Panaderia Canadiense

Pickling! Ooh, ooh, I do this. Fresh cayennes soaked overnight in a brine consisting of 1 cup of salt in 1 gallon of water, then packed into jars with coriander, mustardseed, and rosemary and covered in cider vinegar with a dash of balsamic, and hot-processed for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath. These are the most amazing hot pickles ever - I've also done this with small shallots in the mix, which adds a nice roundness to the final flavour. They're ready in about a month after packing.

In my province? Chocolate de Judith, a mother of chocolate preparation for making proper hot chocolate. This stuff is about as close to the cocoa nibs as you can find without actually buying cocoa nibs; it's made in Ambato according to an ancestral recipe by Judith's family. Dulce de Guayaba, produced by a number of small artisans in Baños. This is a nice, chewy guava sweet, similar to pate de fruit in texture, which comes in little hand-wrapped blocks or in larger balsa boxes (I prefer the blocks, because you can never get all of the dulce out of the boxes). Again, this is a buy it while you're here kind of thing. Commercial versions exist, but they're inferior to the artisanal ones. Turron de Nuez, which is honey and walnut torrone, is also available from the Baños artisans. I love this stuff, but it's way easy to OD on it so I don't buy it very often. Like Dulce de Guayaba, it comes in balsa boxes. Melcocho, a crumbly to chewy panela taffy type thing. Also produced by the artisans in Baños, and this is the only place in the country where you can get it, fresh off the hardwood taffy hooks mounted in the doorframes of the melcocheros. For all of these, it appears that you have to ask an Ecuadorian resident in the Tungurahua province to ship them to you - they're not commercially available. In Ambato, there are also artisanal makers of Llapingachos (a type of highland potato pancake served with chanchito horneado), but for those you really must be here, as they don't ship at all.

Speaking as a former anorexic, I'd have to disagree with you, Mark. If I look in the mirror and see fat, I'm being delusional. I'm 6' tall and currently weigh about 140, and I'm probably still a little underweight. However, if I look in the mirror, I see a blimp.

OK, I'm curious. I ate out last night, and, as always, I said a short grace (silently, with hands folded) over my food. The rest of the restaurant was staring at me when I opened my eyes. Now, I found this a bit unusual, because I was brought up to always, always, say thank you to the higher powers (however you want to name them) for food, and I would have thought that living, as I do, in a strongly Catholic country that it would be more the norm. And that got me to thinking.... My question to you, out there in foodland, is this: do you say grace of some sort over your food? If so, when? Would you still do it in a crowded restaurant?

On the "Unfortunate" side of food words, freshwater native catfish here are called Bagre, which always makes me think "Buggers."

I'm addicted to Nestle Tango (mentioned above, but which now come in white chocolate around black chocolate cookies with a jam filling, sort of like decadent Jammy Dodgers, and which I can get at the corner store - both the original, jumbo sized ones and the minis), Wafer Mix in Naranjilla Creme flavour, and some small, lumpy Skittles-esque candies called Rocklets, which come in tropical flavours. I'm also a huge sucker for Encocados or Cocos, which aren't commercially produced but which tall, strapping Esmeraldans get on the bus selling, and which I always buy. They're Jamaican-influenced coconut and molasses candies, the best of which also contain little chunks of ginger and crushed peanuts. Kind of like an Eat-More, but better. Oh, so much better. I desperately miss liquorice, both the salty and sweet kinds - they just don't do it down here.

OK, now that I know what's being dressed, I like that old standby, vanilla yogurt. Done properly (with Greek yogurt as the base), it's equal parts sweet and tangy, and the creaminess complements the fruit well.

OK, to clarify - is this a dressing for a fruit salad, or is this a dressing based on fruit for a regular salad?

