1sweetpea's Profile
Vegetarian sub for duck in smoked duck lasagna? No soy/fake meat.
If you grill the eggplant slices over low heat on a closed BBQ that has a tray of soaked wood chips, you might be able to infuse the eggplant with a nice smoky flavor. Portabello mushrooms, thickly sliced, might yield a similar result. I'd opt for the eggplant over the mushrooms, because the recipe already contains morels. If you keep the eggplant slices thick, there will be plenty of meaty chew to it.
I would advise against using tomatoes, as it will throw off the moisture content and possibly result in a soggy or outright watery lasagna. Sundried tomatoes might be an option instead, but the flavor is very strong, which could ruin the lasagna.
I know you said that you don't eat soy or fake meat, but have you tried mock duck, made from wheat gluten? It has a pretty impressive texture. If you're making lasagna, I doubt you have issues with wheat or gluten, especially in light of some of the ingredients you listed.
Make ahead meals for Elderly
What about making a list and letting him choose from it, or even modify the choices based on his tastes (i.e. subbing one vegetable for another)? Open-ended questions can result in blank stares. Brainstorming takes a lot of effort and creativity that your uncle is probably short of after his time in the rehab. Just a few leading questions or suggestions might get his mind, and appetite, working.
Make ahead meals for Elderly
Sandylc, I so know of what you speak. My mom was in the hospital for many months fighting a staph infection from a hip replacement disaster. She is only now in a rehab. She has Parkinson's Disease and is on a cocktail of meds, which have no doubt altered her sense of taste. The food at the rehab is bleak for her, as it is a minced/soft foods diet, to combat swallowing issues connected with the Parkinson's. I have been making soups from scratch, with chunky vegetables and chicken, stews and other foods to offset the bland stuff she's being served there. I once made a carrot, parsnip and ginger puree and she hated it. I was stymied at first, but then realized that the ginger was probably too powerful for her tastebuds, which have not only been dulled from her months of infection and antibiotics, but also by the other drugs she must take. What is most frustrating, though, is that what she craves is the salty, packaged convenience foods that she's relied on for years. Cooking was never really her thing. It is only as an independent adult that I have moved away from all the mixes, packages, cans and frozen stuff that she and my dad live on. She does appreciate the foods I make from scratch, and marvels at the flavors, but when she asks my dad to bring her treats, they are often junky, like Pringles, cookies, canned California olives, salty deli meats, challah bread. I'm positively thrilled that she eats and enjoys the wide variety of vegetables I sneak into her soups and stews. I don't even tell her what herbs or vegetables I've used, unless she specifically asks.
grilled pork sandwich ideas?
Consider working 5-spice into the marinade for grilled pork banh mi. So good! I don't bother with soy sauce, but definitely fish sauce, black pepper, sugar, lots of garlic and ginger and perhaps shallots. I wouldn't even use mayo on this banh mi, as the marinade is so flavorful and makes for juicy meat. However, I'm a heat fan and would probably use sriracha in place of the mayo or butter that finds its way into most banh mi.
Jubba - East African - Wyandotte St. Windsor, ON ( a DTW suburb)
No. The Congolese place did not survive, but it might have, had it been located along the same part of Wyandotte as Jubba. Jubba is quite close to the Ambassador Bridge.
"real" chinese food??
I live in a small city (200,000+), which has a small Chinese community. Most Chinese restaurants offer the combos of North Americanized fried slop with fried rice and dishwater wanton soup or fluorescent red hot and sour soup. A few also offer serviceable dim-sum and a menu that they don't translate from Cantonese/Mandarin into English. I spent several weeks in China about 8 years ago and had to face massive menus in Chinese characters that weren't translated. If they were, they were typically terrible translations that were often inaccurate. I observed most diners ordering directly with servers, without even glancing at menus. Locals know a) what the restaurant can do well and b) what ingredients are available and in season. I do believe that I can go into one of the more authentic restaurants in my city and just ask for what I want, assuming that the ingredients are readily available. I'm rarely turned down if I request gai lan (Chinese broccoli) or snow pea leaf or ong choi (water spinach). The "szechwan" restaurant in my city offers loads of combos that only the non-Chinese diners order, but they are thrilled to bring me shredded roast duck with ginger, or beef brisket and tendon with gai lan, or shredded chicken salad with black vinegar, cabbage and seaweeds. These are a far cry from chicken soo gai or chop suey or mu shu anything. It takes a lot of effort to get to the point where they don't bring a dinner plate, knife and fork automatically when you sit down, but don't despair. I can order hot and sour soup now and they automatically produce black vinegar, to make it more sour, without me asking. I do believe they they are happy that we are willing to delve deeper than the cheap combos, not simply because the dishes are more expensive, but because their foods appeal to us. I hate book tripe, but I'll try pretty much anything else, at least once. Chinese foods have opened my mind to pig's tongues, intestines, pig ears, chicken feet, fatty char siu, turnip cake, duck tongues and pig stomach ... less so tripe, but I'll keep trying. I can appreciate congee with thousand year old eggs and pork, or conpoy, or fermented fish/tofu.
