Will

Also called snake gourd (丝瓜 ／ sī guā). In Chinese cooking, usually prepared fairly simply, maybe braised or blanched and then stir-fried, but another common way to cook it is with salted duck egg (the regular kind, not the century egg kind). I posted a basic method for doing this with bitter gourd in another thread. You can see a picture of how it should look here: http://exilekiss.blogspot.com/2010/02/fresh-vibrant-pure-shanghai-cuisine-and.html

We can get the 375 ml bottles of it here, which is pretty small. I keep our vermouths in the wine fridge - that way, it doesn't get as cold as in the regular fridge, and also doesn't pick up off-odors, which is the main other objection I've heard to keeping vermouth in the fridge. I like Vya's sweet vermouth pretty well, but I think I still prefer Carpano Antica by a bit.

Not to mention chicken feet, which are not very popular here.

I think the quality of the ingredients is one thing, and the skill of the chefs; also the service, though maybe not to the same extent as at a high-end Western place. So in that sense, similar things to what makes a high-end restaurant expensive here. Certain ingredients are rare or expensive (sharks fin, for example), and so ordering them at all tends to be expensive anywhere you go. As far as Cantonese style seafood, a lot of places will also stock live fish. For fish, a lot of Chinese preparations tend to be simple (steamed, maybe with some aromatics on top), and served whole with the head on. I think across the board there's also a broader acceptance of nose to tail eating - of course there are folks here who like to eat pig intestine or cow tongue, but I think there are proportionally more Chinese who will eat these things with gusto. And as far as chickens, pigs, etc., while most Chinese folks I've met aren't too concerned about animal welfare, they do seem interested in eating gamier tasting meat, which tends to mean heritage breeds which have spent time outdoors and moved around. Of course, China has a lot of new wealth, and there are folks who will pay more just to impress their guests. In some cases, the money being paid may be justified by the quality of the food, and in other cases, maybe not. I don't claim at all to be an expert, but I think the political and economic situation of the past 60 or so years, as well as the widespread use of flavor enhancers such as MSG may have helped to somewhat diminish Chinese cuisines as a whole. But with the growing wealth of the country, and the growing middle and upper middle classes, I think we'll see more interest in bringing back some older techniques, and an interest in finding safe, naturally grown ingredients, in a country where this is increasingly hard. Better certification and less corruption will probably be important for this. One other Fuchsia Dunlop article which I think is really interesting, and kind of touches on the amount of work it takes to source clean ingredients (even if this guy is exaggerating a little about the lengths he goes to, it's definitely hard to ensure you're getting what you're paying for): http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/24/081124fa_fact_dunlop

There are many Chinese cuisines (if you consider the size of China, the mix of ethnic groups, and the length of time the culture has been around, it is a bit unfair to lump all Chinese food together), but overall, I think different things tend to be valued in most Chinese cuisines. And unless you're in Asia or maybe Vancouver, you will most likely not find (m)any Chinese restaurants executing at that kind of level. This is mostly because there isn't enough demand for these places elsewhere, and also probably because the best chefs can make more money doing it over there. Food is usually served family style (other than at places trying to do a slightly more modern style presentation), and the presentation style (and pacing) tend to be different from how it is in European cuisine. I think it's fair to say that texture is usually an important component, including textures which many westerners don't prefer (extremely chewy foods, for example). Unusual or exotic ingredients (regardless of how un-PC they may be) are common. Variety is also important - whether banquet style or not, there will usually be lots of different dishes, and usually a number of different cooking techniques. Knife skills, whether it's "fire-exploded" kidney, or simply perfectly uniform dice between all ingredients in a stir-fry. Whether you would find a high-end Chinese meal on a par with a high-end French meal is kind of besides the point, because I would bet that many Chinese would similarly not enjoy many things about the French meal (Fuchsia Dunlop's article about bringing some chefs from Sichuan to various high-end places in the US is worth a read if you haven't seen it already, as well as her article about bringing European cheeses to Chinese chefs). http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2005/08/frenchlaundry http://www.fuchsiadunlop.com/cheese-for-chinese/ And there are, in fact, Chinese restaurants which have 2 Michelin stars.

You're comparing apples and oranges. Home cooked meal - something quick and easy for lunch. I imagine that even in France, your average Jacques (esp. a college student) does not bring a Michelin 2 star lunch to school.

