pat_00

Try sichuanese dry fried green beans (gan bian si ji dou, i think) that is awesome. Although the chinese method of dry-frying does use a little oil.

Baozi from street vendors all over china. All the types of baozi i can get here use a different kind of dough, and are usually really sweet. In Beijing I had pickled carrot and chilli ones, so good.

He took me to a sichuanese restaurant, and i beat him at the 'i can eat spicier food than you' game, and i still tease him about it 'cause he's from sichuan.

This is great news, i have friends who promote small independent music nights in sydney they'll be wrapped. It's a bit of a wasteland for the smaller venues that are needed to support a healthy music scene.

http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=pickles this is the recipe i want to try, it suggests grape or oak leaves to keep them crispy. Suppose i'll have to wait till summer then, for some reason i though cucumbers were a winter thing.

I've got a serious Ogorki addiction right now, and i'm just starting to get into preserving. I've got a recipe I want to try, but I can't find those small lumpy cucumbers anywhere around Melbourne. Any suggestions?

Speaking of Maggie Beer, has anyone else been enjoying 'The Cook and The Chef' on abc? I think it's great, best cooking show i've seen in ages.

I've had it a couple of times. I thought it was pretty good, and i'm not a big fan of feijoa. A very fresh taste, not too overpowering. You could make some interesting combinations with it. After seeing what a feijoa looks like, I just found out that the street i grew up in was lined with these. My brothers and i used to throw them at eachother for fun.