SuzySushi

I've never used anything but a wide-mouthed juice glass ← And the bottom of the juice glass doubles as a cookie-press...

I'll be happy to PM the recipe to you, but it may not be until next week (I know that you understand why ). Can you get blue crab meat in Hawaii, or do you use something else? ← Actually, with the name of the recipe (Faidley's World Famous Crab Cakes), I found the recipe online! Will have to check & see what kind of crabmeat I can get -- we usually buy our crab as whole legs/claws in shells, but I know Costco sells crabmeat packs. What's your trick to keeping the crab cakes from falling apart?

I'd add Elizabeth Andoh's Washoku and her earlier, out-of-print At Home with Japanese Cooking to the list, along with pictorial series such as those from Graph-Sha publishers in Japan (Japanese Homestyle Cooking, etc.) and Wei-Chuan in Taiwan (Chinese Cooking Made Easy, etc.) that feature step-by-step photos.

When you get a chance, I'd love the actual recipe/proportions. Crabcakes are not in my background, and the few attempts I've made have fallen apart before/during cooking.

Just about always, we have frozen petite peas and frozen petite whole green beans (haricots verts when we can find them) on hand, most often C&W brand, which is sold West of the Rockies. We also keep a stock of frozen berries -- most often, strawberries and blueberries -- for topping breakfast cereal and making improvised desserts. I'll have to try Cascadian Farm peaches; the other brands I've tried have been icy and underripe.

Very nice! I'm not big on planning menus ahead more than one day in advance except for special occasions, so I'll be interested to see how this works. How often do you do your grocery shopping for the week?

Welcome to the world of blogging, and oh my goodness, the mountains really do look blue! Looking forward to a wonderful week!

Or how about C is for Cilantro? I believe it was in food historian Margaret Visser's Much Depends on Dinner that she expounded that there is a schism between "cilantro cultures" and "parsley cultures" and that people in one part or other of the world tend to favor one over the other. I didn't come from a cilantro culture, but I loved the distinctive herb the first time I tasted it, and think a generous sprinkling improves the flavor of almost everything with the possible exception of dessert -- and I'm not so sure it can't be worked into that course. Other friends tell me it tastes like detergent.

It's possible that the U.S. Postal Service is to blame (or credit). . . Magazines usually send out their subscription copies by bulk mail, often 6-8 weeks ahead of expected delivery times (which is why address changes typically take 6-8 weeks to process). If the magazines sent their February issues out on the early side expecting Christmas postal delays, and the Christmas delays didn't happen, their February issues would arrive early in readers' mailboxes.

Large gift tins of Walkers shortbread cookies are available at Costco (or were, when I last checked), and they may be available at Sam's Club stores as well. They change their gift boxes every year, so the tins may not look exactly the same. Is it possible you bought them there?

I was going to guess St. Augustine, FL, also from the mission-style roofs, but I can't think of any eGullet member who hails from there... 'Tis a puzzlement.

I'll tenth the Ferry Building! You could easily spend all afternoon there. Acme bread will keep well for several days in its original paper bag. My favorite is their New York Rye, which is better than any rye bread I ever ate in NY (and I'm a native New Yorker!).

Now that is impressive! Thank you so much for blogging! What a fascinating glimpse into another culture.

Thanks for the compliment! I'd highly recommend storing any susceptible spices in Ziplock bags in the freezer. That'll kill any possible critters and keep the spices fresher. Other spices & herbs should be stored in tightly sealed jars or tins away from heat & bright light.

Whoa! The night market is absolutely fascinating. I could probably spend several nights there, exploring all the taste treats! And my, that pork with bamboo shoots does look good! I so love your blog!

Now, if they found a way grapefruit didn't interact with cholesterol medications. . .

More catfish and taro for me, then.

And, as Mochihead and I discussed in my eGullet Foodblog (A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs) last week, 99 Ranch Market will also be closing by the end of February. It's a franchise, and I guess wasn't making enough profit.

Yes, Madhur Jaffrey's evocative writing tops my list as well, along with Anya von Bremzen (Please to the Table), Jane and Michael Stern, and probably the first cookbook author I ever "read," the indominable Jane Grigson.

Mochihead: I've confirmed that the 99 Ranch market is going to close some time before the end of February -- there was an article I'd missed in Saturday's Honolulu Advertiser. It was a franchised location and, my guess is, not profitable enough. That's really a shame.

Honestly, I've never tasted taro mochi and don't know anything about how it's made! I'll have to go back and try some next time I'm at the farmers' market. ← skchai wrote about various local style mochi (including a picture of taro mochi) in this thread. HERE ← Woo! I'm going to have to try taro mochi fo' sure now! BTW, saw gau for sale at Longs today. [Gau being round Chinese mochi-and-brown-sugar cakes traditionally eaten for Chinese New Year's.]

Isn't it, though! We got it for $10 at a second-hand store run by Koreans. It had a broken leg, and no one Asian would touch it because it was "damaged goods." They were almost ashamed to sell it to us. (No -- we didn't bargain, but our jaws almost dropped when they named their price.) We couldn't match the exact leg, but bought four unfinished legs at the hardware store, which I lacquered and attached.

My kitchen is very small, but this is what's on the back wall: The painting was the original cover art for a trade magazine I used to write for -- the cover story was about Brazil. The porcelain plate at the top left is a gift from a company that dealt in exotic reptile skins during my days as a shoe designer (hey, I've had a checkered career). It features a spoof recipe for "Cobra a l'Indienne." Most of my refrigerator magnets are food-related, too.

Hauoli makahiki hou!

God, that stuff looks good! "Kimchi fried rice" is on some restaurant menus here -- and it's really addictive, though yours seems to be more kimchi than rice!