Eilen

Yay, Chufi--can't wait for the next installment!

For what it's worth, this thread is VERY helpful and provides HUGE learning for other novices! ← I'll second that! As a (struggling) home baker, I've found the information here to be very helpful. In fact, I just did a test-run of a pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving and ran into some of the same problems as Cheryl. I had about written it off as the worst thing I'd ever tasted, so I was grateful for finding this thread and might actually try the cake again!

Nishla, Just wanted to say what a great idea! I know next to nothing about wine, so I'll subscribe to your thread just for pointers on wine and food pairing. Carry on! Eilen

Jean-Luc is truly adorable! I know this isn't a dog blog, but would you mind talking a bit about what the hound eats? Any special treats or food in particular that he just loves?

I did add hot milk and I'm well aware of cafe au lait, thanks. Sounds simply like our experiences were different; none of the women I went to university with ever had cafe au lait, just a cube or two of sugar whether at home or at a cafe. The reason given was that they didn't want to gain weight. Could be a recent trend, of course, much like the low-carb mania that swept the U.S. a couple of years ago.

Regular drip coffee, espresso, French press--hate hate hate sugar in it. It's worse than sweet tea (apologies to the South). The family I lived with in France thought this odd but they nearly had a fit when I put milk in my morning drip coffee. I've since heard that French women rarely drink coffee and milk together because they believe it causes weight gain. I do however love Turkish style sweet coffee and I'm a huge fan of putting a packet of raw sugar in between a double shot of coffee in the portafilter. Seems to be a no-no in most places though, so I save that treat for my home machine.

Not sure about your tamari question, Carlovski, but I absolutely recommend Deborah Madison's books; she has a way with vegetables, and I don't recall too many recipes requiring soy sauce. Also worth checking out is The World Food Cafe Cookbook; all the recipes are 'naturally' vegetarian, meaning that it's a dish that didn't have meat in the first place, so there's no need to replace it with something else. It's also most likely available where you are since the cafe itself is in London.

Thank you for the tips, Dave; unfortunately I have neither a basement nor a cellar so I suppose a cool place in my kitchen will have to do. I usually try to buy the smallest pieces possible, as there are just two of us and limits on how much cheese we can consume, but I always have the odd bit of point reyes, etc. lying around. That's especially helpful about soft cheeses like brie and such. I had no clue they needed to be out that long! Have to try it next time. Please do keep the lovely pictures coming! I used to live in southern France and I dearly love anything that can jog my memory of my time spent there. Eilen

I'll second this one. It's short, but soo good.

Great pictures all; if I ever get around photographing stuff I'll have to contribute, but for now I just have a question: I'm confused on cheese storage. The shop where I buy most of my cheeses has most of it refrigerated, the European cheeses semi-refrigerated, and the Parmigiano-Reggiano on a counter by the rest. How do I store cheeses (in general categories) at home to maximize their flavor? Is it possible to leave them on the counter, rather than the fridge? Should I wrap them in cheesecloth, parchment, plastic, foil, etc.? I should add that I do eat cheeses at room temperature, I'm just wondering if their flavor would improve if they were stored that way. For example I love Tomme de Savoie and I'm wondering if I'm ruining the flavor by keeping it in the fridge, or if it's too late anyway because it's travelled so long to reach my mouth. Ugh, sorry for going on and on. Thanks in advance for any advice! Eilen

Let us know how you get on, then. Just keep an open mind and focus less on the food and more on the scenery. I know how hard it can be to eat in that area--I grew up on the Idaho side of Highway 12. A nice piece of freshwater fish is probably your best bet, and it sounds like you'll have some nice wild game for the reception! Eilen

eje, you might have luck asking here, on the portlandfood.org website. BTW, I always eat at The Depot in Missoula, but it's been a while since I've gone. I do hope you enjoy your stay--some of the most beautiful landscape in the States is around there... Eilen

Perfect choice on the hotel! Fugazzi is the restaurant in the same building if you're looking for a nice meal. For coffee, my first suggestion would be Rockwood Bakery but it's off the beaten path on South Hill, so The Rocket Bakery should suit you just fine. They make all their own pastries so it's all guaranteed fresh. From your hotel, just walk one block south to First Ave., then east about 5-6 blocks. As far as meeting up with friends, do you mean for drinks or dinner? The Catacombs would be a good choice for both; if you get bored there you can walk about twenty feet to my favorite bar in Spokane, Far West Billiards. Fun fun fun. Just don't expect speedy service. Depending on who's playing, The B-Side is pretty cool, lots of Spokane hipsters checking each other out. Oh, and if you see The Big Easy, run. As fast as you can. In the opposite direction. Ditto for anything in RiverPark Square. That's it. I do hope you have a nice time in Farmland; keep an open mind and you should enjoy yourself just fine. Eilen

Starbucks has been using these machines for years on the West Coast; I should know, I used to work there! I can only think of one place that still operates the gorgeous La Marzocco, that's in Pullman, Washington, where for some reason the new "espresso machines" are not compatible with the city's water system. It's funny, they made the switch in order to save time and make the shots more consistent, because that's what the consumers want apparently, and in the three years that I worked there after the implementation, I saw no significant change in either of these categories. If anything, the shots were consistently worse than before, tasted of nothing really, and the hoppers were so small that we spent half our time refilling them. They broke down all the time, and because they are all computerized, we had to call our technician to fix them, which could sometimes take all day. I hated these machines and since I quit Starbucks when I graduated, I haven't been back.

