sanrensho

It sounds like you have the Hachiya persimmons that taper at the bottom. The other persimmons I'm familiar with are the crisper, rounder Fuyu variety (also a Japanese variety). Here's the other thread that I was referring to. Also, FWIW, I've read and heard that it is possible to contract bubonic plague from squirrels. Not sure if this applies to the type of squirrels you are dealing with, as I'm well out of state. http://www.nps.gov/public_health/inter/inf...s/fs_plague.htm

There's a little bit of information about persimmon jam in this thread in the Japan forum. Also, there was a thread a week or two ago about persimmons on the cooking forum. As I mentioned in that thread, you can peel and hang the persimmons to eat dried in the traditional Japanese way. After shooting all of those squirrels, of course.

I would recommend the Vietnam Market at 1691 Kingsway (north side). I think the filters are about $4-5 each. I'm sure they can be found for a buck or two cheaper in Chinatown, but this store also carries the Trung Nguyen brand of Vietnamese coffee in the large 2-bag boxes. (My previous Vietnamese grocer only carried the small packages.) I highly recommend the Trung Nguyen brand for cafe dua sa, etc. Also a great place to pick up large bags of Thai basil, mint, etc. for about a buck each. Nice people, too, and not far from the Trout Lake Farmer's Market. I also have a request: If anyone knows of any other Vietnamese (not Chinese) grocers, could you please post or PM me the info? Apologies to KT for hijacking this thread.

Do you mean 20 minutes from start to plating, or 20 minutes of prep? Most cakes can be banged out in less than 20 minutes. After baking, cool and frost with a simple dusting of powdered sugar.

Both bay leaves and rosemary can be frozen. The rosemary can be frozen on the branch and will lose some its color, but will still have plenty of kick. You could also make a anchovy-rosemary sauce zipped with some olive oil. Keeps well in the freezer. Great over potatoes or as a pasta sauce. I would also be interested in some ideas for preserving sage.

I've never met Ling, but skinny people with low body fat have more room for their stomachs to distend. That's why they can pack down so much in one seating. (Keywords: "competitive eating" "Takeru Kobayashi")

If you're talking about vegetable salads, I agree. As a cyclist, I can tell you that I would definitely appreciate a large plate of pesto salad (fusilli or tortellini) with some chicken or other protein. I'll also take some cherry tomatos with that.

I think classic/true buttercream can be made with yolks or whites. Is one (French, IMBC, SMBC) considered the mother of all buttercreams?

Hmm, I don't recall having that problem with the White Velvet Cake. My guests lapped it up, but I remember expecting more white chocolate flavor from the recipe. None of my guests detected it until I told them.

Some kind of lightly dressed pasta salad with say, salmon or tuna, would be a good way to get carbs and protein in the body. Plus it will be slightly different from the warm pasta that they are likely to be served that evening. Make a lot, because they will attack that as a main, not a side. Personally, I would look more to pasta or rice than potatos for the carb portion of the menu.

I was recently blown away by the Chocolate Domingo Cake, eaten within a few hours from baking. Wow. I've tried most of the butter cakes in that book and the All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter cake continues to be my favorite. Makes a fantastic cupcake, too. Her mousseline BC is also my standard buttercream.

Gobo To Go? Too bad we don't fry much. The gobo fries look delicious.

Please, please tell me that you are not refering to convenience store grade, non-molding onigiri loaded with preservatives.

The manufacturers is Riken Vitamin. The variety you have is Hana Gozen--Shiro Miso (label on the front of the package).

I didn't make it today, but I'm about to tuck into the last piece of ricotta pie in our fridge. The filling is made of ricotta, egg, sugar, raisins and candied orange peel (made using Andiesenji's microwave recipe) sandwiched between two layers of puff pastry. Topped with some cinammon sugar and reheated in our toaster oven, of course.

I'd never heard of that, nor have I had one! Unless one of my relatives fed it to me without telling me. Interesting, I may have to try it some time. Will any alcohol work?

The correct spelling is "Hachiya." Here's a link to some information. I haven't had a hachiya persimmon since I was in Japan, so I can't help you much there. We usually get the Fuyu (round) persimmons as it is more commonly available where we live. Going by memory, hachiya persimmons are softer when ripe, which the link also mentions. I do have to warn you that you might get the occasional astringent persimmon. To put it mildly, you'll know it when you taste it. There's not much you can do with an astringent persimmon. so I usually just chuck it and move on to the next one. Don't let the occasional astringent persimmon put you off. In Japan, the other common way to preserve and eat persimmons is as hoshigaki, which involves peeling the fruit and hanging them out to dry. The fruit develops white sugar crystals on the outside. Do a Google search using "hoshigaki" and "persimmon" and you'll find lost of information, such as this article. Here's a Japanese Web page with pictures of the process and final product. I suppose they are the equivalent of our dried figs (the goods ones, not the tough/hard ones that come in rounds). Yum.

I've never been lucky enough to have a persimmon tree, so I have no advice on when to pick. Once they're picked, however, I prefer a persimmon that is ripe yet still slightly crisp. I'm not a fan of completely mushy persimmons. My favorite way to enjoy persimmons is fresh and in the simplest way possible. Chill, peel, and squeeze some lemon juice on top. The lemon juice really balances out the sweetness of the persimmons. Persimmons would also be a nice addition to a salad, as long as they aren't mushy.

I made the soda bread that was discussed in a recent thread and is posted in RecipeGullet. Added raisins and walnuts to my version. I've been nibbling on that pretty much all day and will probably have another slice before bed.

Why is this odd? Some of my best (and possibly most authentic) recipe books are Japanese ones written by non-Japanese cooks or Japanese who have trained extensively in other countries. (EDITED to add that I am referring to cookbooks written in languages outside of the target cuisine.) The Thai/Vietnamese books that I have picked up from Japan have been particularly good.

Those are some big slices of tomatos. And a lot of lettuce. You'll have to do a report (with pics) to let us know if the burgers are actually the size of a small child's fist. I completely avoided MOS Burger when I lived in Japan because of the cost/size ratio. There is no way I could get out of a MOS Burger and feel satisfied without ordering two meals. For that price, a neigbourhood teishoku joint offers much better ingredients and value.

Thanks for reposting the recipe. I really like the idea of a cocoa fruitcake. Something a little different from the usual fruitcake. Not that I have anything against fruitcake. The cocoa fruitcake is definitely being added to my "to do" list.

Every time I read this thread, I find it incredibly depressing to think about the food choices being offered to my own children. Our oldest will be entering Grade 2 next month. There are no cafeterias at the elementary school level, but the local PAC committee insists on foisting hot dogs, donuts and pizzas on the kids every 2 weeks. All in the name of "fundraising," of course. I won't even get into they vending machines that they have at school. Of course, the vending machines are also considered necessary to bring in income.

All our scraps go into a big stainless steel bowl. We only started composting this year, but I wish we had taken the plunge years ago.

I better clarify my statement before others get confused. AFAIK, it's OK to include links to outside images, but not to include images directly in your post that could be covered by an outside copyright. Back to the topic at hand: I am definitely enjoying learning more about slogliatella and its variations.