From Mom: how to bake properly with soda and baking powder leavens, the best dang pie crusts ever, and that just about anything can be oven-roasted with tasty results. She also taught me that salad is an important part of every dinner, and that fruit salads must have an odd number of fruits in them, one of which must be pineapple of some description. Mom is also responsible for my life-long love affair with cast-iron pans and griddles - she taught me at an early age how to care for and feed these beasties, and my own have never ever let me down or grabbed onto my food the way other cookware has. She also taught me how to make jams, confites, jellies, chutnies, pickles, and all manner of other preserves, and how to ensure that jars are properly sealed. Mom is also responsible for my sense of culinary adventure - she taught me to try everything once, and then repeat the things I liked. Without growing up this way, I probably would never have had the courage to try my first Cuy. From Dad: by necessity (he was an alcoholic and often left me at home alone with a fridge full of meat and the stove) how to properly panfry a steak. I learned this at 6 years of age. He's also, indirectly, responsible for my appreciation of fine single-malts - there were always bottles on the counter. From StepDad: gravy and sauces, yeast breads (the basics), how to poach fish correctly, the best BBQ sauce ever (we call it Brand X, since it's normally stored in an old ketchup squeezie bottle with a big X in sharpie on it), how to field-dress and properly preserve wild game, how to tell when a duck or pheasant has hung for the correct amount of time to be really tasty, proper Ukraine-style Holupche and Pedehe, and probably scores of other stuff that I can't currently remember. He also taught me that long (2-3 weeks) macerations on otherwise crappy cuts of beef can elevate them to a new level of tastiness, and how to properly cut meat so that it remains tender regardless of whatever else might happen to it. From Grandmas (various and assorted both related and adopted): how to cook a Haggis properly, flaming plum pudding with hard sauce, scones, macaroni and cheese the way it ought to be done, how to properly crimp Pierogis so that they don't explode when you boil them, how to properly wrap a Humita, how to properly wrap and cook Quimbolitos, Locro de Queso, Dulce de Leche, Maito, Tres Leches, Tiramisu, Zabaglione, Dulce de Higos, and many other dishes. From Grampa: that butter tarts are the be all and end all of sweets, how to make a proper mustard sandwich, and the practice of eating a bowl of maple syrup with a nice slice of hot, fresh bread. Grampa gave me my sweet tooth as well as my appreciation of the very simple things in life. It's due to him that although I love to try new flavours, my favourite ice cream will always be handmade bourbon vanilla - and in the same vein, he's responsible for my willingness to travel at least 50 km for good handmade ice cream. He also taught me how to properly panfry a whole trout so that no fishy smell gets into the house or the meat. From various Tibetan monks who have been great friends: momos, timo, cheese, dhalmo, sweet tea, butter tea, and how to make a chili sauce so hot that you weep when you sniff it. Both Mom and StepDad are responsible for my attitude that most recipes are gentle suggestions, not meant to be taken literally. In my house the recipe books are springboards, and we let the contents of the fridge dictate what actually happens. This often means that we have one-offs for dinner and that we can't always remember what made that dish so dang tasty - coconut and banana beef being one good example. We make this regularly, but it never turns out quite as good as the night I invented it - I think we might never have bought the kind of bananas I used again, because they were horrible on the fruit salads. The two of them are also ingredient perfectionists, and I'm sure that I have inherited this since I refuse to include anything in any recipe if it's even marginally questionable. Looking back at that, I'm pretty blessed!

It adds a lot of the flavour to the final product if you bring up the bottom stuff - but try it. You may find that it's a flavour you like, along with the vanilla and a teensy hint of bourbon.... Ultimately, if it's a good flavour, it doesn't matter if you follow the recipe to the letter as long as you keep track of what you did.

Adding sugar at the outset helps with caramelization and can (depending on the type of sugar you use) also add some interesting dimensions to the flavour that wouldn't develop if you added it later. And yes, you want to stir the milk a bit, but not too much, because you do want a bit of it to stick to the bottom of the pot and develop the burnt caramel flavour. I'm not sure about the measuring - it must be as you suggest, because evaporation differs. Then again, I'm lazy and I just make this type of ice cream with dulce de leche.....

Huh. I'll be darned - it reduces the visual importance of the Canela bark, and brings the Ishpingos into balance with the Star Anise. I shall definitely use it diagonally on the website it was taken for..... Thanks, dcarch! EDIT - for those who are curious, the original photo from top left contains: Star Anise, Whole Allspices, Ishpingo, Canela Bark, Anise, and Cloves.

Add another to the "I wash fruit and veg in my sink" camp - after dishes and whatnot are over, my kitchen sink gets sprayed down with hydrogen peroxide 10 vol and then rinsed with boiling water. Any microorganism that can live through that deserves to take its chances against my robust immune system! I'd never prewash fruits and veg, though - my original thought upon reading the first post was "ugh, and then throw half of it away because you'll end up with a fridge full of slime!" I wash as I need the veggies / fruit, just before I chop.

I learned to toss salt only when it had been spilled, only over my left shoulder using my right hand, and only a tiny pinch, to avert becoming penniless. How horrid that it's been turned into a catchphrase, and gotten wrong at that!

