Peter the eater

That sounds very good - and I'm sure it is - but whenever I try to shallow or deep fry salmon I get less than perfect results: the flesh gets brown and hard. Maybe a panko crust or some kind of thicker batter is the answer. If the fish can be cooked without coming into direct contact with the hot oil then maybe it will remain pink and juicy. Hmmm . . . I have work to do. By the way hummingbirdkiss, what goes into your tartar sauce for salmon? Anything from that cool garden of yours? (I just peeked at the Flickr photostream)

I don't think so - sometimes a tower is just a tower. That one has been around long enough to be a legitimate icon despite its obvious original Parisian aspirations. For me it's more of an arm reaching upward . . . etc. Back to the food - another tour de force Peter the Green! edited to add: forgot to throw in campanilismo

I saw a lady selling homemade organic soap at the exhibition a few years ago. To demonstrate the safety of the product she would put a few flakes in her mouth and make a "yummy" smile. Edible soap might work.

All this talk of trouble with the wild salmon fishery out west was starting to depress me . . . until I remembered I had some in the freezer! And then I remembered this thread from a year ago - time for a bump. Fresh fish is always better than frozen, but when a good size wild salmon can be had for three or four bucks it's worth it. This one was exactly one kilogram, as in one thousand grams - weird. At least it makes the yield calculation easy: after poaching I got 645 grams of meat, or 65%. That's not too bad - under half means a scrawny fish and/or a sloppy chef. This thread asks for favorite everyday methods for eating salmon. I'd say we try to have salmon almost once a week, and I wanted something new for this one. The frozen fish went straight into the poacher (barely fit) and cooked through. This part is not new for me, I find it makes very little difference if thawn out first. The poaching liquid is reserved for chowder as usual, but this time I went for a salmon loaf. Loaf may not sound as elegant as mousse or souffle but I had no cream and was looking for something a bit more virtuous. I found a recipe in The Dietitians of Canada Cookbook that was low fat and included things like oatmeal and lemon juice, so what the hell. Plus I had a never-used copper aspic mold in the shape of a fish: The loaf was okay - I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10. It needed a little something . . . like a brick of lard and a tablespoon of salt. It was served up luncheon style in thin slices with pickled eggs and cukes, and a mustard mayo sauce. I'd do it again without the mold, although I think such things are due for a comeback.

Do you think? If so, I wonder what they would use for such color - a nitrate? I've made pickled ginger at home for my own nori rolls with the goal of getting that deep pink color seen at sushi bars. After trying different gingers and things like the juice from pickled beets, I finally asked the sushi woman at my market and she said; "It's food coloring". Your mentaiko looks delicious.

I haven't lived in Vancouver since 1993, but when I did I always got pizza bagels and Okanagan cider from the market on the weekend. We took those little boats over from the west end - I hope they're still in use.

Just saw the Jamaica episode tonight and I was reminded why I like the show so much: I always learn something and I usually laugh out loud. I did high school near Toronto, Ontario, Canada and had many lunches at friends' places with Jamaican moms who cooked the way I saw on the show. I'd forgotten all about the I-tal diet. The school lunches I had always featured spicy chicken, probably not authentic jerk with allspice but close to it. And the description of the Blue Mountain arabica cofee beans made total sense to me.

For the record, the eyes look much more golden than brassy. I wondered about the toughness of gold on a knife's blade. I say use it - but only when people are watching, dragon side out.

That may be the coolest knife I've ever seen - don't put it in the dishwasher. What does zogon mean? Are the eyes a different metal, brass perhaps?

That would really challenge my own "I'll try anything once" personal credo. Having said that, when I got a fancy new ice cream machine a couple of years ago I went nuts making unnatural flavor combos - some good, most bad. I did make an off-white ice cream flavored with haddock which wasn't very good, but I served it in cones of newspaper for the UK effect. I think my guests still remember.

Wow - I'm not sure I can wait a whole week JD.

It is now!

If the shark is swimming away from the handle upside down, then most if not all of the cutting is done on the pull stroke like a nokogiri (Japanese hand saw). I don't think the meat cares if it's cut on the push or pull stroke - but you might. It just a preference thing. I have a bunch of Japanese saws in the wood shop that cut on the pull stroke, unlike most North American saws which are thicker and stiffer. If you have a regular hacksaw with a frame that keeps the blade taught, you should be able to reverse the blade and cut both ways. Then you can see which way you prefer. I've cut way more wood than bone over the years, so I'd be curious to hear from the more experienced butchers out there . . .

KW, you can't mean that! I'm all for science improving our lives - as long as it's proven to be safe and it's actual useful. Sure, I wish all my meals had full lives, but I'm also practical about it. TF, I thought of Soylent Green too - and of the late Charleton Heston - I can only imagine what he'd taste like. Even better, read Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake for a dystopic take on genetically modified organisms.

