sanrensho

How are the berries themselves? According to their respective websites, Krause in Langley will open for U-pick on Wednesday (25th) and Driediger (also Langley) will open "approximately" on Tuesday (24th).

Call me jaded, but I don't think BP is positioned to be successful as a long-term franchise here in this country, outside of areas with heavy Asian populations. I just don't think it strikes a chord with the rest of the population, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the reaction seems to be "It's just a cream puff?" Then there's the product. Not big enough, not sweet enough, flavors aren't aggressive enough, and most of all, not substantial enough (too light). Conversely, those are the reasons why the BP puffs strike a chord in the Asian population, IMO. Of course, I would love to be proven wrong.

I think the Denman location is a bad move for them. Their main customer base is the Asian community and the Chinese community in particular by sheer numbers. Denman Street isn't a great location in that respect. Aside from Aberdeen Centre, the only logical place where I can see them doing good volume is in Crystal Mall.

The ohitashi method is one of my favorites as well, especially in the summer heat. It's actually a technique and not specific to spinach, so I use it for any type of greens just as you are doing. One of my favorite simple dressings is smashed garlic and about equal parts sesame oil and soy sauce.

Not popular enough, in my opinion. I wish I could get kimbap everywhere, not just at Korean markets. OTOH, if kimbap ever hit the mainstream markets, they'd probably mess that up too.

If anyone will have it, it would be Uwajimaya. And while you're at it, pick up some Choya Umeshu (sweet apricot wine). So nice on the rocks as a summer drink. And you get to nibble on the apricots afterward.

I have 2 of the 3 RLB books, and have also baked a limited set of recipes from the Bread Bible. I don't agree with the generalized statement that RLB's recipes will turn out "flops" if you are imprecise with your measurements. You could easily say the same of any other baking recipe. These are just cake/bread formulas after all. Technique counts for a lot, especially with foam cakes, and RLB's recipes are usually quite detailed and helpful in their instructions. One of the major pluses of her books is that she provides gram measurements for everything. Another plus is that her recipes are very detail-oriented in their instructions, which I found good when I was starting out. If you bake regularly, you will quickly figure out where to make workable shortcuts. Both the Cake Bible and Pie/Pastry Bible have good reference sections. As Jeanne mentions, you might want to wait until the updated Cake Bible is released. This is being edited as we speak, according to RLB's blog. I can say that I've never gotten more out of a single cookbook than the Cake Bible. That doesn't make it the holy grail, just a very good book. I also use recipes from many other sources. For the Bread Bible, however, you might want to go with another book if it is your first/main teaching book. I personally found it easier to get into breads through books that are simpler in their instructions and perhaps more accessible to beginners. But the few recipes in the Bread Bible that I've tried are good and definitely work. Her Challah recipes are my standard. Also, if you want one book to cover everything cake/pastry-oriented, with a ton of usable recipes (albeit scaled to large production), then you might want to consider Bo Friberg's The Professional Pastry Chef.

^^^Sorry to hear about your disappointing experience. The Richmond Night Market is being run by a different operator this year, as reported by CBC and I assume elsewhere. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/...ns.html?ref=rss

Wonderful photos. By any chance, do you have proportions or recipes for the fish curry, or any of the other dishes?

Whipped ganache is quite stable. I don't think you need to add any stabilizers other than the chocolate that is already in there.

Hi Doc, you'll be happy to know that your waffle works great on even the most basic equipment--in my case, a $10 electric waffle iron. Nothing to describe really in terms of technique, I used about two tablespoons of dough for each grid and cooked until steam was mostly gone, then flipped over and cooked for another 2-3 minutes. This produced a chewy waffle with crisp outside, close enough much to what I remember having the one time I visited Belgium I did modify the recipe, adding more egg and reducing the yeast a bit, and switching to 50/50 bread/AP flour. The great thing is that this is a very forgiving recipe, so I will continue to play with the recipe. I also simplified the technique based on my experience with bread doughs, and the results were still great. Thanks again for the recipe! Now I'm out of pearl sugar and need to find an affordable source...

I've had good success getting crispy sweet potato fries with the cold oil method. I did find that the fries were much crisper after a 10-minute rest.

Glad to hear that the loaf turned out well. I was also going to suggest slashes that direct the expansion (oven spring) away from the center top of the loaf, like this pattern: http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee41/ar.../oatbread-1.jpg

It does sound like you aren't slashing deep enough (or not enough slashes). If cross-hatches are not working for you, try diagonal slashes, which will result in a slightly elongated shape.

Probably Kokuho Rose specifically (or Nishiki)?

Actually, you can get excellent oven spring from the "cold oven" method. I've tried it and it works. And others have reported the same. There's a very good thread on the cold oven method on Dan Lepard's site: http://www.danlepard.com/forum/viewtopic.p...ff15242e1680f4d

So I'm guessing from your other post that you solved the blowouts?

Kadoya has at least two grades if you buy them in the large tins. I've seen them side-by-side and have bought both at various times.

I would not recommend See's candy myself. I think See's is too sweet and the bonbons too big for most Japanese. Knickknacks like pins and keychains would probably be welcome. On the food front, flavored teas pack well and would be universally appreciated. Or packages of (unusual) dried fruit or nuts. Also, whatever candies are local to the state and not widely distributed, particularly jellies and jelly-type confections.

Mentaiko or flounder roe wrapped in bacon and grilled/sauteed. My head is about to explode.

It could also be a sign of underproofing. You could try extending your final proof and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks for posting this! I will definitely give it a try.

Are you slashing deeply and often enough? The slashes should direct the expansion of the loaf (oven spring) to prevent blow-outs or at least control it so that it happens at the slashes. By tumors, do you mean blow-outs?

Have you tried contacting Sharon Rempel?

Darn, I guess all good things must come to an end. That was far too enjoyable a read, and actually enhanced by the sporadic installments. So when are you and Serena heading over?