Zucchini Mama

My MIL received Yoku Moku cookies for Christmas and is crazy for them. Has anyone seen them for sale in Vancouver? Zuke

We usually just pick one restaurant that we haven't been to for DOV. This year we're going to Adesso Bistro on the 21st. I'm so excited! Zuke

This is the fourth year I've done exactly what you're proposing. I would go with the scrapbooky look, to emphasize its homespun quality. Mine are totally amateur-just to save money and time. It's literally photocopied letter sized pages put in a file folder with those fold-back tabs. I also have a scrapbook that mom made me with vintage photos and handwritten recipes, but it is too precious to have in the kitchen. The ones I make can get all covered with flour and chocolate batter and it doesn't matter. I have one tip though, you may need to really give people the nudge to give you recipes--they may be too humble or shy about it, but tell them you want the recipes because you love them and that will work! I also put in newspaper clippings of family members, my child's drawings, anecdotes, diary entries, my grandmother's poems, etc. It's kind of like a family almanac. With your design background the sky's the limit! They are wonderful to have as I just used one tonight and was glad I'd written about the day two years ago when we made the same chocolate pudding. It's also great to go to your sister's place and she has all your favorite recipes so you can cook them for her! Also, before you go into production think about how many you're going to make and how much they will cost, because you know how things can add up before you know it! Have fun and let us know how it turns out! Zuke

Marlena! All this talk of grilled cheese and not one word about Welsh Rarebit? I somehow only make it when I'm on England. Do your ever make it? I have good memories of cycling to the Hundred House, picking blackberries from the hedgerows and then making an apple blackberry rustic tart. Zuke

In 2006, I will eat more local organic food. I will try to be conscious of the journey the food takes to my plate and aware of the quality of the farmer's lives who grow it. I will make sour cherry pie and chocolate pudding cake. I will find more friends to sing, dance, laugh, debate and eat with. I will learn to whisper. I will teach children how to mispronounce ceviche, chitpotle, merlot, etc. I will read more poetry and purely escapist fiction. This is the year I will try to be more organized and patient in the kitchen. I will taste with my tongue, my heart and my brain. I will use my time as creatively as possible. I will give my partner the weirdest fortieth birthday party ever. I will give more dinner parties and organize more potluck dinners. "We" need to put a dimmer switch in the dining room. My kid will expand his palate and learn better table manners. I will eat my daily reccomended allowance of chocolate. Zuke

Banoffee Pie! Now you have to post a recipe for that--you're torturing us! I can't believe you haven't had a light steamed pudding--oh God they're good. I made the "pasties" with cooked ingredients, and added some curry powder and dipped them in tamarind chutney-so they were more like samosas, only the wrong shape. This made me realize I should have made a jerk sauce and turned them into Jamaican patties! Choices, choices! I have been to Ludlow and I love that place-it has kept some of the vestiges on the English Market Town vs. the large supermarket and mall-ification of many towns and villages there. Swisskaese's recipe sounds great-I would put the potatoes in with the chicken though. I've had lemon potatoes in Greece that melt in your mouth. I like mac and cheese with pine nuts on top. Now I'm really hungry. Baby lambs, oh how they make me laugh--much nicer than mouldy old sheep! Thanks for your description of the neighborhood-sometimes that's more evocative than photos! Zuke

I think her point was that if you are looking for a very thick spanish hot chocolate, that is a different thing than just "hot chocolate". The specific difference here is the absence of corn starch. happy hunting. ← Yes, I know the history, but my point is hot chocolate has been adopted by different ethnic groups and modified. I prefer the new world style of hopkins'. I'm somewhat familiar with the old world style, but it's not my favorite--in the same way I prefer a Bordeaux to a Burgundy. (It would be a better analogy to compare an old world wine to a new world one, but I like both styles.) Chacun a son gout! Happy Drinking!

That is a great idea. I use all the spices mentioned above and this year for my amateur family cookbook I think I will focus on each of these and come up with some recipes. I'm really interested in how different cultures use the same ingredient, i.e. sesame. I love tahini and I love gomashio, so yesterday I had chicken raviolini tossed with tahini (mixed with grated ginger and soya sauce) and liberally sprinkled it with gomashio. So there you have it: Italian/Middle Eastern/Japanese fusion! It may sound wierd, but it's good comfort food. I was just craving that nutty umami sesame flavor. I haven't tried the smoked paprika, but it sounds great. I love paprika on sautéd mushrooms. I love star anise in chicken biryani, and I put it in my chai as well. Some days I just open the jar and inhale-fewer calories that way!

Hi Marlena, I'm a bit homesick for England--can you describe the scene out your windows for us? My gran used to put grated carrots in her Christmas pud and dose it liberally with rum. I think it was really just a vehicle for the rum. Anyhow, my sister vetoed it this year! I was thinking I'd like a good sticky toffee pudding instead of the traditional one. I had some little pieces of chocolate covered Christmas pudding this year, the size of truffles which were very good. I love steamed chocolate pudding with creme anglaise-gorgeous. Okay, I've got a roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and Yukon spuds, kale and sauted onions and mushrooms in my fridge. I was thinking I'd make Cornish pasties. Do you ever make them? I googled some recipes, but they all start with raw ingredients. Hmmm...should I make chicken pot pies instead? I'm asking the expert here! My partner is lactose intolerant so I can't use milk. Zuke

I still think your hot chocolate is EXCELLENT. I've been craving one all week! Hopefully Saturday I can drop by for another fix. I like the balance between sweet and savory, dark and creamy. If you boyz are lookig for a Spanish or Mexican hot chocolate, then that is a completely different beast and you must say so. Don't change the recipe hopkin, please! Zuke

