trillium

I like to muddle peeled ginger with lemon juice and sugar and then add ice and chilled gin, orange bitters and shake, pour over cracked ice and top with mineral water. I vary the sour and the spice depending on my mood. I also like a good old fashioned Tom Collins. Lately I've been sipping Pimm's with Aranciata from San Pellingrino. It's not as sweet as ginger ale, and really brings out the ginseng/earth taste of the Pimm's. It's not the world's most attractive drink, however. I like have the cucumber to crunch out of the glass, but a snippet or two of borage plus the blossoms is always tucked into the glass too, if I have it. I also really love Picon punch in the summer, I might have to break down and order the Picon substitute Torani makes. regards, trillium

I did eat there, and more then once. It was Andhran food. Super yum...some of the hottest. Their cooked to order stuff was even better then the buffet. I would love for a pdx place to be just half as good as Sizzle....I'd even settle for a Hot Wok (Chinese by way of Kolkata)...aren't they a franchise? I don't know if Dawat Palace is on your list or not, it's in Beaverton I think. I went there and had ok food. It's Panjabi. It's better then India House and Swagat but still, that's not saying much. I bought some really miserable son papli from the sweets counter. If you run accross any place that has pan in your travels, please let me know. regards, trillium

I'm guessing this is same person that said on chowhound that Indian food is never hot. That drove me nuts because they've obviously never eaten in a Malayali house! Indian food is hugely diverse, I would hold much more diverse then North America. A nihiri from boarder towns vs. a seafood sambhar from the southern coast vs. fish or shrimp steamed in a mustard paste? I don't think you can compare these things. That's one of the things I love about the cuisine. But I should say not all "Indian" food is heavily spiced or hot. Some can approach the simplicity and purity of flavor you see in a classical Japanese prep. The home cooking I've had the privilage of eating has had a much cleaner flavor then most of the food you encounter in restaurants, even food that is what you might call heavily spiced. I think part of this is that you don't chuck every spice you own like they do in american-indian places. regards, trillium

When I use a steamer most of the time what I'm steaming is on a rimmed plate or in a soup tureen, so I don't worry so much about cleaning them after that. Steam is very hot and is used to sterilize things all the time. I just make sure the bamboo drys thoroughly, that's pretty important in damp or warm climates. If I've steamed bao or dumplings I usually line the steamer with cabbage. In that case I use my long handled bristled brush to clean them with some dishwashing detergent, but make sure the detergent isn't scented too strongly because you don't want those smells stuck in your steamer, and rinse like crazy. If all you have is super smelly stuff, I'd do what PCL recommends and just use boiling water. You don't need to get a cover for your wok if the size of the steamer you buy covers enough of the wok to your satisfaction! We've started cooking outside on a 70,000 btu burner with a big (22 or 24 inch) wok and it's a lot of fun. regards, trillium

I'd be really surprised if you can't find hae koh in Toronto. There are huge Asian neighborhoods, right? Check out the SE Asian ones, like Vietnamese, they almost always have it. In a pinch, if you find rojak paste you can substitute that, it's got a lot of hae koh in it. regards, trillium

In addition to the other things mentioned, we always stick knotted pandan leaves in our rice for nasi lemak or hainanese chicken rice. In the US, I always buy the frozen ones from Thailand, I find they have more frangrance then the fresh ones from Hawaii, but it does make wrapping things hard! regards, trillium

That's the fun part about mixing, you can adjust the proportions to taste. I love making Aviations with Meyer lemons, mostly because the twist has a much more complex smell, but I hate sweetish drinks...so, I just add a little more lemon juice. The tip JAZ gave a while back about using the amerana cherries in syrup as a garnish for the drink is a fantastic one, they're expensive, but it really pushes it over the top. regards, trillium

Ummm...I don't want to get into any trouble here, but I guess I'll say it depends on how you define "personal reasons" and "successful business". I just wouldn't be so quick to put the blame on Portland customers for the two places closing. regards, trillium

I was under the impression that William closed down his restaurants for personal reasons, not because Portland couldn't keep them open? There are a lot of mediocre brewpubs in Portland, I think the McMinniman's ones set the standard (of mediocrity). After my last experience in one, I don't think you could pay me to eat at another.... That being said, I have nothing against fried food and beer, it just has to be good. regards, trillium

I make both (but prefer the Bronx) with sour orange juice instead of regular orange juice, and they are both a really nice color. I think I've used Punt e Mes and regular old Gallo when I couldn't find Punt e Mes. I actually hate regular orange juice in a cocktail, the ones that have it are almost always too sweet for me. If I couldn't find sour oranges, I think I'd use a tart tangerine over a regular old orange. regards, trillium

Gotcha. Affectations of any sort are annoying as hell, I agree. regards, trillium

