Churchkhela/Rojik immediately comes to mind!

And it costs me $50 in British Columbia :/

Hummus and something to eat an excessive amount of hummus with. And beer. That's all it took to make me feel in heaven with the last girl.

About to restock the bar and need to pick up some maraschino when I find out that the Luxardo is out of stock for a while at this point. Same store has the Giffard maraschino though, but I can't find any good comparative reviews.

Any of you have experience?

Ha, I was just linked to that for work reasons! It's a good post from the position of a brand who definitely has a lot of passion over the subject... and an equally strong reason to want oats marketed as gluten free. Being a government agency, the CFIA won't budge until they're certain and they've got a clear way of dealing with the subtleties that they see as problematic... Or until no one really cares anymore and they decide to do it then because no one will be watching anyway.

Here's a very quick blurb on the largest complicating factor for oats from a different brand:
http://www.nairns-oatcakes.com/gluten...

I think I heard Australia also has a similar policy to Canada on GF labeling, albeit not as intense. The big worry is that by saying "Gluten Free," there's risk that consumers might take that as "Coeliac Friendly" and the government hasn't been entirely convinced of that yet.

The funny thing is that the part that is marking it as a fad and as something that wasn't sustainable is exactly what larger brands in the natural market and some more niche small producers are exactly aiming for: Getting people who don't have the issue (and especially people who don't even claim or think they have it) to try the product and keep buying it.

Up until this last year or so, whenever I met with GF focused brands, the discussion really was built around diversifying the consumer base who'd buy their product. It's continued to grow year after year though to the point that this discussion isn't as apt anymore... But the whole idea originally and after the fad part dies away is still going to be trying to get people without gluten sensitivities to buy the product as well. Otherwise, the niche market isn't large enough to justify turning on the production machines.

Sorry, I phrased things badly: I know. You also have worries about cross contamination during sorting, cleaning, processing and packaging stages as well.

Canada still counts oats as not applicable under the term gluten free though. The general suggestion is that this is on account of both worries about maintaining trustworthiness of "pure" oats and because there are still some debates going on about avenin in oats and how it will affect those who are going towards a gluten free diet due to Coeliac disease.

General suggestion if you have Coeliac disease is to still minimize your consumption of oats regardless of whether you've got ones that show minimal to no gluten parts per million upon being tested.

It's definitely starting its growth as a fad created by people self diagnosing themselves of things based on what they read, but... We can't say it'll die like a fad. The awareness hasn't reached a point to create an equilibrium state. In more recent discussions, especially when you're talking about people from specific ethnic origins, wheat intolerance is starting to be quoted at higher than 1%.

In the end, I don't see it as entirely bad. People need to diversify their diet. Gluten free needed to be less based around white rice. As GF has grown as a category, the recipes have changed and the white rice cookies of yesterday hold less percentage of the shelf. That's a good thing for everyone. Also, as the GF stuff gets better, they're not just targeting people with Coeliac disease anyway: They're hoping to convince people that their product tastes good enough to cross that market threshold so that other people will buy it too.

Funny thing is that oatmeal isn't gluten free by Canadian standards, but is in the US if it fits under the classification of a pure, untainted oat. Then again, even if you don't have the gluten to worry about, oats are potentially problematic if you have Coeliac disease and consume much of them.

Different people worry about different things when they say "healthy." If anyone is worried about added hexane to their diet, Rice Bran Oil is a particular one to avoid. Some Grapeseed Oils are a problem as well, but I've never found a RB Oil that wasn't processed with hexane, where as some Grapeseed Oils are alcohol extracted.

Horizon was still debating whether or not they were going to bring it in. For a distributor of their size, the short shelf life is potentially a problem. Really, for any distributor, that shelf life is potentially problematic. That said, I doubt WFM will just give up on the line instantly and they do enough volume to justify Horizon picking the fresh salsa up. Horizon was asking around to other accounts as to who carried it before and who would be interested in buying it from them. That's how I know they're looking at it...

