TicTac

Makes me miss the place we had in Scottsdale growing up. Had an orange and grapefruit tree with the most amazing fruit ever. Sadly, not going to happy up in the Great White North! I am under 50 and would happily take some (though shipping would probably be more than the fruit itself!)

@scamhi - Looks really good. What's the sauce?

My bet is China

While Dave makes some good points, the one I will strongly disagree with is with regards to the 'gas is overrated as a culinary fuel'. Not only can I get the best sear with a gas range, I also have tremendous flexibility in control and applications of the gas (easily roasting peppers right on the burner, for example) Granted with the advent of induction its ability to control temp is superior, but you do have good temperature control capabilities with gas as well. Not to mention when the power goes out, I can still cook! Splurge on your range and hood - the rest, get as high quality as the budget will allow without having to 'splurge'!

I am impressed by your intestinal fortitude. A 'meal' like this first thing in the morning would destroy my gut. lol.

It certainly is. It just would involve an electrician, mess, and me getting annoyed/stressed out (I detest having trades messing up my place!) Until wireless electricity comes to fruition, I will simply move a couple feet to another countertop and blitz things there.

It is what it is at this point. If it really bothered me I could have a few run to the island. It just means that my electrical needs are moved to one of the other counter tops. My island is a bit different in that it is a half hexagon essentially, with room for 6 to sit around the outside - but not in a straight row - obviously (makes for more engaging/intimate dinner parties, etc)

I did not necessarily want a microwave when I gutted this place we are in, but my wife did. To me they are big, clunky and serve little purpose. She likes it for convenience... (I do all the cooking - shocking, I know). So I put it mounted in the kitchen island! Out of the way, accessible, and not in my face! I splurged on my range (a Wolf) but felt it wise to save on the fridge/dishwasher so went with Kitchen Aid for both - happy choice, both have served us very well (knocks on wood). My only regret was not putting an electrical outlet in my island, and I continually kick myself on that one!!!

When we were out that way for our honeymoon on the trip back from Kauai, we stayed at the Grape Leaf Inn in Healdsburg - a fantastic little B&B who has the most amazing 'hidden' wine cellar for happy time treats. We stayed there specifically due to its walking distance from Cyrus, a destination for us at the time. Not sure if they are still around, but if so, do yourself a favour and head there (It is still in my top 5 all time meals). Love the dispensary recc - though I have a feeling 10 years ago it might have not been around!

Love these types of meals - especially Vietnamese rolls! A local place has a $25 'platter' which includes a plate of various (pick your own) meats/fillings (I typically get bettle leaf w/ beef, spring rolls and house made pork sausage or grilled chicken) and a plate of greeneries (lettuce, herbs, pickled things, etc) and then the rice paper rolls. Great deal, feeds 2-3 people easily. I too am in the Nuoc Cham fan club.

Big differences to be found! Be it salt packed/brine vs vinegar - young small capers vs. large (some over an inch!) caper berries - with multitudes of sizes and textures in between I prefer small'ish vinegar'd capers. But the large berries on the stem are a nice treat at times in salads.

From an antioxidant perspective. And in that order.

Enoki, Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms are some of the healthiest mushrooms readily found. Just keep the button/portobello mushrooms....yuck!

It's possible, I suppose - however this was even detected when the head chef at Zen took a blow torch to a piece of Toro - as nice as it might have been I could still detect that hit of butane/propane - whatever it is those devices use.

I have yet to taste any food cooked 'by torch' that I do not get at the very least, a background propane nuance to it. It's disgusting. I know I have sensitive taste buds, but seriously people, this is a bad hack cooking technique!

Love it - learned something new - warrigal greens! Sadly at a balmy -14 prior to the windchill, there is no outdoor gardening at the moment, besides visually planning a new addition to my front yard veg garden transformation, evolution; extraordinaire.

They used to have a place near Yonge and Eglinton that I would sometimes walk to from the office... From what I recall, their Tom Yum soup was very good!

Wow!!! I can only imagine (see; hope) for your sake that it is a blip on the proverbial pricing radar and that once they have their supply under control prices will level out. Certainly being closer to Japan than I, you should be able to source imported wasabi for less than that...? edit to add - if that fails, I could probably ship you some at a cheaper rate!?

Nothing like fresh wasabi. A tingling heat that slowly creeps along your taste buds. None of the harshness associated with typical horseradish 'wasabi'. As mentioned, you want to grate it just before you use it as oxidization certainly lessens the nuances and impact of it. The nice thing is that it will last for a couple weeks if properly stored.

Curious as to where you are and what you pay for a fresh wasabi root. There are very few places around here (oddly enough, the most ethnically diverse city in the world) that sell them, and the one fairly 'local' Japanese place sells them at $26 CDN a piece!

I have a dill patch in the garden that I freeze large batches of - it freezes fantastically and is far superior to the dried stuff! So in winter, that's what I use for the sauce! Re: the avocados - little trick I have learned to hasten the ripening process is to put them into a paper bag and seal it up well. Check daily, as soon as you can push your thumb into the top of the avocado, put it in the fridge! It will last in the fridge for over a week.

If you want to get fancy, how about a red wine/demi reduction? Or a similar port reduction?

You don't have to convince me. I put pickled onions on sandwiches, salads, in soups...you name it!

Grab yourself (or have your secret connection acquire) a piece of 8 week aged Rib-Eye from Cumbrae's - ask for closest to the deckle, if possible. Slice a few pieces of that deckle off (this is the secretly preferred cut of most butchers - the outer extra fatty/tender ring of the Rib-Eye) and drizzle. Perhaps a tiny bit of sea salt. Enjoy!

Solid selection of toppings, @Norm Matthews! @lindag - pickled onions work really well to contrast a rich chili. I always have a jar of home made Mexican pickled red onions in the fridge.