haresfur

I do sympathize but I'm somewhat bemused at Americans whinging about the price of food. I think the cost of food in the USA is still incredibly low. Maybe you are just catching up with the rest of the world a little. Of course the income share of the lowest paid, well actually the lowest 90% keeps dropping and that makes it harder. But to leave politics out, I'm not terribly surprised that the cost of flour rising faster than your dough (pun intended). Much of the Canadian wheat couldn't be planted because of soggy conditions, quite a bit of the Australian couldn't be harvested for the same reason. The crop in Russia, and I think China got cooked by drought. Here in Australia, the cost of most food is expected to skyrocket due to the floods and cyclone. Bananas were over $4/kg last I checked. And I refuse to pay $2 for a small lime. It does affect me - especially with the culture shock of moving to a higher cost of living and lower pay. But in some ways it is good. I have brewed beer for the first time in years - I don't do full grain and had the equipment I need already. With drinkable ale costing $60 a slab, the economics work out. I try to cook more beans, shop more carefully and more often so I waste less food, and dine out because I want to, not because I'm lazy. But yes, part of the change is thinking about when to get by with less, or lower quality. Sometimes it is hard to justify when the base cost of food is high and the incremental cost of getting something better is small.

And they would hang the tray on the window of your car. Went out with a fellow with sports cars - not the best windows for those trays - especially with a couple of big mugs of rootbeer. As kids we used to take that rootbeer home in gallon jugs. Yeah, 'dubs drive in - even in the dead of winter; being able to order (and survive eating) a Grandpa-Teenburger.

And they would hang the tray on the window of your car. Went out with a fellow with sports cars - not the best windows for those trays - especially with a couple of big mugs of rootbeer. As kids we used to take that rootbeer home in gallon jugs. Yeah, 'dubs drive in - even in the dead of winter; being able to order (and survive eating) a Grandpa-Teenburger.

Grant's Scottish Ale. One of the original Pacific Northwest Microbrews. It wasn't really a Scottish ale - but really defined what I think of as the PNW hop profile with Chinook and Cascade hops. I think the brew-pub in Yakima might still exist but they disappeared from the shelves after selling to a major (no blame for selling out - I would have if the price was right).

Good restaurants serving food that didn't have to look like a sculpture in the middle of stuff squirted all over the plate.

Truly, truly a shame, isn't it? Perhaps not compared to some things, in the larger scheme of existence, but it's little losses like this that add up and add up and next thing you know your civilization's in decline and barbarians are running everything (hmmmm). When the Romans could no longer get laser, their favorite North African spice, I'm sure they felt the same way--and they were right. I have found that Damrak, an international-style gin made by Bols, preserves enough of the genever's characteristics to make an acceptable substitute. Thanks again for the kind words! --DW I was feeling in a bit of a cocktail rut and used that as an excuse to buy a bottle of Bols genever. As I sip a small Improved Holland Gin Cocktail, I think I may have a new love. I do have a question, does anyone know the relation between the clear bottle genever that is shown on the Bols website (and that I bought) and the Very Old Genever shown here?

I tend to go for the gift-pack glasses that came with a bottle of Drambuie for my old fashioned cocktails. They have a thick bottom and a smooth lip. I like to use a glass out of the freezer to counteract my small ice cubes. The disadvantage is in dissolving the sugar in a cold glass. Do you have a favourite old fashioned glass? Do you pre-chill it?

The sound of one egg cracking.

I guess I'm a bit of an anomaly because I like sweet, I like sour, and I like bitter - sometimes all at once. Given the sweetness of some of the classic recipes, this aversion to sweet is interesting - especially given the mass loading of sugar in popular culture. Or maybe the dry, bitter cocktail is a reaction or a haven from the prevalence of sweet food and soft drinks. I'm still not sure what a sugar ethic is, much less how to describe mine.

Great blog and beautiful city. Are there any restrictions on bringing food into China, or does anything go as long as it fits into the suitcase?

Never thought about using malt extract in cocktails. Is there a reason for dry rather than liquid? Was that a dark or a light malt? Need to save some aside next time I brew.

Welcome to the forum, Eric. Sounds tasty.

Tuna casserole with canned mushroom soup is one of the world's great comfort food. I know many people who swear by the Betty Crocker green bean casserole and apparently the BC people regularly get it submitted to recipe contests as someone's grandmother's creation. I've never made it but it is great fun when served by a friend. My mother's clam chowder involved a can of clams, a can of vegetable soup and a can of tomato soup. I'm sure I'll think of more later. ETA: Are we talking food "outside the can" or specifically recipes printed on the can/box?