There are other threads regarding afternoon tea on eGullet--search the Baking forum, the British forum, and the Vancouver forum, where we have sampled a few afternoon teas about town. I like scones and mini croissants with lots of sweet and savory options (jam, smoked salmon cream cheese, etc.) I love pecan tassies and little savory tarts. There must be lemon tarts. There must be chocolate. Cucumber sandwiches are optional. I also like tea-flavored sweets like matcha or Earl Grey shortbread. Zuke

A Trappist Monastery is surprising, the buffalo are unexpected, but what are Native American dream catchers doing hanging behind the bags in boxes? Thanks for sharing the bounty of your home with us this week. It's been fascinating and a real education. Zuke

Your latkes and pomegranate tart, the tapenade and everything looked so delicious. Your big breakfast looked divine. We're just about to head out the door for our futuristic NYE party. Happy New Year Tapenade and Swisskaese! May there be peace and affordable lamb in your future! Zuke

We have been invited to a neighborhood progressive theme dinner. There will be costumes, theme music and wierd food. We are doing "the future". We are serving Soilent Green dip, Clockwork Orange punch and multi-course "spirals". Oh dear, what have we gotten ourselves into? Zuke

Pontormo, Did the recipe just ask for fish sauce or specifically "nuoc mam"? A cookbook I own called "Vietnam; Street Café" by Annabel Jackson distinguishes between that and "nam pla" which is not as strong. Zuke

And the ice wine...all 18 bottles...is a decidedly urine yellow. I can tell because it is bottled in clear beer bottles. With a screw top. We opened one last night in the interest of culinary science. Kind of like cough syrup. Might be okay in a vat of fruit punch where you just want to get some kind of booze into it to drown the pain of being at yet another event where they are serving fruit punch ← badiane, I have good news for you! My FIL has found that u-brew ice wine is the perfect bait for wasp traps! Zuke Sorry, I can't think of a use for the pink musk, though.

^ Interesting discussion on Southern cuisine. There's an article in the December issue of Gourmet Magazine you may enjoy called "LowCountry Lowdown" by Jack Hitt discussing "Gullah" cuisine. For those who like a fusion of Scottish and Chinese comfort food, "Gung haggis fat choy!" Zuke

All of the above!! I love almost all the comfort foods people have mentioned but have never had the opportunity to try grits and collard greens. It seems strange that I have never seen them in Canada. About ten years ago I went on a macrobiotic diet for about six months. A really good macrobiotic meal that sorts out my yin and yang makes me smile like a Chesire Cat. It's a good after-Christmas diet. I may have to dust off the old cookbooks after this season's indulgences. Zuke

Swisskaese, I had the same Easy Bake oven you did and I used to do the same thing-put mustard and ketchup and all sorts of things in the mix to serve to my friend's brother. Only I think I did it because I had a crush on him. The triangular cubby holes--I just imagine candles in them. You studied classical singing too! I bet your facility for languages come from your musical ear. Zuke

The chef at Anona's down the street from me makes a version of S'mores with marshmallow piped onto a ginger cookie and covered in chocolate. There's a recipe here on the Food Network site that looks similar. It's oddly comforting to hear experienced bakers make mistakes too. I can't understand why we can put men, women, dogs, and monkeys on the moon, but we can't develop a better candy thermometer. I mean, where are our nations' priorities? Zuke

Swisskaese, the menu for your latke party looks amazing. I am so looking forward to peeking in on your preparations for it. Thanks to those who are explaining all the linguistic nuances. What I wouldn't give to be the "Shabbas goy" in your household! Zuke

Yay Swisskaese, happy hannukah! I'm looking forward to some serious armchair travelling in your blog. Will you give us a latke tutorial? I've never figured out how to make them well. Have Fun! Zuke

Sausage from Cactus Lake, bacon bits from Drake, Saskatchewan, sour cream and onions from Alberta, and perogies from Vancouver! Grandpa and Grandma Zucchini! I treasure the gift they gave me-- a pot of Saskatchewn honey encased in beeswax. The madwoman who documented it all! May your joy be as absurdly abundant as the zucchini. May you bask in joy, and fill yourself with its light. May you fill the sealer jars in the root cellar in your imagination with joy, so that on a dark night you may open one and warm yourself by its brilliance. A Very Merry Zucchini Christmas to you!

Merry Christmas jayhay and Cassandra. vancitygirl, you reminded me, I haven't told you how the quince jam tasted--well, it didn't set. It was more like a quince butter and tasted of pear, crabapple, honey and the haunting flavour of quince itself. I am anxious to try the other samples of quince jam that I found. Also, check out this wonderful article in Saveur Magazine if you're intrigued by quince. We've fried up some onions and bacon and we're just about to cook the sausage and perogies!

Merry Christmas makanmakan, Daddy-A and Ling!!!!! Here's a history book I can reccomend for those who want to go more deeply into the topic of farming the Palliser triangle. It's called Empire of Dust: Settling and Abandoning the Prairie Dry belt by David C. Jones I didn't talk much about the buffalo jerky I bought earlier, because I feel it had too many ingredients, if you know what I mean. I'll have to track down a better version of the stuff-tastes a bit like shoe leather, but it can really give you a good hit of energy. Dad also gave me a lesson in sausage making. He makes his sausage with half free range Black Angus beef and half free range pork. He pours boiling water over some garlic cloves and then uses that water with salt and pepper and sometimes mustard seed to season it. Once the meat is ground and spiced, the trick is you leave it for an hour, then fry up a small patty of it to see if it's seasoned to your liking. Next, you crank it into the natural casings, twist them, tie and cut them. I'll try to post the photos in the cook-off forum when I get home.