Um, I'm not French either but how else would you say it but that way? It's how I've always heard it pronounced even in the US. regards, trillium To rhyme with "skillet", I guess -- the same way many people in the UK pronounce "fillet" (steak, fish, etc.). Oh jeez. If I pulled that I'd never hear the end of it from my French friends and colleagues. It's not like I even come close to pronouncing most words totally properly, I can tell by the slight smile on their faces, but still, an effort is only polite. regards, trillium (was asked this week by aforementioned French colleague I'd shared some terrine with if I had killed another pig yet...that made me laugh)

Um, I'm not French either but how else would you say it but that way? It's how I've always heard it pronounced even in the US. regards, trillium

I don't know if you can get it in the UK, but it's damn hard to find in the US... Donna Fugata Vigna di Gabri. I'm not a white wine drinker at all, but I loved this stuff. It was the perfect match with Sicilian seafoods. I was bringing over amari, so I didn't have legal room for any of the wine, but I have very fond memories of it. I think it really is a good wine, and not just that Sicily is a wonderful place to be eating and drinking and might make every thing taste better. regards, trillium

Is there anything less time consuming to do with grape leaves in the kitchen besides stuffing them? I'm eyeing the huge vine that is growing over our back fence, the leaves look just perfect right now. I'm not sure I'm up to a stuffing project, I haven't even unpacked the kitchen completely. I was thinking of trying to do something layered, but would that be totally uncool? regards, trillium

Sorry for the late reply, I don't check for questions that often anymore. Winter melons get called winter melons for the same reason winter squash do in a western setting. It's not so much that they're only available in winter, but more that you harvest them in late summer/early fall and can store them all winter long. Whether or not you can find it all year kind of depends on your location, but I think they disappear most places in the height of summer. You can easily use another gwa (melon/squash) in place of dong gwa or winter melon. Loofas, smooth or angled (sui or see gwa), or fuzzy melons (cheet or mao gwa) make fine substitutes. Bitter melon (fu gwa) doesn't, unless you are accustomed to eating really bitter stuff. Avoid a winter melon that is mushy or yellow in the rind, and look for the smallest, furriest fuzzy melons if you go that route. You can peel the skin off, or just scrap off the fuzz. For angled loofa, I just scrape off the sharp ridges but leave on the rest of the skin. regards, trillium

Besides the capers and bottarga, which are great suggestions, the almonds and pistachio grown in Sicily are out of this world good, and to get similiar here in the US anyway, you have to pay 20 - 30 /lb! They're easy to tuck in a suitcase too. There is something about the pistachio in particular, very herbal and sweet. I'm a big sucker for ceramicha, and I had blisters from holding my bag of stuff through 3 hrs of customs, but I love my garlic and onion holders. They're much bigger and nicer then what you can buy in the US. I have a garlic keeper I bought in Sciacca that holds 5 - 6 heads of garlic and a Nino Parrucca onion crock I bought in Palermo that makes me smile whenever I look at it. regards, trillium

Huh? What..whining? Anyway, there is plenty of local produce available this early in the season. We were buying braising and salad greens from a couple of local farmers all winter at the Hillsdale farmer's market. We even saw photos of snow covered fields after that big snow storm! Besides all sorts of greens, there are also radishes, broccoli, turnips, new potatoes and green onions. There is plenty more variety at Groundworks if you don't mind cold-framed stuff. Even cold-framed, the cucumbers are much better then anything you can buy at the grocery store. regards, trillium

Interesting. It had never occurred to me to use Carpano Punt e Mes as a vermouth-category ingredient as opposed to a Campari-category ingredient. How does it work in a Manhattan? Do you have to use a smaller amount than you might vermouth to balance the drink? Hell no. I like my drinks like me... BITTER! Ha ha. Ok, seriously, I usually use it full strength in Manhattans, but if you're going to try it you might try a smaller amount to start with. Punt e Mes makes a really good Negroni too. Campari, Punt e Mes and a strong gin...yum. regards, trillium