Funyuns are sorta crunchy, puffy corn-based rings flavoured with onion. I personally find them kind of noxious, but other people love them. My fave crisps are called Tornaditos (little tornadoes), which are vaguely tornado-shaped cruncy corn crisps covered in a rather alarming orange cheese powder. After that, I want Banchis Piquante, which are deep-fried thin slices of plantain rolled in spicy panela and aji pepper powder.

What really gets me is that I know that the top right and bottom left spices come from the same tree.... Thanks, folks, for the boost!

Well, as a dulce de leche fanatic, I can tell you that the longer you cook milk with sugar in it, the more it caramelizes and the rounder and fuller the flavour gets. The egg yolk is likely being denatured by the longer cooking time, which will also affect the flavour (how exactly I'm not certain, as I can't just eat cooked eggs), and the long churning time will contribute to a better texture.

Here's a crack at it from me. These are Ecuador's "sweet" spices.

I love toenail clippers for slivering almonds, when I need only a few slivers to finish the plate, and the little nail scissors that come in personal grooming kits are ideal for cutting herbs extremely finely. Injection needles, of course, are wonderful things for filling with sauces, and with their needles removed (ie just the syringe part) are excellent for precision icing and decoration of cakes. And of course the aforementioned tweezers, which are useful in garnishing, placement of small items, and eggshell removal. I'll second Deus Mortus on the burn creams as well. There will always be that moment of distraction where you just grab the pan handle, no matter that it's been on the fire for god-knows-how-long....

Yeah, well. I generally only keep Kosher salt for salting down meats prior to marinading and for pickling (where cloudiness and off-flavours are an issue). I can't see it making much difference in a chili-flavoured ice cream. (PS - Chili = hot peppers, Chile = southern Andean nation. Sorry, it's a pet peeve.)

Kosher salt is not iodized, which means it doesn't cause cloudiness in the recipe or introduce off flavours. It's also coarser in grain. Other than that? It's salt.

What did you think of the Taxo as a pate fruit? I've always thought that it was a titch acidic, and prefer to use it in helados with cream instead.... Our altitude does present some problems vis a vis gelling in fruit compotes and pates (I'm a good 250 m higher up than you are, and I've despaired of the silicone molds for Mora or Guayaba pates - I just try to bodge them into frames before they solidify entirely, then cut the results with a sharp knife). I think pectin is definitely an issue, and I had good luck by reducing my pectines for Mora, but the Guayaba just doens't behave at all.

Noise for me doesn't matter, unless I can't hear my dining partner(s) over it. I'm more concerned by whether the food is good or not - if it's good, I'll go back even if the restaurant is hugely noisy, and if it's bad I'm not going back regardless of the ambience.

Shel - Piloncillo is Panela by another name - sorry about that, I'm used to the Andean South American terms for things. You're good to go! Mkaya - I get about 250-300 mL (500g or so) of dulce from 1 L of fresh milk using the recipe I posted further up in the thread. Reduction is absolutely an important part of the process.

Prices here routinely rise around 30% per year, except on those staples that the government fixes at lower prices to prevent malnutrition. This means that rice, corn, milk, yogurt, and fruits and green vegetables of all types haven't changed more than 25 cents over the last year. Rice may rise slightly depending on how bad the flooding is on the coastal plains (how much of the crop is lost.) The one I really notice is butter - 500g bricks were $1.10 last year this time, and now they're at $3.25 or some similar madness. Flour has also risen incredibly - 100 lb sacks were $18.50 and are now $23.80. Beer has risen hugely, from 60 cents for a 1L big-boy of decent pilsener a year ago to 90 cents today (and the dang stuff keeps going up! I know it's due to the problems with the Canadian barley crop last year, but still....) I am incredibly fortunate to be able to buy my panela directly from the trapiche owner, which means that 1 kg is still $1.00, but if I were buying it in a store I'd be paying closer to $5 for the same amount (and it wouldn't be nearly as fresh). White sugar has more than tripled. I also count myself extraordinarily fortunate to live where I do. Ecuador is food-sovereign, which means we're not reliant on imports for our day to day foodstuffs. If I have to stop using wheat and switch to white corn and quinua flours entirely for the bakery, all it will affect is how I make bread, not the actual fact of having bread. I'm glad that to live here and starve I'd have to give up chewing. All prices in USD (we use it too.)