This depends on both the branch of Buddhism and the country. Chinese Buddhist monastics have been vegetarian for a long time, I believe dating back to an imperial edict (maybe 500 AD), though some were vegetarian before this. They also generally follow a "complete" vegetarian diet, eschewing eggs and the "5 pungent" spices (garlic, jiu cai (garlic chive), shallot, onion, green onion, etc.) Ethnic Chinese monasteries in Vietnam, Thailand, etc. also follow this tradition. I believe some Indian Buddhist traditions also practice vegetarianism, for monastics at least. Japanese Buddhism has a historical tradition of monastic vegetarian cuisine (shojin ryori, for example), but I don't think most Japanese monastic traditions follow a vegetarian diet these days. Some Tibetan Buddhists have advocated a vegetarian diet, but I think the climate and geography make it difficult. Lay Buddhists eat a vegetarian diet full-time less often, though some certainly do, especially in sects headquartered in Taiwan. But in some traditions, non-vegetarian lay Buddhists still eat vegetarian on certain days. http://www.icundv.com/vesak2011/panel3/05ShengKaiFINAL.pdf http://www.photodharma.net/Blog/images/Miscellany/To-Eat-Or-Not-To-Eat-Meat.pdf

There are a lot of Chinese cuisines. I think executing any cuisine at its highest level is very difficult, but it's probably hard to say for sure (at that level) that one is more difficult than the other. I would put it differently - I would say that Chinese and European cuisines require some fairly different skill sets, as well as some of the same ones. Knife skills, for example, are very important in both, though Chinese knife technique is different from, say, French.

I would just say that overall, it's important to strive for balance, and without the alcoholic components, it's easy for non-alcoholic drinks to become too sweet and cloying quickly. I would suggest to seek out flavors with some bitterness, astringency, or spicy, aromatic, smokey, or savory components (grapefruit / pomelo, tea and tisanes, tomato juice, peppercorns, lavender, infusions of herbs, etc.) to balance things out. Ginger or galangal juice has a nice kick, and I think works well with lemon or lime. If caffeine is Ok, I've seen people do things with flavored or smoked teas; a medium-smokey lapsang souchang could provide a little bit of a smoky taste. Keep in mind that in the amounts they're usually used in, bitters shouldn't be an issue unless you must completely avoid alcohol (for religious or other reasons) - while bitters are highly concentrated in terms of alcohol content, usually only a few drops are used. Ice, garnishes, etc. are all extra important with a non-alcoholic drink. Despite the awful titles, you might get some inspiration or ideas from books like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Preggatinis-Mom-Natalie-Bovis-Nelsen/dp/1599214547

It's never appropriate not to tip. If you really want to send a message to the server, and the service was absolutely awful, tip 10-12%. Personally, I tip around 20% in almost all cases.

Obviously you could calculate it different ways. Just the carbon dioxide that comes out of the cows themselves is significant, but I would also factor in the grain grown to feed the cows, the fertilizer used to grow it, the "footprint" of transporting the feed around, etc., it adds up quickly. Of course there are people who are treating their animals well, and pasturing their animals (vs. feed lots / factory farms, etc.). But even with factory farming and industrial agriculture, we're going to have a hard time sustaining the increasing worldwide demand for meat and dairy, and if everyone followed Michael Pollan's philosophy and we had only pastured animals, treated humanely and eating grass, etc., the amount of these products would be nowhere near enough to support even the current levels of consumption of these products. Yes, there's some land that's suitable for pasturing animals but not growing plants, but not enough. Assuming you're legitimately interested, from doing a quick search, there are quite a few articles which give some quantitative idea of the impact of meat and dairy production. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/nov/11/food.climatechange http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/business/worldbusiness/06iht-greencol07.4.6029437.html http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/07/26/how-meat-and-dairy-are-hiking-your-carbon-footprint/ I'm not trying to insult your relatives; I have no idea how they run their operations or whether or not they're cruel to animals. As far as factory farming goes, I do believe that the system is inherently cruel to animals, at least based on the existing industry "standards" for treatment. Heck, even the industry is starting to acknowledge this. But I'm not blaming the operators or the industry as much as the market. Consumers insist on low prices for meat and milk, which the producers give them. However, we all pay the hidden costs in terms of the pollution and other problems caused by industrial animal farming. And even those who seek out local products from pastured animals will have a hard time pulling that off consistently unless they eat at home almost all the time. I am a vegetarian, but I'm not I'm not trying to make the case here that everyone should be vegan or vegetarian. What I'm saying is that, even by the most mainstream point of views, people are going to have to reduce their consumption of meat and dairy products over the next 20-50 years. I think the future will also need to have more pork, more offal, and less beef.

