Ling

So the two squash pics you posted were from the same seed/plant? I was going to guess the first one as being zucchini as well. One of my students has a really big vegetable garden, and for some reason all his zucchini this year came out perfectly round like the one in your first pic!

I agree! Seattle may have better bread, but no place has Vancouver/Richmond beat for Chinese food...(well, except China. )

I hven't been to Victorola, but I had Victorola beans this week at a coffee shop near Columbia City bakery. (It is almost kitty corner to Columbia City bakery). I didn't like the coffee there, probably because she only used 2 shots in a big cup of hot water, so the flavour was way too mild. I'll have to try Victorola again. And I've not been to Cafe Fiore yet--next time, when I'm in town! Thanks! I see Mighty O when we go to Zoka. I've heard mixed reviews...actually, one very negative review of their chocolate donut, but I'll have to give their plain doughnuts a try if you like them.

I feel privileged that you think that photo is nice enough for your desktop! Please go ahead and use it. I Photoshopped the picture to make it a little brighter. I think it looks a little better now. I used Jaymes's recipe for the Red Velvet cake, with the following adjustments: -increase by 1 tbsp cocoa -lower amount of oil to 1 3/4 cup -decrease sugar in cake to 1 1/2 cup -when the cakes come out of the oven, wrap them in plastic wrap to "steam" them for a bit...(as I mentioned before, technique comes from a Scott Wooley recipe) For the icing, I used: 1/2 cup icing sugar 1 lb cream cheese 8 oz softened unsalted butter bit of vanilla

^Those were my (very) poor university days...! I_call_the_duck: We frequently use food words when we play. Last week, I used the word "cep" and Henry didn't believe me when I said it was a word. Hence my non challenge on the word "hed" I got burned before. For the record, we use the 4th edition Scrabble Players Dictionary. It includes words like "za" meaning pizza.

We thoroughly enjoyed our week together. Not only did we have some really great food, but this is the longest continuous length of time we've spent together (8 days!) and we are happy that we shared it with so many of you. Thanks to everyone who commented and asked questions. You made our blog so much more interesting. We know we'll have many more culinary adventures to come, and hope that you'll be a part of that too. We feel fortunate to have met so many EGers in real life, like the ones we had dinner with at foodiegirl's tapas party, to heyjude and her amazing cookbook collection, and most recently, dandelion. One of the things Henry and I share is our belief that everyday should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. I do hope that feeling came through in our blog. And something delicious can be in the form of many things, from peach "foie gras", to bacon-wrapped rabbit loin, to simple childhood pleasures like ice-cream sandwiches. So now it's time to say goodbye, and thank-you once again for reading! Love, Lorna and Henry

The white truffle cream is one of my favourite jarred products. We have this at home and spread it liberally on La Panzanella crackers all the time. random fact: Henry designed the La Panzanella bakery. (And only Henry would call a dinner of rabbit and foie pate, almond croissant, ice-cream, smoked salmon, blue cheese, and an entire La Panier baguette a "light" dinner. )

We had a really relaxing day today. Started off with cafe cubano for myself and an iced Americano for Henry at El Diablo. The decor is really something. Henry couldn't stand it, as it was the total antithesis to his preference for stark, modern, and linear architecture. I thought it was really charming. It's really...yellow in there. No we didn't sit here...we're not that corny. But you gotta admit it's cute! nothing is safe from those wacky paint jobs...not even the stools.... this was great! Henry went crazy with the mix-ins, like cocoa and cinnamon, because he doesn't really like coffee. I just started playing Scrabble, so Henry and I try to get in a game a week. He's one of those uber Scrabble nerds who's memorized all the weird 2 letter and 3 letter words, like "qat", "ae" and "xi". So it's not often that I win. However...today, the Scrabble gods were with me. Check out the scores-- 363 for me, 307 for Henry. Take that to the bank and cash it, Mr. Lo! (BTW--we know now that "hed" isn't a word, but I bluffed my way through that one. ) After coffee/Scrabble, we got some drinks and a snack at Metropolitan Market. He had the Cock and Bull ginger beer (really good! extra ginger-y), and I got the rhubarb soda. The Michel Cluizel bar was only $5.49....I've been playing like $11Cdn per bar up in Vancouver. That's robbery! I know now to get it in Seattle.

We just had lunch, which was cold leftovers from last night's dinner straight from the fridge. We ate it standing up, talking about what we're going to do today. Up next--we're visiting a Latin coffee shop called El Diablo. It looks really funky and my friend who emailed me about this place says they have great Mexican hot chocolate! Then we're going to walk down to Pike Place market and grab a few more provisions for our picnic. We have some leftover rabbit and foie gras pate from Porcella, and some blue cheese in the fridge, so that'll round out our dinner. See you in a few hours!

That was touching, just wonderful... brought tears to my eyes. I have been following along, only more quietly than usual, since I was sick recently. Plus, I'm almost speechless about how great this blog is! ...Foods of love, and the love of food, thank you both very much. I'll be glued to this up through your finish, and please take the time you need into tomorrow morning to bring it to a close. ← The day the flag came to Henry's building, they also flew the flag on top of the roofdeck during one of their roofdeck cocktail parties, and all of Doug's friends (including me, although I've never met him!) took turns taking pictures standing next to the flag. And they sent Doug and the troops and email that contained all the pictures.

The long beans were nothing special, just something easy I made up. 1. Cut the beans into manageable (about 3.5") pieces. 2. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a hot wok. Add perhaps 1.5 tbsp. of minced garlic, a few pieces of chopped chilli, and a bit of ginger. 3. Add the beans and saute. Season to taste. Towards the end, add a few tablespoons of "chee hou jerng" (or chee hou sauce.) I used the Koon Lun brand. 4. Add some soy sauce (again, to taste).

