Zucchini Mama

Of course if you're desperate, you can order all the chocolate mentioned upthread online @www.chocosphere.com. Sometimes I just go there to think about the possibilities! (Sigh.) Zuke

I have to agree with you, revasser. I think the evening went a bit pear-shaped in more ways than we know, and instead of keeping her head and using some graceful tactics to turn things around, Gill got increasingly embarrassed and frustrated. Instead of being discreet, tactful and going back for a revisit under different circumstances, she shouts "Off with their heads!" However, when heads roll, one has to be careful not to get too close to the guillotine. All the more brioche for us.

drop of Sauterne at the corner of your lips if only we were alone Zuke

Huge fan of all things vintage here. I love your ice crusher-saw one at a shop around the corner the other day, so now I'm inspired to see how much they want for it. I'm noticing your curtains, radio, your kitchen seems vintage inspired. Love those old diner photos. I really didn't think the originals existed any more, as we live in the land of repros! I have a lovely old beehive blender that I use and cherish. Zuke

eatrustic, sounds like a similar experience I had a couple years back at the Murrieta's in Canmore. I loved the room-big windows, airy, Rocky Mountain feel, but the food was like Earl's-overpriced and over-hyped. We all left dissappointed. Zuke

Yes - just a bit north of Ho Yuen Kee (maybe a block or so). Excellent halal Pakistani food! Cheers! ← Okay, I've added Fraser Konditerei and Bakery--6533 Fraser special seasonal European goodies Bodhi Choi Heung Vegetarian Restaurant--3932 Fraser@ 23rd Ave., (604) 873-3848 I've heard good things about this place. Silver Palace on Fraser & 49th (same mall as Starbucks) Al Watan--6084 Fraser Street, (604) 324-6378 Legendary Halal Pakistani food Zuke

I'll give you the report on Boffins next weekend, Zuke! A plane-load of colleagues and myself are off to U. Sask. for the AGM of a large scientific project we all work on. The two-day meeting is punctuated with a formal dinner at Boffins, which is a rather appropriate locale (vocabulary lesson for those who knoweth not what a boffin is: boffin=research scientist.) They have a website, with some nice photos and PDFs of all their menus. Looks yummy! We're being served some sort of "Saskatchewan red meat" according to the vegetarian warning email that went out to the group this morning, so I have all my fingers and toes crossed for the bison ribeye steak ← Yay! It really looks cozy in the pictures in the magazine. I hope you get the bison, it sounds good. Now I know what the name means! Have a fun trip. Zuke

Before the restaurant on East 65th Avenue was sold, these two restaurants were owned by feuding members of the same family. The one on East 65th Avenue is now the Original Tandoori Kitchen, part of a five-restaurant chain; though this is the location our family preferred, I haven't tried its fare since the ownership change. However, you can't go wrong at Tandoori King at 8017 Fraser Street. Clear as mud, no?! And don't forget about Grand View Szechuan on the west side of Fraser at East 26th Avenue. Was just there for lunch last week and the food was every bit as delicious as it was when they were on West Broadway. They're also fantastic for takeout; be sure to grab a menu Zuke, as I'm sure you're well within their delivery area. ← Thanks Moosh, I will grab a delivery menu. Stephen Wong raves about some of the dishes at Ho Yuen Kee at 6236 Fraser (604) 324-8855. He mentioned something about crab and garlic chips...! Zuke

Saskatchewan News Couple of new places I've read about in Saskatchewan in the Fall Issue of "Flavours" Magazine: "World-travelled[sic]" chef Rob Fuller, who cooked for Mohamed al Fayed on a yacht is now at Thyme's Short in Regina. Boffins at Innovation place in Saskatoon "offers a full-service lunch and dinner menu, full of local ingredients and Canadian Classics". Anyone heard any buzz on these places? Junior? Zuke

Thanks folks. Now I just want to get the locations right. PM me if I've got the cross street wrong. Let us know specifically what draws you to the place. I'll make a list and post it at the top of the thread. Bee Kim Heng Beef and Pork Jerky--4194 Fraser St.@ King Ed, (604) 875-8688 European Breads-- 4324 Fraser, @28th I can vouch for their Georgian Baguette-sour and chewy goodness. Nooru Mahal--4354 Fraser@ 28th Dosas! Kedah House-- 5750 Fraser, @S. of 41st Malaysian Muslim-phone to check hours Koon Bo 5682 Fraser--mini mall@41st and Fraser BBQ Duck! Tandoori Kitchen- Which one?

