Jinmyo

Chow mein noodles with a spicy coriander shoyu sauce; almond soup infused with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, black peppercorns, ginger; steamed pea greens and dandelion greens with sautéed dandelion stems and pillow tofu in a mint and lime sauce; char siu (Chinese barbecue pork) with a hot mustard sauce.

Suvir, I've never cooked with yogurt cheese. Have just folded minced herbs into it as a spread. I'll try it in a sauce. Liza, I'm continually amazed at the wonderful resources available to you in NYC.

The Loblaws grocery chain in Canada sells air-chilled chicken. Less water, which is always a good thing except when you want some water. I also follow Jacques Pepin's dictate: Nehver ehver wassh chic-ken. Pat it dry. Then season it. Start at 450 F and that will kill any bacteria.

Steve P, I'm sure you're right. I don't have much of a sense of the Voice readership and haven't read many of their reviews. But I think the title "Counter Culture" is telling.

I agree. It is wonderful to be ominvirous and catholic in tastes. And yet to have the good taste and good sense to know that you often do get what you pay for and $100 or more is not too much to pay for excellence. I think some people simply cannot understand that food could and can be worth spending money on. There's a miserliness about food that is often brought to household budgeting. Buy the cheap roast or the utility chicken from the grocery store. But buy a fistful of DVDs.

Oh, Sandra, I wouldn't try it. :wow: Check with an allergist as soon as you can about it though.

I wanted to post a link to an online article on Sugiyama, did a search and couldn't find a Sugiyama thread. I was sure there was one. Anyway, here's the link: the link, she is jere. Here's a sample line: "They affect a boisterous demeanor, and when a table pays up and leaves, they give a collective cheer, as if savoring the cash flow." I know that many members think highly of Sugiyama...

Hm. Hanging yogurt to drain makes yogurt "cheese". Still quite "sour" (nicely so) compared to paneer. I wonder what the differences are.

We jist hang the salad on the door and scoop it from the floor when it's ready. Just like the pheasant. Oooh. Shouldna mentioned the pheasant-- though His Lordship can't count and won't be missing it anyway. Busy with his foxes, he is.

Bux, ramps are great. Just lightly sauteed with butter, buzzed into a sauce, garnishing potatoes, folded into potatoes. Hm. Haven't tried them as a pasta sauce...

It's just brain weevils. The weevils will get 'em, don't you worry. In the meantime, smile if you feel like it. Don't return their calls if you don't.

Um. I did a "tomato confit" once but I was a bit embarassed by the ponceyness of that and so just called it oil poached tomatoes. And have ever since. It's like calling steaming sauteeing or grilling braising or a carrot a potato. Just confused and confusing, I think.

Fennel is truly the most amazing plant. The seeds are gorgeous. The bulb is succulent. The fronds are herbaceous and lively. The pollen is intense. Lovely. By the way, has anyone done a fennel frond pesto? You just take the stalks and fronds you won't use, buzz them in a processor with EVOO, pine nuts or pumpkin seeds, a bit of citron, salt and pepper, grated parmesan or romano. A luscious sauce for pork. Nice for pasta also.

Tony, as far as I know the "healthy" thing about yogurt is that it contains acidolphus, a bacteria that is good for your guts. About 5 lbs of your bodyweight is flora and fauna that help to digest food and other useful things. I don't think that caramel flavoured or sickly peach jam yogurts are even alive anymore though. But I don't know. I like plain Greek yogurt. But only for, as I've said, raiita and some sauces.

Aren't boletes=ceps=porcini?

Pea sprouts soon in Asian markets here. Heh. Great blanched with sauteed or grilled masutake and a bit of chile sauce. Give peas a chance.

Pie. Go in peace.

Oh, Liza and B, happy morels. Very many happy morels. Have you stuffed them? Great with blue cheeses. Or a farce of duck or even pork. Or just sauteed in butter with scrambled eggs and stacks of toast...

I like portobello's grilled or sauteed, sliced thinly on the bias, with a shoyu wasabi dipping sauce. D@mn things discolour most everything if you don't skin and gill the buggers. They're nice grilled and sliced into a tortilla with chevre and spinach too. But I haven't really been interested in them other than occasionally for about 5 years or so. Fire is good. Seared is good. Blackened is good.

I've been using oyster mushrooms quite a bit lately after passing them by as just around too much. As for cremini, no cachet. They, like portobello, are just the same old white button mushrooms in a different guise. But I like them. I look for cremini about the size before they can be called portobelleni (heh). Tight caps, no gills. Very important to slice them quite thickly because whatever they might lack in depth of flavour, they have great texture. Almost, as Jason might have meant in his post, a similiar texture to porcini. Hard to sell cremini as fancy or "wild" mushrooms though.

Oh yessss. Matsutake are huge, sometimes 6 feet. They are grown extensively in British Columbia but mainly exported to Japan. Very nice dried as well. Often called "pine mushrooms". Hedge hogs are wonderful. I had some a friend brought from the U.S. a few weeks ago. My local shop says that they'll be available in about a month.

Oh. I didn't know that mattered. Must be a French thing.

What is your favourite technique and why?

mellaf, certainly many people do not know how to get the best from vegetables and just relegate them to third place amongst the protein, starch, and vegetable triumvirate. And most vegetarians just remove the meat and switch tofu or a meat analogue for the meat component. But exploring the vast range of flavours, colours, textures, and fragrances of vegetables is wonderful. I'm glad that you're enjoying it. And welcome to eGullet.

Mark, what's your favourite all-around chile? I love ancho but pasilla is also nice and fruity. And Thai bird chiles are so wonderful.