Will

I would guess you will have better luck infusing the tea into something else and adding it in, if at all possible. Even if you don't want to add much of anything besides chocolate, I think you will need to -- maybe a concentrated infusion of tea in a small amount of water. A guy here who makes a lot of ice creams has had good luck infusing things in coconut milk. I have seen chocolate that have actual bits of tea (typically a flavored / scented tea like Earl Grey) in the chocolate, however I don't think they're infused in it. I am personally not into the whole cooking with tea thing, but there are some folks who have written books about this subject, so that may be another resource.

Our "hamster" method is, take a sheet of (microwave-safe) plastic wrap, square or rectangular, put warm rice in the middle, fold two sides of the plastic wrap in, then fold the other two sides in. Later, just nuke it straight out of the freezer. You can size the hamsters so that you end up with however many servings of rice you want.

Finding good huajiao (Sichuan peppercorn) is hard -- even here, where we have a wealth of Chinese markets catering to a mostly Asian clientele (and even in China, for that matter). I have heard that some of the Asian supermarket brands are dyed pink - if the pink color leaches out in water after about 15 minutes, this may be the case. A friend recommended trying the Chinese herb store vs. a supermarket. The numbing taste of the finished dish should be pretty intense -- the version of this dish without pork is called mala doufu (i.e., numbing-spicy tofu), and I heard someone say once that the dish should be numbing, spicy, salty, and sweet in that order. If the pins and needles sensation isn't taking over your mouth for a good 10-20 seconds or more after each bite, add more huajiao. For the chili / broad bean paste, what you want is dòubànjiàng (豆瓣酱), and I would actually go to the trouble of finding a Sichuan style one, preferably made in Sichuan (though I've tried some made in Taiwan ones as well, and this is a good route to go if you want to avoid products produced in Mainland China). I would avoid Lee Kum Kee if possible, despite it being widely available. They will vary in ingredients and spiciness level. The fermented black beans (douchi) are something different. Most authentic recipes I've seen don't seem to add them. http://www.fuchsiadunlop.com/sichuan-chilli-bean-paste/ has a summary of what to look for, and mentions a few specific brands. English names can vary quite a bit... the English name of the sauce is less important than what it actually is. If you post a closer-up view of the label, with the Chinese name and / or ingredients, that would be more helpful.

My rice cooker (a Sanyo) probably takes about 90 minutes or more, though I haven't timed it. I haven't done brown rice stovetop for quite a while, but I would think that would take more than 45 minutes, depending on the type of rice. That's what makes the timer feature so useful. Granted, you have to plan ahead enough to remember in the morning and rinse it / set the timer, but you just set the time you want it done, and it's ready right on time. But it's another reason to keep a reserve of leftovers in the freezer in case of "emergency". The extra soaking time is supposed to help a bit in terms of the rice, even if it's not warm enough (or for long enough time) to germinate the rice (if you have a cooker with a GABA mode, so much the better - you can make productive use of that soaking time, and the higher temperature while it's germinating should prevent the growth of anything nasty). I have tried the Trader Joes frozen brown rice... a long time ago. If memory serves, maybe a little dry for my taste, but not bad. Definitely better than some of the results I've seen from stovetop-cooked brown rice. I like the Kokuho Rose organic short-grain brown rice pretty well, though it's expensive. Korean markets usually have good price:quality ratio for rice.

I've only been to Franchia (their more casual, less expensive, place) in recent years, but I did enjoy my experiences at Hangawi. They manage to make it a very tranquil environment in the middle of the city, without pushing it over the line to over-the-top new agey. The food is expensive for what it is, but was well executed when I visited. Service is also excellent. Korean temple cuisine is similar to shojin ryori (Japanese temple cuisine). While there are vegetarian restaurants in Korea, so Hangawi and Franchia are, as best I know, the only fully vegetarian Korean places in the US, and surprisingly, we don't have an equivalent in LA, which has a much larger Korean population than NY (keep in mind that, possibly unsurprisingly, non-Koreans do seem to be the core crowd at Hangawi). They serve and sell wild Korean green tea. While I have talked to tea friends who know more about Korean tea than I do who suggest that Hangawi's tea may not be a good value, or even what it's said to be, but the tea is quite good, but very delicate in flavor.

