bbq babe's Profile
Grand Lake (Oakland): What to Eat and Where?
This is the best smelling shop in town!
John who runs the place is a blending genius and is always coming up with something new.
You can't go wrong with the curry and his take on mulling spices is a lot more subtle and interesting than the usual.
Sage Tea Using Fresh...?
I would recommend drying the sage before making tea with it. You will get a better tasting extraction if you air dry the herb by tying it in small bundles by the stems and hanging them in a warmish place for a few days. Twist ties work great for this. Check them daily for any mold (remove any moldy bits and rotate wet herb from the center of bundle to outside if needed) and to tighten the bundles as the moisture leaves the stems and they shrink.
When the leaves are dry and crumble easily do that with a small amount and brew it up. Start small as this is strong stuff and can easily be too bitter for many people. Honey takes the edge off nicely. Store your intact leaves in a glass jar until ready to brew.
Many herbs can be used in tea form. My latest experiments include rosemary. Enjoy.
Where to buy a pound of coffee?
If they still have it at the Oakland GO do yourself a favor and pickup a can of the D'Aquino expresso. $4 for a full pound, preground and the closest thing I've found to Graffeo Dark. TJ's used to carry this but discontinued it.
What's the oldest ingredient you've ever cooked with?
Just yesterday I used some cranberry salsa with a best by date of 8/3/06 in a chicken sandwich. It was pretty terrible when fresh, watery and bland which explains why it was in the back of the fridge for 5+ years. Now it is a nicely congealed paste of cranberries and onions with a tart and spicy flavor.
It had no visible mold on the actual salsa (some on the lid), smelled fine and actually tasted better than it originally did. I'm short of condiments currently so I mixed it with the last of the sweet hot mustard and used it. Did cook the sandwich for some extra time but still here and fine 24 hrs later.
Best non dairy milks, how to use them and other tips?
It must not have been the original then. I was shocked that any "coconut" product would have soy so skipped
Here in the Bay Area, Berkeley Bowl has the Hemp Bliss but it's quite pricey.
Best non dairy milks, how to use them and other tips?
The Pacific Foods Organic is great for almond milk.
I was all set to buy the So Delicious "Creamer" one day but read the ingredients and was turned off by the included soy.
As for rice milk, when it is good it is very good. Refreshing and easy to drink because it isn't thick. Some of the types with natural vanilla are lovely. When rice milk is bad it's truly wretched.
My personal favorites are Hazelnut and Hemp. These show up at GO sometimes. If you see the chocolate, pounce and let me know. :)
Lusting for livers, from chickens. How best we do them? Kept whole, not pate'.
Just made this today because I was seriously craving it:
Slice an onion and fry it and the whole chicken livers in a pan with a little olive oil. Deglaze the pan with balsamic. Add sour cream and some more balsamic to create a sauce. Add green peas and serve over pasta.
coconut oil that tastes like coconut
I've heard good things about the International Harvest brand. It's raw (which I would think would preserve flavor/aroma), organic, and less expensive than many others.
What went wrong with my chick peas? Yuck.
My guess would be that the chick peas were stored near/exposed to something toxic at some point.
I had a really nasty experience with some black beans that tasted like air freshener after cooking. The problem didn't show up during soaking and rinsing.
Oakland: Today Monday 9/12/11 - First Anniversary celebration at A Taste of Denmark (Neldham's)
Happy Birthday!
I was burning to know what bakery it was (had a sneaking suspicion it was TOD) based on your other thread but didn't ask there for fear of having the discussion shut down.
They pretty much treated me like garbage when I applied for work there. I was clean, well dressed with a great resume so I can just imagine the reaction a street person would be subjected to.
Beer with sushi
Wow! 7-11 brand, I really am slumming. Thanks for the info. Guess I should have mentioned that this was a bite the bullet and take your chances deal at Grocery Outlet (a discount store), not TJs. They also had Game Day Light but even I'm not going there.
Beer with sushi
My last sixer was sweeter than previous ones. If this is a purposeful change it's not for the better. Glad you liked it enough to repeat the experience.
My current in stock beer is something called "Game Day Ice". It's quite sweet but I will forgive that because it was $2.99/12 pack. I wouldn't want either of these with sushi but they are good enough to go with chips, etc. Still better than Bud, IMO.
Discontinued at Trader Joe's (started 6/19/2011) [old]
I totally lost it when the poor employee sampling the mustard (with some ham of course) told me about "ham season". That may have made some sense when you only killed pigs at certain times of the year but now when almost everything is available year round? Don't think so. It's always "ham season" in my world. BTW I really dislike this mustard on ham but think it's the next best thing ever on potstickers. Best thing ever is the sweet garlic chili sauce that has disappeared and come back enough times that I just buy it whenever I see it.
As for the organic peanut butter, I was informed that they would be out the entire month of Sept. (really, no org. pb for back to school month? someone wasn't thinking). The new org pb will be made with "red runner" peanuts. Has anyone heard of these?
I still mourn the passing of the Thai lemongrass chicken rice bowl. Total addictive tastiness in microwavable bowl form with a wonderful sauce and plenty of veggies. (bows head and has moment of silence before pressing "post my reply".)
Generally scorned products that are madly delicious -- in certain applications
The last jar of Miracle Whip I had was so sweet it grossed me out. I'm over it after preferring it to regular mayo.
I think the propeller hats should have shiny blades that look like the blades from a blender or food processor.
Beer with sushi
Simpler Times lager at TJs. Don't be scared by the low price point ($2.99/ six pack in my neck of the woods) or the fact that it is in a can. Tasty without having an offensive aftertaste.
