that was a rather broad question :) i probably should have created 2 categories: 1) balkan/middle eastern markets and 2) good supermarkets. 1) a place that carries a variety of olives, feta and other balkan cheeses, bulk spices, nuts, unflavored kefir, jarred roasted peppers, frozen items like burek, some produce, etc. 2) a good supermarket with butcher, fishmonger, deli and bakery.

i have recently moved to Hercules, and having a really hard time finding a good market comparable to my favorite ones on the peninsula: Dean's Produce, Burlingame Farmers Market (related to Taraval FM - my dad's favorite), Draegers, Lunardis, Mollie Stone. There is nothing but Safeway and Luckys. I drive to Lunardis which is about 20 minutes away, but it would be great to find something closer. Berkeley Bowl is great, but somehow i find it very unfriendly. any ideas?

Sorry, very late to the conversation. "Bourbon" vanilla is from the subspecies vanilla planifolia (originally from Mexico, now mostly from Madagascar). The variety grown in Tahiti is vanilla tahitensis. if you got "planifolia" from VanillaSaffron.com, it comes from Papua New Guinea.

nothing wrong with pavlova, only this is not served for "maslenitsa" (russian mardi gras). my grandma used to make individual ones she called "baisers" (kisses in french - the meringues do look like very large Hershey kisses); sandwich 2 of those with whipped cream in between, let sit for a few hours to soften the meringue, and garnish with strawberries if you like.

please don't serve flying fish roe. bleeeech... not with bliny ... my grandma would have thrown you out. if you can't afford the real stuff, buy nice salmon roe and make sure they let you taste. i've bought packaged roe that was disprespectfully crushed (probably during repackaging while it was still frozen); we ended up with a slimy slurry. good luck!

I have LC pots which occasionally get stubborn stains from tomatoes, beets, turmeric, etc. Barkeepers Friend will clean up most stains, but if those prove particularly difficult to remove, fill the pot with a few tablespoons of bleach diluted with warm water, soak for 30 minutes or so, which should remove the rest.

Hi there. Found your post by accident while searching for recipes. For really inexpensive vanilla beans and extract, try www.saffron.com. Their prices are unbeatable, they have great customer service, and shipping is really fast since the warehouse is in S.F. Currently, they sell 1 lb. of vanilla beans from New Guinea for around $30 (that's around 120 beans). I've been using for years for my Russian Easter desserts, and they are very good quality. They also sell saffron; unfortunately, due to several years of drought in Iran, prices have skyrocketed.