eG Foodblog: Mooshmouse - Back-to-school Dining on the Left Coast

[johnnyd]

Spectacular feast, moosh! ...Cantonese... mmmm!

Edited September 10, 2005 by johnnyd (log)

[PaoPao]

Yummy, why didn't you eat the head? Dissection for entertainment only? Just what is it about chicken heads that causes people not to eat them? [Grrrrr... ]

I gotta second that one Pan! Fer cryin' out loud ... you go to the effort of performing a poultry labotomy and don't even enjoy the spoils?? What gives?

Sorry I had to miss that meal ... and the Druckers. Moosh always knows how to get the eaters together!

A.

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Actually she did eat the brain (alot like tofu) but she draws the line at eating the whole head if thats what you're whining about.

[Susan in FL]

I echo everyone's compliments. I am enjoying this blog, too.

I must say I also compliment Canadian eG members in general. You guys in the various areas of Canada are spirited! I think it's great the way so many of you have met each other and get together socially. It seems like you have a real good sense of eG unity.

Joie, thanks for including photos and write-up of your most recent gathering in the blog.

[Mooshmouse]

Happy Saturday everyone. God bless children who sleep in!!

Noah and his girlfriend (the love of his four-year-old life, really) were born three weeks apart and have been inseparable ever since. To say that the kids have been as good as gold would be a massive understatement. They ate like mad last night, played until the last possible second and then fell asleep about 2 seconds after their heads hit the pillow at 9:45 p.m. Best part of the whole sleepover is the fact that they both slept in until 9:30 a.m. today, which meant that Ian and I did too... whoohoo!!! As I type, they're both colouring quietly in the dining room. In the words of my Aussie-British girlfriend, "Bless their little cotton socks."

Here's the two little angels washing their grapes for breakfast.

The fruits of their labours were added to this.

Red seedless grapes, sliced Granny Smith apples and apricot jam on Olafson's Oat and Nut with Honey toast.

If you're wondering whether or not I plate Noah's food like this in non-blog life, the answer is yes. I've done so since he was old enough to notice. My philosophy: I wouldn't want to eat unattractively presented food, so why would he?

I had something a little simpler.

2% cottage cheese with sliced grapes. Bear in mind that Ian's bowl was at least twice the size of mine.

We're now off to pick up some paint samples -- yes, renovation decisions have still been taking place behind the scenes -- and drive the Princess back to her castle where lunch awaits. Still to come: yesterday's Korean lunch and movie night at the Mouse house.

[SuzySushi]

OMG, I've just read through this whole thread and my mouth is watering!!! Gotta go find a Filipino buffet for lunch! Noah is adorable!!!

[Megan Blocker]

Noah and his girlfriend (the love of his four-year-old life, really) were born three weeks apart and have been inseparable ever since. 

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All the good ones really are taken!

[*Deborah*]

Noah and his girlfriend (the love of his four-year-old life, really) were born three weeks apart and have been inseparable ever since. 

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All the good ones really are taken!

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That's the truth!

Not only does he have an age-appropriate girlfriend, he also has a stable of Older Women at his disposal: Peppermint Tea, Ling and I are all absolutely his slaves.

[ellencho]

Hehe, Clifford pajamas. Enjoying this foodblog immensely

[Jake]

Joie, thanks for putting the names to the foods we ate (see upthread), it was exactly spot on. We're really looking forward to trying more dishes. They had some fried (?) mackeral that looked yummy.

Thank you, yet again, for a most enjoyable blog.

[jamiemaw]

Great blogging Moosh--you're doing the town proud. Thanks so much for the wonderful pictures as well. Looking forward to the Aurora post.

Jamie

PS: I see Arne's checking in too as he eats and drinks his way across the Okanagan Valley.

[Mooshmouse]

Whew. We're finally back from an activity-filled family Saturday.

Prince Noah safely escorted his fair Princess back to her castle where we had a busy afternoon: eating lunch, hiking through the woods to pick huckleberries and blackberries and now lounging in the hot tub. Childhood... what a life. Ian and I are privileged to be along for the ride. From there, we met another couple and their four-year-old daughter for Greek food (featuring, oddly enough, live Latin music). And home again at last.

Before I get ahead of myself, I was rather disappointed to notice that I had forgotten to upload a couple of photos from Thursday's Cantonese extravaganza.

Such an elaborate place setting.

Sauteed Pea Tips with Garlic

And now down to business. Yesterday, there was a smaller gathering of the Lunch Mafia at Jang Mo Jib. Despite our herculean meal only the night before, Yummy and Canucklehead were up to the challenge of a sizeable Korean lunch.