Industrial "production" of milk and eggs are, in some ways, worse than the meat industry - they keep animals in similar conditions, but keep them alive longer, and only kill them once they're no longer producing. Animals raised for meat aren't treated well either, but at least they get killed sooner. It's cruel because the animals are kept indoors in very close quarters, antibiotics are overused (to increase production, and to try and reduce the diseases that are common when that many genetically similar animals are in a confined space), dairy cows are impregnated but have their calves taken away from them for veal, etc. I think it's fair to say that most of the issues mentioned in the 4 sections following this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_farming#Human_health_impact are fairly well documented / substantiated. I am pretty sure that the overall carbon footprint of meat and dairy consumption in the first world far exceeds the problems created by power plants in the developing world. Whether or not you're concerned about animal cruelty, etc., eating less meat is one of the best things you can do for the environment.

Manhattan, and if you can get your hands on some Cynar, the "Little Italy". For something a little less spirit-forward, I like the Blinker - grapefruit, rye or bourbon, and raspberry syrup (I think replaced with grenadine later on; if you can find a natural grenadine, it might be an Ok substitute, but I like the raspberry syrup). It's sweet and easy to drink, but still balanced. If you don't have a good source for the syrup there (not the Italian soda kind; I think Ted Haigh swears by Smuckers brand Red Raspberry syrup), you can make your own, which is a bit of a pain, but will last for a while. http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2008/07/blinker-cocktail.html

I'm the opposite - not having some kind of rule (even if it's arbitrary) makes it more difficult. And since I'm vegetarian voluntarily, I don't tend to feel resentful as I might if the rule were forced on me.

I agree with listening to what your body is telling you, but I think it's worth trying to satisfy that craving with something that fits within your dietary requirements before giving up. Also, after only a day or two of not eating meat, I would argue that a craving can also be just that - a craving (or a desire for something comfortable or comforting), vs. necessarily being what your body "needs".

Right - but I didn't say you couldn't make some kind of margarine at home. I think most people would have a hard time replicating commercial margarine at home without special ingredients and / or equipment. Even if you happen to keep soy lecithin around, the flavors that make them "buttery" would probably be hard to create. If you just want a solid fat without trying to replicate the flavor of butter, there are non-hydrogenated shortenings and oil blends out there, and you can compensate for the non-fat components of butter / margarine by adjusting the liquid / fat content of a recipe.

I think one difference is: Butter -- ingredients: sweet cream*, optionally salt Earth Balance Original - ingredients: Expeller-pressed natural oil blend (soybean, palm fruit, canola and olive), filtered water, pure salt, natural flavor (derived from corn, no msg, no alcohol, no gluten), soy protein, soy lecithin, lactic acid (non-dairy, derived from sugar beets), and naturally extracted annatto for color. [they do specify that all ingredients are non-GMO) Country Crock Original - ingredients: Vegetable Oil Blend (Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil), Water, Whey (Milk), Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, (Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA), Citric Acid, Vitamin A Palmitate, Beta Carotene (Color), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3). Margarine, even in the best case scenario, has a lot more ingredients, and a lot more ingredients which you couldn't pronounce, or wouldn't want to eat on their own. There's also often a reliance on fillers like soy protein (produced through the chemical extraction of oil from soybeans) and emulsifiers, like soy lecithin. I think overall that the movement away from hydrogenated oils and trans fats is a good thing, but it does seem to necessitate adding more "weird" ingredients, especially if you want to avoid using too many tropical oils. Also, one could very trivially make butter at home (in fact, I did it when I was a kid), whereas it would be essentially impossible for your average home cook to make Earth Balance at home. And butter and cream have been consumed by humans in some parts of the world for quite a long time. * Maybe a starter culture in the case of fermented butter. Yes, there are butters out there which have additives or other stuff, but assuming we're talking about a pure butter.

