Panaderia Canadiense

Chunks of tamarillo and sauteed wild mushrooms, along with pinches of cumin, dill, and a hint of cloves.

The ever delicious QA-BLAT sandwich (Queso Americano, Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, and Tomato).

Nanaimo bars!

Epic burgers of epicness (although they were slider-sized) as part of a tasting contract with a local restaurant. We provided the burgers, and they provided the beer and eager palates. Roaring success all round. The buns, which aren't that visible in the photos, were my own 7-grain and honey whole wheat. Satay Burger with spicy pickled cabbage (Best burger by consensus among the chefs and owner) Smoky BBQ Burger Mushrooms in Golden Mushroom Cream Burgers Cheeseburger and Mushroom Cheeseburger

Or, in place of foil and since you're already shopping somewhere that I presume sells frozen plantain leaves (and if they don't, they should start!), you could go with the recipe/method I posted over in the Cooking on Leaves thread. It works with any white fleshed fish, works admirably with frozen things, and can be modified in a number of different ways to mesh up with your personal tastes.

Richer, for one, and far less white, for two. I've got recipes that call for just yolks, and they tend to be banana or chocolate cheesecakes where the colour of the yolks won't affect the look of the final product, but I'd never go yolks-only in a plain white cheesecake simply because it would end up a sunny custard yellow colour.

OK, here's the cranky drum I use.

Definitely the right thing to turn that down. It sounds like it was a disaster in the making.

Nope, not my faves either. As others have said, they're weak and a bit watery (and down here, they're called Aguacatones) but quite suitable for smoothies or ice creams. I'd have to say my faves are Santo Domingo Rojo, which are comparable in size to those giants you've posted, but have smaller pits and flesh that rivals Haas in flavour and texture.

Well, seasoned cast iron definitely isn't nonstick, it's just less sticky than unseasoned pans. However, I have tried the chop with wicked-sharp steel vs. chop with the plastic lettuce knife vs the wicked sharp ceramic knife vs tear into very small bits thing with basil, and in my kitchen at least the torn stuff darkens about 10 minutes more slowly and about 15% less than the cut does.

SLKinsey - the oxidation reaction in basil is strongly reduced when it's torn as opposed to cut with a knife, so the metal shakers may be having more of an effect than you think.... It would be worthwhile to perform the shaking with water vs water-methanol in both the glass and metal shakers to see if it's significant or not.

How large are the pattypans? If they're small enough, they can be pickled whole in sweet and sour vinegar preparation, which is very pleasant indeed. Otherwise, I find myself halving them along the ridges (so that they open like flying saucers), scooping out the middles, and using them as holders for shrimp or crab preparations, kind of like stuffed mushrooms. They bake very well.

Yup. It belongs to the same group of technical terms as "dollop", "smidgen", and "just flap it together." I have actual recipes from my great gran that call for things like "butter the size of a walnut" and "just toss some raisins in, as many as will fit in the ladel" so I'm quite accustomed to the archaic technical lingo. Some of her recipes also refer to a "flumping" sound when puddings are turned out of their bags as a sign that they're done. She was the most brilliant baker I ever had the pleasure to meet.

I've just realized we're completely ignoring the steamed pastries. To wit, here are some Momos, the Tibetan-Nepalese take on savoury pastries. Mine are stuffed with a spicy cheese-mushroom-minced lamb combination. The wrapper is simple dough - flour and water with a pinch of salt, steamed until firm and then fried in a little oil until they crisp and brown a bit.

I'm more worried about the washing of things that will not get heated, salad items, cold veggies, fruit etc. I can't help but suspect much washing of things that will get heated to pasteurization functions only to mitigate an unreasoning fear of microbes. I do believe in washing off surface grit and such, but I have my doubts that washing is anywhere near as effective as heat to protect against microbial issues.On that note, I always feel like my rinsing of foods for cold salads etc is a half measure at best and feel like salads are essentially an act of faith. Am I too pessimistic about the efficacy of a rinse? I was more alarmed by the quantites of dirt that made it into the food. I'm not a fan of sandy soups. On the washing cold salads front, I do that mostly to remove grit and wanton aphids and whatnot. I'm not concerned about microbial issues when preparing my own salads (as I have mentioned in other threads, I use 5% food-grade hydrogen peroxide in distilled water when I wash fruits and veg), and I'm fairly well immune to the things that cause traveller's tummy so I'm not concerned about them in restaurants here either. Particularly as most restaurants here wash their cold salads in lemon or lime water.

Oh, I just got into my kitchen.... I have another one! My father is a fabulous cook and saucier, but he's probably also the messiest person in existence. He doesn't wipe up. Ever. And he likes to bang his whisk/spoon/mixing implement on the edge of the pot he's working in, which sends little droplets of food flying for rather astonishing distances to goonk themselves onto my cupboards and countertops. It makes me cringe every time I get the kitchen after he's cooked - I'm not fanatic or OCD about countertop cleanliness, but it irks me beyond reason to have to scrub little scunges of dried-on sauces off of every surface before I can start working. I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to get atomized gravy into the bowl of my Kitchenaid.....

OK, I read that as "don't re-use your tasting spoon if you're cooking for somebody immune-compromised," and not as "don't let immune-compromised people use testing spoons in your kitchen." HIV/AIDS/GRID isn't the only reason people are immune-deficient - it can be a result of chemotherapy as well, for one fairly well-known example. This said, I'd say that the most atrocious habit I've ever seen in the kitchen of a really excellent cook was not washing ANYTHING - not potatoes, not carrots, not meat - before it went into the pot. Bleeee. It still makes me cringe thinking about it.