The strongest words of encouragement I can offer you is to be honest with your local restaurant owners and servers. Tell them your desires and emphasize that you want to sample all the tastes of what they do best. Let them guide you, but only after you've emphatically stated how far you're willing to go .... today.
Kraft "real Parmesan cheese"
I grew up with the stuff in the cupboard, until I discovered the joys of good cheeses. Whenever I get a whiff of the stuff now, it smells a bit pukey to me. Granted, lots of cheeses have skanky odors, but the Kraft green canned stuff bears no resemblance to Parmigiano Reggiano in any way. If anything, it smells closer to Asiago and low quality Romano (not better pecorinos).
Mother's Day BRUNCH (list of places)
Not even the King Edward Hotel? I've always enjoyed their special occasion (i.e. Mother's Day, Easter, etc.) brunch buffets, if for no other reason than that they offer virtually everything a person could desire. It may not all be spectacular in execution, but boy, is the effort there. I get my money's worth in freshly squeezed OJ, 2 types of lox, shucked oysters, scallop ceviche, herring and other smoked and poached fishes, shellfish, grilled and roasted veggies and a host of interesting cold salads. Frankly, I've never left the salads room! I'm not interested in the tables or rooms laden with hot breakfast items or brunch fare, such as beef wellington, roast lamb and pork, chicken dishes, pastas, cioppino, etc. Ditto to the breads, muffins and breakfast pastries, the fruits, cheeses, dessert table, chocolate fountain and more. It's all there. I'm just a seafood and veggie fiend and I will stuff myself silly on the stuff.
Anyone seen GT's Organic Raw Kombucha bev in TO?
McEwan carries it, as does Bruno's.
Help with Polenta
You might want to Google recipes for mamaliga as well, which is the Romanian incarnation of polenta. It can be cooked with water, broth, milk or any combination of these. It is often topped with grated salty cheese that is not unlike sheep's milk feta, though softer. It can be really bland or really tasty. Regular cornmeal is often used, but the coarse, grit style lends texture. I quite enjoyed mamaliga, as I do grits and soft polenta. The key is to use enough salt, but not too much. The tasteless ones are typically lacking in salt.
Butter.
I bet it would be great with escargots. It would also be nice as a pat atop super lean fish or a filet mignon. When I was a child my mom would bake bran muffins (from a mix, sadly) that I enjoyed hot out of the oven with butter. Decadent. Any bread, bagel or roll fresh from a wood oven would be divine with good butter. Lastly, with garlic as a dipping sauce for steamed lobster or crab. YUM!
Cilantro...to use the stems or not?
I use the stems and leaves as garnishes or stirred into finished dishes. Roots are great for Thai and Vietnamese dishes. I make a spicy condiment from the entire bunch, roots and all, with Scotch Bonnets, lime and salt, that is awesome. Stems are tasty in a Southeast Asian broth or soup. The toughest aspect of cilantro is washing all the dirt and grit away and removing any brown or yellowing leaves and stems. Once clean, the entire bunch has uses.
Where to buy duck meat in Metro-Detroit
Only frozen at Peacock's, but perhaps if you called well in advance they could secure a fresh duck.
So, what IS the best Middle Eastern in Dearborn? [DTW]
Al-Ameer does a very nice spinach and chickpea salad and yummy baba ganouj. I have tried chicken shawarma there and found it only okay. I was most disappointed when my order of falafel arrived and the balls were clearly pre-fried then refrigerated. They had been heated, either in the fryer or the microwave, but were cold and dried out inside. Unacceptable. Who is frying falafel fresh to order? Also, whose raw kibbee is made with fresh lamb leg and worth trying?
Critique my "must try" list for Toronto!
My preferred Ethiopian restaurant is Dukem on the Danforth, though I've had a single meal that I enjoyed at Rendez-vous. I wasn't wowed by Lalibela.
Regarding Sunflower Kitchen's soups, as mentioned earlier by Prima, I saw 4 different varieties yesterday at Bruno's in Delisle Court.
I'd throw in Cava as a worthwhile visit. The menu never seems to change much, but what they do, they do well. I enjoy the more adventurous items on the menu, such as tripe, sweetbreads, foie gras, king fish ceviche, beef heart anticuchos, etc.