It's a good thing we showed up. Apparently, they'd been waiting for us.

The place was packed when we arrived; this photo was taken at the tail end of the lunch rush.

We started things off with cold barley tea. According to Canucklehead, that's a ginseng root pictured on our spoon and chopsticks.

Gook Mahn Doo – Pan-fried dumplings

Japchae – Sweet-potato noodles with marinated vegetables

Kalbi – Grilled beef short ribs

Dol Sot Bibimbap – Preserved vegetables and homemade hot chili paste on steamed rice in a hot stone bowl

[Pan]

Good-looking Korean meal! So, I take it they cooked the kalbi for you? Those pieces look pretty big.

Also, how do you do with those thin metal chopsticks? They hurt my hands; I need the regular-sized sticks (you know, regular Chinese or Japanese ones).

[easternsun]

Cereal this morning for me and Noah.

A mix of Crispix and Rice Krispies topped with raisins, sultana raisins, dried papaya, dried cranberries and dried pineapple.

Wow! My mom is so fired! The fact that you put so much care into making Noah's meals LOOK good is wonderful! I am still following along with pangs of homesickness. Even the picture of the traffic did it for me I hope part of your reno plan includes a ten foot wall around your property ...your are going to need it when Noah hits his teens ... he is such a cutey! and he does dishes!

[Mooshmouse]

Good-looking Korean meal! So, I take it they cooked the kalbi for you? Those pieces look pretty big.

Also, how do you do with those thin metal chopsticks? They hurt my hands; I need the regular-sized sticks (you know, regular Chinese or Japanese ones).

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Yes, they did cook the kalbi for us. Big pieces indeed, so each table is provided with a pair of clean kitchen scissors used to snip them into more bite-sized morsels. We also used the scissors to portion out a few of the side dishes, a photo of which I'm going to post next. And, even though I have fairly small hands, the thin metal chopsticks aren't my favourite either.

Michael, how'd your first week back at teaching go?

Wow!  My mom is so fired!  The fact that you put so much care into making Noah's meals LOOK good is wonderful!  I am still following along with pangs of homesickness.  Even the picture of the traffic did it for me   I hope part of your reno plan includes a ten foot wall around your property ...your are going to need it when Noah hits his teens ... he is such a cutey!  and he does dishes!

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Thanks easternsun! The extra time I take when plating Noah's meals definitely comes in handy when presenting a food that he might find questionable. He's far more likely to eat something that he's unsure about if it at least looks good!

The photos that I'm about to post of English Bay were taken especially with you and Jensen in mind. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

[Mooshmouse]

Banchan – Starting at the top left, there's kimchi, shredded seaweed, spicy pickled daikon, soybean sprouts and potatoes marinated in sesame oil. Of the side dishes that we were served, my least favourite is the shredded seaweed (although I do love nori) with my preferences leaning towards the soybean sprouts and the spicy pickled daikon. Another Korean side dish that I absolutely love is marun myolchi: sweetened deep-fried dried anchovies. Sounds disgusting, I know, but they're so addictive! Marco_Polo offers a recipe in this thread.

All of this washed down with a Coke. There's something about drinking Coke whenever I eat Asian food, especially Chinese; I find that it helps to cut the grease, salt and MSG. Pepsi or any other form of pop won't do. It's gotta be Coke.

[Pan]

I liked kimchi from the first time I tried it (when I was 10). It sort of seemed like something I shouldn't like, but I sort of suspended belief, knowing that it was basic to Korean cuisine, and enjoyed it! I often find, like you, that I like radish kimchi better than cabbage kimchi.

My first two classes went fine, I think. Most of what happens in my music classes isn't food-related, but I complimented one of my students for bringing coffee to class and told the rest of my students to please bring the caffeinated beverage of their choice to class (though not their dinner). Those afternoon classes can be tough for some students to stay awake in, especially for those who've been going nonstop since 8 A.M. and just got out of a very hard math class. [indulgent smile] My mother's solution is to bring cookies to her 3 o'clock classes, but I couldn't afford to buy enough for 45-some-odd students twice a week! Oh, and I'm so glad I'm no longer teaching at the school where they wouldn't even let students bring bottles of water into class and made me enforce that idiotic rule.

Edited September 11, 2005 by Pan (log)

[Mooshmouse]

Partway through our meal, Canucklehead mentioned that he was driving up to Michele Cake Shop in Kerrisdale right after lunch. He'd heard that Michele's mango cakes were on sale for 20% off and figured this was the perfect opportunity to try one. I jumped at his invitation to come along, not for the mango cake but for the chance to sample their pasteis de nata or Portuguese egg tarts which I'd been told are out of this world.