It's worth trying different types, for example, I don't love most long grain brown rice, but love most short-grain Japanese style brown rice. I really enjoy the slightly nutty taste, and with simple or bland food, I think it is nice to have that slightly stronger flavor. Mixing in black / purple rice, or other grains (Korean and Japanese markets sell some grain mixes which you can add to rice), can also sometimes make brown rice taste better. Also depends what you're eating it with. The "haiga" type is interesting - it's been milled to remove the bran, but leave the germ. You don't get much of the fiber benefit of brown rice, but you do get most of the extra nutrients. Even with a lot of rinsing, it's maybe a bit stickier than standard white rice, but it tastes pretty much identical.

For me, a rice cooker with a timer and a brown rice mode was a game changer here... put the rice on in the morning (or even the night before, if you're not worried about cooties growing), and set the timer... then the rice is done at the time you set it for. Also great for having steel cut oats ready in the morning.

We freeze leftover rice. Our method is to wrap it in plastic wrap in "hamsters" (which can be later microwaved). The only reason to put rice in the fridge instead is if you're saving it to make fried rice with.

How about the microwave? All of this really complicated stuff seems a bit over the top. Who cares if the color changes a bit?

We were there last month. The food was excellent until our meal was interrupted by rioters.

Sometimes it's hard to sort that out, since none of the manufacturers refer to their flours this way. Giusto's and King Arthur both make Type 55 flours (that's like a French type 55 - the ash percentages are figured slightly differently here IIRC). I think Giusto's is called 'Baker's Choice', about 11.5% protein. I think they make a type 75 flour also (with some of the milled bran added back in), but I think it's still not available for retail (see egullet link below). I believe KA's is called "French Type Flour" (11.5% protein). They also have a "European-Style Artisan Bread Flour" (11.7% protein). If you really want to nerd out about ash percentage and other specs, I believe both companies publish them somewhere. A bit more on this over here: which might be a more appropriate place to have this particular side-discussion. Giusto's seems to make three different pizza flours - an "00" which is designed for pizza, an "Italiano" pizza flour, and a whole wheat "00" (some of these also come in versions made from organically grown wheat). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour#Flour_type_numbers http://www.wessexmill.co.uk/recipe/flourguide.html

True to some extent (though I think there's a lot less of an argument for "local" when we're talking about things like flour or canned tomatoes, which are reasonably easy to ship and shelf-stable). But for certain things, there just isn't much demand in the US. For those who aren't wholesale and having their own flour milled to specifications, there aren't that many truly "local" options. King Arthur and Giusto's make 00 style flour, but they're not carried in many markets, even those that carry KA flour, so you'd probably have to mail-order. If my math is right, Caputo 00 is around the same price anyway (and may actually be easier to get locally in many areas). Italy's also got the history, terroir, and savoir-faire for making that style of flour. I haven't tried a back-to-back comparison of, say, Caputo to any of the American brands... if money were no object, I would probably base my decision on the final product rather than how local the flour is. I think the type of flour is really mostly related to whether you're trying to make Italian style pizza or American style pizza. I will say that, while I've not tried their 00 flour, I've had really good results with Giusto's overall. Their organic pastry flour and their type 55 style flour are both excellent.

San Marzanos don't have that many seeds. With fresh San Marzano style tomatoes, I would peel and half, and then squeeze out the seeds. But with canned ones, whole and already peeled, I usually just kind of squeeze the tomato to get rid of the juice / seeds inside. Or, if you want to use the thinner juice / puree, you can squeeze the tomato into the can of puree, then strain the seeds out of all the liquid at the end, as described here: http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm As mentioned above, genuine DOP San Marzanos (actually certified to have been grown in the protected area) will always be whole (with seeds).