New Apple doesn't seem like someone who would be dealing with KFW otherwise, but who knows? They might be willing. If you do try the Las Marg stuff and like it, you can always mention to them that UNFI is carrying that!

From what I understand, QP are not discontinuing the fresh salsa line. KFW Foods has picked up distribution and I know Horizon Distributors were looking at picking it up (most likely to support Whole Foods). I know I discontinued the line in favor of bringing in Las Margarita's new packaged salsa where I work, but I doubt everyone will follow my methods.

Where did you typically buy the QP salsa before?

Oh, don't worry! I won't. I used to live up near the top of Lonsdale, so walking through that central Lonsdale bit was a staple of my walk home back in the day!

On a good week where I'm working 40 hours and not 80, there's a significant chance I'd be using it once a week in general and probably twice a month for meals where I'm entertaining. $70-100 isn't too shabby for that in my mind, but that said... I do intend to keep trying to make it come out as good as I've had when invited to feasts by my friends.

I don't really love the idea of another piece of machinery in my kitchen; I learned to prepare just about every other variety and method of cooking rice I've ever used without a rice cooker expressly to get rid of yet another piece of machinery. I'm just getting bogged down with disappointment! Anyway, this isn't the homecooking board, so...

It's nice to know that it is pretty readily available. Figured it would be, but I had no intel myself and now that I don't live on the shore, I don't really go down that way unless I have specific reason.

Thanks!

I've got most of my rice styles perfectly fine done via stove top or oven, but getting proper tahdig has eluded me. I've asked all of my Persian friends and the general consensus is that even their grandmothers use rice cookers. Inquiring as to where I might be able to get one around Vancouver has gotten me nowhere though: All but one received them as gifts from family and that other guy brought it back all the way from Iran.

Anyone have any clue where I could look around Vancouver?

When I first started drinking beer, I couldn't handle anything with a discernible flavor of hops. I liked my beers ice cold, fizzy, yellow and mostly flavorless. I grew up in the PNW though, so I felt almost surrounded by hoppy beers and was constantly in a position of trying them so that people could see my face and realize that no, I really didn't like them. A few years later, I really wanted a drink and all that was in the house was a bottle of Stone's Ruination IPA. If I hadn't had such a bad day, there's no way I would have even given it a try. I did though and guess what? I loved it. And it started a decade long love affair with hops. I think that love also played into how quickly I adapted and enjoyed amari.

Scotch worked similarly for me. Hell, outside of flavors: There's a ton of music, art, television, ideals, etc that were totally against anything I'd like when I first had them. Or when I'd had them 10 times or 20. Still don't like all of them, but I'm glad I'm willing to keep trying things every so often. Sometimes I get surprised and that opens a whole new world.

Just my little personal bit about why it's good to give this stuff second, third and maybe even more chances.

Also worth noting is that Abuelos is slowly becoming available on the mainland. I heard WFM was picking it up and they probably won't be the only one.

http://www.abueloscorntortillas.com/

Never tried them myself as I rarely, if ever cross the water to the island, but I've heard pretty good things.

Don't take my reply too harshly in that direction. It's still a good product... It's just a lot more temperamental about temperature than comparable natural & fresh salsas... Working on the retail side, you deal with coolers that don't always work as if in an ideal world and cold chains that get broken for at least a couple minutes at various steps. Most products are ultimately fine, but FiB salsa is in a list of 3 brands that I've seen a lot of problems relating to their shelf sensitivity. It's probably just a matter of pH.

And blow up, in the case of their salsa carries a touch of hyperbole. :)

Usually they just plump up and occasionally break the seal in doing so. I've definitely seen some other products randomly burst on dairy shelves and in back rooms though!

That said, it's not as good as I remember that Skagit stuff being...

FiB's chips are to die for.

I just wish I didn't have the retail background of seeing their salsas blow up so much in the past.

I haven't been able to get any clear answers. It sounds like a lot of their current staff is being let go and they're handing all distribution off to other companies, so the contacts I have over there are not exactly overly responsive... Can't blame them. I wouldn't care if I was being laid off either!

