Beebs

This happened to my sister & I once in NYC too, when we ordered chicken "chow mein" take-out. When we opened the container, it was just shredded chicken, bean sprouts and sauce, so naturally we thought they forgot the crispy fried noodles. So we called the restaurant. The lady explained that "chow mein" doesn't come with noodles! Being that "chow mein" literally means fried/stir-fried noodles, we never thought we'd get noodle-less fried noodles!

I often use bottled lemon and lime juice in cocktails. Yes, I know fresh-squeezed is the way to go, but sometimes I do not have fresh lemons/limes on hand, and even when I do, I cannot be bothered to squeeze a cup of lemon juice by hand (I don't have a citrus juicer). I cannot poach an egg. Love poached eggs, understand the technique, but I just can't do them at home without ending up with egg-water.

Somewhere in the China Cooking forum, there is a recipe for Coca Cola chicken posted by I think hrtz8w. The chicken is simmered in a Coca Cola and soy sauce. I can't recall where the post is, but the chicken sure was tasty!

Not significant hacking, but I like a couple dashes of orange bitters or angostura in my Coke.

Almost forgot about spaghetti carbonara - so simple, fast, and comforting. And not a lot of prep or cooking involved either! I particularly like Nigella Lawson's version of carbonara. Her recipe calls for a glug of white vermouth or white wine added to the bacon/pancetta, simmered down till it's syrupy, add pasta. Then mix it all together with egg, parm, s&p, chopped parsley. I am seriously contemplating spaghetti carbonara for dinner tonight.

I like this one when I'm feeling lazy and the tomatoes are particularly nice. You don't even need a knife (unless you want to!). -Take a couple of ripe Roma tomatoes. Grate them coarsely on a box grater into a bowl. No need to peel the tomatoes, but I usually toss out the big chunk of skin left over at the end of grating. -Grate, crush, or mince some garlic, toss that in the bowl. -EVOO, salt, pepper. Toss those in the bowl. -Rip up some basil with your hands. Toss in the bowl. -Dump your drained pasta in the bowl, mix it up, add grated parm, and more EVOO and/or a bit of pasta water if it's too dry. That's it! No cooking necessary (except for the pasta), because the hot pasta warms up the sauce.

There's a brand available here - Calbee - that's got some pretty different flavours (I think it's from Japan). Curry, pizza, crab, cuttlefish, wasabi, okonomiyaki, and my favourite, seaweed. There's a few other, but can't recall what they are.

My mom's got a green bean/haricot frencher that us kids got her for a joke. It's a contraption with two blades. You thread the bean in one end and a perfectly frenched bean comes out the other side. Completely useless for any other application.

I've lately been sauteeing Asian greens (gai lan and choy sum mostly) with olive oil & garlic, and lemon juice & more EVOO drizzled on top at the end. Asian greens are cheap and plentiful here, and it's nice to have some different ways cooking them. Bacon fat + gai lan is next!

I'm trying to come up with something in my kitchen that's not a uni-tasker, and drawing mostly blanks. Can openers, zesters, garlic crusher, citrus reamer, corkscrew, teapot, toaster, forks, knives are all uni-taskers. I think my only multi-taskers are chopsticks (cooking, stirring, whipping eggs, picking up food). Or am I just too unimaginative to come up with other uses for my uni-taskers? Buuuut... if I had to put an item in the uni-tasker hall of fame, it would be my can opener. Corkscrew is a runner-up.

Mtigges, definitely check out Zakkushi! We usually go to the location on Main & King Ed, since they've got more seating, but it's a fun place to eat. Washrooms are really cool. I'll put my vote in for En's on West 10th. I especially like their veggie sushi - it's different from your typical veg sushi, they put sundried tomatoes and shiso in it.

It's a soup. You eat it in a bowl with a spoon.

I wish I had more old kitchen stuff...envying everyone's treasures! The oldest thing I have in my kitchen is a Crock Pot my parents received as a wedding gift, back in the late 70's. Mom used it maybe once or twice, so it was basically still new when I took it with me. It's only got two temperature settings - high and low. Hideously kitschy mustard yellow with grassy-leafy things printed around the outside. I need to use it more often.

I've never used liquid smoke before. But I've been messing around with making bacon at home without actually smoking it (I live in an apartment), and haven't thought to use liquid smoke to simulate the smoke. Smoked paprika didn't quite do the job, so I'm excited about giving this stuff a try.