Well obviously it's "real food" under the proper definition of the word, but perhaps not the Michael Pollan one. Margarine is a heavily processed food, and generally (even in the case of margarines like Earth Balance) contains fillers, emulsifiers, natural or artificial flavors, etc. It's edible, but it's not something that fits the common sense definition of "real food". Personally, I eat margarine on occasion because I don't eat dairy (for ethical and environmental, more than health reasons), but I don't convince myself that it's more healthful or delicious than butter. This is the kind of reductionist nutritional theory that the "real food" crowd doesn't agree with. In other words, just because something looks "the same" or "better" based on a small number of measurable criteria doesn't mean that it's automatically more healthful. The book The Queen of Fats makes a good set of arguments (in my opinion) for some of the other factors that should be looked at, especially the balance of essential fatty acids, and also makes some good general criticisms of how reductionist our nutritional philosophy is - first dietary cholesterol is bad, then saturated fat is bad, then trans fat is bad and saturated fat is Ok -- we seem obsessed with having one "bad" thing to avoid completely, rather than taking a more holistic view. The book also makes the argument (convincingly, I think) that eggs, milk, and meat from pastured animals contain a better balance of fats, because of their diet.

What are you basing your definition of "gourd" on? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gourd says "A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_melon says "Momordica charantia, called bitter melon or bitter gourd in English, is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae" So I think it is a gourd, according to that definition. I was also a little baffled by that earlier statement, especially since growing up eating bitter melon would definitely make kale, by comparison, very not bitter. Different folks have different degrees of tolerance for bitter and astringent tastes, both because of habit / exposure, and due to their taste buds (the whole non-taster / taster / super-taster thing). Interestingly, a Chinese friend the other day was saying that a lot of what bothers people unused to kugua is not just the bitterness but that it's very gān (甘), which isn't a taste we really have... It's roughly translated as "sweet", but in my experience, that doesn't describe it perfectly; I guess you could say it's a menthol-y and cooling sensation that turns to a kind of sweetness. According to this friend, ginseng is very 'gan', as does bitter gourd (kugua). http://listeningtoleaves.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-is-hui-gan.html

I think it's because 瓜 describes both what we'd think of as "melons" and what we'd think of as gourds / squash in English. "bitter gourd" is probably a somewhat better translation, since we tend to associate "melons" with sweet fruits.

ps - I'm not sure it's always true that margarine is shelf stable. Many of the margarines you mention contain dairy solids and other stuff; I think a margarine designed for food service, or a shelf-stable shortening / oil would probably be a safer bet.

Coconut oil / palm oil (non-hydrogenated)?

Most times whole pieces of dry ginger are left in, but (based on vegetarian versions, at least), I don't find the dish to have a strong ginger taste, as long as you don't eat the slices of ginger themselves.

Are you looking for aluminum with non-stick interior, carbon steel, or stainless interior with aluminum or copper base? As far as non-stick / aluminum, probably on the mid-price, good quality: Lincoln Wearever (I think they're owned by Vollrath now?) Browne-Halco Winco Polar Ware (I believe also US made; never used their pans, but their bowls are pretty well made) Many of these brands have different levels of thickness. While stuff designed for restaurant kitchens should be tough enough for home use overall, given the price difference, might as well go for something heavy duty - this also helps prevent over-heating of the pan to the point where any toxic stuff might be a problem. I'd buy somewhere local if you can (so you can feel the pan in your hand), but Food Service Warehouse http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/aluminum-frying-pans-non-stick/c1978_447-Yes.aspx will give you a pretty good idea of what's out there and what it costs. Maybe a bit higher end, but pricier: Mafter Bourgeat Sitram Pick up a carbon-steel frying pan too - a cheap one can be had for not much at all.

Just a few thoughts.... * Shanghai style kau fu (served room temperature or cold) * Cucumber salad * 5 spice doufu gan salad, either in flat slices with oyster sauce or in strips with blanched bean sprouts and chili oil * Liang mian or liang fen I know you said no stir-fry dishes, and it's not exactly make-ahead (but it's quick), but I bet the old classic tomato and egg would be well received by both teens and adults, and probably won't make your wok stick, though the tomato might strip off some of the seasoning.