I've made a reminder to hit up my rep over at QP to see if they are still going to be producing these. I'll let you know what I hear...

Definitely a lot of changes going on over there. Heard that they're basically letting their entire wholesale driver team go. A couple of those guys have been working there for almost as long as I've been alive.

It'll be really interesting to see what happens with Que Pasa now that Nature's Path has bought them out.

They're limited in how much they're allowed to serve, so don't expect full pints or anything, but they're always stoked to let you try what they have on top. They don't always have everything due to production cycles and how successful their growler program has been, but they always have something and are typically willing to crack seasonal bottles to show off as well. Plus, you'll constantly run into some of the cool people behind it. If you have any interest in homebrewing, their brewmaster is someone worth talking to.

Also, they now not only have one badass growler filling machine, but 3.

Yep. Worth checking out. If you're in the neighborhood, the growler program is great. If you're not, still cool to visit and the sixers are about that price too.

Not the best Korean I've ever had, but I always enjoyed Norboo when I lived down that way.

You could try going for a different sort of curry without the curry flavor you associate with Indian cuisine here. Mash up some garlic, ginger, lemongrass (if you have it, just play with lemon rind and juice if you don't), coriander, cumin... Really, find a mixture that smells good to you and mash it all together with a bit of a flavorful pepper variety that isn't particularly hot. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, just chop it all up with a sharp knife all together until it's nice and fine and mixed.

Quickly fry that in a bit of oil, add the coconut milk, fry that until it starts to bubble and separate more, add the chicken and some stock to cover... Bring to a slight bubble and them simmer. Adding potatoes near the end is always nice. You can add whatever other vegetables that are good to the kids into this picture as well pretty easily.

The nice part is that this sort of idea is really flexible and can be adapted to whatever flavors you have available. Also, if you like something a bit more spicy, it goes well with a bit of sriracha. :)

Edit: Ooh! You could always go for some coconut rice to pair with some simple veggie stir fry as well. I don't cook for children much, but when I used to watch my friend's 6 year old, this is how I got him to eat veggies most easily!

As far as shifting things around a lot, I think that's the nature of when these stores get to a certain size, volume and can no longer easily support the SKU count they are trying to maintain. In more heavily managed stores, they'd be receiving more regular plannogram adjustments that would sort this out so that things moved less often, but that isn't WFM's corporate culture as far as I experienced.

In terms of things being off the shelf for long periods of times, that's a complex one that is mostly out of their control. Peanut crops were very small in comparison to previous years, so they're expensive and harder to fill orders on. Add in a major peanut butter recall recently and the whole train gets derailed. Heck, add in the fact that it's a private label and the outages will tend to take longer. Canned seafood gets seasonal shortages every couple years as well that can last a long while, especially for the private label stuff. I know I saw similar things at TJ's every so often back when I lived in the US... Although TJ's was often better about reacting and filling that space... but that could cause consumer confusion anyway, so they could be criticized no matter what they do.

WFM is alright. Just like any other grocery retailer, they have their ups and downs. Having worked behind the scenes a lot, I'm probably more forgiving of a lot of what you described than I would have been without that experience. I see the empty shelves, think about what is probably (or certainly) causing it and sigh knowing that it's just how the world works.

It's distributed by Left Coast Naturals as well. They can't help you in the sense of selling it to you, but they're friendly chaps who'd be happy to let you know what retailers in your area might have it, I bet.

HA! Perfect. Maybe some Venetian Snares and Merzbow while we're at it.

All depends on the girl, I guess. :D

Pretty sure they still do the Skookum, although I don't see it often. It's one of the regular additions to the Hop Box 12pk that Phillips does though. The Hopworks is definitely enjoyable... Honestly though, I think I like everything they do.

I didn't love the style when I first tried it, but growing up down south around Seattle & Portland has a way of convincing you to keep trying certain beer styles until you decide that you do actually like them. :)