SuzySushi

The tap water in my area is pretty high quality, so I usually drink that (mostly filtered through my new refrigerator). Bottled waters, the only two I've found that I really like the taste of are Volvic and Ramlosa. Haven't tried Fiji yet.

Eeeek!!! This is the first I've heard of that practice!!! (Of course, the heat from the steamer would probably sterilize any germs, but even so....)

Grilled Chicken with Mint Serves 6 as Appetizeror 4 as Main Dish. This dish is my interpretation of two recipes from different cookbooks: One, a Lebanese recipe for chicken with fresh mint, the other a generically "Middle Eastern" recipe for chicken with dried mint and spices. It can be made on bamboo skewers for a pretty presentation, or off for faster preparation. 1 lb chicken breast fillets (chicken tenders) 1/4 c fresh mint leaves, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 c fresh lemon juice 1 T extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 tsp ground turmeric 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper Cut chicken into 1" pieces for skewers, or leave chicken tenders whole if not using skewers. If using bamboo skewers, soak skewers in water for 1/2 hour before using. Combine mint, garlic, lemon juice, oil, spices, and salt & pepper. Add chicken and mix throroughly to coat, then marinate, covered and refrigerated, at least 1/2 hour and no more than 2 hours. Thread chicken on skewers, if using. Grill chicken, turning several times, until cooked through. This can be done on the BBQ, or even on a George Forman-type grill. Great with a side salad and pita bread, or rice or orzo pilaf. Keywords: Main Dish, Hors d'oeuvre, Easy, Chicken, Dinner, Middle Eastern, Grill ( RG1356 )

Grilled Chicken with Mint Serves 6 as Appetizeror 4 as Main Dish. This dish is my interpretation of two recipes from different cookbooks: One, a Lebanese recipe for chicken with fresh mint, the other a generically "Middle Eastern" recipe for chicken with dried mint and spices. It can be made on bamboo skewers for a pretty presentation, or off for faster preparation. 1 lb chicken breast fillets (chicken tenders) 1/4 c fresh mint leaves, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 c fresh lemon juice 1 T extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 tsp ground turmeric 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper Cut chicken into 1" pieces for skewers, or leave chicken tenders whole if not using skewers. If using bamboo skewers, soak skewers in water for 1/2 hour before using. Combine mint, garlic, lemon juice, oil, spices, and salt & pepper. Add chicken and mix throroughly to coat, then marinate, covered and refrigerated, at least 1/2 hour and no more than 2 hours. Thread chicken on skewers, if using. Grill chicken, turning several times, until cooked through. This can be done on the BBQ, or even on a George Forman-type grill. Great with a side salad and pita bread, or rice or orzo pilaf. Keywords: Main Dish, Hors d'oeuvre, Easy, Chicken, Dinner, Middle Eastern, Grill ( RG1356 )

This "round eyes" usually cheats and uses LKK Black Bean Garlic Sauce. (Gasp!) When I do buy black beans, I get the little plastic baggies repacked by Wing. The beans are pretty much whole (not mushed) and not encrusted with salt, so I don't bother rinsing them at all. Whatever brand I used to use back in NYC I had to rinse off before using, the traditional way. What I want to know is, once you open a package of black beans, how do you keep the fragrance from permeating everything else in the refrigerator??? (Even a sealed glass jar doesn't work.)

Another popular variation here is banana tapioca, with sliced bananas (especially the local small "apple bananas" aka finger bananas that don't turn dark when sliced). Some places also make chocolate tapioca pudding (with coconut milk), I assume by adding cocoa or chocolate syrup while cooking.

Sounds delicious! I'm waiting to see the results!

Nadia, very interesting report and I loved seeing the pictures. I have some Lebanese friends who moved back to Beirut several years ago, and another friend here who's also been home for a visit, but this is the first time I've gotten all the details. The spreads you described remind me of the ones I've enjoyed at my friends' homes (minus the cigars!). What they modestly proclaim to be a "simple" meal seems to me to involve three days of cooking! Elie, could you post your recipe for Samke Harra (the fish dish... not the whole meal!)? That's one of the dishes I feasted on at a friend's. Awesome, indeed!

I've used mango in shrimp salads (with mixed greens). I also have several recipes for stir-fried chicken dishes with fresh mango. Fresh mango salsa is another favorite -- serve with grilled foods.

Ohhhh.... yum!!!! I mango pudding!!!!

I never have "extra" mangoes -- that only applies to people who have mango trees in their yards!

Bookmarked! I thought we're not allowed to mail seeds from the mainland to Hawaii... or does that just apply to individuals (not commerical nurseries)?

When people in Hawaii have "extra" mangoes, they make mango bread (use any standard quick bread recipe, like a recipe for banana bread, only substitute mango), mango muffins or mini-muffins, and mango jam. Peeled & cubed mango also freezes well for future use. And there are always mango smoothies and mango lassi.

Which nasty Moroccan salad recipe? I have several recipes for North African carrot salads! I hope the nasty one isn't among them!

