jschyun

Yeah, I like those Morningstar sausages too. Boca Burger makes an Italian sausage that doesn't taste very good by itself, but when you put it in something fatty, like mac & cheese or something, I really like it. I like it better than regular Italian sausage for this purpose, not as greasy. --also I love the Chinese soy milk, hot off the...soy milk maker. But as far as American style soy milk is concerned, I love Sun Soy. Has anyone ever tried this? I also tested it on cow milk drinkers and got positive reactions.

Hmm, where did you go in SF? I'll try to match you up with what I think most closely approximates your SF experience. Actually, there are a lot more choices in OC than in SF, in my experience. Actually, there's a lot of choices in Oakland as well. I just went to the place that used to be Green Papaya. Quan Quynh (sp) is on Brookhurst, off Margo I think is the street. Right across the street from my friend's place! Green Papaya was Franco-Viet food, but the new place allegedly specializes in food from the middle of Vietnam, as opposed to north or south. I was low on cash, so just had a bowl of pho and it was a pretty decent bowl, good clear brown broth, not too much MSG. But the slices of tenderloin were dumped in the bowl before the soup was and had cooked to a uniform grey before I could eat it. Service was unbelieveably slow (20 min for a bowl of pho?) and they didn't have any sawtooth herb, and the noodles were still congealed together until I finally pulled them all apart and let the hot soup rejuvenate them. I'd rather go across the street to Pho 54 or Pho Thanh Long, but PTH have more MSG, FYI. Pho 54 sometimes has coconut juice served in the coconut, in season. I like that gimmick, but it's near impossible to spoon up the coconut shreds.

interestingly every korean run pho place i've been to in koreatown in l.a has served only cilantro and not basil. What's really interesting is I think tastes (may) change, once someone goes from Korea to L.A. I noticed this in my own relatives. And it's only logical, I guess. My tastes changed just from moving to San Francisco. My mom loves cilantro now. I think my dad likes it too because of Mexican food. However, I wonder if in Korea, they don't give it out because they're just saving money, and they don't have the Vietnamese competition to worry about. Kind of like being charged for panchan at a yakiniku place, sort of. --sorry. back to pho

Just a note, Richter's has a fabulous selection but a lot of people have told me delivery time is ridiculously slow and sometimes seeds and plants have come dead/non-germinating. Another place you can get culantro/ngo gai seeds is Johnny's Seeds: Culantro It's $2 a pack, and I think Johnny's is a little expensive, but they have excellent service and delivery times in my experience. Also, for a lot of Thai vegetables/fruits/herbs, including the aforementioned Thai bird chili, as well as eggplants, melons, tomatoes from that region, another source I know of is Baker's Creek Seeds. I have order from these people before and get great seed, lots of it, for a pretty reasonable price. If you ever want to order from a garden mail order company, you should go to Garden Watchdog Site before doing so.

Well, the winter/spring garden is almost at a close here. I didn't plant much this winter, started late, but I did manage to eat some baby turnips and beets today. Fried in some butter, for lack of creativity, but they turned out so good I ate them straight from the pan. Lettuces are growing long, Korean mint is growing wild all over the place, herbs of every kind are springing back up again. Spinach is doing well, and ready for harvest. I found some lovely tomato plants at Rogers Gardens last week, so despite having 14 starts already growing I bought 5. Big Pink and White Stripes, Kellogg's Breakfast, Marianne's Peace, Black Cherry, Cuostralee. I am already growing a couple of these from seed so I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Here's a crappy looking (but very good tasting, at least to me) salad I made from some too big lettuce, tatsoi, and leftover king crab mixed with some Ken's Steakhouse Caesar salad dressing. It was half eaten before I remembered to take a pic. I added a couple of lettuce leaves to make it look fuller.

I hate to bash college kids, but aren't some of them sanctimonious in general? I work on a college campus so believe me, I'm talking from experience. What angers me more is the constant bashing of vegetarians on this board. Even people who I think should know better, think that PETA represents all vegetarians, and that every vegetarian has the time and inclination to lecture you on your daily habits. Also, vegetarians are apparently in a conspiracy to put subliminal messages in ads, blah blah. I have actually been on the receving end of vegetarian bashing by one of the writers on this board. And I'm not even a vegetarian! Being a vegetarian here is almost as bad as being Rick Bayless. On top of this, even five years ago, it wasn't all that easy to be veggie. Your only options were salads and semi warm tofu dishes at the local health food market (at least in my area). I remember crying at one point. I don't know what happened, but today, being a vegetarian is actually easy. There are lots of options, and not all of them are day old salads. You don't want vegetarians to push their views on you? Exactly how many vegetarians are coming up to you about eating meat? What about the friggin Atkins folks? Low carb is everywhere! Atkins crazed friends bore me to tears with their daily diet chatter, though I applaud them for tyring to control their weight and diabetes. I am so sick of Atkins. The most ad coverage vegetarians got was that Superbowl at for Gardenburger. --edit When I say not all vegetarians are PETA people, that wasn't a bash on PETA, just to let you know that the two are not necessarily the same thing.