Here in Maritime Canada there haven't been any major changes in prices or availability, at least not that I can detect from my domestic point of view. Some wheat flour based items went up a bit in price, but that didn't last. However gasoline is $1.30/liter - a new record - that's got to make a difference in the days to come.

Last Fall I got a half pig: click. I couldn't make it to the farm for the slaughter and breakdown, but I did wind up with some very large frozen chunks. My hacksaw and bandsaw were both too small but I did have a large bucksaw and it worked well enough. This saw is about a meter long with large aggressive teeth - it's the kind of thing you'd fell a small tree with. Making the cuts through the frozen pork was still pretty hard work, and I was a bit anatomically disoriented. I would recommend getting everything cut up prior to freezing.

Great stuff Chris! I'm just catching up to 100+ posts and let me say those are some groceries to be proud of. I'll admit I was hoping to see a new duck breast prosciutto developing in the fridge, maybe together at last with chocolate . . ? I was also selfishly hoping your move would be to West Lafayette, IN since I've enjoyed some good eats there. Alas, you've many exciting times ahead.

That stuff sounds and looks delicious . . . thanks for sharing. "Once people find out" resonates for me - I am always being amazed by seafood. In my city there's a good restaurant that has a locally famous kombu entree for $20: click It's absolutely tasty and worth the price, but diners here regard it as totally exotic (myself included) because its available nowhere else. It's seaweed, prepared well.

I realize you're looking for a good idea for a design competition - something you can get excited about and run with. I understand, I've been doing architectural design competitions for twenty years. A good design is a good design, any manufacturer with half a brain will see that. Let the others worry about marketing, price points, niches, etc. If your concept does evolve into an actual product on the shelf one day, it will most certainly won't be identical to the original submission.

The kitchen appliance - industrial complex would have us all buy dozens and dozen of single purpose machines that we rarely if ever use. They're shiny with seductive names and they're priced just right to sell. Everybody knows someone with the graveyard of underused appliances. Same goes for power tools. However, in the world of woodworking, there's an all-in-one tool that can rip, cross-cut, plane, route, lathe, scroll and sand. It's expensive but it takes up very little room considering what it replaces. Maybe there is a clever modular device for the kitchen - something that does a ton of tasks. No need to have so many heating elements, so many cutting edges - its not like you'd need to use them all at the same time. A single good motor to drive them all. Something more than a stand mixer with a rotary take-off.

The LCBO carries half liter bottles of 94% alcohol, but requires a prescription to dispense them. The SAQ, in contrast, sells house brand (or Global) 94% normally in all standard sizes, usually in the same section as vodka. I've also seen similar proof Everclear available in Alberta in the vodka section as well. ← Interesting - I've never been asked to write a script for this before! ← On what basis would a physician write a script for ethanol? I thought only a pharmacist can dispense prescription meds - does the LCBO have one on staff?

Very impressive. I've not heard of vodka on fondant to achieve that effect, it's convincing. I don't imagine it leaves any taste, does it? I'm making a solid fondant train next week for a baby shower cake and wondered about texture tricks like that one. I'm sure the mom-to-be would allow a little surface vodka.

According to tests run by Alton Brown of Good Eats, the bit about soaking appears to be a culinary myth. Per his tests, 4 ounces of button mushrooms soaked in 1 liter of water for 10, 20, and 30 minutes gained 0.2, 0.25, and 0.15 ounces, respectively (about a teaspoon, max). This works out to 3.75% to 6.25% gain. The kicker? Another 4 ounces of button mushrooms, subjected to a brief blast of cold water, gained 0.2 oz - same as when soaked for 10 minutes. ← Interesting. The only mushrooms I soak have been previously dried. I used to balk at the price of dried mushroom varieties, until I weighed some that I had rehydrated. The better deal is often with the dried ones, and they have a longer shelf life.

The moose hunters I know tend to treat the meat much like deer (NS) or caribou (NL). This means basic barbecue, roasts and sausages. Have you had experience with the elk out west? Apparently there are some choice bits along the back and loins and head, but the pieces I have been given and cooked have been dark, lean and a bit tough. As much as I enjoy a rare steak, I would be careful with the meat of any wild animal - you never really know where they've been or what parasites they might have.

Wow. Serious deliciousness is everywhere. If that were a menu I could actually order from, I'd just embarrass myself by getting a dozen number sevens and call it a day. The next meal I'd go with is number three . . . and so on. #15 Samantha's Beard Papa Style Cream puff? I'm on tenterhooks with a Smurf profiterole in my head. I say this before every pot luck - if each person just brings enough food for themselves plus 10% no one goes hungry or overdoes it.