That's true to a point, but I think (with the group I mentioned above as one of the rare exceptions) Asian religions tend to have a more syncretic philosophy, and they tend to proselytize much less (both in the US and in countries where they are more widely followed). So I don't think it's just exoticising or Orientalizing to not be bothered by the kind of thing you describe vs. religious texts that seem to be aimed at the customer. An alter of a folk god or a Buddha doesn't bother me, because it's not aimed at converting me or anyone else... the owners of the restaurant have it there, probably because they want prosperity for themselves and their business. Maybe people are overly sensitive about fundamentalist Christians, but that's because these groups tend to be obnoxious and pushy about their beliefs in the first place. Once bitten, twice shy. And of course there are some potential class overtones as well. I fully accept the fact that I may be being a little classist when I'm more bothered by a "God, Guns and Guts" style sign than a Thai-Chinese restaurant with a kitchen god alter above the cash register. While we're on the subject, I don't believe the trope about respecting other people's beliefs. I'm not religious, and I don't feel any obligation to respect someone's religious beliefs, even if I respect their right to have whatever kind of beliefs they want. They're welcome to put whatever religious stuff they want up in their restaurant too; just don't expect me to go there. On a related note, how about In-N-Out's bible verses on drinking cups (the Snopes article linked there also mentions that Alaska Airlines puts a bible verse on each meal tray). [edit: just saw that heidih wrote about the same thing just above]

The Supreme Master Qing Hai group has a "TV station" that plays in many of the vegetarian restaurants operated by its followers, as well as literature.

I do often take notes when I'm drinking alone, especially when I'm trying unfamiliar teas. It can distract from the experience, but I do find them really helpful to refer back to later on.

Sounds like you visited Red Blossom in SF? Like with other beverages, I think connoisseurs may value different things than casual drinkers, who might value lack of bitterness or astringency, and presence of sweetness or certain kinds of tastes. Some of the things that many tea drinkers I know value (I don't advocate a really clinical way of evaluating tea -- I don't think you need to take notes and look for all of these exact characteristics; they're just things to look out for): Texture or thickness - people sometimes talk about the "tea base". A tea might need time for a roast to calm down, or, in the case of pu'er and other post-fermented teas, might need time to mellow out or recover from very humid storage. But many people will say that the tea base is something you can't easily "fake". However, being able to tell when a tea is thick, whether from the texture in your mouth or from the appearance of the brewed tea, is not always easy. Aftertaste - For oolongs, especially, the aftertaste is very important. Aroma - Again, this is especially important with oolongs, to the point where some people use special aroma cups. While I don't personally usually do this, you can enjoy the smell in the empty tasting cup, under the gaiwan lid, as well as the smell from the brewed tea. Feeling in the mouth / throat - the way the tea makes your mouth and throat feel. Visual appearance of the tea - while a good tea isn't bad simply because it's cloudy, most tea should have a clear appearance when brewed. The color will obviously depend on the processing of the tea. Some people are also very interested in the way drinking a tea makes them feel. This can get a little more esoteric, but I do think it's important. A good tea will often make you feel relaxed and comfortable, whereas another tea might make you feel more anxious or agitated. Call me a wacko, but I don't think it's as simple as the amount of caffeine. As far as some external resources, two tea friends of mine have some sites which I think allude to some of the subjects above: http://marshaln.com/ http://myteastories.com/ You can also check out http://teachat.com/ - it's a forum owned by a tea vendor, but they take a pretty hands-off approach, and many serious tea folks do hang out there, and you should be able to get some good tea / vendor recommendations. Also, make sure to use good water. Water is "the mother of tea", and some teas may work better with one water than another. Mountain spring water with some mineral content, but not too much, is what most tea lovers I know prefer. Filtered tap water may also work well, depending on where you live and what type of filtration system (reverse-osmosis will take basically everything out, so it's not ideal). And pre-heat your brewing and drinking vessels. There are some good "daily drinkers" out there, if you just want something that tastes pretty good and isn't overly astringent or bitter. But, if you think about it, even higher priced teas are a pretty good value - depending on your brewing style you can make quite a bit of tea with a fairly small amount of tea leaf.

