Jinmyo

Mags, not true at all. I'm not. And many cooks and chefs would say the same. I can even say that now, adter many years, there is not a minute of my working life that is devoted to activities to which I see a downside. But I'm not Gunga Din 'cause I'm not a man.

Steve, how about some more about Mixspeak? Someone chastised me recently for saying merely "Mix" instead of "Mix in New York." Yet there you go, "Mix" here and "Mix" there. So perhaps you're not Mixed up enough to really grok the talk but your impressions would be of interest.

Certainly the more things that one puts in a bean soup that are not beans, the better the soup will be.

Potato salads? With curry seasonings, coriander, and grilled shrimp?

Also pomme noisette. Noisette means "hazelnut": potatoes that have been cut into tiny, hazelnut-shape balls before being sauteed in butter until a deep brown with a nutty taste from the dark butter. Pomme fondant. Potatoes cut into tourne with the top hollowed out, cooked slowly in stock and butter, the top is then stuffed with duxelle or, as I did recently, lentils and lardons, or whatever.

Wake up Shiewie. Eat something.

Pomme souffle? Very fun. Very old school. First fried in 300°F oil. After cooling, they're fried in 375°F oil and they inflate. Those that don't puff can be set aside and eaten like crisps.

Soba, white kimchi is cabbage with all the rotten fish and other good stuff but no chiles.

Nice, FM. Congee with daikon rounds and shungiku (garland chrysanthemum greens), topped with gomasio. Roasted whole cremini and golden thread mushrooms with sesame and shoyu. Cotton tofu with onions and peppers with kong soon abalone sauce. Stir-fried Shanghai bok choy tips with grilled U10 shrimp. Daikon kimchi and white kimchi.

From the tin? GAH. Basilgirl, it's bean soup. It only gets so good and no further.

There is a book called "The Chinese Art of Tea" by John Blofeld on gongfu-cha or sennin-cha. Sennin-cha is a much more convivial form of tea ceremony.

Feh.

I can't imagine a use for French's. Including hot dogs.

No fudge. Pork loin roast with a sauce of porcini, shallots, rosemary and evapo milk.

Salad of microgreens (red oak, frisee, mache, daikon sprouts) and paper-thin slivers of raw sea scallops with a basil foam. Pomme fondant (tourne Yukon Gold potatoes cooked in stock and glazed with butter) in a bowl of cool buttermilk and topped with lentils mixed with chopped bacon. Slow roasted tomatoes with braised lamb shanks, chipotle, cumin etc . Celery root slaw with simple mayonaisse and key lime. Leek and Swiss chard soup (chicken broth) with large garlicky croutons.

Back of a knife? Good to have offset spatulas.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been hearing that for weeks...

Egad.

As a breading for lamb, venison, or pork.

So I steeled myself and went down the junk aisle in the Loblaw's Superstore. Pringles. Lots of Pringles. A wall of Pringles stretching over my head like a vast wall of, well, round cans filled with Pringles of varied chemistry. No Stax. No Munchos. Before retreating I saw that Loblaws' No Name brand has a version of potato-slurry tuiles too. Several years ago I actually used Pringles as tuiles with, I think, creme fraiche and chives and caviar just to see if I could get away with it. They were quite well-liked.

Doesn't sound like a problem. You like what you like. I'd have wine with a leek and potao pottage, baguette, and a cheese course. But usually where soup is the meal, I wouldn't bother with other liquids including water.

Goes without saying, I should think? Or does it?

Tteok-guk too.

I strongly recommend against buying supermarket sushi as a first experience.

Uh...