Yes, the part that's Nunavut now, near the Thelon River.

Ice fishing isn't in the cards form me these days - especially with the temperature forcast to reach 40 C today. In the times I've tried, I never even saw anyone catch anything and haven't been too motivated to repeat the experience. Oh, I did catch a small, no HUGE - honest lake trout casting from the ice into the open water by the shore on a lake in the NWT before break-up. (Easier not to get snagged when the lure is retrieved from shallow to deep water). My father's university department would go for ice fishing trips. They would try to convice the graduate students from southern climates that it was easier to find the holes they drilled through the ice the year before than to drill new ones.

A few drops of orange bitters perhaps?

A friend said, "I could eat Chinese food every day... wait, over a billion people do!" I think of Mexican or Mexican-inspired and Italian as pretty mainstream in the US. Ethiopian was my first thought, but perhaps it is because I don't get it very often. Certainly a favourite but there are others I don't think I'd tire of, too. Mostly rice or pasta based, since I'm not big on potatoes. We picked up a cookbook years back at The Red Sea in Washington DC but kind of dropped trying to use it. Need to revisit that. This topic reminded me of a Thai/Chi/Mex restaurant in the 'burb I used to live in that was run by a Central American family with a Thai wife. Miss that place.

Made one of these (sort of): Didn't read the tonic bit but it was quite nice anyway. Used more cuke than called for because I had some to use up and French tarragon. The tarragon taste didn't come through. Also used castor sugar in lieu of simple. I could see a variation with a dash of maraschino or ginger wine.

... and if it's made from packets that include milkish powder, it is "hot chalk". Actually I agree that they are functionally equivalent in most instances. The Italian version was a real surprise when I was a kid and first encountered it.

Another Campari variation with a great name and fitting back-story is this one from Erik Ellestad: A bittersweet and whimsical love triangle. This one stumped me for quite a while. For obvious reasons I thought it should be bitter, but wasn't sure what to use for a base spirit. The deadline for the project actually passed. But a note of salvation! The deadline had been extended! Then yesterday, uh duh, Campari occurred to me. Sheesh! Red like a crab! Crab Malice Cocktail 1 1/2 oz Campari 3/4 oz White Cuban Style Rum 3/4 oz Lime Juice 1/4 oz Cointreau Shake with ice and strain into an ice filled glass. Top with soda water or selzer. Whew! We've got bitterness and a nice red crab-like color. A nautical theme from the rum and the bubbles from the selzer. Actually, now thinking, a nice long lime peel twist made with a vegetable peeler around the side of the glass would up the aromatic quotient, and be kind of sea weedy. As a special bonus, it's pretty darn tasty and refreshing, as long as you don't mind bitterness (no super tasters need apply!) edit - The only cocktail that I sort of had in mind when making this was the Jasmine. Similar ingredients, but inverted proportions to make up for using selzer and rocks. Aside from the Americano, is there anything else it is similar to?

Right now I'd have to say the dumbest thing in my kitchen is the deep drawers. That means a lot of stuff gets piled willy-nilly into one place. My best baking sheet ended up on top of a bunch of stuff (not naming names or anything...) and proceeded to get caught under the front lip when everything shifted. By the time I got the drawer open it ended up shaped like a skate-park.

I should add that in my mind there is a very big difference between true porcelain, bone china, and white earthenware, in terms of vibrancy and usually visual & actual weight. I know a number of potters that are pretty bored of blue and white, but it sells (and has for thousands of years). Love Andie's summer and winter plates (how fun to change with the seasons) and really like much of the Japanese commercial ware (not to mention the art pottery). We were at a Japanese restaurant in Christchurch where they brought out a tray of different sake cups so we could chose our own. That was a nice touch. But I'm not above sipping whisky out of my favourite Chinese-style teacup. Do you white-plate lovers feel the same way about cups and bowls?

No worries mate! Sent you a pm.

Feeling sorry for myself, working on a manuscript on Australia Day. Drinking Australian Sencha packed by McIvers (at the Victoria Market in Melbourne). I'm no expert, but it is nice - perhaps not as 'grassy' as I like.

Firmly in the non-white camp. My preference is for hand-made stoneware or porcelain. I haven't been potting much and really need to make some more plates to replace the broken ones. So likely, I'll just keep my eye out for a professional potter to support. Celadon can be particularly nice and I can't fire reduction glazes. My fancy plates are German porcelain with hand painted flowers. They were from my cousin's family and not what I would initially consider as my style but are extremely well done and I have grown very fond of them. I can understand the plain white thing for restaurants, but I'm willing to give up the artsy plating for an artsy plate.