DeborahL's Profile
Biscoff Spread aka Speculoos [moved from Food Media and News board]
Hey hounds, check out what CHOW's Supertaster thought of Biscoff Spread and Speculoos in this recent video review:
http://www.chow.com/food-news/116354/supertaster-daily-a-tale-of-two-cookie-spreads/
Deborah from CHOW
B & M Mei Sing [San Francisco]
Great prices, huge portions. I recently had the scrambled eggs with shrimp, and I prefer my eggs well done so it was just right, and just what I was looking for that day: a big pile of comfort food.
Summer Oatmeal (cold)
So I tried this both the original way (oats, yogurt, milk--or soy milk, in my case) and as Caitlin described. I had steel-cut oats on hand, so I used them instead of rolled. And I used vanilla soy milk and full-fat plain yogurt. First I mixed 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup yogurt, and 1/3 cup soy milk; then in a separate container I mixed 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup yogurt, and frozen berries.
I have to say, I liked the second way better! I mixed in a teaspoon of turbinado sugar this morning, cuz I've got quite a sweet tooth and it was too tart for me otherwise, even with the berries. But it was so easy--both ways are so easy--and it was a great way to use up the frozen berries that I had sitting in the freezer.
I liked the soy milk version too--I mixed in raisins this morning--but I've always preferred a more porridge-y consistency to runnier, for oatmeal or cream of wheat or even soups. And the soy milk didn't add much flavor.
What a great breakfast or snack: fiber, protein, low-calorie, tasty. And it's so ridiculously easy. I'm gonna be putting this one into regular rotation.
Summer Oatmeal (cold)
This sounds so tasty. I'm wondering if anyone's tried it with soy milk? Maybe I'll have to be the first...
Sumo tangerines - serial citrus!!
I've fallen in love with these, after reading about them on Chowhound here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/768630
I found them at Whole Foods labeled "sumo mandarins" so I thought they were oranges. Now I understand that they are an orange-tangerine hybrid, which makes sense/explains why I love them so much. I prefer sweet to tart.
http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/SUMO_CITRUS_7513.php
you can eat the skin!!!
"Or, they just do not like the taste, or the texture."
That's it in a nutshell for me. I know there's flavor in there from the cooking perspective, but I'm just not a fish skin fan.
Stumbled upon great way to keep bread fresh!
What a great idea! I'm in the same boat: single-person household, don't like the quality of bread after freezing, don't want to always have to buy bread with preservatives to keep it from going moldy. I've always kept my bread in the toaster oven, but that's more for space-saving on the counter; it still dries out/gets stale in there. I'm gonna try the microwave now. Thanks for the tip!
Devil's Teeth Baking Company in the Outer Sunset?
Ate here for the first time last weekend. I agree that the breakfast sandwich is a great value, large and tasty, and they were nice enough to sub tomato for the bacon at my request. The biscuit was heavenly, flaky and buttery. The sandwich could use some seasoning though (maybe just mine since it was baconless?). The staff are super friendly, and the shop was consistently busy during the hour and a half I was there. I love the parklet right out front. I didn't think any of the baked goods I tried were remarkable (carrot cake, chocolate chip cookie, apricot oat scone--there were three of us, I didn't eat all that myself!). They were good, just not worth a special trip IMO. However Devil's Teeth is a charming spot, and a perfect destination for a weekend bike ride/breakfast (for me, anyways, living in the Western Addition), so I'll definitely be returning.
Sumo citrus - enormously good to eat
Just bought two sumo mandarins at Whole Foods in SOMA/Fourth Street (they were $2.99 a pound, on sale from $3.99 a pound). Typically I don't go for oranges of any kind--too much work to peel (yes, lazy) and I don't like the seeds. But since reports here mentioned the ease of peeling and the seedless-ness, as well as the sweetness (my favorite part of fruit), I decided to check them out. I just peeled and ate the first one and liked it a lot, especially the lack of seeds. It does have a tang to it, which creeps in after the sweetness. I still prefer apples for my afternoon snack--they seem more filling, maybe they have more fiber?--but I will happily gobble up my second sumo tomorrow.
foods you eat to get full without consuming too many calories?
Other snacks that work for me:
Hard-boiled egg
Plain Greek/strained yogurt mixed with Sriracha to use as a dip for baby carrots (this one is great, just had it for the first time, got the idea here on Chowhound http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/809178)
I think someone posted here also about mixing the five flavors (sweet, sour etc) which makes a ton of sense to me. Salty and sweet are really the only two that matter to me, and if I combine them (peanut butter with apple slices) I feel satisfied. But if I have only one, I'm craving the other right away and end up counter-snacking, which can lead to a vicious cycle.
foods you eat to get full without consuming too many calories?