And now for some gratuitous bakeshop photos. Oooh, baybee, I love me my baked goods.

Target acquisition complete for Canucklehead. Mango cake is, indeed, delicious... I picked one up a couple of weeks ago for my Mom's birthday.

And mission accomplished for me too.

Lo and behold, Michele's phenomenal Pasteis de Nata. Divine. One of the best egg tarts I've ever had. Light, flaky, buttery pastry... I resisted the urge to massage my carotid arteries every time I took a bite.

After Canucklehead dropped me back off downtown, I took the scenic route home and snapped a few photos of the seawall and English Bay. Though it was overcast when I woke up on Friday, the skies had cleared nicely by late morning and it turned into another flip-flops day.

Looking south along the seawall towards the Burrard Street bridge.

Northern view of English Bay and the North Shore mountains.

A closeup of the Inukshuk, Vancouver's symbol for the 2010 Olympics.

[Pan]

That old Canada Tourism ad really is true: America really does border on the magnificent:

Canada.

(Afterthought: Do we have any members in Quebec city? )

[Mooshmouse]

Much to my chagrin, I realized that it had been two days since I'd had my last cup of coffee. Friday afternoon's weather was too warm for me to drink my usual cappuccino, so I dropped by Prado Cafe and ordered an iced latte instead (half-sweet caramel for a little extra sugar boost).

I love coffee for the taste, not the caffeine, and usually have only one double-shot espresso drink a day, sometimes even more infrequently than that.

When I got home, this is what greeted me.

FEED ME NOW!!!

Dang. If that's not the hairy eyeball, then I don't know what is.

Clearly, one hungry cat. A couple of pages back, Feedbag asked me what I feed Shadow. All-natural, premium dry cat food twice daily with a serving of premium wet food every third feeding. The portions I give her are well within regular parameters, and I'm pretty strict about sticking to her morning and late afternoon feeding times. Because she's part Norwegian Forest Cat, her genes are the primary reason for her size: males can weigh up to 22 lbs, and females are slightly smaller than that. In Shadow's case, emphasis is on "slightly".

[Mooshmouse]

I am a little late to the party. Vancouver is one of my favorite cities in the world. I have been spending some time looking at the pictures.

I really need to get my arms around Filipino cuisine. Many years ago, my dad was in the hospital for a bit. We had (and still have) a lot of nurses from the Philippines here in Houston. With a severe nurse shortage at the time in our huge medical center, there was a program to bring in the lovely ladies and train them. Many decided to stay. My dad had a deep love of the Philippines. He was on a supply ship during WWII and spent a lot of time there after the liberation. With all of his flirting with the nurses, he found out where to get ingredients and we went through a period of him trying to do some of the dishes. Actually, he did pretty well.

Years later, when my daughter was about 2, we lived across the street from another young couple and she was from the Philippines. One night she fixed us a family meal. To this day, 33 years later, I still remember the distinctive flavor of little rounds of a well preserved sausage that she used in her version of a spring or egg roll. I haven't found it since.

[...]

You won't regret raising Noah as you are. Mine are in their 30s now but from the time they were in their very early teens, they were (and still are) a delight to travel and dine with. Our routine with food is just about exactly what you describe. I don't recall either of them going through a picky phase. They might have had an aversion to something in particular from time to time but then, so do I.

I am enjoying this immensely. Gotta get to Vancouver before long.

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Linda, thank you for sharing your stories and your encouragement on our parenting choices. Your anecdote about the Filipina nurses in Houston reminds me of my Aunt's move to Canada. The youngest of my Mom's four siblings, she was the first of our family to immigrate here, having been recruited as an RN to Winnipeg, Manitoba during a nursing shortage in the late sixties. Just imagine leaving 35ºC/95ºF weather and stepping off a plane in a foreign country, not knowing a soul, -40ºC/-40ºF in the dead of winter with only a spring coat and open-toed shoes to keep you warm. Respect.

The sausage that you spoke of sounds very much like longanisa hamonado which is a sweet pork sausage. This version of the recipe calls for two to three days of curing. You should be able to find a Filipino store in Houston that carries it; if not, they're likely available for online ordering from a U.S. distributor.

I echo everyone's compliments.  I am enjoying this blog, too.

I must say I also compliment Canadian eG members in general.  You guys in the various areas of Canada are spirited!  I think it's great the way so many of you have met each other and get together socially.  It seems like you have a real good sense of eG unity.

Joie, thanks for including photos and write-up of your most recent gathering in the blog.

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Good company always makes good food taste even better, and eGullet has been a great way of expanding our circle of dining friends. Thank you, Susan, for your kind words.

