Tropicalsenior

Everything is made on the premises here, too. The ones here are pickled root vegetables because they don't have much choice in Chinese type greens.

Lucky you! If I bought that much here I would have to take out a bank loan.

In another thread, one of our members @scott123 said that he is looking for a Chinese pickle jar. Similar to this: Or this: Since we have a lot of members in the New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia area, I thought someone might be able to help him out. My little Chinese restaurant supply has a whole range of different types and sizes but unless he is planning to take a vacation to Costa Rica soon, that doesn't help a bit.

Most of the high-end Chinese restaurants here in Costa Rica bring a small plate of pickled vegetables to nibble on while you were choosing your order. If I remember right, and it's been a long time, most of the restaurants in Seattle did the same. I don't remember ever actually seeing them on a menu.

Try Chinatown in Flushing Queens.

Thank you, this sounds so good and so easy.

Have you ever thought of going to a Chinese restaurant supply store? We have one here in Costa Rica that sells all types of pickling crocks. There must be at least one within driving area of you.

Absolutely one of my favorite quick meals. I also make it with bulk Italian sausage. My favorite is with dried beef but I can't get that down here.

Thank you!

Here in Costa Rica we have about 30 types of bamboo. I know that not all types are edible but are there more than one type that they use. And how do you know which is edible?

Thank you. Unfortunately, in Costa Rica have to buy whatever I can find.

At least I hope this is black rice vinegar.

Thank you, I just happen to have both of these but the only thing that I don't have is garlic. As soon as I can get to the store I am going to try this and I will let you know how it turns out. One interesting note, most of the garlic sold in Costa Rica now comes from China.

Those really look good and with like garlic phobic housemates, sometimes I am starved for garlic. Have you ever thought of trying to make them? The only thing that I could find on Google that seems to be close is this but it's not as dark. Do you have any ideas how I might make them?

I've made this and we love it but I've only made it with pork. I'm going to have to try the ground beef. Thank you again for this recipe. I've made them several times and they're a little tedious but well worth the effort. I've used the filling that you suggest and I also used the filling for a Korean egg roll recipe that I have. I got it here.

I read the recipe on this thread and I might be tempted to make it except that I don't know where to find 1 chicken neck for the Ragu. Holy cow, what a recipe!

On plastic containers, it comes off with just a few swipes of Goo Gone.

Wow, that is almost word-for-word the recipe that I have been using. I have had to use parmesan because I can't get the Greek cheese and I did put mozzarella in the pasta mix. It is an excellent recipe. Thank you. I did want to mention that the best pastitsio that I ever had in my life was in a Greek restaurant in Queens. I will not mention the name of the restaurant because I had the worst case of food poisoning afterwards. But it sure tasted good going down.

Looks absolutely delicious and I want to try it. In your recipe you mentioned starch. What type of starch do you use? The only type that I have available to me is cornstarch or flour. Will that work?

If you use your own sauce recipe, make sure that it is cooked down until it is quite thick. Otherwise it bleeds into the other layers. I can't see that it would change the taste much but it would not make it easy to slice. I'll try to get my pastitsio recipe sorted it out and post that, too.

I know that I'm breaking my own rule by adding a casserole but this is one of my new favorite recipes

My family loves lasagna but I get tired of making it and sometimes I just don't have any lasagna noodles in the pantry. I make a killer pastitsio and I tried spaghetti pie. But to be truthful, we'd rather just have the spaghetti. So when I came across this recipe the other day, I thought it would be worth trying and it was good. Good enough to share. Beef Vermicelli Cake serves: 4 to 6 3 1/4 oz salted butter 1 onion, chopped 1 lb 2 oz ground beef 28 fl oz bottled pasta sauce 2 tablespoons tomato paste 9 oz vermicelli 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/4 cups milk 1 1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9 inch round deep spring-form cake pan. Melt a tablespoon of the butter in a large deep frying pan and cook the onion over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add the beef, breaking up any lumps with the back of a spoon, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until browned. Stir in the pasta sauce and tomato paste, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Season well. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, or until pale and foaming. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and stir constantly until the sauce boils and thickens. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Spread half the pasta over the base of the pan , then cover with half the meat sauce. Cover with the remaining pasta, pressing down with the palm of your hand. Spoon on the remaining meat sauce and then pour on the white sauce. Sprinkle the cheese on the top and cook for 20 minutes. Leave to stand for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cut into wedges to serve. Quick Pasta Sauce (double the recipe) 8 oz ground beef 1/2 small onion, diced 1 garlic clove, minced 14 oz canned diced tomatoes 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1 1/2 tablespoons dry vermouth or red wine Salt and pepper to taste Combine ground beef, onion, and garlic in a skillet and saute until no longer pink. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat until most of the moisture has evaporated. At this point, season with salt and pepper to taste. Since my family loves cheddar cheese I made it just as is and it was a big hit, however I think that I will try it the next time with mozzarella and Parmesan. If you don't have a springform pan, I don't see any reason at all that this can't be made in a casserole dish and served like lasagna.

Actually, I think you ought to include them because the rest of us are going to benefit from this, too.

Yesterday @JoNorvelleWalker sent out a plea for ideas and recipes for using ground beef. She's cooking for one and I can tell from her posts that she isn't into casseroles so what would be your suggestions for her? These are what I make when I want something quick. Tacos Taco salad Sloppy Joes Goulash Cheeseburgers Hamburgers with mushroom gravy Beef enchiladas Meatloaf Teriyaki meatballs Swedish meatballs Meatball Stroganoff Spaghetti with meatballs Joe's Special

The freezers friend! It will write on any type of plastic. Without these, I would have a whole freezer full of mystery meat.