I was a vegetarian, then vegan from Sept 30 '97 to Jan '03,(still drove though) but have gone far, far away from being vegan in recent years. It may surprise you to know that I have no problem with to hear people call themselves "flexitarians". I think that's a great name for it. I may adopt it for myself! However, I stop short of calling them vegetarians. The veggie products out there are starting to border on fantastic. When I'm in the mood for a processed McRib type sandwich, I can get the BocaBurger one, and it tastes just as processed as the original (with less fat and more fiber). okay, that may not be the best sales pitch, but I really think that it's so easy to eat conventional American foods without meat, that it's a shame more people don't take advantage of them. I love Morningstar's corn dogs. I mean, even my brothers like them and they hate veggie type stuff. Please don't shoot me for the following, very personal opinion. Incidentally, I think any diet where you are eating a lot of veggies is not a bad idea. Even some Atkins dieters are eating lots of veggies and are claiming to be healthy. See the Atkins thread for this. That said, a lot of vegetarians are unhealthy. They don't really take care of themselves, thinking that because they cut out meat, fish, etc, out of their diets, that they will be okay. You'd be surprised how many vegetarians don't eat veggies on a daily basis. I was one of these. I ate pasta, white rice, sodas, veggie burritos. When I was poor and had to cook, I started eating brown rice and veggies. My health was fantastic. Unfortunately, the siren call of meat wooed me and those healthy days are over. I am now fat and disgusting, but I get to eat prime rib and sushi now.

I heard some of the places in Oakland, like Flint's, are going downhill. I know that one place in Berkeley off San Pablo and University kind of sucks. Pearlie's I haven't done. What say you?

Just talked to said co-worker and he reminded me of some things he had already told me. He said that mostly Southern people squirt in the soup. He sometimes squirts but only a little. I forgot that. Also, he says here in SoCal, people dip all the meats in sauce for some reason, but in Vietnam (south) only the meatballs. Also, he said that you can order clear soup, which is what Northern people like. He grimaced and said he didn't know why they like it, it's boring. I think I got my inferiority complex from that grimace. I always kept my soup sauce free. But I don't like the restaurants here that specialize in Northern Vietnamese cuisine, so I guess I'm just a weirdo.

Yeah, I have heard good things about Powell's Place. My friend loves their ribs. I used to like James & James Rib's & Thangs but frankly, it's not the best place in retrospect. I think I liked it because of the name. They had an okay sweet potato pie though.

Actually, speaking of authenticity, the person I trust the most on Vietnamese food (a picky Vietnamese co-worker) says he likes the pho in the U.S. better than the stuff in Vietnam because the meat is better, and there's more of it. I don't think skchai was agonizing over authenticity. I thought he was just making an interesting comment about how pho in Korea/Koreatown has adapted to Korean tastes. The interesting thing about that site is that once you click on say, the menu section, the choices are in english as well as Korean, very few pho choices compared to what we have in the U.S. Also, the chicken and seafood pho are in the "set menu" area for some reason. I bet pho in Korea is different than L.A. Koreatown pho. I don't remember ever seeing cooked sprouts here in L.A.! Maybe after you stick them in your hot bowl of soup... I had some decent pho in Oakland where there's a couple of good places. I think Koreaton style pho is passable, but since my co-worker took me to certain Viet places with really deep rich stock with little fat, the Koreatown ones pale in comparison. Plus there's usually too much fat in the Koreatown versions for my taste. I'm not talking authenticity here, just that the Westminster places are so much better, it's like a different dish, as Calvin Trillin would say. I always got acne after eating Koreatown pho. I usually see cilantro, sprouts and jalapenos (maybe onions? i forget) at the Korean places, I don't remember basil, haven't been to those places in a while. We used to frequent this place, I think on Vermont, in L.A. It might be part of the Pho Hoa chain, forget. The thing I didn't care for was the watery brew we would get, but then it was pretty late at the time we usually had pho there. Perhaps that's more the reason we got bad pho. But then they shouldn't be making it that late if it's going to be bad. Just my $.02 I grow my own Vietnamese/Thai basil and I use just the tips and throw that in the pho. It's really good. Easier to eat than those large leathery basil leaves they give you, and IMHO tastier.

Yeah, I don't think they were eating more veggies before Atkins. If anything, they eat more, because of the lettuce wrapped around the burger. (Sad I know) My concern was that Atkins makes it a little too easy for those people to just eat meat and butter all day. I know you said you didn't eat like that, but trust me, I know people who do. I will acknowledge it's possible I just know a lot of fatties, because of my predilection for hanging out with people who like food... I have to sit in awe as I saw a seatmate down 3 egg omelet, 2 steaks, but doesn't eat any of the mixed veggies. I love meat; this is not an indictment of meat. However, I worry about the fact that this is all my buds seem to eat. Another friend will push around a salad in a restaurant due to carbs, but will eat several steaks or pork chops in a row. After reading Atkins' book, I knew most salads are okay, yet the people I know uses carbs as an excuse not to eat salad or veggies at all. I have to say, your version of the diet makes much more sense. It seems much more well rounded, and I really appreciate you explaining what you did. However, their version is just as "legal" as yours, possibly more so because they eat practically no carbs. I will say everyone I know has lost weight, even with just eating pounds of meat all the time. I wonder how many people follow your example, esp. if eating steak all day drops the pounds as easily? In fact, you say low-carb is not a high fat diet (or someone did) but it can very easily be a high fat diet. I wish more people I knew followed your example. I do not believe that most people on the Atkins diet are eating as well as you are. My best friend has lost 75 pounds, just eating steak, eggs, bacon, all that good stuff. Also, he is a diabetic, or I should say was. With the Atkins diet, he has basically thrown away all his diabetes drugs, and now only uses a supplement. After some initial doubt, I really believe in Atkins or related diets to keep diabetes under control. I just wish that the diet, as my friends interpret it, was a little more like your version of the diet.