I really don't think it's that simple. With the current pay scales in the Philippines, place, harldy anyone can get ahead working in the food industry. Working your way up in that industry is simply unheard of. Of course there are exceptions to that rule, but for the most part, that's the reality. The only way of making money in food is owning the restaurant/business. So those migrating for financial reasons would not be coming from that subset of society who are in the food profession (as they wouldn't have the finances to migrate). I think perhaps I interpreted Apicio's post differently. I thought what he was saying was that the average Filipino immigrant, because of having greater ability to speak English, was able to get more work outside the food service industry. To me, the average Filipino immigrant is one of the greater 90% of the population which controls a mere 10% of the wealth. In Canada, at least initially, the average Filipino immigrant was an English-speaking skilled worker. At first it was garment factory workers, and later nurses. These people came with job offers in their fields. I think this agrees with what Apicio was saying. Initially, at least, Filipino immigrants were able to avoid working in the food industry because they a) could speak English and b) had skills which allowed them better paying, higher status positions. In my experience, not a lot of Filipinos from that upper class would even bother to emigrate--why would they when they had far more power and more status in the Philippines than they would anywhere else in the world? Ain't that the truth! Many of those "haves" also don't have a lot of experience eating or cooking Filipino food on a regular basis. My mother comes from a family of "haves" (though her immediate line is probably in the bottom of that upper 10%) and she didn't even learn to cook until she was married and living in the US (she was 29...). She also remembers the family cook making more European-style foods than anything else. They were even eating pizza in the 40's or 50's and were drinking Spanish-style hot chocolate made with freshly roasted cacao beans. I also remember her once saying that foods like mongo and pancit were, more or less, peasant foods (though she denies ever saying that). "Haves" would certainly never want to do anything that might associate them with the "have nots." When those who have the power to promote Filipino foods have disdain for, or prejudice against, those very foods, they are not going to do a very good job of promoting them. One of my cousins (second cousin, actually) is hoping to open a high-end Filipino restaurant in the Phil. sometime in the future. In his current position, though he has nothing to do with the kitchen, he has the ability to promote Filipino food to the upper class masses of the world, and he would like to do the same in the Philippines. Plus his immediate branch of the family is probably in the upper 1 or 2% of the upper 10%, so he can afford to do it. He's actually one of the few Filipinos I've met who is really proud to be Filipino--and not in a bravado kind of way. ← Interesting thoughts. I can see all these points. Here in Hawaii, the emigrant Filipino society seems very much divided between the "haves" -- professionals, not only nurses, but doctors and our former governor -- and the "have nots" -- service workers like gardeners and hotel maids. Strangely, though, none of the "haves" I've met (including the former governor) seemed like snobs. And some, I know, do cook Filipino food. A prominent woman doctor even gave a public demonstration a few years ago of how to make some Filipino sweets (purple rice & coconut milk).

Brownies!

Oooh!!!! I'm impressed!!! I've temporarily given up on my lanai gardening... I've been too busy working to spend the time to garden, and I swear my husband must be giving the plants the evil eye (whenever he's around them, they wither and die)! Last year I grew a nice crop of regular and Thai basil, rosemary, thyme, nasturtiums, and some mâche lettuce (well, enough for one salad). Now, everything has died out but the rosemary and a chunk of ginger I planted but have yet to harvest. The shiso I tried last year never germinated... I'm hoping *some day* to have some fine shiso plants, a small Kaffir lime, and more basil. You started your Kaffir lime from seeds? Where did you get them?

But of course! Why not?

Mmmmmnnn... fish congee! We had basa fillets the other night... steamed with lots of garlic, basil leaves, cilantro leaves, and lemon juice (a spontaneous invention as my husband is on a diet -- my main way of preparing basa/catfish is fried with a cornmeal crust). ← I've never had a congee with basil in it. Sounds good to me! Sort of a Thai-Chinese congee, maybe. One of the greatest meals I had when I was a kid was a Thai-Chinese dim sum meal, just a few things (dumplings and bao, I think) bought in a hole-in-the-wall in Bangkok's Chinatown back in 1975. I don't remember the food so distinctly, but it was a combination of Chinese and Thai flavors, which any fan of both cuisines would probably agree is a terrific idea! ← No... not the congee with basil. The steamed basa fillets with basil! (Though congee with basil might be good, too.)

Mmmmmnnn... fish congee! We had basa fillets the other night... steamed with lots of garlic, basil leaves, cilantro leaves, and lemon juice (a spontaneous invention as my husband is on a diet -- my main way of preparing basa/catfish is fried with a cornmeal crust).

This entry ponders the derivation of the term, though in Japanese. The box's back panel says the curry incorporates a health regimen of apples and honey that originated in Vermont. The site's commentary adds that House's president at the time supposedly heard of such a tonic promoted by a Vermont doctor... A google search comes up with a Dr. Jarvis from Vermont that touted the benefits of honey and apple cider vinegar. By the way, House is also known for their Java curry brand. ← Oh... so that's where it came from! I've wondered for years what the connection between curry and Vermont was! The House brand Vermont curry does, indeed, contain apples and honey (along with bananas, if I remember correctly) and it's very sweet. Really unlike any other curry I've ever tasted. I've read it's a favorite kids' dish in Japan, about as popular as hamburgers! BTW, House Java curry (medium-hot heat) is my favorite of all the packaged curry roux.

Grilled Chicken with Mint has become a real favorite of ours. Served tonight with Moroccan-spiced orzo and a lettuce-cucumber-tomato salad.

Buy a box of House Curry or S&B curry and make it yourself! (Just avoid the sweet "Vermont" style.)

Dejah, you really must try it! Lamb is fairly common in Hunan recipes. One large supermarket in NYC's Chinatown (at least as of when I was last there a few years ago) even carries boneless lamb sliced paper-thin "for sukiyaki"! AFAIK, lamb is never used in sukiyaki (Mongolian BBQ, maybe), but I found it very convenient for my Lamb with Leeks and other Hunan dishes. Beats trying to slice it that thinly by hand!

I've been following this with interest since I live in another high hurricane-risk zone, Hawaii. Got through Hurricane Iniki intact since I was on Oahu, but the storm pretty much demolished Kauai and some places still aren't rebuilt. We ALWAYS have a stock of shelf-stable food (canned, dried, etc.), bottled water, emergency lamps, batteries, sterno, extra medicines, etc. and are prepared to get out if necessary. Best wishes for a safe hurricane season, everyone! Ours runs through December.