One of my favorite ways to use Sichuan peppercorns...this version is a Singaporean/Cantonese version of a Sichuan dish. I think Dunlop's book has a real version. You might also search out dishes that get translated as Hot and numbing X (chicken, fish, crab whatever) those are tasty too. I like using either a fermented broad bean chilli paste or a fermented yellow (soy) bean chilli paste. You'll see many versions with fermented black beans but try to resist, you owe it to yourself to try it with broad bean paste at least once. I also like it better with the more southern style preserved mustard green (hum choy, if you want more info on this, look up a past thread in dejanews) at least here in the US. The Sichuan version available in the cities we've lived in is either an insipid canned one, or an overly sweet, mushy on-site version. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere with a decent version, then by all means use that, otherwise, search out the fresh, tangy southern hum choy, try to avoid the canned ones. Fresh roasted Sichuan peppercorns are another imperative ingredient in this dish. I would almost say don't bother making it if you don't have them. Use fresh Chinese firm tofu, not a non-refrigerated variety. The peas are optional, not necessary. We put them in to stretch the dish or when we feel like having them there or when we are making a vegetarian version for non-meat eating friends. Lastly, we don't really like the hot chilli sesame oil combos that are out there (mainly marketed to round eyes), they don't have the right fragrance. Use a roasted sesame oil and a homemade chilli oil if possible. Ingredients: marinade for the meat: 2 t thin soya 2 t thick soya 3 t Shaohsing wine (the unsalted kind!) 2 t sesame oil 1/2 lb fresh minced pork (or ground if you don't want to mince it) 4 oz preserved mustard greens (hum choy) 2 packages of firm tofu (the kind with two cakes in them) pressed and drained (you can see a picture of how we do it in the eGCI class I did) 6 cloves of garlic, minced 2 t potato flour, plus 2 T water 3 T broad bean chilli paste (or yellow bean chilli paste) or more to taste 1 t thin soya 1 c of water or meat stock a bag of frozen peas (optional) 4 scallions, thinly sliced, white parts separate from green sesame oil chilli oil about 1 t of fresh roasted Sichuan pepper, ground (can be crushed with cleaver handle or mortar or in a grinder) 2 red chillies, thinly sliced on the diagonal a handful or more of cilantro (coriander) leaves peanut or corn oil Put the minced pork aside in a bowl and add the marinade ingredients. Let it sit covered at room temp while you prepare the rest of the stuff. Cut the preserved vegetable into match sized pieces, cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes (after it has drained off a lot of water). Mix the potato flour with the water. Heat a pan or wok over high heat until there are faint wisps of smoke coming off it. Put some oil in the pan quick! and swirl it around. Throw in the garlic and flip it around, very quick and add the pork. Flip it around until it's half cooked, then add the preserved vegetable, the white parts of the scallions, the bean paste and the soya. Stir it around until it incorporated into the meat. Pour in the water or stock and bring to a simmer, over med heat. Add the tofu pieces. Mix gently, and allow the sauce to be absorbed by the tofu about 5 minutes. Add the peas if you're going to. When the peas are barely warmed through, add the potato flour water mix (stir it well) and turn up the heat until it thickens. Take off heat. Drizzle with sesame and chilli oils, sprinkle with Sichuan pepper, sliced chillies, the green parts of the scallion and the cilantro. Eat immediately with steamed rice. regards, trillium

I haven't tried anything at their market stand because their stuff is so widely available elsewhere. I'm usually in a hurry to get all the shopping done before it gets too crowded with dogs and baby strollers. I don't do well in close crowds. I do like their blue cheeses, but I did a taste test of their Roquefort and Gorgonzola clone/cultured cheeses against the real thing last year and they just didn't compare. I was really hoping they would, because Roquefort is so damn expensive with all the tariffs that get slapped on French stuff now. Can't you get the blue on a Burgerville burger right now? Yep, that's true. My friends did mention that the tables were very bare, they thought maybe having vats of drinks on ice or something would make it look better. I think you can't really have the food out there because of health safety reasons...maybe you need some of those Japanese plastic food sculptures, huh Rodney? (just kidding). Or they could hire us to stand around his booth slurping down ribs all morning to entice other people to try. regards, trillium

I sent some friends there and they called me back on Sunday night to rave about the ribs. Really rave. The ones I tasted during the trial run were great, and I don't know what that says about me that I didn't even notice the black pepper level. Too much Singaporean food I guess. I think my favorite thing is when OGC has raw milk Camembert. Good stuff on the walnut bread from Ken's. The ribs are better. I didn't find the sausage to be exceptional (not that it was bad), but those ribs... I find you have to be careful about what you buy from Groundworks. They do a lot of cold-framing and maybe greenhousing which is why they have things ahead of every one else seasonally speaking. This approach works great for things like watermelons, which otherwise wouldn't have a chance in PNW's fickle summer, but their strawberries are never, ever as tasty or sweet as ones that see more sun and warmer temps, and the same goes for the tomatoes. I think maybe they water them too much as well. There was also fantastic green garlic, new potatoes and asperagus... regards, trillium

The Vya has a very strong spicy taste to my nose, so I think your dad will notice the difference. Whether he likes it or not is just a matter of taste. I find it to taste too strongly of cinnamon for my tongue, and I probably won't buy another bottle, but it was fun to try. I like Carpano's Punt e Mes the best, but people that don't like bitter might not like it. regards, trillium

Cantonese go nuts at home with these soups, where you find a Cantonese granny you'll usually find a soup pot brewing up something specific for whatever may be ailing someone in the family. Other regions aren't as crazy about health tonic soups as the Cantonese (not so much variation), but you'll find versions every where. I can't answer the dehydrated vs. not questions, but dehydrated travels and keeps a lot better for one. Also, they're different animals, like a grape or a raisin I guess. If you're very curious, check out Grace Young's book. She done some marvelous writing about tonic soups. regards, trillium

If you're not following the references, those dried sweet potatoes (there are two varieties) are used mostly in the more tonic type of soups, which are brewed up more for their healthful qualities then taste. regards, trillium