AndrewM

There was a piece originally from the LA Times in my local paper's food section Wednesday on Watermelon curry (Matira), with a recipe adapted from Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi. I will be trying this sometime soon as it sounds odd and tasty and will freak out the kids.

Chez Clo is often cited as a classic poutine place in Montreal. 3199 Ontario St. East (522-5348).

gus tatory, I agree, and I wouldn't even call it minor. I have the same problem learning the French names for cuts of meat in Quebec but you also have to deal with the fact that many places sell the French cuts as well. I've found one place that helps somewhat. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a bilingual lexicon online for beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry. But, for instance, bavette is not there. If I know what cut I want I can just ask the butcher or find the obvious ones at the supermarket. When something is on special though, knowing what the hell it is can be a challenge. And try asking a French supermarket staffer for "pork butt". Then, of course, there's fish...

Also old school Weber here. And since I started banking the coals as Jim describes, the control over grilling has improved by leaps and bounds. I'm using only lump charcoal, not briquets, and adding lump to the fire is pretty easy since it starts to burn quickly. Chicken pieces are a joy now with the banked method, no longer carbonized.

I am a true destroyer of pepper mills. Bought an inexpensive Peugeot last year and have been very pleased. (Occasionally it seems to dislike certain peppercorns and not grind properly, just spinning in place. Is this the size of peppercorn or what?) I've noticed some people also recommend the Zassenhaus mills you can order through Penzey's but I've haven't tried those yet.

well, I think it's a good idea... Many is the time I find myself standing in front of a given food item thinking, that's a deal, now what am I going to do with it.

Well, I don't know that Schwartz's and the word "brunch" are often used in the same sentence. They got it right about ordering the smoked meat medium.

Forget trying to park around the jazz festival site. It'll almost certainly be a nightmare for you. Best to take a cab from Les Chevres. It's even possible to walk five minutes to Park Ave from Les Chevres and take the no. 80 city bus right to the festival. Very easy actually, and a pretty quick ride. If it's hot and humid, stick to a cab.

Anna, if you're looking to get dried chiles you could investigate Chilly Chiles, a chile mail order place out of Ottawa. I've never ordered from them so can't actually vouch... Of course, somewhere in downtown TO there are chiles to be found...

The free concerts are on the website now. www.montrealjazzfest.com

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra will play the big free show on July 1. Jazzfest: the only time of year you can get a decent hot dog on the street in Montreal...

Anyone know anything about "unrefined" fish sauce. It's used in recipes in an article in the June Saveur on Thai food, in addition to regular fish sauce. I've never seen unrefined...what is it?

I'm curious what you think of this one. It's relatively recent I believe. Does it go into sufficient detail covering all those asian cuisines? Cheers, Andrew

In the June Saveur (with the watermelon on the cover) there is an article on northeastern Thailand that includes a recipe for Laab Pla Duk (grilled catfish larb) and a reference to laab kai mod daeng - larb made with ant eggs, mint and lime juice. Mmmmm. Ant eggs.

Don't know the exact temperature in degrees but I would say quite cold, not a problem. andrew Edited to add thanks to Anna as well for the chipotle freezing tip.

The chipotles I figured I'm fairly safe with as long as they don't look moldy or start moving. And I did in fact use some last night and survived to tell the tale. The chorizo I'm less confident with since it's meat. Dry sausages like these are meant to last a long time though, aren't they? The package in my fridge is probably a month or so old, unopened, not labelled with an expiry date or anything like that. andrew

I'm just wondering about the shelf life of certain things in my fridge. Like chipotles in adobo. I'll sometimes have them in tupperware in the fridge for quite awhile. How long do they keep? And chorizo (spanish, not mexican). How long does this stuff keep (unopened, opened)? When in doubt, I generally toss things in the trash, but I'm sure some things get tossed that don't need to be. thanks! andrew

I enjoy watching Jean Soulard's show on Canal Vie... Andrew