First off, YES! The White House is definitely worth the trip out to Post Falls! Their motto is "You love garlic and we love you"--that says it all. A few other spots to ponder: Good ethnic food, even Mexican, is hard to find in eastern Washington, so I would advise against it in general. The exceptions are the above-mentioned White House, and this: Mi casa taqueria, 901 W. 14th Ave., 509.455.5155. Good simple Mexican food in a very casual setting. It's a small space, so it might not work if you're going with a huge group. Otherwise, I would recommend: The Elk Public House; chrisamirault mentioned Moon Time upthread--The Elk is the Spokane version of the same pub, and Porch Public House, the Hayden Lake version. Lovely setting in quaint Brown's Addition with outdoor seating and a good, typical pub menu. I used to live in Spokane, so if you have more questions, feel free to ask them here or pm. I can also tell you where NOT to go, and there are a lot of those around Spokane!

Have you seen this article? The government requested and funded a study on obesity prepared by the Keystone Center. A quote: Not quite a campaign yet, but it seems to be headed in that direction. BryanZ, just wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying your blog as much as everyone else. If you have the chance, could you talk a bit more about being young and in love with food? What I would really like to know is if you and "the Girlfriend" are pretty much the lone foodies in your age group (and your personal circle of friends), or if other young twenty-somethings also take an interest like you both do. It seems in my (late twenties) age group, hardly anyone even knows how cook nor do they care about eating well when dining out. Thanks!

andiesenji, do you know where one might find these "umbrellas"? It sounds like a nifty trick mainly because I hate putting fruit in the fridge. Much thanks.

I like Stumptown; they're all over the east side, not sure about west side. I especially enjoy the Holler Mountain Blend, good, organic, smooth, well-rounded, no acidity to speak of. The Hairbender blend is a bit more intense, but it's the same price as HMB and not organic. The staff are well-trained to answer questions about all their whole bean coffee. Eilen

They almost look like squash or cucumber leaves. As for what to do with them--I'd be interested in knowing also...

Well Chufi, I'm glad the meal was at least serviceable if not exactly what they were hoping for! I hope next time that you are able to go with your husband and seek out something fantastic. Oh, the calissons! Lucky you!

Does anyone use the T-shaped wooden utensil for spreading the batter? I noticed most creperies I went to in France used this little tool which seemed a brilliant idea. Spreading the batter evenly is what I struggle with and I'd be interested to hear how people deal with this problem--aside from loads of practice, any tricks?

Having spent summers working in restaurants in college, I found it, while certainly not rude, a bit inconvenient and time-consuming to split up a bill for very large parties--anything more than three couples and I rolled my eyes after leaving the table. As far as tips working in the server's favor if the bill is split, I don't think this is generally true unless you have generous people tipping. Far better is when someone who either works in the business (food industry in general) or merely knows what's going on takes command of the bill and orders everyone to pay their share plus 20%. And it may be true that your friends were making $15-20 an hour on tips less than 15% (a damn shame, tipping less than that), but when an average shift is only 4-6 hours, you're not doing so well in the long run. Eilen

Still, I <3 GR. I recall him saying something about how women can't cook. Interesting... Just to clarify, he actually made that statement in response to a (highly scientific, I'm sure) survey done on a television program in which 75% of the women who participated claimed they couldn't cook. Of course, someone (Ramsay's PR people?) spun it in true sensationalist fashion. As far as the show, well, it's already been pointed out that this is Fox. I'll add it to my short list of guilty TV pleasures since it's on Mondays when we allow ourselves to eat in front of the box, not each other.

Oh, sorry Chufi, I misread! Well at the very least I hope you get some nice presents out of your husband's trip--lots of good food from the markets for him to bring home to you! Eilen

Chufi, I haven't been to Aix in a few years, but when I lived there these were my three favorites, in no particular order: Le Carillon on rue Portalis is very traditional in feel and cuisine and won't break the bank. You'll see a lot of locals and not too many tourists here; it's better suited to lunch than to dinner IMO. L'Amphitryon on rue Paul-Doumer has a special place in my heart because I took a cooking class from Chef Bruno. It's a bit more expensive but absolutely worth it. Finally, les 2 freres was an undiscovered gem when I lived in Aix. I used to go at least once a week with friends and eat fabulously; one of the brothers cooked and the other served--it doesn't get any better than market fresh food and a long chat with the proprietor. It used to be in the place des sangliers, but a quick internet search informed me that they now have new digs and are a bit more trendy (read: you probably won't receive personal service from either of the brothers). Here's their website in case you're interested: http://www.les2freres.com/ I'm insanely jealous, by the way. Hope you have a great time. Eilen