Darienne

I'm going to make the Pannukakku for this August's Dog Weekend. And, of course, I'll never get around to making any kind of tree syrup anyhow. And as for birch pollen...on a trip to Sudbury ON some years ago...during Birch pollen season, I quit breathing well about 100 miles south of Sudbury and didn't resume normal breathing until several days later...when again 100 miles south of that Birch laden area.

Just went to this website: http://joybileefarm.com/birch-syrup/ and was stunned to see the number of trees which will yield a sweet syrup. STUNNED!!! Including Sumac...DH's hated tree which pops up everywhere we look at the edge of our fenced in backyard. I love them ...he does not . OTOH, I think the entire process is just too much work for these old already overtaxed guys. As it is, DH goes to a neighbor's each year to help with the maple syrup making so I always have a supply on hand.

Yes, Thanks for the Crepe. Wouldn't call them oven-baked custards though...They taste like crepes, with double eggs and sugar. Here's the recipe from the Ontario magazine: Pannukakku in case you'd like to try it. I added more blueberries, put them on the batter instead of into the syrup, omitted the icing sugar dusting. First time (metal pan) they looked like intestinal villae in their surface and the next two times (pyrex dish) they puffed up mightily around the edges. I must google birch syrup and see how it's made. We have birch trees on the farm...

Recently I made a recipe found in this season's LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) glossy magazine: Pannukakku with Birch Syrup and Wild Blueberries. Incredible. Delicious. Eating heaven. Being completely out of birch syrup, I subbed Maple Syrup and frozen blueberries and changed a couple of other bits around...of course ...and we loved them. I mentioned eating the Pannukakku to a young friend who was immediately ecstatic. I had completely forgotten that she had spent a high school exchange year in Finland. She at once started talking about this other dish that she also remembered as a favorite with rice on a crusty background and on and on, and by virtue of inputting various terms, I found it online: Karjalanpiirakat or Karelian Pies. I promised her we would make both the pancakes and pies on her next visit to the farm. I see online that there are so many variations to both the Pannukakku and Karjalanpiirakat out there, and I'd like to try 'someone's' favorite if there is a 'someone' on eGullet who is familiar with these dishes...or any other traditional Finnish foods. Another new cuisine to try... Thanks.

Welcome to eGullet Michal. I will be fascinated to read about eating in Israel and any Sephardic or Ashkenazi recipes you might post.

Hello Jim and welcome to eG. You are way out of my class and I know I'll appreciate reading your posts. I like working with chocolate but purely as a chocolate lover (dark chocolate, of course).

Welcome to eGullet. It's a good place to be. I am really curious. You eat Hogweed? I thought that Hogweed came in Giant and was extremely dangerous and poisonous. Obviously you cannot be eating the tender shoots of a poisonous plant?

Good gracious...I just went to Mr. Viancin's website and was blown away by his video. Who knew? Life is starting to feel just a tad empty on this end.

Heidi, when you say "small irregular bits", just how small are you meaning? I don't do sous vide, but would be interested in other methods...should there be any...besides the one suggested by Heidi. I don't buy pork loin for the same reason as pistolabella but sometimes it is so inexpensive that I am tempted. (As it is, I feed it cut up and raw to the dogs as one of their alternative meat sources.)

I am delightfully stunned and happy on your account. Now that's a company worth patronizing.

Right, Alex. That's where I found it and this time it came up on another website so I just posted it.

ElaineA and Alex, thank you so much. Wonderful, wonderful and I'd never seen either of those two mobs before. And in the same vein, and in a FOOD COURT (food reference) which has to be in Canada because of the French in the signs, here's my all-time favorite flash mob:Hallelujah Chorus.

I'm afraid that I'm going to be the bearer of possible bad news. From an Ontario Food Handler Training and Certification Course: the incubation period for Listeriosis is from 3 - 70 days with 3 weeks being the average. Not good news. Sorry.

Saturday afternoon, when I was living at home and growing up, was always the Metropolitan Opera and woe betide him/her who spoke unnecessarily. And so I love opera and classical music. But not German opera. But otherwise our house was silent. And I never had music on while doing homework. It would not have been allowed. And so, now, many decades later, I still need silence to work and thus have on no music while cooking. Or working. Too bad.

I've never timed it, but it's well under 10 minutes.

Interesting discussion about stove knobs. Since our whatever-it-was stove died a few years ago, Ed has been buying second hand stoves so I've had a few. It seems to me that every stove has a different knob pattern from the one before and I have to say that I don't like it. So there.

Ah yes, Tri2Cook...but we will remember...

I shall try one more Bundt pan and then I give up forever. I've never made a Bundt cake which did not turn into a disaster no matter how much lubricant, and flouring, etc, etc, I did. I just figured that Bundt pans had it in for me. I have a friend in Mississauga who comes once a month into my area and I'll ask her to get me a Pullman pan. Thanks all.

ElsieD: did you get your Pullman pans in Ontario? Which store, please?

Welcome to eG from another Canadian. And one who was born in la belle province. Montreal to be sure.

Yesterday, January 21, I was surprised to see big healthy cauliflowers available in the Peterborough FreshCo for about $3.49 (failing memories of senior DH and me). Did not buy one. Probably should have...

Looking at the 'presentation' of the food of those Mexican dishes...I would never eat at that restaurant. Eating Mexican food in Canada is not my idea of something fun or delicious to do.

MelissaH, any chance you would share your spreadsheet freezer inventory? I can always use a better idea than the one I am currently using. Thanks.

Hello Martin0642, Welcome, welcome. You have wonderful days ahead of you with your chocolate plans. All best...

I think so far I win this one...for home use. We have four freezers. Two chest freezers: one in the garage (mostly dog meats) and one in the cellar (our food),. Two fridge freezers: one in the garage and one in the kitchen. I keep track on two pages of typed spread sheets. I hate keeping them up-to-date. And, of course, DH doesn't know where anything is. Ever. It's a guy thing. As for using the freezers. I wear a pair of cotton gloves every time...I've hurt my hands just too many time. (That's the 'never do that again' part.)