We used to go to Pismo Beach, which is in San Luis Obispo county. They have the Pismo clam which used to be harvested commercially, but then it got threatened and so now you can harvest up to 10 clams a day, after you buy a license, but not commercially. Pismo Clams I haven't done this since I was a kid. However, I do remember that we got a bunch of big clams, the meat was sort of pink and it was big. And we made a chowder that was really good. I think the Pismo clam makes excellent chowder.

A "menage a foie"? Good one! *shudder*

i could eat so well in l.a for $20 a day--probably go a month before repeating any restaurants. all you have to do is eat mexican, central american, bangladeshi and chinese. Yeah, but she goes to places like NYC and Maui, and ferrets out the cheap good eats there. L.A. is no challenge. I am indebted to her for showing me the 1/2 price sushi/karaoke night at Sansei Sushi. My bf had karaoke fun, and I had fun eating lots of decent sushi, probably on par with some of the lesser sushi in L.A. I tried the California roll after hearing it had real crab, and it's definitely the best Ca roll I've ever had. Pretty surprised how good it was. Also, she showed Metro Cafe's 12.50 3 course early bird special. I had never heard about that elsewhere, and I read up on SF dining all the time.

That's not fair to Stockton! I'll have you know Stockton has a very decent El Pollo Loco.

Oh man, I wanna go but the next time I'll be in SF area is April 2-5. It would be cool to compare Northern CA Mexican food with SoCal Mexican food.

I've grown the red winterbor variety that was so easy to grow it was ridiculous. My dad had bought the packet and it sat in my little seed bag for a year or two until I decided to throw the seeds on the ground to get rid of them. I never watered at all, or maybe on accident, and soon there were very nice kale plants! Green with red veins on that variety, not so curly leaved. I mostly ate them steamed because I never expected to have a crop and had no idea what to do with them. Now, I know better. Last year I bought some of the lacinato kale seeds, but forgot to sow them. Maybe this year I'll try them. This is the big black "dinosaur" kale this is all the rage now. Sounds like they'll be good in a gratin. ---yes kale is a cool season green. In fact, the taste is supposed to get better with a light frost.

mm, prime rib with mashed. too expensive to be comfort food, but still comforting. chocolate. mac & cheese rice and something. maybe galbi good sushi freshly steamed soondae and some apple juice

I think it's great Atkins is working for you. I think it's sad that you take my questions as a sign that I am prescribing for others. At this moment I have 5 friends on Atkins. I have heard the evidence from them and it works great for some, not all, esp. good for my friend who has type II diabetes. Actually, Atkins is not very different from the diet prescribed to diabetics. I support my friends and am only playing devil's advocate, why the hell do you think I would care about you enough to prescribe your diet? Also, my best friend noted that until he started taking the special Atkins formula vitamins (a bunch of them) he felt like crap. After he started taking them, he felt much better. Unfortunately, they cost a lot, something like $50 a month. If you've found a cheaper source of Atkins formula vitamins, well, good for you and let us know. Someone here noted that they eat a lot of vegetables on Atkins. That's great, good for you. I wish that was the case with most of the Atkins dieters I know. Usually dinner is a steak, lunch is meat without the bun, but with lettuce wrapped around it. Breakfast is scrambled eggs with sausages. Hence the need for lots of vitamins. However, they are all losing weight, and I guess that is what counts, esp for someone who is really obese. By the way, you can be a vegetarian and still be unhealthy. Frankly, a lot of vegetarians I know think they are healthy but don't realize they're eating crap, just not meat centered crap. I'm talking the coke and twinkie veggie, or the pasta and white rice vegetarian. On the other hand, there are the really healthy ones, and they tend to eat better.

Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the articles. Hope this is true, because I eat a lot of meat. But it is completely at odds with what we bio majors were taught in college. Actually, I read about some vegans who tried the Atkins diet. They lost weight.

Are there Korean markets near you?

Hopefully, you will not become as obsessed as me. I still do the happy dance, but it's much slower, due to aching joints, hehe. Actually, I'll have some seed of all sorts of varieties this year, bagged and fermented to prevent disease. I'll let you guys know late this year what I have and give em out. I'm curious to see how they do in Texas!

edit will be back with post

Wait, are you looking for pho or stuff like rice dishes?