CaliPoutine

I know you're a long way from Kensington, but you can find star anise there. It actually looks like a small dried star. You can use 1/2 tsp crushed anise seed for 1 star anise.

Marlene have you ever had fried plantains? I grew up in Florida and I ate them all the time, they are really amazing. They arent sweet at all!!

are those the williams sonoma maple leaf pancake molds? I just picked those up at a thrift store. Brand new, never used in the box for 1 freaking Loonie(dollar)!!! Whooo Hooooo!!

I have the garlic twist( not the garlic genius). I got it at WS and I used it once. I hate it, I have arthritis and I thought it would be helpful, but it takes a lot of pressure to actually chop up the garlic.

Everything is more expensive in Canada which is why I rent a PO box in MI and have items shipped there. Most of the boxes rented at that location are from Canadians ( or Americans living in Canada, which is the situation in my case). Microplanes were actually invented by a Canadian couple when the wife used her husbands wood rasp in the kitchen. They just took the rasp, added a handle and called it a microplane. Check Canadian Tire for a wood rasp. Or PM me, I have an extra brand new microplane that I could sell you if you're interested.

I use Ina garten's spinach gratinand its really delicious. I dont see why you couldn't sub broccoli for the spinach.

Bump. I read about this on a fellow foodbloggers site. These came out incredible( just make sure you dont use a glass baking dish). The brownies were so creamy inside. Everyone loved them. I'd reduce the sugar next time, they were a tad sweet. Anyone else try them?

"Edit for gringos: Laura Secord is a Canadian chain similar to Fanny Mae or Cee's." NO offense, but See's is heads and tails above Laura Secord!!

Both. Roasted. They roast in about the same time and are yummy. Did this last week. Toss them with some good olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 450. Toss after about 3 mins and roast for about 4 more mins. ← I was going to say both too. The more green veggies, the better.

Congrats to you all!! My spouse Robin quit( cold turkey) on April 4th of last year. She is still smoke free. One trick she used was to install a quit meter on your computer. It show's how much money she's saved during that time. The amount is staggering ( especially with the price of Canadian cigarettes as I'm sure Marlene knows) She gave her self full license to eat in the first 30 days without worrying about the weight gain. She did workout during this time too. She put on some weight, but took it off within the next few months. The most important part is that she's still smoke free. Good luck to you all.

I got tomato paste in a tube at SLM. I believe it was downstairs( I could be wrong). Randi

I have that deep fryer too. I bought it after many ppl on egullet recommended it. I had a deep seeded fear of frying and this fryer has helped me conquer it. I got mine for 104 at amazon. 129 on sale, minus the 25 dollar houseware credit. I believe that promotion is still going on.

?I truly miss the chain that used to be in that space…Too Jay's. It was a table service deli style restaurant based in Boca I believe. Matzoh ball soup, chopped liver, reubens, stuff you can never have too much of and is in short supply in this town. It was usually always busy, and I thought it was here to stay. Unfortunately, from what I understand the owner was also the owner of most of the local Hooter's and had to dump the Too Jay's lease because of legal difficulties. I do miss that " I ate at Too Jay's a couple of years ago when I was back home in Ft. Lauderdale visiting. The Too Jay's I ate at was in Plantation. I actually thought it was vile. There are so many better independent jewish deli's in that area. Now for other chain's. I live in Ontario, Canada, but I make frequent trips to Port Huron, MI( border town). That small town is litered with chains. Applebee's, OG, Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday's and the newest addition Chili's. When I lived in Cali, the only chain I would eat at was Cheesecake Factory because I enjoyed it. Other than that, and maybe CPK, I wouldnt chose a chain, but when I'm in MI, I basically have no choice. I suppose I could cook something after driving home 62 miles, but frankly I'd just rather go into Chili's, have a salad and be done with it.

I just got the new MSL and there is a devil's food cake that looks good. Anyone try that? Here is the recipe. 3 sticks butter 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa 1/2 cup boiling water 3 cups cake flour 1 tsp soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 1/4 cup sugar 4 eggs 1 tbls vanilla 1 cup milk. There is an accompanying recipe for Mrs. Milman's frosting which includes chocolate chips( the recipe specifies using cheap supermarket choc. chips) and corn syrup and heavy cream.