To migrants, ex-pats, aliens and transplants, what do you miss?
Don't make me go buy ketchup-flavoured Ringolos just to figure out what you find so addictive!!! Damn. I'm putting on my jacket. Where are my car keys?
Cold Food
My husband loves cold pizza. For me, I think the standard issue pizzas taste better hot, but when it comes to the gourmet, wood oven, thin crust pizzas, the herbs and gourmet toppings often have a more pronounced taste when cold. This is particularly true with pizzas that use basil pesto instead of tomato sauce. The basil, pine nut and garlic blend seems to get muted when hot and competing with the pizza's other ingredients.
Ruby Watchco or Woodlot?
I love the concept of RW, but when I peruse the upcoming menus, none ever wow me. For the per-person price, I'd like to feel like I'm being presented with something I wouldn't whip up in my own kitchen. They don't have to reinvent the wheel, but I do think the ingredients and/or presentation should be a little special. Many of the menus sound really meat-and-potatoes to me.
Does anyone LIKE matza?
My cousin makes 3 types of matzah candy each year and the family goes crazy for it. I avoided it for years, knowing that I have no self control when it comes to sweets. One year, I missed passover and a bag of it was sent home for me. Ever since, I've been unable to resist them calling to me from the dessert table.
Looking for Altovinum Evodia Garnacha 2010 in TO?
I've listed an email address in place of my real name in my profile. I'm willing to pick up a case for you, but I will have to declare it at customs and pay duty. Just send me an email, if you wish.
Looking for Altovinum Evodia Garnacha 2010 in TO?
Actually, he said that the dozen bottles he picked up yesterday were 2010s. The 09 I mentioned was based on one I saw in the wine rack at home.
It's safer to just declare the wine when crossing the border. Even with the duty, it's still about $10 US per bottle.
Looking for Altovinum Evodia Garnacha 2010 in TO?
My husband buys the 2009 Evodia a dozen bottles at a time from Costco in Michigan ($7). If Costco carries it, there must be a whole lot of it available, though I see that the LCBO does not carry it.
Does anyone LIKE matza?
I never gave much thought to K for P products when they were household items, but now that I live in a city with a tiny Jewish population, it's much tougher to find matzah, gefilte fish and other Passover standards. Now, of course, I want some! I'm supposed to bring the seder plate components to our family seder, which is in a different city. I'm not sure where I'm going to find matzah today, but I hope I can track some down or I'll be begging other family members to get some for me.
Guadalajara?
My lunch at Birria de los Nueve Esquinas was awesome. I had barbacoa de borrego and my husband had the birria de chivo. My barbacoa was delicious and so tender, but his birria was out of this world. The consomme was so rich and spice laden (allspice perhaps, cloves?). I could have just picked up the bowl and taken a sip, except it would have been all over me!
Our other meals were in Tlaquepaque. We were a bit confined to places with sidewalk tables, since we have a dog, so we may have missed out big time with the pescado/marisco places that don't allow pets. We did have excellent torta ahogadas on the street, though. One restaurant, San Pedro del Rio, allowed us to dine inside the restaurant. The guacamole was heavenly and the sopa de mariscos was better than some bouillabaisses I have tasted.
Iso authentic Vietnamese food
Okay, so the last time I was Tien Thanh, I asked about this pho with the fat globs and was told that the English description is inadequate. It is not rare, brisket and tendon in the bowl, but rare and the FATTY tendon portion of the brisket. The server told me that many diners, mostly Asians, like the richness of that cut and order it regularly. When a non-regular patron orders that dish, they usually confirm that it is what they truly want, BUT ... if the server doesn't really speak English well and the diner is definitely an anglophone, they often skip the confirmation and just give regular brisket instead, to avoid the awkwardness of complaints and a bowl being returned to the kitchen. My guess is that when new pho joints create their menus, they look online and take the descriptions from other menus, because any place that offers this option seems to have the same ambiguous description. I'd love to provide a better description so that those that want the fatty brisket will get it and those that don't, won't. I can't deny that the fat globs make the broth taste AMAZING, but the fat just isn't what I want clogging my arteries.
3 days in Toronto
Hmm, isn't May live spot-prawn season? Consider making a visit to one of the Cantonese restaurants that specializes in live seafood and good wok-hai (very high heat wok cooking). Only O Mei springs to mind at the moment (Highway 7), but there are a handful that get mentioned on these boards. A search for spot prawns or even lobster 4-ways, should turn up a bunch of threads extolling the virtues of a bunch of bustling Chinese restaurants north of the city, in suburbia.