I've been wanting to post this thread for a while, since I find myself on Fraser, and then try to remember all the eGullet pit stops on this street. What are the food-stops on Fraser? Which bakeries, delis, restaurants, bubble tea and sweet shops do you recommend? Last week my son and I did a pre-Halloween shop at the Mennonite Thrift Store, then headed up to the Kedah House for lunch. He had the chicken sate with little cubes of cold rice and cucumbers. I had the lamb byriani, which was tasty, but scary as there was little pieces of lamb bone shrapnel throughout. Then we headed a few doors north to the (Daia?) Sweet Shop, where I had a masala chai and he had a mango kulfi pop. They had these deep-fried battered green chilis in the front corner that looked mighty good. Anyone tried these? Zuke p.s. Here's a summary of the hot spots mentioned below. PM me if any details are innacurate. Now I can print this out and carry it with me the next time I'm on Fraser! Bee Kim Heng Beef and Pork Jerky--4194 Fraser St.@ King Ed (604) 875-8688 Grand View Szechuan--west side of Fraser at 26th Ave. They deliver. European Breads-- 4324 Fraser, @28th I can vouch for their Georgian Baguette-sour and chewy goodness. Nooru Mahal--4354 Fraser@ 28th Dosas! Kedah House-- 5750 Fraser, @S. of 41st Malaysian Muslim-phone to check hours Koon Bo 5682 Fraser--mini mall@41st and Fraser BBQ Duck! Ho Yuen Kee--6236 Fraser, (604) 324-8855 Crab with garlic chips Original Tandoori Kitchen-689- 65th Ave, one door west of Fraser Tandoori King 8017 Fraser Street

Weird I thought there was a MexiCali's on arbutus and 33rd (ish) by the chevron station. ← There was...until that big fire wiped out all the stores at that strip mall. I think it's an M&M meat shop now (unless M&M is beside the old Mexicali location. ← Mexicali on Dunbar is the same guy, transplanted, along with his loyal customers which seem to be mostly tall teenage boyz lookin' for cheap grub. Zuke

Popped over to the Kolachy Shop after hitting the Westend Market on Saturday. Had an English Brekkie Kolachy which filled my gap quite nicely, thanks very much. Got to meet Kolachy Keith and stocked up on a bunch of kolachy to tide us over the holiday weekend and into the next week. The pumpkin pie was luscious-really like that dollop of creamy goodness on top. Zucchini Papa and Bambino loved the Turkey Dinner ones-finally a food item the whole family likes! Zuke

Thanksgiving Grape Pie-Diary of a Madwoman Oct 9 Last year I tasted a grape pie at my son's preschool potluck and became intrigued. So this year I decided to do some research and make one as a surprise for thanksgiving. I bought a box of BC concords at the local East West grocery store, and we've been snacking on them for a week. They are quite small, dark with a good bloom and lots of little seeds. Reading a few recipes online, I discovered that the method involved squeezing the pulp out of the skins, cooking it up, them strain out the seeds. I was a bit suspicious, but once I tried cutting the little grapes in half and trying to flick out the seeds, I knew I'd go crazy doing the whole bunch this way, and the skins were coming off anyway. Finally, I got a rhythm going, pick a grape off the stem, squeeze out the pulp, plop pulp in one bowl, plop skin in another. I was only on dessert duty this year, so didn't mind a bit of finicky labor, besides these are the activities that fix into you body memory and remind you of special occasions like this. I made a pumpkin cheesecake from scratch as well, so I had bought a beautiful little sugar pumpkin at UBC farm. The big complication is our oven isn't working, so I had to cook everything at our neighbor's house two doors down. I started by cooking the pumpkin last night, cutting it into quarters and roasting it while reading Dean Koontz's "Frankenstein" in an empty house. Very spooky! I loved it. This morning I made the cheesecake, and while it was baking, I worked on the grape pie. I used the crust recipe out of Sid Goldstein's book (The Wine Lover's Cookbook) which is nice for this time of year because it's got a bit of cinnamon in it. I use a bit less cinnamon than he does, to make it a bit more subtle. I flubbed up the crust a bit, trying to combine a rustic tart idea of flipping over extra dough instead of crimping it, then I put some streusel topping on it. It didn't look beautiful, but it looked tasty. Smells a bit like cough syrup, but that's not the grape's fault, it's the fault of people who think medicines taste better if they taste like fake grapes. Poor grapes, if only they could rise up in protest. Thank god fluoride treatments don't taste like pumpkin cheesecake! Anyway, to top the cheesecake I usually make a maple syrup pumpkinseed brittle, but didn't have hulled seeds around, so I ground up some local hazelnuts and roasted them. I poured some maple syrup on the top of the cheesecake, added the buts, then put a bit more maple syrup on top of that. Oct. 10 So the grape pie was a big success. It was a real conversation piece, and people were really curious about the alchemy of how the pie ends up with a gorgeous purple filling using the process described above. The cheesecake was also a huge hit. I think the hazelnuts are a keeper. It wasn't overly sweet, especially since I forgot to put sugar in the graham cracker crust, so it tastes really good with extra lashings of maple syrup, which is what I had for breakfast! There was lots of leftover dessert because Aunt C made two apple pies as well. Leftovers are the best part of Thanksgiving! We had a big ole bottle of Sauterne with the desserts-butter, lemon, honey. They had a hard time prying that bottle out of my hands! Zuke