If we're talking about representation by population, I'd say that Asian/South Asian/South East Asian street food is under-represented. With the exception of the Richmond and Chinatown night markets in the summer, you'd be hard-pressed to find stinky tofu or takoyaki. I suppose "street food" - meat skewers, samosas and what not - is readily available in restaurants, but you certainly don't find food carts on every street corner selling this stuff. I envy the sheer number of halal carts in New York and I like to think there's a sizeable market for Asian street food. I guess there's a little bit of "we wish we had more of this kind" as well!

Salmon n' Bannock opened up mid-February, located at 1128 W. Broadway (between Spruce & Alder), in the old Habibi's space. Small-ish menu, consisting of mostly very tasty bannock. I ate there just when it opened and I think they were still working out some kinks (my venison stew was underseasoned and dry) - I would go back in 6 months or so. First Nations cuisine is definately way under-represented, and sadly so, being that their culture is such an integral part of our local history. I'd like to see a restaurant specializing in really great game meats, beyond the usual venison steak and bison burger. I also think African cuisines other than Ethiopian are under-represented. South African, for instance.

I don't have much personal experience in this, but I read a recent article in the Globe and Mail relevant to the topic on hand. The article is titled "Cooking as therapy". The quick run-down on the article - those who face various adversities in their lives (grief, divorce, illness, dislocation, etc.) see cooking as therapeutic for a number of reasons. For instance, cooking is a means of creative expression (much like art or music therapy); as a means of getting affirmation from others; because it fills a void; because it can be numbing; and as a way of recreating past memories and experiences. For myself, although I have not yet had to face adversities such as divorce or the death of someone very close to me, I see cooking (and eating) as a way of dealing with the everyday stresses in life - work, family, etc. It's meditation for me what yoga is for others.

Yum! Processed meat product on white bread can be so satisfying. I like the $1.00 Ikea hot dogs, not because they're anywhere close to being the best hot dogs ever, but because they are $1.00, from Ikea, and a post-shopping treat. Ketchup, yellow mustard, and relish. At home, they're usually panfried and dressed with any combination of sauerkraut, fried onions, dijon, shredded cheese, and ketchup. edited for bad grammar.

Bon's Off Broadway! Corner of Broadway & Nanaimo. All-day brekky for $2.95. Helen's Grill. Corner of Main & King Edward. It's been there...forever. Has anyone tried the Wallflower on Main yet (in the old Aurora Bistro space)?

I find that the softer, fresh kinds keep for a few days in the fridge in a container. Any longer than that, it goes funky (when it starts to smell sour, you know it's gone off). I usually keep leftovers in the water it comes in, but it's not necessary if you're using it the next day or two. The pressed/dried/fried/puffed kinds keep longer. Tofu is already cooked in the package, so you're basically just heating it up when you stirfry. If you keep stirfried tofu for later, especially the softer ones, a bit of water may leach out. Nothing wrong with that, other than diluting any sauce that it's sitting in. Like llc45 says above, freezing will give it a totally different texture, which may or may not be desirable depending on what you are using it for (soups, stirfries = yum. Smoothies = yuck). It is kind of spongy and soaks up as lot of tasty sauce. After thawing it, make sure to give it a good squeeze to take out as much water as possible. I've never tried freezing it post-frying, though. I think there's a thread in the China Cooking forum about frozen tofu (dong tofu). Good luck in your tofu adventures!

Yum! Those pictures are making me hungry, and I just ate lunch! Whereabouts is it? I Google street-viewed it, but can't tell which plaza it's in. Can't wait to try it!

A croissant - buttery, flaky, and warm. I like ham & cheese croissants best, but any will do!

Good bread and cheese. Steak and a big gin martini. Chinese steamer pork dumplings, the ones with lots of tasty broth inside. Steaming bowl of noodles & soup - ramen, pho, beef noodles.... Apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Oh, there are so many! Is there anyone that considers fruit or veg comfort food? Other than potatoes or cooked fruit desserts like apple pie, I can't think of any that are particularly comforting to me. At first I thought hot spinach dip, but really it's the creamy cheesy goodness that is comforting, not so much the spinach.

What ever happened to no minors in bars?

I like to add a dash or two of it when marinating meat for stir-fries. Seasons the meat without over-powering the entire dish.