Peter the eater

This phenomenon exists with Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart, Canadian Living, etc. I hate it. Recycled recipes and pictures are a part of the mag world, for better or worse.

Too small. I fill my containers like they are the tiny bulb at they end of a tiny pipette. A conventional North American soy sauce packet from a restaurant would fill half a dozen.

I attended my local giant pumpkin weigh-in on the weekend. The winner was over 1400 lbs -- 300 shy of the world record held by a grower in Ohio. These pumpkins get carved into boats for a charity regatta, then composted.

Thanks Heidi, Erin sent me a pile of kid-friendly bento accessories from Japan a couple of years ago. This stuff is absolutely unavailable where I live -- unless I travel or buy online there's really nowhere to get it. It's really a shame, parents here want healthy portable meals from home without throw-away packaging. I took a close-up of the words on the tops because they always make me laugh when I pack them up. The boys blue cover has a typo and the girl's cover has a rather mature message . . .

Nakji, my kids love their bentos. They've evolved from living room picnics with cartoon animals to bus-worthy school meals. Here's what I made my two for lunch tomorrow: 4 pieces of veg roll (veg = carrot, yellow zuke & leek) with cute soy and plum sauces, cheese& grapes, yogurt and a spectacular Annapolis Valley apple.

Plum tart, I don't know if Trindles is still there. Your lunch spot with the long tables sounds like The Lower Deck.

That's good advice. Old fungi + flavourful liquid = goodness.

I saw this beautifully preserved specimen at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa this past summer. I don't know how much it would've weighed, but I'm pretty sure I could slide my copy of Rick Moonen's Fish Without a Doubt into that gob.

There was a recent Bon Appetit cover with steaks going directly onto the lump charcoal. I tried the recipe, it worked out well. Radiant heat doesn't care if the meat is above or below, unlike convective heat. When there is physical contact between the heat and meat, there's also some conduction at work. (edited for clarity)

My secret lover marmite.

Grow your own if you can. Our garden and greenhouse were very productive this year -- my kids love the crudités! Join or start a vegetarian dinner club.

Shrimp Chowder There are as many chowders as there are people making it. Check out the 20th eGullet Recipe Cook-Off Challenge for a comprehensive discussion on how to make and enjoy chowder. Personally, I like the versatility. It should be a creamy seafood soup with any number of veg and flavorings -- whatever is around and in season works. My wife took the boy to her soccer tourney leaving me at home with the girl. For lunch she wanted a tea party with lobsters. I told her she's too young for caffeine and that we're all out of lobsters. This was our compromise: thaw, shell and de-vein 1 lb local shrimp slice up a leek and simmer in butter until golden make stock from shrimpy bits add stock and shrimp meat to leeks thicken with heavy cream serve in fancy tea cups

From an online mag:

The bento concept needs more exposure where I live in Atlantic Canada. I've got two in kindergarten who get subsidized milk every day and hot lunches at the school twice a week. On other days I make them a nutless sandwich or some other protein and carb combo. Last night we had a parent-teacher meeting and one message was clear: this class of 23 five-year-old's can fill a trash can every week with the packaging that comes from home. The mindset here, sadly, is plastic spoons and disposable Ziploc bags.

Vachon cakes.

Sounds like a bad lifestyle choice. Maybe for a special anniversary, or for a military family member serving overseas, then sure. I wonder if he has ever sent anything back.

I like the dough hook for yeasty breads. The meat grinder and sausage stuffer get a 6 or 7 out of 10.

Interesting question. Ultimately, it's what your coworkers will tolerate. Have you actually made shredder pasta?

How about a roasted red pepper "gazpacho" in a shot glass?

I like him -- not a very smiley guy. I thought he might stab a contestant.

I rarely eat any breakfast during the week, unless I eat it the night before. Not good. Mon-Fri I make coffee for me, tea for my wife and get the fruit/yogurt/cereals going for the kids.

US MasterChef just finished on Canadian primetime TV last night -- hooray for the cute Southern girl! I watched 4 or 5 episodes over the last two months. This show is Top Chef Lite. It's overloaded with forced reality TV drama, and Gordon Ramsay is a shitty actor. Look out:

Nice job JD. I love that custom-made steamer, 200 cobs and 200 bugs at the same time? I also like the t-shirt.

That's an excellent link, thanks DerekW. There's a similar one for beef, also from the U of N Lincoln. If there are models like these for other food mammals, birds or fish I'd love to know.

Too late for your presentation but this one fits the description: Burger Boy. The content is even more remarkable coming from a ten-year-old kid with Cerebral Palsy.