Zucchini Mama

Gill's reference to the women servers made me think about Cornytopia a bit more. First, I'm wondering if the beverage servers were actually painted with the logo of the products they were serving. This made me think of Naomi Klein, of No Logo fame. It's probably been said before, but this event is all about "branding" Whistler as a lifestyle. It says "Look how rich and decadent we are, we can use women for sushi plates." In terms of using the women as "serveuse sexy", I wish there had been room for Gill to actually interview the women who were serving. I would like to hear how they felt about the whole event. If any are lurkers here, please post your thoughts. I imagine most of them thought it was fun. However, I think it would have been more interesting and empowering if they were allowed to talk back to the customers. Did the woman-as-sushi table say, "If you like that, come up and see my sashimi sometime?" If they were mute servers as decorations, well, it's a living, and you take a few pictures of Hornytopia home for your scrapbook. Beats slinging burgers at McD's. You'd have to be pretty comfortable in your own skin to apply for the job anyway. Was there a complete absence of nude men as servers? Would this have made the heterosexual guys too uncomfortable? I love spectacle, parades, carnivale, and so this event does intrigue me. Food is very sensuous and so it lends itself to this kind of crazy party, but I don't think it's about food. I think it's about advertising a lifestyle. It seems like a hetero version of the pride parade to me. It does look like a lot of fun. I'm impressed Gill sorted out the fish bladders! Zuke

Hi all, I just bought a big shabu shabu kit for the first time here at the T and T Market in Vancouver. For only $10 it was a great deal-shitake and enoki mushrooms, fish balls, pollock crab, broth, cabbage, and what looked like fake shrimp. There was also spongy tofu and a black spongy item that was quite chewy. Can you tell me what that was? Is it normal to have so much processed fish in shabu shabu or would you do it differently? Zuke

I was surfing today and a couple menu items at Zin cought my eye: Shabu Shabu $14 Rare Beef, Smoked Shiitake Broth, Spicy Miso Dipping Sauce Bison Burger $15 Double Smoked Maple Bacon, Old White Cheddar, Heirloom Tomato Relish, Red Chili and Sea Salt Potato Chips Anyone been to Zin lately? Zuke

Jamie, What a meal! Right now, I'm fascinated with quince. What was this dessert like? Your mother sounds very entertaining! Zuke

vandan, was the place on W10th called Asanti African Waffles? Zuke

I just wanted to say that Carole's Apple Jam was very good with a dark, rich lamb curry I made with Guinness Stout. Just a touch of the jam with some raita and green salsa made the meal. Basically, it acted like an apple chutney. I made "quince curd" with the quince I bought at the Westend Market. Whoa! It is a strange fruit. You can read about my experiment in the pastry thread. Zuke

I'd like to try La Cucina del Diavolo again because they probably have a wide reperatoire of sweets that's always changing. I was fantasizing about making a gourmet version of s'mores with homemade marshmallows and guess what? Anona makes them. They are so good. The marshmallow is piped onto a buttery cookie base and covered with dark chocolate. Three thumbs up from the Famiglia del Zucchini!

Maybe look at the recipe for a Moscow Mule at Epicurious.com, and tinker with that, substituting the vodka for bourbon. You can make the "ginger ale" in an hour, instead of the 3-5 weeks for the tincture (although the tincture sounds brilliant). That way you can control the ginger and the sweetness. Zuke

Badiane, Wow! Talk about the golden fruit! Thanks everyone, Wow! Now I'm more informed and inspired. I did peel them, and I like the idea of grating them. I think I let them become too ripe, because they didn't taste acidic any more. However, I had some of my "curd" on a toasted bagel this morning, and enjoyed it anyway. ludja, I'd love to make the jam you posted the recipe for in the other thread. Now I'm going to have to head to the market and find some more quince! Zuke

D90, Can I just say that that is a beautiful photo. I love the bite taken out of the waffle. You track down those dessert photos and post post post! Zuke

