SuzySushi

I live in Hawaii, and the watermelons I buy are grown at a local farm.

I cheat: I smile sweetly at the produce guy and ask him to pick one for me! Or I buy a half watermelon that's already been cut, so I can check how red and firm the flesh is, and whether it smells like melon.

Thanks for the heads-up! (It's Mrs. Beeton, though, not Beetson.)

It looks wonderful! I hope you can post the recipe on RecipeGullet!

I'd love to be invited! Never ate those foods at a beach picnic before -- just in restaurants.

Sure, but you have to wear traditional clothes!

My current potluck dishes of choice are: 1) larb/laarb (you'll find a whole thread devoted to it on eGullet) -- basically, a Thai dish of seasoned ground meat or poultry served with lettuce leaf wrappers (I've also brought along flour tortillas). 2) a riff on Rachel Ray's stuffed artichoke appetizer, minus the artichokes. The stuffing is chopped fresh tomatoes -- she uses Romas; I use halved cherry or grape tomatoes -- minced garlic, "EVOO" and lemon juice, minced fresh basil, mint, and Italian parsley (be generous), capers, and cubes of fresh bread (she uses Italian, but I've even used rye). Mix them all together and serve at room temperature. This is even good the next day. Everyone likes both of these and asks for the recipes. They're familiar enough that people will eat them, yet "different" enough to be special.

You mean like a Chac Mool? The depressions in the belly of the full-size statues were originally meant to hold human sacrifices! (So I found out after a friend and I happily posed by the famous Chac Mool in Mexico City's National Musem of Anthropology thinking it looked "cute"! ) You should be able to find one at a shop or site that sells museum replicas.

What are some of your more interesting food dreams? Relate them here! * * * * * * * * * * Last night, I dreamt I was at a restaurant in Japan. It was set up like a sushi bar, with a U-shaped counter, but served only........ Japanese pickles!!! Salty.... sweet.... "fresh" pickles or aged, the pickles were chopped into bits and offered as tidbits on small pottery dishes or wooden "geta" platters by an elderly woman in an indigo kimono who worked from the center of the U. The only beverage available was pure spring water, to cleanse one's palate between tastings. All the patrons wore indigo-dyed kimonos or yukatas, as well, including me (the only Westerner). When a teenage boy dressed in a T-shirt approached the restaurant door, he was turned away. Mmmmmm.... my mouth is watering and I can taste those pickles now!!!

I love the street market photos too! Only in M'asia would you find a street vendor wearing a chef's toque!

Hmmmm.... I'll have to take a look next time I'm there. The description doesn't sound impressive to me, but time will tell. Let me know what you think if you try it. The other Japanese buffet is mostly empty in the evenings, when most of the other restaurants in the center are crowded with a waiting line. (Haven't checked it out in the daytime.) P.S., I visited the real Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo and ate at a sushi bar near there.

Okay, I recognize the pears on the left and the dragonfruit on the right. But what are the red fruits in the center?

And you can buy them in the U.S. of A., too: http://www.mcphee.com/items/11476.html And wasn't it just the other day, on the same eGullet link that I read about 3D printers that work with sugar (God knows where that link is now...) that I saw mentioned the library book that was returned with a bacon strip used as a bookmark? (Okay, all together now: EUUUUUUUUWWWWW!)

Thank you, Klary, for picking up the baton (or wooden spoon) even though you were feeling under the weather! The week went by all too quickly, and what marvelous meals and excursions you shared with us! Hope you're over your cold soon!

I could cry!!! A former born-and-bred New Yorker, for the past 16 years I've lived in Hawaii, first in Honolulu and now in the suburbs. We have NO great Jewish delis on Oahu. The only real one (Bernard's New York Deli) closed about 5 years ago. There are three other restaurants that call themselves delis: A Taste of New York in Honolulu serves some halfway decent deli foods, such as overstuffed pastrami sandwiches and Carnegie deli-style cheesecake. The pastrami and corned beef are flown in from Vienna Beef Co. in Chicago, but its rye bread is the locally baked "fluffy" stuff -- not firm. No smoked fish other than Lasco lox, and if I remember correctly, its chopped liver is beef liver, not chicken liver. My greatest disappointment is that its tongue is boiled -- not cured!!! In the evenings, the deli turns into a steakhouse -- which just goes to show how much of a market there is for real deli foods in Hawaii. Brent's Restaurant & Deli in Kailua is always crowded, but serves mediocre food by NY deli standards. No tongue or smoked fish, and its matzoh ball soup is some of the worst I've ever eaten, in a green-tinged broth tasting more of celery than of chicken. I have not yet tried CJ's New York Style Delicatessen in the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Their menu offers bagels & lox and overstuffed sandwiches, but also extends to 21 styles of omelets ( ), huevos rancheros, and grilled eggplant sandwiches. No tongue, chopped liver, smoked fish, kasha, or other standard deli items.

When I haven't a clue, I generally go by price. Among Asian brands, the higher-quality ones are often the more expensive ones, unless they're "on sale." Also, look for ingredients lists that sound more like food and less like chemical names.

We think alike ← Great minds, and all that! So... what do you do with tofu that's magic?

Heart of palm! You can cut it into chunks or shred it.

At least it wasn't homemade beer...

Your food photos are mouthwatering, and Amsterdam looks lovely even in the rain!

Yay! Chufi! I'm so glad you're blogging again. You're always both entertaining and informative! Are these people you've never met related to your new culinary tour business? Staff, or perhaps clients?

There is actually a phenomenon known as meatballs with grape jelly. Who the hell invented it I have no idea, but recipes such as <this> abound. The Company Cookbook website is really funny and so, so true. ← Going back 25+ years, I got a recipe for breaded "chicken birds" from a friend. The chicken breasts are breaded, rolled up, and baked in a bath of canned consomme madrilene. Not bad, as far as they go. But when I made it, my friend complained that I left out the "best part": the finished chicken was meant to be topped with a sauce made from grape jelly and bottled chili sauce.

What a great first post, even if it was a horrible experience!

Try this one: A Taste of Japan by Donald Richie. It's older, but a wealth of information and pleasant reading. Or for a pop (but accurate) take on Japanese food & culture, there's Squeamish about Sushi, written and lovingly illustrated by Betty Reynolds (who definitely isn't squeamish!).

I remember similar things happening to me that made me ashamed not to be "white". It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I got over that idea... These days, at least in Canada, most teaching programmes require some sort of class in cross-cultural awareness. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much good, and incidents similar to yours still occur Back to breakfast, I ate this.... Somewhat unusual...a hamburger for breakfast. Some people would look at my hamburger and react in a similar manner to how your teacher reacted to your shrimp. But now that I'm older, I don't care. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want. If my bread hadn't been a bit stale, I would have added an egg (making it more breakfast-y), so that yummy yolk could drip down the sides. But the slightly tough bread made it difficult to eat, anyway, and I didn't want to add to the difficulty. ← Then I must be a weird white American, because Asian breakfasts are just fine to me! I love dim sum, soba or udon topped with shrimp, fried rice, or even sushi for breakfast, and if in Japan there were a choice between an "American" breakfast and a Japanese breakfast, I'd most likely go Japanese. (It's amusing how the Japanese have interpreted Western full-course breakfasts, substituting salad for the pickles that are customary in a Japanese meal, and often cream-of-corn soup for the miso soup!) And I think a hamburger for breakfast is a great idea!