ETA: Forgot to log in again!

I still need to get my Nexus pass. Its been on the todo list for quite some time now. In the meantime, I've been using the truck crossing which is off the main highway. There is also a little trick of stopping at Duty Free. You get to take the Nexus lane into duty free (which is right at the border) then cut back into line once you've bought something (they check for receipts at the exit.) shhhhhhhhh! ETA: oops, that was me (henry) not Lorna. Forgot to log in.

All the leftovers could fit on one dinner plate, so there wasn't much left. Our guests were good eaters! Too tired to take a pic of the dirty kitchen for you, sorry buddy. Nite.

Change of plans for tomorrow--we're going to stay in Seattle so we can clean up Henry's kitchen and rest. It'll be a low-key way to end our blog. We'll probably cook something simple...maybe go for a picnic if it's nice. See you in the morning!

This post is a day late, but yesterday morning, we met up with EGer, dandelion, at... for... The owner, Mario, sat down and talked to us for awhile when I told him I was from Vancouver. He loves the food there! His favourite restaurants are West, Vij's, and Tojo's. random interior shots They use Cafe Umbria beans and the coffee is quite good.

The mise en place for tonight's dinner: vegetarian chow mein We were supposed to have a kabocha and black bean crab dish, but someone (*coughHenry) forgot to check on it as it was cooking down in the oven! So a few hours later, all we had was a blackened wok full of dried out kabocha. There was no saving it. Fortunately, the reigning Iron Chef redeemed himself and saved the day. Here's the crab stir-fried with ginger, garlic, scallions, and black bean sauce. Ohhhh yeaaaahhh pork belly! A vegetarian fried tofu dish. (We also made another dish with pork.) Hunan bacon and cabbage mapo dofu I made the best dish of the night! It was the first one gone, and it was our favourite too! Chinese long beans Yeah, we rented a round table because we wanted to do it right! We had the chocolate cake for dessert. Our guests brought over some great wine and beer. My favourite was the Duckhorn Cab Sauv. It was a wonderful evening filled with great stories and laughter.

^ So yesterday night, I made a chocolate cake. Here's some photos of the process. (The liquid is buttermilk.) levelled cakes making caramel ta-da! The velvety effect is achieved by doing a crumb coat with ganache, then letting it firm up in the fridge before you add your second layer and smooth it out. In the meantime, spread your cake scraps onto a Silpat and bake them in the oven at 250 for about 45 minutes. They will dry out and crisp up. Then process them to make crumbs. Sprinkle them over the partially set ganache and you'll get this:

I wouldn't compromise my ethics no matter where I'm eating. At the end of the day, it's just food.

I've heard from numerous people that the portions of food at Cremant are huge, and very rich and heavy. Whether this is positive or negative to you depends on your appetite/preference. However, both restaurants you're considering are supposed to be good, but if you're into heartier, rustic fare, I would suggest Cremant.

salt and aioli (with extra garlic!) or cheese curds and gravy (poutine)

I usually drive down late at night after I get off work (so around 10:30pm at the border) and there is no wait whatsoever. It takes me 2 hours and 15 minutes to get from my house (in Richmond) to Henry's place in downtown Seattle, driving at the speed limit. Sometimes I come down in the late afternoon on a day off, and the traffic is pretty bad...45 minutes to an hour wait at the border.

I notice a lot of spicy dishes on the list. Is Cantonese cuisine a bit subtle and/or bland for Henry? ← Yes, he wants to make everything spicy all the time! I just stopped him from adding hot sauce to tonight's pork belly dish, because what if some of our guests don't like spicy food? Revised menu: -dungenous crab with kaboucha squash and black bean -spicy Chinese long beans -(vegetarian) chow mein -braised pork belly in shao bing -ma po do fu -a vegetarian fried tofu dish -Szechuan bacon and leek stir-fry -chocolate cake with caramel, ganache, and toasted cake crumb coating ETA: My mid-afternoon snack was all the leftover ganache and cake crumbs. Ai-ya, too "yeet hay". My throat hurts now!

Late this morning, I insisted we visit Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast. Some of you might be familiar with Top Pots--it was recently lauded by Jan and Michael Stern as being the best doughnut shop in America. I've eaten perhaps six of the flavours they offer. They are OK/good, but the only doughnut I really enjoy is the old-fashioned glazed doughnut. (Some Vancouverites might also be wondering how Top Pots compare to Lee's on Granville Island. I think Lee's does better flavoured doughnuts, but the Top Pot old-fashioned glazed is better than anything at Lee's. It has a really dense, moist crumb...almost smooth like custard, but in the form of fried dough, if that makes sense.) BTW--I had a large Americano at Top Pots this morning and was pleasantly surprised! Good coffee. Old-fashioned glazed... After grocery shopping, we headed to Green Leaf, one of our favourite (cheap) lunch spots. The decor is really casual. We got the banh xeo and the green papaya and grilled shrimp. I was thinking about getting pho, but I wanted to try the soup first in case I didn't like it. The server gave me a bowl and didn't even charge us for it! So that was really nice of them. Unfortunately, the soup base was pretty weak in flavour. banh xeo assembled pho broth grilled shrimp and green papaya BTW--the banh xeo is only 7 bucks, and the salad was only 6 bucks. Really inexpensive for the quality, and they obviously put some thought into the presentation too.

Thanks for the compliments...but we still have 2 whole days left in our blog! So tonight is Chinese banquet night. Tomorrow we're going back to Vancouver/Richmond for good Chinese food! (Even the "good" Chinese places in Seattle aren't that great...unfortunately.)