Yum! Daniel, What do you use to color/flavor that yellow rice. Is it saffron or turmeric? Foodman, How did that beet cake taste? One of my favorite cakes is made with chocolate and beets! I was in a domestic mood today, and the late afternoon sun bathed my kitchen in a golden honey light. I decided to fill the kitchen with the aromas of slow-cooked food. So first, I made some homemade ginger beer (bartender style) from the recipe at Epicurious.com. I tossed a few cloves and peppercorns into the ginger mash, which sits for an hour in boiled water, filling the house with a lovely fresh lemony ginger perfume. Then I dragged my son to the shops to buy ingredients for supper. I decide to cook a recipe out of "The Thirsty Traveler--Road Recipes," which I bought at a thrift shop for 25 cents. The recipe is called "Limbering Up Lamb in Stout." If you want instant respect from a butcher, tell him you are going to cook his lamb in stout. He cut a lovely boneless leg roast into thin strips against the grain and sent me on my way. I headed to the liquor store where I had to drag a salesperson out of the back room and he ferreted out my Guinness stout. It was hidden between boxes of hideously sweet fruit cider. Go figure. While I was cooking the lamb I sipped on a Moscow Mule cocktail made with the homemade ginger beer. The lamb cooks in stout with onions for one and an half hours. I added criminis as well. I made a bed of polenta, using some of the gravy for liquid to cook it up. We also had a cucumber salad. The lamb was was all right, but I think it will be much better tomorrow when the flavours have melded. I'm tempted to add Worcestershire sauce when I heat it up again--or I may even make it into a curry. I had a really interesting Stout and lamb curry once in Wolverhampton. We drank a Rosemont Estate Grenache Shiraz, which I just grabbed on a whim. Hmmm, it was too fruity tooty for me. I should have just bought a Shiraz. For dessert, I had a few spoonfuls of the quince curd I made (see the baking forum). I made it using local wildflower honey. The smell of the quince and the honey cooking was very flowery and sweet. The taste is not as interesting as the aroma, but I'm not sure I cooked the quinces long enough. The recipe was a bit vague. Any help would be appreciated. It turned out more like a creamy custard than a translucent curd. Zuke

I made some quince curd from a recipe on the internet but it didn't turn out the way I expected. I wasn't sure how long to simmer the quince in the sugar and water. The recipe says to simmer until the fruit is soft and rosy pink, but the fruit turns pink when it oxidizes anyway. It was fork tender, but should it have been mushy? What I've got tastes good, but it's like a cross between a custard and an apple sauce--not what I expected. It's also hard to tell what is fruit and what is pit with a quince. Do people strain the fruit after it's cooked? This was an experiment, since I've never cooked with quince before. I'm flummoxed. Zuke

No Ling, I haven't been there. What do you usually order? Next time you have your vegetarian lunch, please give us a report. Zuke

maxmillan, Why do you need cherry syrup? Is there some reason you don't want to use kirsch? Zuke

Let me rephrase this properly so it isn't so rhetorical: "Do I really want to eat Nigiri with warm rice off the body of a naked woman?" Yes, fud, and I'd even volunteer for the hot beer chaser. ← So a few years back I e-mailed an upstart women-run porn website with the idea I could so some sexy food writing. I mean, for instance I wanted to write about chefs and food writers who were "hotties". They said that it would work if I wrote about food that would say, taste great eaten off a woman's pudenda. I said, "Hmmm, well maybe you want another woman for the job." There's a gig for you Andrew. Anyway, where can I find EAT? Suddenly it's not in my library, or community centre. How come it was all over the place two issues ago and now I can't find it in Mid Main anywhere. Zuke (who likes her men hot and her sushi cold) How did we get on this subject anyway?