Westend Market Went to the final Westend market. It's actually in a beautiful setting, right off Nelson Park where the trees are in the midst of their fall fashion show. It has most of the same vendors as the Nat Bailey Market, with a few new ones. I bought some Bad Girl Chocolates (of course) chocolate chip cookies from Blackberry Hill, and some quince from a Demeter-certified orchard. I don't know what I'll do with the quince, but they are intriguing-very fragrant and covered with a soft yellow flocking. Bought a few Krims from Klippers and sliced one on top of a Turkey Dinner kolachy (cut in half) for lunch. Thanksgiving in a bun. Zuke

Concord Grape Pie isn't any big secret, although I never had a grape pie with streusel topping. The technique is to "slip the skins" and cook the green pulp with seeds until it boils, then run the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds (the pulp liquifies so this is not a difficult task). Mix the pulp back with the skins, combine with the sugar and flour which have been combined. My old (circa 1940s) Betty Crocker Cookbook, which is the recipe I've made in the past, uses the following ingredients for a 9" pie: 5 1/3 cups grapes, 1 1/3 C. sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 1/3 t. lemon juice, 1/4 t. salt, 1 1/2 T. butter. Rather strange fractions, I think. Bake at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes for a non-frozen pie. My all purpose pie streusel is 1/2 C. butter, 1/2 C. packed brown sugar and 3/4 C. flour, combined with a pastry cutter or combined in food processor. When I convert a 2-crust pie to a streusel, I omit some of the sugar and all of the flour and butter from the pie filling. In the case of grapes, however, I think the flour could be left in because of the pureed nature of the filling. The grape filling is a rich purple and rather tart, like cherry or rhubarb, and goes well with ice cream. Good luck with the green grapes, I've never made a pie with them. ← Thanks for this recipe, Ruth. I will try a few experiments. The thing is, I could swear her concord grape pie had whole grapes in it, but of course, I must have been wrong. Although some people cut the grapes in half and flick out the seeds with a knife. If I did that, and mixed the grapes with the flour mixture would I really have to cook them on top of the stove before baking them? I may try a couple fo methods. Also, aren't there some seedless varieties of dark grapes now? Zuke

Choux Choux is offering ready-to-cook items that couldn't be easier, but since your friend is not cooking for his parents, here are a few dining options. Fairmont Empress - The Empress Room is offering a swell four course dinner on Monday night. $75.00. They still have some resos between 6:15 - 9 p.m. In the basement of the Empress, Kiplings is offering a hedonistic all-you-can-eat Thankgiving buffet. This is priced at $36.00 per person. Both places require a reservation. Gatsby Mansion A popular place every Thanksgiving. Shuffle in with the seniors at just $29.95 per person for dinner offered on both Sunday and Monday nights. Or put on the feedbag for the brunch, offered on both days from 10 to 3 p.m. This one is a true bargain at $21.95. That's turkey with all the fixins plus pumpkin pie AND ice cream!!!!! Uncle Willy's There is a FREE Thanksgiving dinner held here every year and put together by Ernie Dodd of Dodd's Furniture Warehouse. Anyone can go. Ernie Dodd is an amazing man. ← Thanks Shelora, This is perfect. I'll pass on the word. Zuke

My friend wants to take his parents out for turkey dinner this weekend in Victoria. Does anyone know of any thanksgiving specials? Zuke

Siren, this pie sounds great. Does the nut mixture go on top like a streusal? I want to make a grape pie this weekend, and wonder if this recipe would work with seedles grapes cut in half? I had such a good grape pie last fall, made with concords, (I think) and a streusal topping. The woman wouldn't share the recipe. So I'm going to experiment this weekend. Anyone have any updates on good recipes for grape pie? Zuke

