Pharah's Profile
KETJAP MANIS: Where can I purchase a good one downtown?
Most good Asian grocery stores should have it. T&T has it in their location here in Mississauga, so I'm sure they'd have it in their other locations. I've seen a couple of different types of ABC brand, one I think has a blue label, but I always buy the one with the red label. It should cost around $1.50-$2.99 (I can't remember how much I pay...I think it's $1.89, not at T&T). It's great mixed with sambal oelek for a delicious hot and sweet taste.
Who has the best peaches?
For me the best peaches used to come from my peach tree in my parents' backyard.
Now I usually find the best tasting ones are from either the farmers market (at Square One mall, Mississauga), or Organic Garage's organic peaches. I had one of the organic ones in a pancake yesterday and it was sweet and peachy.
How do you solve a problem like boxed mac and cheese?
Tomatoes and a squeeze of ketchup for me too, I like my mac'n'cheese kept plain and simple!
When I was a kid it was always served with hot dog pieces and ketchup as add-ins.
My Mother-in-law makes it with a variety of veggies, a can of baked beans, and extra cheese then bakes it in the oven. A meal I've never quite acquired the taste for, probably because of the beans. My husband makes a homemade mac'n'cheese bake that's very tasty with egg holding it together, tomato layer on top then a cheese crust to finish it off.
Tuna and potato salad -- Help?
Hi everyone,
I was at my company picnic last week and my boss' mother brought a delicious salad that I would like to try making myself at home. I've been searching on here and Google and I haven't been able to find anything similar.
The ingredients were tuna, potatoes, chickpeas, parsley, onion, sliced egg, and green olives. It was in a light olive oil-based dressing, and was meant to be mixed with mayonnaise and lime/lemon to be squeezed on top. I believe his family are Portuguese, if that helps.
It seems pretty easy to me, but I would still really appreciate a recipe or any other tips anyone has, especially the dressing since the ingredients are pretty straightforward, but other than olive oil I'm not sure what else was in the dressing.
Could it just be his mum's own variation on the Portuguese tuna salad with chickpeas I can find easily?
I have considered asking my boss if he could give me the recipe, but I don't see him often and he's usually very busy when I do see him, so I haven't asked him yet. Also I was hoping to make this for dinner tonight, but that depends on if anyone can help me!
Where to find British Food?
They have moved from the Burnhamthorpe rd location to Rathburn and Tomken.
Also in Mississauga there is Little Bit of Britain in Meadowvale shopping centre. The people there are always friendly and helpful. For this last Christmas I needed a mowbury pie for my FIL, which they were out of at the time. They took my phone number and called me as soon as they got one in, and reserved it for me when I couldn't get there immedietely. They have a good selection of traditional English pies and other foods, as well as football (soccer) memorabilia, dvds, etc...
EDIT: This is a reply to the post by Michelle in T.O. which for some reason did not appear beneath her post.
Bagged lunch ideas- NO FRIDGE OR MICROWAVE!
This website is excellent for bento lunch ideas: http://justbento.com/
They have tonnes of recipes, and meal planning tips.
Non-food uses for food products...
I use vinegar and water to clean almost everything around the house. The dog likes to lick the floor after I mop, so the vinegar/water mix won't poison her if she licks it. I also use baking soda paste to clean the kitchen and bathroom sinks, the bathtub, tiles and grout. Baking soda on the carpet to deodourize. Really, that's all I use: baking soda, water, and vinegar.
The "What's good in Peel" thread.. (BRAMPTON/MISSISSAUGA Only please) :^)
Has anyone been to Congee Dynasty on Burnhamthorpe just East of Creditview?
I want to try it, but I'd love to hear what others' experiences are there first so I know whether it's worth going or not.
ISO Bulk Barn mini easter eggs (carob? malt?)
Whoppers are exactly the same as those malted Easter eggs. Like Kagemusha said, just check the Bulk Barn bins again.
Your mom's weird cooking ... and other stories? (recipes encouraged)
My mum is a pretty good cook, and my dad's cooking is okay except when he does a stir-fry. He is the only person I know who can make a veggie stir-fry and get ALL the chili peppers stuck in the broccoli florets so when you bite into a broccoli floret it's like chewing on a whole chili pepper.
My grandma always made lasagna with cottage cheese and hard boiled egg in it. I don't like lasagna without the egg now.
They also used to make a "boiled dinner" which my dad used to make also, before we became vegetarians. It was a chunk of cured meat, ham, cottage roll, or corned beef, boiled for an hour or more, and then cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and rutabaga were thrown in and also boiled for ages, then served with mustard. I think it's something traditional in Nova Scotia, where they are from.
We used to have fish&chips every friday and a roast on Sunday(again, before we were vegetarian). My dad used to take me out to Dim Sum all the time, and that is one thing I really miss, we haven't been to Dim Sum since I became a vegetarian. That's not really my mum's cooking, but it is something no one else I knew did.
My mother-in-law and father-in-law cook some of the most horrible stuff. They really live up to that stereo-type that people from England eat terrible food.