I had dinner with my boy at the Bo Kong Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant this week. We always get the colourful vegetable chop suey in a taro nest. I love the caramelized cashews and the fake ham. I have really freaked out some vegetarian friends by serving them that dish! We also had deep fried enoki mushrooms on deep fried tofu. That dish did not live up to my expectations. I think the waiter was actually trying to dissuade me from ordering it, but I didn't catch on in time. "U" loves the taro nest and the deep fried tofu. This was one of the first restaurants we ever took him to. He must have been one and a half years old. He sat in a high chair and projectile vomited broccoli all over the floor. The waitress paused. Then she said, "Babies do that sometimes." They certainly do. We left a large tip. Sorry. T.M.I., I know. These are the memories families are made of. Zuke

sole meuniere (sp), omelettes, steamed mussels/clams, chowder, pork chops, schnitzle (sp), gnocci/ravioli, seared scallops........ ← Ah yes, mussels, chowder et al. Thanks for the suggestions! Hey all. It was a 2000 Chateau La Couspade Margeaux. A magnum to be exact, which we polished off in spades. What a night. It's your typical braise, topped with pureed root vegetables. Basically, sear off the duck legs and thighs, set aside, saute the aromatics, deglaze with wine, reduce by half, add the duck, cover with veal stock, cook for several hours. I removed the duck to cool so I could shred the meat from the bone, removed the spent vegetables and herbs, and covered the pulled duck meat with the strained stock/wine. The next day I defatted, reheated, strained again. Then again. Then again. Finally, I sauteed a dice of carrots, folded into the duck, reduced the sauce, filled the gratin dishes, then covered with potatoes and celeriac I pureed with cream and butter. Voila. ← Is that Margaux ready to drink or could it spend more time in the cellar? The shepard's pie sounds like a labour of love. That meal you had sounds like it was off the charts. Zuke

Okay, I have a confession to make. I've wanted to be a Lady Who Lunches since I was about twelve years old, living on the sun baked prairie 150 miles from the nearest city. I've entertained this fantasy in various ways ever since. Furthermore, I have a been a voyeur studying LWL's wherever I travel. In Vancouver I think of Seasons in the Park (Bill Clinton has dined there), Trafalger's (lots of university profs or wives profs), and Provence on W10 (also close to the university of B.C.). I was invited to my MOL's birthday at Seasons when I was very pregnant and nauseaus. It was a shame I couldn't enjoy my meal as I listened to these women talk about their lives, their children, grandchildren, and even their fights with cancer. I remember thinking: "I have arrived. I am an LWL." Unfortunately I've never been asked back since! At Trafalger's I must admit I eavesdrop on conversations about plastic surgery and trips to the Panama canal. I hope it is not a dying tradition to enjoy lunching with girlfriends as a theatrical ritual: getting dressed up and spilling your guts while filling your gullets. I am disturbed by the term men use to describe LWL in Vancouver as either the young "Yummy Mommies" or the middle aged "Cougars". Obviously they are threatened by the female power lunch. Which brings me to another couple of points: some women are lunching for business reasons. Some ladies are lunching alone as a treat they give themselves. Whatever the case, I know women who reclaim these derogatory terms, and use the phrases themselves, tongue firmly in cheek as they swirl their Sauvignon Blanc and test for mouthfeel and finish. In Germany I have observed women in furs, taking a break from shopping for kaffe mit schlagobers and a nice piece of torte. In England I had a memorable lunch in Bath in a tiny cafe above a cheese shop where we agreed to sit at the same table since the place was packed. We had a lovely conversation and I invited her to our performance at a theatre nearby. I hope she came to the show. Maybe one day I will go back and sit with her again. I think we had tarte tatin for dessert. What I think of as typical LWL dishes: warm seafood salad, Sauv Blanc, and creme brulée; quiche and salad (or more recently a savory rustic tart and salad); or rissotto cakes and salad. Prix Fixe menus. Comforting desserts. A cup of tea. We leave feeling connected, grounded, warmed, and smiling with secrets. Long live the Ladies Who Lunch! Zuke

