tangaloor

Faubourg in Kerrisdale is great. Some of my favourite confections are made by Wendy Boys of Cocolico. She doesn't have a storefront, but she often attends events or gives classes, or you can contact her through cocolico.ca. She also makes macarons!

I second thirtyoneknots' approach, though it's a bit of overkill if all you're after is a devils food cake. The butter you'll make is worth the effort; the buttermilk is also delicious and flecked with tiny bits of butter.

Thanks! Great cocktails site you have! I'll try this one again for our after-bridge drink on Wednesday.

I had a great cocktail at Little Bird in Portland a little while ago: the French Cola. All I have is the bar menu description: Pastis, Averna, lemon, soda. Delicious! I've been working on the proportions but I'm not close. And I can only drink so many failures in one evening.

Has anyone tried steam juicers? For example: http://www.juicer-steamer.com/10litmehstea.html They seem to be very suited to certain types of tasks.

Not sure how paleo these are, but things like konyakku and kelp noodles work. There are the raw vegan standby grain replacements as well: processed & pressed jicama makes a relatively convincing cous cous (check out living raw food by sarma melngailis). Raw cookbooks are much easier to come by than paleo ones and provide some good ideas on this. The diet restrictions are remarkably similar in some ways, despite the vitriol on both sides of that debate. As for cooked, I've heard about "cauliflower rice" as well, but never tried it. I've been working on paleo for a few months now and I admit I miss some of my favourite foods.

There's a world of options out there if you're willing to go a bit out of the way. A good natural foods store should have a large variety; try them all out. I like many other bars better than Clif bars, my major criteria are: 1. it must be food; 2. it must be tasty; 3. it must be functional. (I do ultra-long-distance cycling and I need a high rate of constant energy refueling with no digestion issues. I may eat 10-15 bars or more on a ride so I also need variety.) Some particular recommendations: Paleotreats, Steve's Original Paleokrunch, and Love Force bars. They're arguably much better for you, and I certainly think they're much better tasting. The Paleotreats brownie in particular is absolutely divine, and at the bar-ish end of things the Love Force bars are delicious. I would happily eat those Paleotreats brownies for dessert even when I'm not riding. Availability is mostly online, though I've found Love Force at a local natural foods co-op.

I just read a much more negative review of the new menu at Ubuntu on Vegansaurus ( http://vegansaurus.com/post/1250615409/ubuntu-revisited ) They're quite exuberant about opinions over there: "just like when Yoko Ono orders a single plum floating in perfume served in a man’s hat on The Simpsons! But less funny because THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING" So I'm glad to see some other reports. I agree that the plating is unusual, to say the least. To me it seems to be trying way too hard.

I've been making a slightly sour, spritzy summer drink with Tibicos (also known as "water kefir"). These little active culture grains transform sugar-water (with whatever fruits you enjoy) into a lovely carbonated, shrubbish beverage. Strawberries are lovely in summer, ginger makes a great winter drink. You can find them commercially online, or you may be able to score some for free locally. They act in the same way as kefir grains, but in sugar water rather than milk. The longer you leave them in, the more sour & less sweet the end result. In an airtight container you'll get a carbonated drink, but watch the pressure.

You found it! And only $394.98! Seems I should have picked it up as an investment.

Any reviews of the Waring Xtreme? I've been considering one of these because they're available with a stainless container.

Once, many years ago, I was browsing in the local cookbook shop and came across a book about Austrian nut-flour pastries. Oddly (to my mind) the main theme of the cover was that this book contained gluten-free baking recipes. Anyway, I can't track down any trace of this book. Does anybody recognise it? I'd be very happy to hear recommendations for other nut-flour pastry books!

The Pickl-It setup is nicer than most homebrew solutions, but I wonder if the cost (at least the shipping!) could be reduced by selling just the unique parts of the setup? For people with an extensive collection of those jars already (like me!), it seems a waste to ship yet another 3 litre jar across the country. Not to mention I'd have to smuggle it into the house--DH thinks I have way too many jars as it is. It looks like I could use the lid portion with the european jars I already have. Anyway, it's a great idea for adapting the jars.

Elizabeth Falkner gives a vegan marshmallow recipe in Demolition Desserts, using xanthan gum rather than gelatin. Haven't tried it yet, but she does make some fine desserts...

I have a trip to Tofino coming up later this week. Has anyone got any hot tips on the dining front out that way? I know a few of the usual suspects and read EAT's updates, but I'm looking for the real scoop! And is there anywhere worth dropping in to while we take a pitstop in Port Alberni? Now that would be a real scoop.