Hainan Chicken and Market Salad It's a cold, rainy autumn day and the stove still doesn't work, so I decide to try to cook Hainan Chicken for the first time. It's so easy and quick-I can't believe I haven't put this in my rotation before! Teacher's strike starts tomorrow, so we will be warm and cozy at home with plenty of chicken soup fixings in the fridge! I decided to cook wild rice in the stock from the chicken, and improvised a ginger dipping sauce with a different twist: Austrian Pumpkin seed oil, ginger, garlic, broth, chili paste, and a bit of soya sauce (I need to get some fish sauce!) I made a salad with greens from UBC farm (that are mixed with Calendula and cornflower blossoms), Poplar Grove hazelnuts, Light Blue cheese from Little Qualicum, and Fujiyama apple chunks from Klipper's. Dessert was a pumpkin spice truffle from Bad Girl, which was very elegant and refined. We've been having cheese plates all week with BC Concord grapes, dried figs, the aforementioned Light Blue, and some Manchego. Our B.C. wine this week was the dependable Gehringer Bros. Cuvée Noir. I may check out the West End farmer's market on Saturday. Can someone explain to me where it is? I don't know that part of town very well. Zuke

Did some say Valkyries...? Funny that there's a bit of a buzzzz about mead goin' around these days. People are talkin'. I think it may have the potential to be a home brew kind of thing. I'm interested in finding a U-brew that's mead-friendly. I'm a huge fan of Merridale Cyser-cider made with honey, so maybe there's a U-brew in town that has a bit of knowledge and would be open to mead/cyser-making. Let's ask around and see if it could happen. I think there's fun to be had with sherry or champagne yeasts. The possibilities are intriguing. Zuke

Nat Bailey market day again already! This morning I cooked up chanterelles with scrambled happy UBC eggs, Little Qualicum fromage frais, Romano, S and P and a few fennel fronds. Served with a side of cherry tomatoes from UBC farm. Now that the UBC farm market is closed, you can still buy the remaining produce at the Sprouts shop on campus in the basement of the SUB. Last week's Bad Girl truffle of the week was Stout, which was my favorite so far. The Stout adds a savory richness to the chocolate that really does pull out the great notes of the chocolate she uses. I think that should be a regular truffle. Unfortunately, there are not enough pumpkins this year for UBC farm to have a pumpkin market since the school tours are going to pick them. I recommend a trip out to Westham Island Herb Farm where they have photogenic pumpkin fields, fresh herbs and for a modest fee they will pick you a beautiful fall flower bouquet. It lacks the tacky Elvis impersonator shows of other pumpkin farms. (Which you may think is a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on what you're lookin' for in a pumpkin farm.) Zuke

Dough Say Can You See... Hmm, let's see, If I had to choose between a brioche from Sen5es, an almond croissant from Torrefazione in Victoria and a donut from the Honey Donut Shop in Deep Cove, it would be a hard decision. But regular donuts are always a sugar high that's way too short and a sugar low that's way too long-a big graph for disappointment. I think I'd rather see Kolachy shops in every city block and country mile rather than T. Ho's. I just found a great quote by Willa Cather, who spells them slightly differently: "If security could ever have a smell, it would be the fragrance of a warm kolache." As for a baked icon of our country, I'd rather have a pastry that smells like comfort, than one that tastes like disappointment. Zuke

Pondok Indonesia is at 2781 Commercial Drive (604) 872-8718. I haven't eaten there, but other eGulleters reccomend it. It probably doesn't stay open that late, but if you wanted a bite before you went to the concert Pondok would fit the bill. For late night, you can pop on the number 20 bus down (North) to somewhere like Rime-Turkish food (with more live music, most likely), or Stella's. Zuke

When I was a kid - we used to have a brass charcoal mongolian hot pot. The first time we set it up - we did inside the house (cause it was too cold outside). Not sure if this was such a smart move - I am sure that I still have some carbon monoxide damage issues. One of my favorite food memories was having an outdoor lamb hot pot in Beijing (I think that it was during Thanksgiving). My friends and I had just returned from the Great Wall - and it was snowing. We sat outside on a low rooftop. There was a charcoal hot pot and the broth was boiling and steaming - it was like a little steam engine. We sat there under the cover of night with snow drifting down - dipping thinly sliced lamb into hot broth and then selection of sauces. It was like something out of a movie. My Vancouver Thanksgivings tend to be like the ones Ling describes - a mixture of West and East. My mother's side of the family is huge - so there was always a huge spread. Turkey and Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, vegetables, fried rice and noodles. I've read about people stuffing their birds with sticky rice and chinese sausage - that sounds soo good it makes my head swim... ← I've always had the charcoal inside-at my aunt's house and in restaurants in Saskatoon. Love the story of you and your mom-I can just picture it. And I want to try the sticky rice stuffing idea-we're going to have to do it ourselves, since I just found out MIL is NOT making a turkey this year. She wants her roast beef. As long as there's Yorkshire pudding, I say. This means the wines will be serious. Zuke