I'd also recommend heading north to Richmond Hill or Markham for dim-sum, although I enjoy the very high end and frou-frou dim-sum at Lai Wah Heen. The nice thing there is that many items are ordered by the piece, which means that two of you don't have to double up on dumplings and sacrifice variety because you're stuffed. The downside is that one piece often costs as much or more than 3 or 4 pieces would at another place! I do, however, give them points for artistry and innovation with ingredients. I think on a Monday you'll find a pretty quiet, elegant and sedate room, not unlike a weekday high tea outing.
I love Ethiopian food in Toronto. There are a number of options, but I'm fond of Dukem and Rendez-vous on Danforth, west of Coxwell. They're super casual, not known for speedy service, but just a pleasant meal to share when you're not in a rush. Save the cocktails for before or after, elsewhere.
If you're looking for a nice evening out, consider Chiado for upscale Portuguese. I probably wouldn't send you for Mexican or other Latin American cuisine, because I suspect you have great options in Chicago.
I think what Toronto offers is cultural immersion. I love stepping into a Korean restaurant and feeling like I've entered another country. I love that I can find a Hunan restaurant or one specializing in Shandong or Western Chinese (Muslim) cuisine. Very cool. Lots of places serve pan-Indian or pan-Asian food, but we have places that focus on the foods of one region of India, one region of China, Tibetan, Tanzanian, Eritrean food, Persian, Tunisian food, Afghani, Armenian, Ukrainian, etc. When my husband and I return to Toronto from a smaller city a few hours away, where we currently live, we ask each other whose food we want to eat, meaning: from which culture/country, not what restaurant we want.
3 days in Toronto
I've always known roti to be more from the Caribbean (Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica). I would imagine that that the curried items in most roti either represent Caribbean takes on curries, or else are a fusion of Indian, by way of the Caribbean. I think Gandhi's brings Indian standards, such as saag paneer, channa masala and butter chicken to the roti concept. It's the kind of stick-to-your ribs food that will stuff you silly for the entire day, so either share one between the two of you or don't plan on eating a whole lot that day.
Where to find Gummy Candies in Toronto
A lot of Asian stores sell Haribo candies. You could look in the Korean Galleria store, or T & T.
Looking for Good Pho soup near Western U in london
I love places that will customize. My fave Windsor place will put baby bok choy in any bowl for $1 extra. They will switch noodles in most noodle bowls as well, though I'm not sure about the bun bo hue. One of these days I will get to one of the Huron St. places. I've been hearing about them for a decade.
Pho Dau Bo in Kitchener isn't bad. It's really all about timing for us. If we get on the road really early from Windsor we'd probably wait until we hit the GTA for our Viet fix. If we're passing by London and it's after 11 am, we'll probably stop there. I suspect if we've gotten as far as the K/W area, we'll just continue to Toronto. Besides, if we're going to Pho Dau Bo I'd rather go to the one at Finch and Weston, which makes a killer pho. The sliced, pickled Scotch bonnet chiles are unbelievably good in the pho, as is the sawtooth herb.
Looking for Good Pho soup near Western U in london
Prima, do those My Tho bowls come with a soup on the side option? I get one in Windsor (option of hu tieu, mi or my tho noodles) that comes with soup on the side, but also a seasoning sauce. Dump all, plus lemon, in the bowl and something amazing happens. The version in soup is also good, but not nearly as delicious as the "dry" version. I'd love to find something like this in London, though I suspect I'll have trouble getting my husband to stray too far from the 401 when we're just passing through on our way to Toronto or back to Windsor.
Thanks for your honesty, Jinxie. My pho at Pho Haven was pleasant, just not a knockout, and very pricey at that. There were a few other tables taken while we were there, but it was Family Day and a lot of restaurants were closed, so I suppose they benefited from being open from 11 am, which is when we arrived. I wish them well. The food was fine, just pricey. I will say that the tea was wonderful and the decor very pleasant. I could have napped in the jasmine scented washrooms. They were spotless and very lovely. All of this, of course, is most unexpected given my experiences at many a standard pho joint throughout southern Ontario. Most are spartan at best, and occasionally a bit sketchy, especially the washrooms! Having eat pho in scruffy alleyways in Vietnam, on plastic streetside stools or in hole-in-the-wall soup kitchens, Pho Haven felt like 4-star dining. My husband ordered a vegetarian noodle stir fry which was tasty, but very salty and he said it seemed like a quickie Chinese mall-style stir fry with a house sauce splashed on at the appropriate moment. It sure smelled yummy, but after a taste, I could see his point. I will say that they did a wonderful job with the veggies. They were still bright and firm, but just cooked. The location isn't great, unless you live in that area, so I can see why they are frequently lacking for customers.