Having DOP certified tomatoes and Italian 00 flour is most important if you are trying to produce true Neopolitan pizza, especially if you're concerned about being certified as such. For other styles of pizza, that may not be necessary, and may not even give the desired results. I know Jeff Varasano actually *prefers* the non-DOP-certified Cento brand tomatoes for his NY style pizza, and this is probably more "authentic" for a NY style pie. Either way, quality ingredients for pizza have definitely gone up in cost. But I would venture a guess that at most restaurants, the cost of ingredients is still a small percentage of what you're paying for, whether you're paying $11 or $20+ for the pizza. Of course, even within legitimately DOP certified tomatoes, there is variation in quality, and conversely, there are San Marzano style tomatoes, made with the same cultivar, which are quite good, even if not grown in the officially designated area. While I've had good pizzas with fresh tomatoes on them, either as a topping or on a sauceless pizza, I think the best and most consistent results for a normal style pizza sauce will come with good quality canned tomatoes.

I don't know how organic certification works, or whether or not there are DOP San Marzano tomatoes labeled as organically-grown, but there certainly are organically-grown products from Italy, usually referred to as 'Bio'.

I didn't try any Chinese food in London, since we have much more (and better) Chinese food where I live, and I would bet that authentic Sichuan food is hard to find there. However, I have heard pretty good things about Barshu (mentioned above), for which food writer Fuchsia Dunlop did some consulting, for Sichuan cuisine. As far as I know, it should be open now (the post that mentioned it being under rennovation is from '09). Real Sichuan food is very different from Cantonese cuisine (for that matter, high-end Cantonese cuisine is different from the gloppy take-out many people are used to). Sichuan cuisine is known for very generous use of both hot chili peppers, usually dried or pickled, rather than fresh, and huajiao (lit. flower-pepper, often called Sichuan peppercorn, though it is not a pepper) in a combination known as mala (numbing-spicy). Sichuan cuisine can be quite refined, and not all dishes from all regions are spicy or numbing, but that is definitely one thing that's hard to miss when you experience it full-blast. Sichuan food uses doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste) quite a bit, and it's a different style than the fermented beans generally used in Cantonese cooking (豆豉; dou chi). Those are just a few differences; I'm sure others could enumerate the many other differences between the two cuisines. Now, if you go to a very Westernized Sichuan place, especially if the chef / kitchen staff are not actually Sichuanese, you may not notice a difference, but if you go to a proper Sichuan restaurant, I don't think you could help but find the food quite different.

This cuts both ways, because restaurants often also want to be written about in web logs. Restaurants frequently contact my wife, who writes a food web log, to review their restaurants with a comped meal. She has accepted in some cases (though of course indicating that the meal was comped in her review), but it can create some awkward situations, especially when the restaurant's owner or a PR person stays with you the whole meal talking your ear off. For the most part, she'd rather pay for her meals, and not have to deal with that kind of thing. I don't have a lot of respect for food writers (in whatever kind of media) who accept comped meals from a restaurant but don't indicate it. However, this kind of situation happens for some of the lower budget traditional media as well, when the paper can't, or won't, pay for the meals -- its reviewers are forced to hustle to get comped meals, and of course any semblance of anonymity is gone.

According to this post, anyway, DOP San Marzanos must come in tins. http://gustiamo.typepad.com/gustiblog/2011/08/san-marzano.html

I think that's how most people store it, in some cases, for quite some time.

Why? It's just really salty -- other than that, it just tastes like egg. If you've got 3 weeks to spare, you can make your own.

Our Italian family friends make their liquors with close to pure grain alcohol (I'm not sure what the product name is, but it's something that's available over there); of course it has to be heavily diluted, but the final product is very drinkable. I think it's something like 2:1:1 (alcohol:sugar:water), but could be remembering wrong. Since the lemon peels don't absorb much or any of the alcohol (compared to the green walnuts used to make nocino), it has to be fairly diluted to be drinkable.