I have been thinking about this exact topic a lot lately. I've changed my diet considerably the last couple of years along with increasing my exercise, and now it's about maintaining my weight/fitness, but I rarely feel sated/satisfied by eating "right/well." I sure do miss those carbs! Which means I periodically fall off the wagon. It's hard to strike a balance between delicious and satisfying and healthy.
I try to stick with the 90/10 rule (eat well 90 percent of the time, eat whatever I want 10 percent of the time). And I definitely subscribe to the protein/good carb philosophy (I start every morning with apple slices and peanut butter, for example, or I eat plain Greek yogurt with dried fruit for dessert). Salads are rarely satisfying to me--if you eat, say, a whole head of iceberg lettuce in your salad (which I've done, and I honestly like sweet, crunchy iceberg) then yes, I feel full. But not for that long.
I'm now trying to incorporate more lean protein into my diet. I'm vaguely pescatarian, meaning up till now fish was an occasional extravagance. But these days I'm eating tuna regularly, and trying to work in salmon too (got a great salmon patty recipe from a CH thread about canned salmon).
For snacks, I fall back on peanut butter and apples (or PB & banana), or cheese and apples, or just an apple, or sometimes a 100-calorie bag of microwave popcorn or some nuts and fruit.
But honestly, there are times when nothing will do except a big plate of pasta or a huge rice bowl, or something along those lines. (Which I recognize isn't a snack, more a comment on my eating philosophy/bugaboos.) 90/10 baby!
Food trucks: which ones are really good and which ones are just fads
I tried the JapaCurry truck today for the first time (parked on Howard near First in SF), and I thought it was both affordable and fast. Granted I went about 10 minutes before they were closing (1:35pm) and that meant they were out of all the bento boxes, but I had the veggie croquette curry and liked it a lot. I've never had Japanese curry before, and I'd say I prefer it over Indian curry. The price was right ($7.50 for the veggie) and the pumpkin croquette was especially tasty. I also liked the little pickles included (pickled daikon maybe?). I like the truck concept rather than a restaurant because I rarely eat out at work; if I go out for food at all it's to take it back and eat while I'm working. So the truck is a better option for me, and if I go during "off" hours I don't have to stand in line. I would definitely visit JapaCurry again--it was tasty, filling, affordable, and quick (for me).
What do you do with canned salmon? Not salmon patties.
I tried your method/recipe last night rsharpe and really liked it. I had to improvise a tiny bit (no breadcrumbs or crackers in the house, so I used matzoh) and I did include Old Bay in the mix. I quite liked it and will make this again for sure. Thanks!
Galette 88 - SF
Had lunch here today with two friends. I liked that it's a little off the beaten path and therefore was not overrun/impossible to get a seat. I had the "Goat Getter" (the crepe names are playful), goat cheese and caramelized onions and fig jam. I was in a more savory mood so at times found the fig jam to be a little too overwhelming, but in the end its sweetness was actually perfect for breaking up the richness of the cheese. I would've liked a much larger serving of salad for the same reason: The greens and dressing were a nice (and necessary) foil for the richness of the crepe.
Friends had the Other Mushroom crepe and the Lumberjack crepe; both were pleased with their choices. We were comped a dessert crepe because one of our three dishes took much longer to arrive, a very nice touch by the proprietor. We had the Nutella--how can you go wrong?
This was tasty and perfectly priced and a nice little lunchtime getaway. I'll be returning to Galette 88.
What do you do with canned salmon? Not salmon patties.
Thanks marvina, Brock Lee Robb, and Cilantra. I had found that as described it is pretty easy to remove the spine and most of the attached bones but wasn't sure about the inevitable remaining bits. Maybe I'll give it another try!
What do you do with canned salmon? Not salmon patties.
I hadn't seen anyone talk here about the fact that a lot of canned salmon contains bones. Do y'all buy the more expensive boneless canned salmon? I was just curious because aside from the extreme fishiness of it (and I like salmon generally), the bones are what put me off canned salmon.
Why can't I see the reviews on this recipe
We released a fix for this yesterday. Let us know if you continue to have a problem.
Deborah from CHOW
BUG: Recipe reviews not showing up
Hi davis_sq_pro, thanks for helping alert us to this issue. We released a fix for it yesterday. Let us know if you continue to have a problem.
Deborah from CHOW
Official 2011 Pumpkin Seed Thread
You might want to check out CHOW's 10 recipes for spiced up pumpkin seeds:
http://www.chow.com/galleries/38/10-ways-to-spice-up-pumpkin-seeds
Deborah from CHOW
why is there voting on tailgate recipes/ contest allready?
