Ling

BLASPHEMY! Heading down there with my baseball bat right now...I'll show that whack job a thing or two... And did he explain what made the chocolate cake "vegetarian"? Do they use oil instead of butter?

a brownie and a 100g bar of dark chocolate and almonds I am the picture of good health. ETA: Oh yeah, and a diet Coke.

Whoa...lots of ladies PMSing at the same time.... I had brownies for breakfast. And more cheddar Stax. Together. Cheese and chocolate...so nasty, it's good. I had a brownie for lunch, but at least it was a fair trade brownie from school. (Does that count as healthy?) And a 100g bar of fair trade dark chocolate with almonds. F*ck I'm so bloated.

Zucchini Mama's post about "Sprouts" and their fair trade brownies down at the SUB at UBC sparked my interest, so that's what I grabbed on my break today. The fair trade brownies are much better than the pale brown, frosted squares you see elsewhere on campus. The brownies are quite chocolatey (though not as intensely chocolatey as I like...but then again, I like my brownies to be almost like fudge) and they have an interesting sticky consistency--maybe they are made with honey? They're soft and quite good! I would definitely buy them again. Contains walnuts, and are selling for $1.75 for a sizable square. (BTW--they will be offering sandwiches and wraps in a few weeks time.) (I also bought a 100g bar of fair trade Cocoa Camino dark chocolate with almonds for $3.50. More complex than your average chocolate bar, with interesting lingering notes of red fruit.)

Here's something truly disgusting... I'm PMSing and craving salty and sweet things. I almost never eat chips, but I'm downing these cheddar-flavoured Stax like there's no tomorrow, in between bites of brownie. Both are good, but then I remember the jar of Cheez Whiz we have in the fridge. I spread Cheez Whiz on the remainder of my brownie (ever so guiltily) and relish every last bite. Cheez Whiz and chocolate. So...good and disgusting at the same time. I think I'm going to have another.

Thanks for the tip!

I've received a few PMs from Seattle people who want to meet up for lunch or cocktails. Please PM me if anyone else is interested, and I'll give you the details.

That's one beautiful quiche, gourmande!

leftover coconut curry with beef brisket, and Hainanese chicken

I love Greek food! If you're suffering from stuffed squid withdrawal, Umberto has a recipe online that I've used and it's quite good. I remember the filling had prosciutto...I'll look for it when I get off work.

Sweet Potato Mousse Here's a recipe I've adapted from a pumpkin mousse recipe. 1 c sweet potato, pureed until smooth 1 c whipping cream (heavy cream) 1/2 c brown sugar, packed 5 yolks 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 T dark rum 1 tsp ground cinnamon 3/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp ground allspice 1 pinch of salt 1. Whisk 3/4 cups whipping cream, sugar, and yolks in a saucepan until thickened over medium heat. 2. Transfer mixture to a large boil, and mix in the sweet potato, rum, vanilla, salt, and spices. Refrigerate until cold, about an hour. 3. Beat the remaining whipping cream until stiff peaks, and fold into the sweet potato mixture. 4. Refrigerate the mousse for at least 4 hours, and up to a day before serving. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, American, Christmas ( RG1410 )

The guy I'm dating also really loves the Godiva chocolate cake. I think it's good, but not excellent. I taught him how to make a molten chocolate cake and we used Scharffen Berger chocolate instead. He agreed that it was much better than the Godiva cake. Better chocolate = deeper flavour. I just chose a standard recipe from Epicurious...they are all about the same.

As a rule, I avoid anything healthy, and would normally stay far FAR away from a place called "Sprouts". But if you're interested, I will grab lunch there on Wednesday and report back, just for you. I haven't eaten at Sage, but my mom has and my best friend eats there all the time. They both work at UBC (not together). They both enjoy the food very much.

^I know! I can't believe we're related!!!

pre-dinner: Portuguese cream tarts post-dinner: brownies...this is the first time I've been allowed to bake in A WEEK! My mom requested that I take a week off from baking b/c she's sick of the smell of chocolate that permeates the house day in and day out.

