Sinclair's restaurant roundup (click) in April also mentioned that the Yuels, who run Tavern in the Park won't be renewing their lease. Wasabi will be opening up Wasabisabi on Taylor (in the Piazza De Nardi strip mall) this fall. Good news for those of us in River Heights and Lindenwoods. Joey's just opened on Kenaston and a couple of weeks ago I saw a sign in a new strip mall just behind Joey's -- a Clay Oven is going in, close to the new Marble Slab ice cream store. Johnnie Foxe's, an Irish pub recently opened on Academy and a new Italian place is going in. This weekend's business section had a story about the old Sheraton/York hotel downtown. It's being turned into an apartment building and Dale and Barb Yuel of the Tavern will be opening two new restaurants there. One will be a cafe, the other a restaurant/lounge. Anything else happening?

There's a new weekly market opening, according to the Free Press. Starting June 26th, you'll be able to visit the 'Village Market' at the corner of River and Osborne (Gas Station Theatre) on Thursdays. According to the article in today's paper, all of the vendors will be selling food (and other items) grown or made within a 100-mile radius of the city. The rest of the article is here. I think it's an interesting idea and seems like a good location for it. I'm not sure what the hours will be, but I don't see myself making a point of getting there. It's nice if you're in the area, and there are plenty of people in that area. Think you'll check it out?

A really simple, light soup that I like to make during the summer is Blueberry Soup. As soon as the blueberries are nice, or I can get my hands on some wild ones, I'd like to make a batch, subbing mint or oregano for the rosemary and yogurt for the sour cream. Watermelon seems like a perfect choice for a cold soup. I'd love the ingredients for the gazpacho too, please.

Does the packaging list anything other than sweet potatoes in the ingredient list?

In another topic, chefpeon posted this: On that note, I always add my salt and leavening during the creaming stage of any recipe, including cookies and cakes. I started doing this when I was using a 60 qt. mixer and realized that there was no way the leavening would be distributed thoroughly if I added it at the end with the flour, as is typical with most recipe instructions. I started doing this at home on my KitchenAid also. It's quite handy as it saves you the step of sifting the leavening and salt with the flour before adding it to the recipe. If spices are involved, I include the spices in on the creaming stage too. After doing it this way for so long, it makes me wonder why recipes want you to add in the leavening, salt and spices at the end. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me now. ← I always do the same thing. It always seemed to me that things were better distributed when they were mixed in at the creaming stage than into the flour. It's always worked and I've never had something flop because I didn't follow the steps as they were written in the recipe. Anybody else doing this? Or are you doing something else that goes against the 'norm'?

There was a story about Gluttons in the Free Press in March (click). Here's a link to the Glutton's timeline. In April, Gordon Sinclair wrote in a restaurant roundup (click): And finally, Marion Warhaft reviewed the restaurant this weekend. The chef is Mark Wrigley and the restaurant received 4 1/2 stars. So I'd say keep it on your list and report back. Thanks

Does this make 'firm' marshmallows or does it stay more like fluff? I've been looking for a good non-gelatin recipe. . .

You can check out national book distributors. For example, National Book Network has a section on their website for book sellers. Firefly books is another. There are others out there. The distributors and publishers will generally have catalogues they can send you. You might have the choice of paying a certain % of the list price and being able to return unsold books, or paying a different, lower % of the list price with no option of returns.

Isn't the colour of the yolks due in part to what they feed the chickens? Corn fed chickens = darker yellow/orange yolks.

Did you check the picture of the pot in the link I posted?

I don't have the book -- can you explain what you're looking for a little more? A stock pot with shorter sides? I have some of these braizers -- is that close?