I LOVE THE WEINER DOG!!! ( see my avatar) The cake looks delicious.

well, it's in RecipeGullet. here so even if you can't read my story, you can make it that would be a very undutch recipe indeed. Witlof - belgian endive - is a favorite Dutch vegetable, but usually boiled to death ← I've made a similar dish using fresh onions and Serrano ham (photos on my food blog here). Randi, the key to reading Dutch is to try and read it aloud. Unlike German (which looks like English but sounds completely different), Dutch looks completely different from English but sounds quite a bit alike. After travelling all over the US and also in Western Europe, I can honestly say that I understood most people in the Netherlands (speaking Dutch) better than I could understand some of the people I met in Arkansas (supposedly speaking English). ← Ok, just did that( you should have seen the way my dogs were looking at me). I only could make out. "pasta" and "apartment" LOLOLOL. I'll just stick with looking at the pictures.

When I left California to move to Canada, I was so bummed because I knew I would miss TJ's a lot. I went online and found one in MI that was about 120 miles away from me, so I thought " oh, thats not too bad to go every couple months and stock up". I was slightly dissapointed however, because so many of the products I bought in Cali were not availble in MI. The two buck chuck was also 2.99. That said, I still miss it a lot and whenever we go to Ann Arbor, thats the first place we head to.

Thanks April! I guess it's a good thing then that I did not start out with this one Yes, it freezes well. I put several containers in the freezer.. ready and waiting for the cold and rainy days of February. Ofcourse you could make less but it does not seem to make sense when something cooks for such a long time, to make only a small pan. ← As an aside, Klary, I wish I could read your blogspot blog( I can't read dutch though), the tart looks absolutly wonderful.

freeze them. take one out each night, then warm in the microwave for 10 seconds. Just like fresh( well, almost)

Thanks. I'm going to try this on my next loaf. I'm in the middle of prepping for a catering event tomorrow night so no baking until this weekend is over. Poutine is a Quebec thing( although really, its very Canadian). I'm from Cali and my spouse is Canadian and gave me the nickname Poutine. Thus, the moniker!! I was given the nickname before my spouse even knew I was a chef!!

CI = Cook's Illustrated. There was a pad thai cookoff last year and I believe the recipe from CI is talked about. Check it out here

Here is a link to a muffin I baked the other day. The picture and link to where I found the recipe( and the story behind the recipe) are in my foodblog. The recipe came from a fellow foodblogger who lives in Vancouver. They are very versatile and fairly healthy( only 1/4cup butter). Check it out. clicky

Great pics as always. I love Pad Thai. I made it at home once using CI's recipe and It was just ok. I think I used too fat of a noodle. Anyway, here is a pic of some pad thai I had recently at Thuan Kieu Viet Nam in London, Ontario. It cost 8.25CAD and it includes squid, shrimp, tofu and chicken. Notice there are no bean sprouts as the entire crop in Ontario was destroyed a few months ago due to salmonella. I enjoy this pad thai, although it is slighty spicy for my low pain tolerance taste buds.

I agree with this advice. It's not so much "maximum flavor" as what you're looking for. I would usually use about 1/2 tsp per loaf, but I would let the first ferment go at room temperature before refrigerating overnight. I think the better measure is to match the yeast with rising time: double your volume in the time you let ferment. The colder (in a fridge), the longer. It also depends on whether you preferment or mix everything together and then chill. That's the cool think about bread baking: you can adjust temp, time, yeast, preferments, & salt to create a unique flavor. FWIW, I think the "Bread Baker's Apprentice" is an excellent source. ← Ok, im somewhat confused. If I can use 1/2tsp, then why does the recipe call for 2 and 1/4tsp. Whats the point of using more than you need? Also, i have some good instant yeast, can that be subbed? Would I use the same measurements? What is the benefit of allowing the first rise and then refridgerating? Thanks

Hi Everyone I'm pretty new to bread baking so I'm basically starting with your average loaf type breads. Here is my question. I've baked the following recipe twice. Each time, I immediatly put it in the fridge overnight for its first proof. Then, I take it out in the morning, shape it, place it in the pan and let it rise again, then bake it. I remember reading somewhere( maybe bread bakers apprentice) that bread tastes better when slowly proofed in the fridge and that you can use less yeast. I've made this bread twice. (half recipe) The first time as written, using 2 1/4tsp of yeast( i buy it in bulk) The second time I only used 1 1/4 tsp of yeast. What is the minimum amount of yeast I can use for the maximum amount of flavor? Thanks Here are the ingredients. I'm leaving the directions out. I do make this in the food processor, using the dough blade. Honey Whole Wheat Bread 2 loaves 3 1/2 cups warm water (100° to 110°) 3 tablespoons honey 2 packets active dry yeast 4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting 3 cups whole-wheat flour 1 cup wheat germ 2 tablespoons salt edited to add this picture: Here is a sandwich using slices from the second loaf.