Last Friday Met my date for dinner, but he had been doing errands all day and was wearing a t-shirt and shorts so we had to go somewhere casual. We wound up at Ouisi Bistro, because I haven't had Cajun food before. I ordered a large sampler plate with Jerk chicken, "Gator Bite" (gator meat with Cajun tartar) and crab cakes. The jerk chicken was quite tasty. I enjoyed the seasoning, but I can't say whether this was a good example of jerk chicken since I have nothing to compare it to. The gator meat was really different--it had a slightly fishy taste/smell, but had the springy texture of clams. It was loaded with the "Cajun tartar", a pinkish mayo-based sauce. My date loved the gator meat. The crab cakes were pretty average--lots of filler, not a lot of crab. The dish came with an interesting salsa--I believe it was a pineapple salsa that was heavy on the lime juice, but I don't quite remember. My date had Pacific Seafood Trio, which had black sesame seed crusted Digby scallops, blackened salmon, and prawns in a creamy, tropical-tasting sauce. I didn't enjoy the blackened salmon very much, because it was very dry. We also drank a bottle of the Joie Year One Chardonnay, and he made us individual molten chocolate cake at his place for dessert, with minimal help from me. (Says date: "Wow...you inhaled that thing so fast!" err...heh heh ) Last Monday Dinner at Aurora Bistro, which has been discussed already. Wonderful dinner. I'm still thinking about that duck confit. During the week, I had a few boring lunches here and there at school...nothing worth mentioning. Well except that the date bars at The Deli are still my favourite things to eat on campus. Tonight Take-out hainanese chicken and coconut beef curry from Deer Garden in Richmond. Appetizers were the Portuguese tarts from Michele's. And dessert will be the pan of brownies I just pulled from the oven.

It's on Arbutus, near 41st. I don't know which street exactly, but it has a green sign. ETA: Tomorrow--Mega Bakery, here I come!

Maybe they are very buttery. I'm in a horrible mood today b/c I'm tired, been working too many hours, and I have HIVES all over my body--I have no idea what I'm allergic to. I could just be nitpicking for the sake of complaining. I feel like a curmudgeonly old woman. *shakes cane at the world* Mine aren't better. They are just cheaper for me to make, than to buy a dozen from Michele's. I do them in muffin tins so they are twice the size, and I make at least 24 at a time (just so my family gets some too.)

That turkey skin is so evenly browned! Very impressive...I don't think I could ever attempt to make this. How long did it take to put the whole thing together (making the stuffings, and stuffing the turkey?)

The Portuguese cream tarts from Michele's are indeed very tasty! I like how the custard is browned on the edges.

Sounds like I have to order this book from Amazon, if only for this Golden Almond cake and the mousseline buttercream that everyone is praising!

^No, it's not lard. I guess it could be butter, but when I think of butter puff pastry, I think of the really rich, fragrant butter--like the pastry with the pumpkin tarte tartin at Aurora. One bite of that dessert and you knew it was butter. I was thinking they used the frozen stuff that's made with hydrogenated vegetable shortening or something.

I totally agree. Especially the chef who makes the "ebi mayo" oh my lord I could eat 100 of those things. Speaking of Ebi Mayo, Shiro Bay makes a pretty mean one too but i have to admit that Gyoza King reigns supreme. Gyoza King also makes a mean Chicken Karaage (boneless). mmm. ← WHAAAAT?!! Gyoza King has ebi mayo that's BETTER than the ones from Shiru-Bay? This I gotta try. I love, LOVE, LOVE the ebi mayo from Shiru-Bay!! Hmm...I don't know too many Vancouver chefs. I find Sada (Octopus Garden) entertaining. Neil gave me free GBP before, so I guess I gotta like him. I really enjoy Chef Hawksworth's food. I like how Chef Jeff talked to us about the food after our dinner at Aurora. I think chefs who interact with their patrons really complete the dining experience.

I just got back from Michele's. I got a bag of Portuguese cream tarts and ate them all on the drive back. Those things are really small! Good tarts though--thick, creamy custard, nice puff pastry. It didn't taste like an all butter pastry to me, but I wasn't really expecting that anyway. Kind of expensive ($1.10), considering their small size. I think I'll stick with making my own...that way, I can eat a whole tray of them without breaking the bank. This is the recipe I use, btw: Cream tarts If you prefer the puff pastry base like the ones from Michele's, just use a cookie cutter to cut the frozen puff pastry into circles, and line them in your muffin tin.

leftover prime rib and mushroom gravy