Jenni

^^ In the caribbean, irish moss is thought to be good for..er..."stamina" shall we say. So it's a quite a popular drink and certainly not something new.

Depends what kind of mango it is. Mostly in the UK the shops sell Keitt mangoes and even when ripe they are pretty firm so they can be easily peeled and cut up. However, some of the best Indian mangoes are so soft that carefully organised cutting is impossible and rather pointless anyway. Indeed, there are some varieties which are best massaged gently before making a small hole in the top and slurping. Basically, my chosen way to eat a (decent, non-keitt) mango is to sit outside among friends and attack a mango sans snife, getting mango juice all over myself and having a very good time.

^^ Tim, I think the "contains MILK" warning is just allergy advice. In the UK it appears on products without ingredients list (because they have no added ingredients) such as cream, etc. as an allergy warning. You also get "contains celery", "contains shellfish", "contains soya", etc. It is separate from any ingredients list.

Ok, thanks for letting me know. I guess I find it weird because UK has commercialised agriculture and supermarket distribution centre but pure cream can easily be found. So as Mjx said, that can't be the whole story.

Seriously, I am interested in where all this cream with weird stuff in it is from. Are we talking America? Canada? Australia? Here in the UK pure cream can be easily got from Tescos without a high price tag. So I am curious as to why it is not similar elsewhere.

Just out of interest, what country is everyone who is saying their cream is adulterated from? For reference, I am in the UK.

I can easily get cream with no additives. All different kinds too: single, double, extra thick double, clotted, sour...

^^^ Yeah, I have that one (last year? or was it this year...I'm not actually sure). It's excellent.

Modernist Cuisine devotes a lot of space (scattered throughout the book, as well as in a dedicated 125-page chapter) to explaining the fundamentals of things like roasting, boiling, steaming, frying and braising, all the way through practical applications like pot roast, barbecue, roasted chicken and the like. If those aren't traditional, I don't know what is. I mean like traditional cultural food practices, such as regional Indian cookery, or rural Thai food, authentic Mexican, regional Chinese, etc. I'm not criticising Modern Cuisine - by all accounts it's amazing. I'm just saying that there are also other books that are extremely good and cover different subject areas.

That's not what I said at all: I said it was going to be hard to beat, not that all the other cookbooks were going to be crap. But I stand by my assertion that the game is pretty much up for "best cookbook of 2011." Meh. I don't think it is easily compared with books that aim to give totally different information, for example a book aimed at explaining traditional methods and food culture. Both books could be amazing in their own category, and it would be hard to rank them because they cover such different subjects.

Seriously, you guys think that Modernist Cuisine is or is going to be the only decent cookbook this year? I'm sure it's a fantastic book, but it doesn't cover all areas of cooking the world over, and it certainly won't be the only excellent cookbook this year. For instance, it's not going to give you any information on making authentic regional foods from places in say Thailand, or Mexico or India, etc. And it doesn't have a recipe for everything. Plus, you can never have too many cookbooks. Fact.

^^^ Fair enough, fair enough.

I don't suppose it matters - for what it's worth, it's a decent book!

Plenty wasn't released this year...I bought it for my Dad's birthday last year! But, you know, carry on!

Sounds good. Toss in some bitter greens, nettles if you can find them, or other tender greens. Kale would be fine if you blanch it before sauteing to tenderize it. Then serve over soft creamy polenta. I tasted something like this at a local restaurant years ago. The combo of black trumpet mushrooms and polenta was delicious--that's what sticks in my memory. This sounds amazing. I want to make this!

Oh, you have a bundaberg in your fridge! Don't like their ginger beer much (doesn't taste gingery enough) but their root beer is amazing!

For what it's worth, I used authorhouse (www.authorhouse.com or www.authorhouse.co.uk). I don't regret doing it (I love having had a book published before age 20!) and I have sold quite a few, but basically my book is very large and has colour photographs and what with it also being print on demand, the RRP is high , and thus my sales limited. If it was half the price, I would sell tonnes (I reckon )

^^ Pam, are you referring to ramsons when you say wild garlic? Because I think they are technically a different plant from something in America called Ramps which also gets called wild garlic. Anyway, have just discovered we have some ramsons in our back garden so I am very happy!

Erm, i have. I warn you though, print on demand makes the end product expensive. Also, make sure you are prepared to spend a lot of time and money on promoting your book, because it's all up to you when you self-publish. It's very easy to think, "Great, I'll just publish my book and then people will buy it." But there are a LOT of books out there, and if nobody knows about your book, nobody will buy it. That's probably really obvious, but I just thought I'd point it out.

Pickling lime (AKA Calcium hydroxide or slaked lime) firms up the item being preserved, don't know if salt would do that but I don't think so.

^^^ In the UK I think it's also to discourage teenagers from running off with the trolleys and leaving them in strange places - for some reason this seems to be an irresistable urge that trolleys inspire...

They were thinking of you - just trying to help you establish that calorific deficit a bit quicker !

^^^ I think it's more than just the right heat...there's something about proper tandoor naan that is special - the aroma, the texture, etc. So much restaurant naan is a load of rubbish, but when you get good naan it makes it all worth it! If I win the lottery, I may buy a tandoor. But failing that, I tend to avoid naan unless I'm somewhere I know has a hot tandoor and a good reputation!

^^^ Jaymes, thank you for that recipe. I had something similar once on a much beloved holiday, and you have bought back a memory. I will definitely make it soon.

I love market photos, and these are great! Thank you for sharing your trip with us, I love living vicariously through others in this way!