Hi again gingershelley. The rules have been updated to reflect the correct voting info:
http://www.chow.com/contests/kcmasterpiece-recipe-contest/rules
And the contest itself has always stated that voting began when the contest opened:
http://www.chow.com/contests/kcmasterpiece-recipe-contest
Sorry again for the confusion.
Deborah from CHOW
why is there voting on tailgate recipes/ contest allready?
Sorry for the confusion gingershelley. Actually, voting is open for the same time frame as the entry period. So voting began as soon as the contest began, and voting will end at the same time as the contest entry period ends.
Deborah from CHOW
Healthy Produce at 645 Clement Street
This was a great tip, thanks elise. Went to Healthy Produce yesterday, and as you mentioned, it's very well organized. The produce seems of high quality and there's a wide selection/variety, including some more exotic items. And the prices are great.
BAMBOO asia in FIDI opening this Thursday
Here's a link to Bamboo Asia:
http://www.chow.com/restaurants/925014/bamboo-asia
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Bamboo Asia
41 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94104
BAMBOO asia in FIDI opening this Thursday
Had lunch there last week, and the space was airy and bright, staff friendly and helpful, and I got a good amount of food for the price ($8). BUT, the menus are confusing and poorly placed. There are three stations: Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese. Pick your station, then start trying to read the menus, which are behind everyone's knees in line. You pick the form of item you want (bowl, salad, sandwich), then you pick your veggies, protein, sauce, sides if wanted, and drink/dessert. Trying to figure out what sauce goes with what protein while standing in a food line is too overwhelming IMO, and though the online menu lists specials of "prematched" items, I saw no listing of specials in the actual restaurant. I liked my Vietnamese bowl with tofu, veggies, and a smidge of peanut sauce, but with menus this complicated I think I'd rather sit down and order from a waiter after having time to think. And the menus need to be mounted UP HIGH, where people can see them from anywhere they're standing.
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Bamboo Asia
41 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94104
Who cooks in a hotel room?
Here's a brief humorous piece from CHOW about hotel-room cooking (including prominent use of the iron):
http://www.chow.com/food-news/53854/diy-room-service/
Carrying the aroma/stench of a restaurant home with you
Thanks for everyone's comments. It definitely is a more prevalent problem (for me) in places with open kitchens (Nopa) or that smoke/grill/fry the food (Mexican, pizza) or even just have particularly pungent food (Indian), those are good points. I guess I just never noticed being bothered by it 10 or 15 years ago, so I couldn't decide if something about restaurants/kitchens had changed, or if it was just me that had changed. I suppose the culprit could very well be the latter. :)
Carrying the aroma/stench of a restaurant home with you
Maybe it's just me--or maybe it's that a growing number of places seem to have open kitchens?--but more and more often I walk out of a restaurant and find that my clothes/jacket/hair/etc smell of said restaurant. And not in a pleasant way, in my opinion. I don't find "eau de short order grill" to be a pleasant perfume, and it seems to be cropping up even in finer establishments. For instance Nopa in SF--I like their food and have eaten there several times, but I'm always dismayed at the smell permeating my clothes when I leave.
Green Chile Kitchen in SF is another (big) offender; I even find it hard to breathe when I first walk in there, as if they are truly lacking in ventilation.
Is it just me? Am I just more bothered by this as I get older? Or is it actually more common these days for some reason? Anybody else mildly peeved by kitchen odors on your clothes after a meal out?
Most creative modern vegetarian/vegan
I'd say Gracias Madre (organic, vegan Mexican) is a don't-miss. I've eaten there twice and been wowed both times. I'm mostly vegetarian (eat fish occasionally) and would not naturally embrace things like nut cheeses (Gracias Madre uses cashew cheese) but I can't say enough good things about the food here. Organic, flavorful, not cheap but worth every penny for both flavor and enormous portions. Lovely house-made guac and corn tortillas, delectable tacos with sauteed mushrooms, great refried (black) beans, nicely spiced sweet potato quesadilla, knockout grilled summer squash. Other things eaten and enjoyed: sauteed seasonal greens with garlic and chile and pepitas, and a stew of seasonal greens and corn and chiles. I didn't love their mole, but that's my personal taste preference. And the house-made ginger beverage was a bit too pungent for me personally. But this is my favorite restaurant in the city, the most consistently flavorful food I've had.
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Gracias Madre
2211 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Best Veggie Burger in SF
I look forward to hearing more vulber. I'd crossed Source off my list after reading a review that sounded like the place might not be worth checking out, or rather, like they're not doing anything so special that it'd be a place to visit over my standard favorites.