Tonight's supper was "Clean Out the Fridge Crêpes": leftover Hainan chicken, corn, and gailan chopped up and sautéed with Riesling, some corn stock, salt and pepper, and a bit of fresh lemon juice. The corn stock gave the filling a low cal creaminess because it's made with soya milk. We drank the 2004 Gehringer Riesling with the crêpes, which picked up the lemon in the meal quite nicely. For dessert: red grapes dipped in melted Vivani Feine Bitter Grüntee Chocolate. My five- year-old son loved this. Maybe we'll have to get a little fondue pot for Christmas! I have a vintage Moffat gas oven that broke down, so have been cooking top o' the stove for two months. Please give me some inspiration. I've done the stir fries, chilis, risottos, lamb shanks, stews, and I'm running out of ideas. One more week to go. (I hope.) I miss baking cookies.

Abra, Thanks for your beautiful pics of Walla Walla. Looks like a good place for a weekend vacation. I'm enjoying your blog and took a peak at your first blog, which is great. I love your down to earth witty style. I agree with many of your opinions and we have the same blue bowls! (Must be a Pacific Northwest thing.) Do you ever read Diane Mott Davidson's culinary mysteries? She writes stories about a character who reminds me of you somehow. Goldy's a caterer, not a personal chef, but she takes on challenges like your church basement gig. I love those books. Cheers! Zuke

I've already said on another thread that I wish Locus would get a makeover. Paint it cream, add light, open it up. Renovate, tweak the menu and it would be packed every day. It's got a great location and the owner's smiling face brightens up the block. It has so much potential. As for HSG, why not make it a temple honoring the GBP? Shades of ginger, pumpkin, and cream in sumptuous Bordello-chic fabrics. I was thinking that if you made a version of this dessert in chocolate form, you may have an eGullet stampede to contend with. I say riff on a good thing-try a lemon version with another interesting ice cream combo. When you go to a pub in England, they often have a whole menu of just such puddings. It's comfort food that never goes out of style. Around Christmas I start to crave the steamed Christmas pudding with eggnog ice cream, rum, and "hard" sauce. My grandma's Christmas recipe has grated carrots in it, but I think I'll use my sticky toffee recipe this year instead. I think she just made the pudding as a vehicle for the rum anyway! Bless her. Zuke

Yes Sarah, Considering how many local wine lovers there are in this forum, I think we'd all love to hear more about the festival. Thanks, Zuke

Ended up at Coco et Olive before a concert at the Chan Centre for a latte and two bite brownie. Oh la la! C'est le vrai chose. The little brownies are 2 for $2 and I am in love with the fudgey icing--a bit of espresso in there, je pense. For you intense chocolovers out there the Chocolate Bouchons are made from 70% c.s. Belgian Chocolate. It's a mini cake stuffed with ganache. The cake is very rich and fine-grained. It's the richest chocolate dessert I think I've ever eaten. I think I can go back and have another bite now. I just take a hit from it once in a while! Tomorrow I am seriously starting my pre-Christmas diet and exercise regime! Zuke

I guess what irks me the most is that so many of my friends are vegetarian and they can afford to eat out, but find their options are limited. This article could have been an opportunity to search out fine dining options for vegans/vegetarians. Also, it could have been a great forum to discuss organic/vegan/vegatarian wine. Mr Mighty, PM me for the eGullet dating service. Sarah's related to me.

Dearest Andrew, our intrepid eG reporter. You need to get yourself an intrepid reporter wardrobe, and I don't mean Lloyd Robertson's windbreaker and penny loafers. Sorels, my son. Yes boyz, please take lots of pictures, especially of the women's swimming nude in chocolate event, which I vote for as the olympic sport eGullet sponsors in 2010. I think I could be a contendah! Shucks OG, Keep your eyes on the oysters. We don't want you to lose any appendages! Zuke