My father-in-law's roast dinner is a piece of overcooked meat of some sort(usually turkey), frozen vegetables that he starts boiling about 5 hours before the meal and turn into whitey-greyish foul muck, potatoes that are boiled then roasted with no seasonings at all (They always have this rock-hard shell on the outside and are mush on the inside), and "gravy" that is just Bisto and water in a ratio of about 1:8 so it's basically just water tinted with a bit of Bisto. Yuck. I try to get out of these roast dinner whenever I can.
My mother-in-law's favourite thing to cook is macaroni with veggies, stewed tomatoes, baked beans, kidney beans and cheese grated on top. I'm not a big fan of this, but my hubby likes it after he dumps every seasoning we've got on it.
Something hubby used to eat as a kid was deep-fried spam and chips(French fries), and a Savaloy and chips.
I think his parents fit into this thread better than mine.
MEALS: breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between. Share the good, the bad, and the ugly.
What everyone's eating sounds so yummy! This thread is making me hungry.
Breakfast: Life Multigrains cereal with brown flax meal and clover honey, Mediterranean-style coconut yogourt, two pieces of seven grain toast, one with Marmite the other with fresh-ground peanut butter, and some chai tea to wash it all down.
Lunch: Tofu dog with Saigon hot chili sauce, mayo, mustard and a pickle on rosemary focaccia, a cara cara orange, some fish crackers, and a mug of nettle tea.
Dinner: Is going to be Swiss Rosti with smoked salmon. Trying to think of something interesting to do with the vegetables to go with it.
Snacks: an empire apple, a coconut bun, and some almonds.
2009 closings
Thank you for the link, that clears up my confusion! I will definitely be heading there next time I'm downtown.
2009 closings
Does anyone know what's going on with Bo De Duyen?
I have never been there, and I've been reading so many good reviews about it, but they are from 2006/2007/2008/early 2009, and I keep coming across people talking about it closing down for renovations, or moving, or just being closed. I want to go there, so does anyone know if it's still open?
When I google it there are two addresses that I get: 1999 Dundas and 254 Spadina. The Spadina address I assume to be the original, so maybe they moved?
"The Simpsons" and food.
I love it when he's all green/blue and shaking, and he pulls the (now blue) sandwich out of the garbage bin on the curb and says "How can I stay mad at you?".
Then Selma takes Lisa and Bart to Duff Gardens, and Lisa drinks the "water" from the ride, and starts hallucinating.
(This is a response to southernitalian's post BTW)
Food items you enjoy in only very limited quantities or amounts?
Umeboshi. I get cravings for these, but I only want one or two. They are much too salty to eat a lot of, and I only want them once in a while.
Kraft Dinner. With a tiny amount of ketchup. It is so gross, but so good. I want it every once in a while, but after the first few bites which are amazing, I have for force myself to finish the rest of it.
The Un-Official "Go To" Restaurant Thread
Bread & Roses cafe at Bloor & Runnymede in Bloor West Village is our go-to for lunch or a snack.
Ginger at Bloor and Bathurst is our go-to for any time, and every time we're downtown. The prices make it very affordable, and they have a great selection of vegetarian meals, so I don't get bored.
Sempre at Bloor and Royal York is our go-to for special occasions.
What was your favourite restaurant that went downhill after they solidified their status
Pho Mi 99 (Dixie & Dundas in Mississauga) has gone downhill in the last couple of years. I used to live across town, and my family would go there all the time for dinner. Now that I can walk there, it's rubbish. The last meal I had there, the chow mein, the fried noodles tasted stale, definitely not fresh fried, like they'd just come from an old package. The meal I had there before that wasn't spectacular either.
It used to be my favourite restaurant, now I'd rather go elsewhere. I'm not sure though if it was always like that, or if my tastes have changed to appreciate better Vietnamese and Chinese. They changed their menu too, and my old favourites are gone, so I can't compare how something I liked then tastes to me now.
Best Doughnuts in Toronto
I love going to Anna's for paczkis. It's right at Jane subway. The only other bakery I can recall around there is Hot Oven at Runnymede, but I know there are more I'm not remembering. I don't know if Hot Oven sells doughnuts because I always go to Anna's.
Bread&Roses is an amazing cafe/bakery just West of Runnymede, but they unfortunately do not sell doughnuts.
recs for Sunday brunch in Oakville
You could try Emma's Back Porch in Burlington:
http://www.emmasbackporch.ca/burlington/index.html
I attended a Sunday brunch there about two years ago and really enjoyed it. The location is right on the waterfront so there were great lake views in the dining room. The all-you-can-eat brunch is $8.95 each according to the menu on their website. The thing I remember most vividly is the big plate of smoked salmon and the several mimosas I had!
Looking at the website, they seem to have more pictures of the "lodge" part of the restaurant on the lower level, but when I went there the brunch was in the upstairs part which wasn't so woodsy/canadiana in decor, although I suppose it is a little more...rustic than Julia's if that's what's ideal for your occasion.
I went to Julia's for a baby shower in March. All we had were cheese and fruit platters, and some hors d'oeuvres which were grape tomatos, mini bocconcini cheese and basil skewered together, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and served in little glasses. Not enough for me to be able to make any sort of judgment on the experience or food, but I can say the small room they had us in had nice decor with paintings by local artists on the walls.