I love IPAs but wouldn't want even a really good one with sushi.
You're right about the origin of the Mission Street beers. The Brown Ale is amazing w/BBQ and other hearty/meat- heavy dishes and the Anniversary edition that comes out around the winter holidays was a work of art this year.
good low end liquor
I would expect, before tasting, a bottle of Pusser's Navy Rum to last me about 6 months since it seems intense enough that an ounce a week would suffice.
I'm not seeking spiced rums in particular, just relieved that there are some out there that I would enjoy rather than be horrified by.
Thanks for the suggestions for creating my own spiced rum but all I'm after is affordable, enjoyable rum. No need for me to reinvent the wheel here as well as with my various herbal, granola, curry, soup, cake and other kitchen projects and their constant tweaks. The rum is for the "aah" , relaxing moment at the end of the day and so should be simple to get into the glass if not simple once there.
The Kilo-Kai sounds very interesting-anything with sassafras or birch flavors is a winner in my book! Thanks for the suggestion.
good low end liquor
Great suggestion, it was already the next on my list to try.
Need to finish some open bottles before I can justify $26 (w/tax).
Anyone else? I'm all ears.
Rum, the epic story of the drink that conquered the world by Charles A. Coulombe was a great read and taught me quite a bit.
good low end liquor
No worries, they call it a "black rum" on the label which is not a term I've seen elsewhere.
At least now I know that I won't hate the Kraken which I have been curious about but gun shy about trying.
Any other thoughts?
good low end liquor
Is the Gosling's Black Seal generally considered a "spiced" rum? I would consider it a "spicy" rum at most but I haven't knowingly had any "spiced" rum since a bad experience with the Capt. in college so I'm no expert. The back of the bottle says that it is a unique blend with the recipe being a closely guarded family secret. Not one word on the label about spice but they aren't telling what's in it so that isn't really surprising. Please enlighten me.
However, it is a damn good rum for $8.99/750 ml. at my local discount store.
I want to try making coconut milk yogurt...
Or you could just skip thickening the mixture and change to drinking your yogurt. I can't imagine that thickening agents like pectin are going to help digestion.
Cana Cuban Parlor & Cafe, Oakland - any reports?
My ponytail didn't help me.
I really wanted to like this sandwich but it didn't cooperate. It was actually like two different sandwiches- one side was drenched in a disturbingly sweet sauce and had no ham and the other had some nice ham and hot mustard that really added something. Both sides shared the bread which I loved, the cheese that only added texture, the pickles that couldn't decide what kind they were and the DRY, stringy pork.
I'm glad I tried this sandwich because I really wanted to but it is now out of my system. It wasn't worth the wait or the price tag. It's a shame because it is a cute little space and the people seem really nice.
Doctoring store bought waffle mix?
Corn and walnuts.
Or coconut.
Damn, don't have a waffle iron so I may have to do this with some pancakes.
PBR in the can the New Old Hot Beer???
I actually had to revise my opinion of PBR ( scorned it because of the hipster connection) after finding 7 cans on the sidewalk. Not craft brew by any stretch of the imagination but not bad at all. It was a couple of days past date so maybe the extra aging helped. ;) It was good enough that I picked some up recently when I wanted a beer that wouldn't steal the spotlight from fresh cracked crab.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay thread - 4th Quarter 2010 [OLD]
When I returned the pineapple, the customer service guy started nodding like a mad man and leaned WAY over the counter to take the bag from me. He didn't even bother to ask for the receipt. The product was a big miss for him as well. It happens.
As for the Tom Yum cashews, I enjoyed them, just not enough to put them in the regular rotation.
At least we agree on the Peppermint Coffee.;)
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay thread - 4th Quarter 2010 [OLD]
That Peppermint Coffee did seem promising from the flyer. I was lucky my store sampled it which allowed me to avoid buying it. Your description is spot on except the tiny cup I tried tasted like WEAK tea, which is even worse I imagine.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay thread - 4th Quarter 2010 [OLD]
re: Chile-Spiced Pineapple, the bag I got tastes so strongly of paprika with very little chile that I am totally grossed out and will be returning it. Biggest TJs fail I've experienced in years.
To end on a positive note: The Gingersnap House Party cookies are amazing! $2.99 for a full pound of spicy, crispy goodness.
uptown oakland lunch
International Cafe or whatever it was called is closed. I'm amazed they lasted as long as they did given I rarely saw anyone in there.
The Chinese spot next to Bakesale Betty was terrible but I liked knowing it was there. Note use of the past tense-it is also closed.
I really like Take it Easy Thai (esp. the duck curry) but have learned to make my own so no longer go. Neither version may be authentic but I'm happy with either.
Also, Hawaian Walk-In on 15th if you're down with the plate lunch thing. Lemon chicken wasn't as good as I remembered last time but still a deal for meat with 2 starches, rice and mac salad.
I've lived in this hood a long time and am really sad that most of the cool old stuff is disappearing and getting replaced by fancy/ expensive places, many of whom are bad neighbors to people who actually live here.
Congrats to the OP on your new gig.
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Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609
Wow - my tastes are really changing as I get older...anyone else?
Try organic bananas. Some years ago I started tasting a bitterness in bananas which ceased to be a problem when I switched to organic. My best guess is that I (and perhaps you) was/were tasting the pesticides.
meaningless slogans
Sign at BBQ place:
"So good you'll slap your momma."
What possible connection could there be between food quality and domestic abuse?
Rude *and* their potato salad sucked
