adinfinitu

I don't have any of this, but my husband has this thing where he half believes that any food that comes near staples (delivery pizza, take-out Chinese in paper boxes) will have staples in it.

A company in the UAE offers Boy Cheese. (look in the list of brands) A local middle eastern grocery near me once had a poster in the window for it, and I was very sad that I didn't get a picture.

Toothbrush and Bar Keepers Friend.

The Ethiopian cookbook I have (Exotic Ethiopian Cooking : Society, Culture, Hospitality, and Traditions) starts a lot of things with dry fried onions. They later go on to add about a 1:1 ratio of spiced clarified butter or oil to the other main ingredients, so I've never tried any of the recipes. I'll go to a restaurant and pretend to eat in ignorant bliss instead.

I finally made it to Far Flung Foods, last Wednesday. They only had three raw milk soft cheeses available, two from Quebec (cow and goat) and one from France. Sadly, I did not get the names because I expected them to be written on the packages, but they were not. This is the goat cheese from Quebec. It is semi-soft, with a few tiny holes and a thin, waxed rind. It has a very clean, fresh scent and mild, but tasty flavor. This is the cow cheese from France. It is a little softer than the goat cheese, and a very complex scent! The rind is thin and edible and has a finish that reminds me a bit of very fine cornmeal? The interior has a smooth, moderately strong, complex nutty flavor. This is the Quebec cow's milk cheese, perfectly ripe. The wrapper has the fragment "-agine" on it. The cheese has a thin washed rind, and smells like garbage! The flavor of the paste has a strong truffle component. It's a lot more complex than any similar cheeses I've had before in the US. If anyone has any idea of what any of their names are, please let me know. I will also call FFF tomorrow and see if they can help.

My aluminum tortilla press has oxidized a bit, and I want to replace it. Is any one kind better than another? I've been looking around, and the metal ones all seem to be aluminum or tinned (?) cast iron. Is stainless steel available?

Kelly, I just called Far Flung Foods, and they have the Quebec raw milk cheeses on backorder--she said they should be available in a few weeks. I'd suggest calling first if the only reason you're going to Windsor is for the cheese--due to cross-border shopping, getting back into the States has taken 1 to 1-1/2 hours lately. I'm going to check them out this weekend anyway, and I will report back. I meant to do this weeks ago, but family matters have gotten in the way. My father-in-law has been buying some really good fresh ricotta in the market--I'll have to ask him which vendor he's frequenting. It might even be this one!

Thanks, ryangary, I've been in the market a a number of times, but haven't noticed this vendor. I will check it out!

Just like the title says: are raw milk soft cheeses available in the Windsor area, or anywhere southeast of Toronto? I haven't even been able to find a store with a really good cheese selection of any kind in this city. I live in Detroit, but travel to Windsor often. Edited to add: what a dope. I hit the send key after making a typo in the title and now can't figure out how to fix it. Sorry.

Chase Road Poultry is right up the street from me in Dearborn, MI. I've never been in the store, as I like my meat to be good and dead before I see it.

I'd like Coke to come out with a product that is just like regular coke, but with more syrup. Or maybe just more flavoring, but the same amount of sugar. They could call it Coke MAXXXXX or something like that, for the kiddies. I'd drink it.

I made the Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread recipe from Epicurious for Xmas, just as the recipe was written, using Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, two days in advance. Even though it was called gingerbread, it was a cake, not bread: very moist and dense with a bit of stickiness. I was very happy with it, as were a bunch of the guests, especially with slightly sweetened whipped cream.

My family slum foods (really 50s-style cuisine made in the 70s): Casserole #1: ground beef fried with onions, combined with: canned macaroni and cheese, canned corn, canned kidney beans, and tomato paste; and Casserole #2: ground beef fried with onions, mixed with egg noodles boiled with a beef boullion cube, combined with: canned mushrooms, canned tomato soup, and lots of cream cheese. Sprinkle crushed potato chips on top, dot with butter, and bake. I occasionally get a taste for #2, but manage to stave it off. In high school, I often made a pot of rice, then mixed it with a can of tomato soup. It was delicious sludge. Pickle or lettuce sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread. Cream cheese and green olives on white bread. Macaroni and cheese from a box with link sausages and ketchup. My own poor student days included vats of thin chicken soup, no-brand boxed macaroni and cheese, no-brand ramen noodles, and no-brand hot dogs. Lots of eggs. Cold ravioli from the can, or with melted munster cheese on top. Current slummy loves include tortilla chips with cottage cheese and salsa and tomato sandwiches on white bread with velveeta and mayonnaise. And I still like Campbell's Veg Veg and Tomato Bisque soups.