ElsieD

Skor bits.

We too are fond of meatloaf and after a meatloaf/corn/spud meal the rest of the meatloaf is used up in sandwiches. We also make hamburgers using ground chuck. We buy chuck roasts at a Chinese grocery store and they grind them for us. Heaven on a plate, those burgs. We also like mac & cheese and baked beans. Not sure if that qualifies as diner food, though.

I was recently at a cooking demo and they cooked scallops on a salt block. The chef said he just scrapes the block clean and re-uses it, although after a while it does need to be replaced.

http://www.petfriendly.ca/rentals.php?id=5&page=&city=Niagara+on+the+Lake Darienne, try this link. I see there is a Best Western in Niagara Falls that is pet friendly. Hope this helps. Elsie

So here is a caution - I too suffer from GERD on occasion and have for years. I take omeprazole whenever I feel an attack coming on. A year and a half ago I felt that old, familiar feeling starting up. So, I took an omeprazole. And waited. And, nothing improved. Then I got nauseous. A bit later I felt pain in my throat on the right side and when it travelled to my jaw I knew I was in trouble. Long story short - I was having a heart attack. The paramedics (wonderful people) came and carted me off and I spent a week at our friendly heart institute being tested, monitored, etc. I am now extremely vigilant when my GERD sysmtoms act up again. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often.

I keep Cuisine at Home (I get the annual bound edition every year) and the CI Annuals. The mags we get are C@H, CI, Fine Cooking (I have the DVD Archives), Canadian Living and Bon Appetit. The magazines all get passed on.

Fascinating. http://www.seriouseats.com/cgi-bin/mte/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=30&limit=20&search=vadouvan&sa.x=33&sa.y=13 This is where I first read about it. So are you saying it's not worth trying? I mean, I use purchased curry pastes also but I recognize that someone who makes their curry paste from scratch will have a different end product than what I buy in a jar. However, that doesn't lessen my enjoyment of the dish. Thank you for your posts. I have read through them and your references and found them very interesting.

I have a bottle of curry ketchup in the fridge. The brand name is Hela and the label reads "Curry Kruiden Ketchup." This is a brand that Dutch grocery stores carry. Kruiden simply means spice. I use it as a condiment for sausage rolls. I also like it with mac & cheese. It tastes a lot like regular ketchup with curry in it.

Thank you for responding. I will check them out.

Yes!!! It is vadouvan. Now that I have the spelling, I was able to find the original article which includes info on where to buy this. I also intend to check out the references in your posts. They will, no doubt, enlighten me. Oddly, I went to an Indian grocery store back when I first read about this ingredient and they claimed never to have heard of it. Perhaps it is not used in India itself? Many, many thanks for your help.

I recently read an article about food trends for 2011. One item was a spice blend called (something like) vendaudam??? It is an Indian spice mix that has, as one of it's components, onion. Apparently, it is the next spice that chefs will be using a lot of this year. (Or so the article said.) I actually found a place that sells it but then........I lost the article. To make matters worse, I can't remember where I got the article or the exact name of the spice. I have spent a lot of internet time trying to track this down but have not have any luck. All I could find was vendhayam and vengayam and both referred to onion and nothing else. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

I used to like Carnation Instant Breakfast, but only the chocolate one.

Eel. And that horrible Kraft "parmesan" cheese that comes in that green can. I worked in a place where the receptionist always seemed to microwave a frozen fish lunch. Then she would sprinkle that "cheese" on it and zap it some more. The gag factor was really high.

One of the things I would really like to learn is how to use coloured cocoa butter. I love the look of chocolates that have different colours. Can this be part of the course? i would likely not be going to Buffalo but would be joining folks in the evening.

As this will be my first conference, I'm not familiar with the usual itinerary. When we book our room, do we book for check-out on Sunday? Thanks.

Kerry, I agree with you but only on the out-of-town names. I have heard of some, but not all. I am, however, familiar with all of the Ottawa chefs and know some of them. I was talking to Chef Blackie and he was saying that this is the first time they have tried this and they plan on building on it to attract more "name' chefs in the future, as the event becomes (hopefully) more well known. In any event, I hope to pick up some pointers during the day and the eats in the evening look good. Foodietopo, Martin Picard was to have been the chef at a Winterlude event. As you probably know, he is well-known for his use of foie gras. That event, 450 tickets I believe, sold out very, very quickly. Then the foie gras protesters got wind of it and did what they do best - protested. The NCC, (a government body) who were planning the event, told him he couldn't use foie gras. So he said "sayonara". They are now bringing in Michael Smith but a number of people have requested, and received, refunds. We go to Marche Jean Talon several times a year so I will have to see if we can visit Mathieu Cloutier Kitchen Gallery. Thanks for the tip.

http://www.nac-cna.ca/en/whatson/event.cfm?ID=6533 Is anyone going to this event tomorrow?

I'm becoming more and more interested in cooking with grains. Right now I use chia, millet, buckwheat and quinoa but am interested in trying others. Does anyone know of a comprehensive book that goes into detail about the different grains available and also has some recipes to give me some idea as to how to cook them? Thank you.

I'm happy with anything except rabbit. I never did get over the Easter Bunny syndrome. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, lamb, it's all fine with me.

I use 4 ounces/125 grams of dried pasta for the two of us. When we have fresh pasta, which we make from time to time, I don't weigh it and inevitably, I cook waaaay too much.

I just had a quick look at both the White Oaks site and the Hilton. The White Oaks actually looks to be a bit cheaper, or am I missing something? Anyway, I'm fine with either.

We have 4 major food chains represented in this city. I went to the third one yesterday looking for the elusive Hunts ketchup. They had none either. I have one more chain store to visit. If I can't find it, I will hit some independents. Seems that we have Heinz in the house because my spouse couldn't find Hunt's. I now know why. I'm not giving up, though, as I want to do this test.

So on my way to the deli for my smoked meat platter I stopped at a large grocery store, one of the major chains. No Hunt's. Went to the deli anyway but it was closed. Went to the other end of town for a burg & fries and stopped at another grocery store, part of a different chain, no Hunts. So, I have to put this project on hold til next weekend as I can't get back to the deli until then. Meanwhile, I have the week to hunt down some Hunt's. I also like ketchup with mac & cheese so if I find Hunt's before then, I may try it with that instead.

Hi Darienne: I haven't actually seen any but Farm Boy advertised them in their flyer this week, although they did not give a price. Want me to keep an eye out? Elsie

Kerry, is there anything new to report on this topic? I just read that Chris has his plane ticket.