Joie, thanks for putting the names to the foods we ate (see upthread), it was exactly spot on.  We're really looking forward to trying more dishes.  They had some fried (?) mackeral that looked yummy.

Thank you, yet again, for a most enjoyable blog.

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My pleasure Jake. I'm glad to have been of help and doubly happy to know that you've taken a liking to Filipino cuisine! When you do get around to sampling something new, please let me know what you think.

Most of what happens in my music classes isn't food-related, but I complimented one of my students for bringing coffee to class and told the rest of my students to please bring the caffeinated beverage of their choice to class (though not their dinner). Those afternoon classes can be tough for some students to stay awake in, especially for those who've been going nonstop since 8 A.M. and just got out of a very hard math class. [indulgent smile] My mother's solution is to bring cookies to her 3 o'clock classes, but I couldn't afford to buy enough for 45-some-odd students twice a week! Oh, and I'm so glad I'm no longer teaching at the school where they wouldn't even let students bring bottles of water into class and made me enforce that idiotic rule.  

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One of my fondest memories from my university days was of the Honours Seminar class that I took in junior year. It was three hours long, twice a week, a real killer after a full slate of morning classes. Our seminar prof was a wonderfully wise, eloquent Scotsman with a real soft spots for his students. He brought a kettle to class, and we brought our mugs. At the class's midway point, we'd take a break to relax our brains for a while over a cup of tea. There were about six, maybe eight of us in the class, and we each took turns bringing snacks for everyone, our prof included. Hot cross buns at Easter, perhaps some of the amazing cinnamon buns from the Student Union Building. It was such a simple gesture on the part of our prof, but one that I'll never forget.

[Mooshmouse]

Good heavens... I feel like I've been typing forever and I'm still not caught up!

Friday night's dinner fixins.

Only thing that's missing from this photo is the ginger. With *Deborah* and Noah's friend both joining us for dinner, I wanted to make something kid-friendly that was still full of flavour. The answer: Mu Shu Pork Wraps.

The accoutrements: sliced water chestnuts, cilantro, shredded sui choy, green onions and bean sprouts.

The meat: ground pork mixed with minced water chestnuts, minced garlic, grated ginger, soy sauce, pepper and a little worcestershire sauce. All mixed up and put on the barbecue. When I know that kids or those with sensitive palates won't be partaking of them, I also throw a little sriracha or sweet chili sauce in for good measure.

Here's how the kids' plates turned out. The request was for rice with soy sauce instead of noodles – it's fragrant jasmine rice, by the way. Both kids ate like crazy; Noah's friend had polished off her entire dinner before Noah had made it 2/3 of the way through his.

[Smithy]

Moosh, your photos are wonderful and I'm drooling over your dinners. I'm with the others, cheering you on for the way you're raising Noah with regard to food...and yes, he's a real cutie!

If you've explained your screen name anywhere, I've missed it. Why Moosh? Why mouse?

I'm really loving this blog.

[Pam R]

-40ºC/-40ºF in the dead of winter with only a spring coat and open-toed shoes to keep you warm. 

Is that unusual?

I'm enjoying your blog so much - I wish I had known about eGullet prior to my trip to Vancouver in november - but it was actually my food stylist there who pointed me in this direction. I can't wait to get back there (on a non-business trip) to try more of what Vancouver has to offer.

Blog on!

[chromedome]

When I lived in Saskatchewan years ago, I knew a family of English ex-pats. They'd arrived from the southern end of England, where the climate is similar to Vancouver, on a January day in the late 1960's. Back then, there were no nice tunnels into the terminal; they rolled the steps up to the door and you got down and walked across the tarmac.

They arrived in a terrible blizzard, in white-out conditions, and the pilot was lucky to find a small hole in the storm so he could set down. When the doors opened, the father was the first out, setting an example for the rest of his rather intimidated family. The kids, of course, swallowed their terror and followed. When the mom got to the doorway, though, she stopped dead, grabbed the doorframe, and announced to the entire area that she was NOT getting off, NOBODY could make her, and they could just turn the airplane around RIGHT NOW and take her home.

They told this as an amusing anecdote, when I knew them in the early '80s, but the mom had only the thinnest of smiles...

[Pam R]

OK OK. It's cold here. I'll bring this back to food. We have a large number of Argentinean immigrants here - last summer a mother brought her little boy in to stock up on poultry (that's the food part) -anyhow, last summer happened to be a cool one, but it was probably in the 20 C area. The little boy was wearing a parka! He looked like the michelin man. All I could think of was ... wait until January! I grant you that it's hard to get used to the weather... we're a tough people here you know.