I'd do the Calabacitas with some of your veggies, and then I'd do Locro de Zapallo (creamy squash and cheese soup) with the rest of the squash and zucchs. LdZ is an amazing soup whether it's hot or cold, and it's incredibly simple to make. If you choose to boil your chicken and then finish it on the grill (spiced however you want - I like yogurt-based curries with Locro) then you'll have the stock handy. Locro de Zapallo, (Thick Golden Squash Soup, for those who don't speak Andean Spanish - down here a Calabaza is a specific type of white-fleshed squash, while Zapallo is golden): 1-2 nice sized gold squashes, cut into cubes 2-3 zucchinis (depending on size), cut into slices 3 cups of chicken stock 1 tsp achiote powder (or 1/2 tsp achiote oil) 2-3 tbsp Aliño (crushed garlic, red onion, parsely, and cilantro, kind of like Chimichurri) salt to taste 1 lb of Queso Fresco (or drained Ricotta if you can't find or make QF) Bring the stock with the achiote, Aliño, squash and zucchini in it to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is just fork-tender. Allow to cool a bit, then crumble in about half of the cheese. Transfer to the blender and pulse until it's quite creamy and no longer lumpy. Crumble in the rest of the cheese. If you serve this hot, have popcorn ready on the side to toss in at each bite; if you serve it cold, float half an avocado in it and sprinkle with cilantro.

It's always worked for me as well - the first thing I crave when it gets really hot is soup.

I haven't purchased Chinese products of any ilk for several decades, but that has more to do with my stance on not buying anything from countries with atrocious human rights records than it does with my concerns over control and quality....

Down here, it will be moist cakes.

The barrel-shaped flour sifters I've used before have all had squeeze handles. I never found those to work very well--very slow output so that my hand would cramp by the time I'd gotten all the flour I needed. I've never seen a crank model. Aren't they awkward to use, since they must require both hands? I've never had a problem using a barrel sifter before, provided it's a crank model. I reserve a special place of loathing for the spring-loaded kind! Those things are worse than useless. The crank-type barrels are very easy to use and very fast when you're dealing with large volumes of flour (like I do) - you measure your flour before sifting, then with one hand holding the sifter by its handle, you dump the entire measurement into the hopper, set down the measuring cup/bowl, and crank away overtop of your mixing bowl. I usually measure flour for bread and cakes by weight, which means that sifting it won't affect the final proportions. I also love the cranky barrel for mixing various types of flours together, since I get a much more uniform mix than I would just stirring with a fork (although I usually do that before transferring to the barrel anyhow.) I'll get a picture of mine next time I've got it down for use (ie tomorrow) - the 8qt capacity is a lifesaver.

10% is factored into the bills here as a basic service charge, which is split evenly among the restaurant staff. This leaves one completely free to add gratuity or not based on service. I'd say that I generally do tip at least a little bit unless I'm treated like crud or things are really messed up by the fault of the waiter/waitress. I'll also heartily second Jenni's words about Buddhists and dietary restrictions. I'm a Buddhist, and I operate on the principle that it's always OK to eat meat if the animal killed is providing food for more than just you, and that in rare cases it's also OK to eat things like shrimp, where many lives are given for your meal, as long as you treat the meal with proper respect and don't do it very frequently.

Here's what I have, plus the not pictured an 8qt cranky action barrel sifter for flour (which, btw, I completely recommend getting if you bake even a little bit. You'll never go back to a basket sieve for flours after you've used a barrel) and a pair of bamboo-sided cloth-based drum sieves that I use as cheese forms. I use all of them heavily for varied and assorted things - in the first picture, the small stainless ones are for removing lumps from things like baking soda and small amounts of icing sugar, and for dusting confections. The tiny brass one is a handmade tea strainer passed through the bakers in the family from my great great great aunt, whose bread recipes I still use. The larger metal sieves are for coarse sifting of things like cornmeals (to remove the black grits from blue cornflour, particularly) and for large volumes of lumpy cacao. The bamboo-handled one with double-meshing is for draining small quantities of things and for fishing gnocchi out of the water. On the lower rack is my juicing strainer (white plastic) and my emergency all-purpose strainer for all small quantities of things. It is often a single-cup coffee strainer, with a bit of napkin tucked in to hold the grounds, and also finds duty when I need to dust just a hint more flour into gravies. The second set, which are stuck to the side of the fridge, are cheap pasta strainers; the smallest of them does double duty as a pulp strainer when I'm making Colada Morada or similar things which call for insane amounts of juice. (I should probably mention that I make juice in my blender, like most Ecuadorians.) Edit - bad picture, worse speller!

Kim - no worries! If you'd like, I'll run you through how I make bagels (pm me!) I make 6 or 7 different types; those 3-cheese quinua ones were by chance the fastest of the recipes I know which made them suitable for a quick throw-together bread with the soup. Dcarch - I'm green with envy; I miss salmon sashimi terribly down here. How do you clean your salt blocks after use? Scotty - amazing scallop. I'll have to try that when they come into season here. Mjx - now I'm craving rabbit; I'll have to go up the mountain. I've been in Quito eating at hole-in-the-wall comedores this last couple of days, which means no yummy pictures from me for that period. However, last night I was home with the camera, and we had beef fryup with garden zucchs, fresh mushrooms and asparagus, served in a nest of yoghurt-mashed potatoes with steamed carrots and romanesco. It was quite yummy.