Ilaine

Re: halal veal. Do you know if the calves are humanely raised? Or is it just the way they are slaughtered that makes them halal?

The white soup is seollantang (sullong tang), made from long simmered beef bones. Full of calcium. Koreans don't consume dairy, so this is a good source of calcium for them.

Not a greasy spoon, quite the opposite, in Culpeper check out It's About Thyme. Cute little market, nice restaurant. Good food, pleasant ambiance. Lots of money in horse country. For country ham and sausage, try Calhoun's, just around the corner from It's About Thyme. People rave about Foti's but we tried it twice and it just did not click for us. There is a tendency for upscale restaurants in more rural areas to try to be all things to all people. I think this is a big mistake but recognize that for every discerning diner there are many more who just want big steaks and baked potatoes and feel like they are getting ripped off if they pay a lot of money for the kind of food you can buy at It's About Thyme, the prices of which, may I say, compared to DC, are very reasonable. I would be interested to know what constitutes high-end dining in Cville. My son lived there for three years and we were never able to find any.

I was at this market on Friday at lunch time, did not see the pig, probably it's for the third anniversary celebration? I prefer the Super H in Fairfax because it's bigger, not so crowded, more stuff, but the Annandale one is midway between my house and my office, so I go there more often. They often have ladies preparing food and handing out free samples, which I gratefully ate in lieu of getting lunch. Now that I have given up dairy and wheat, Asian cuisine has become a good source for non-dairy food, although the sauces are not usually gluten free. I have to read the labels carefully and sometimes they are very sketchy. And I have no idea what the prepared food is just by looking at it, and nobody speaks English except the customers and some of the managers. The workers are either Korean or Hispanic. I would love to organize a trip to a Korean grocery store with some Koreans who would explain what everything is and the mysteries of Korean cuisine. Probably should make this a new topic, or maybe one already exists.

Just wanted to say that after many months of trying to convince myself I was just "better without wheat" but could take it or leave it, I decided, "No gluten. None." Due, not to philosophy, but chronically painful innards. I probably still get some gluten from, say, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, although not willingly, but cannot get over how much better I feel. Wish I had done this long ago. Also, at this point in time, no dairy. None. No eggs. None. No fatty meat. None. Fish, mostly. No sugar, other than fruit. None. And low sugar fruit. Berries, mostly. It's still a work in progress. But I feel ever so much better. Pain in innards almost gone. Pain in joints, almost gone. Swelling in joints, almost gone. Numbness in toes, almost gone. Toying now with the idea of no grains. I probably don't have any problem with corn or rice or oats, but awaiting clarity. Radical thought, what about no starch? Hmmmm. No, I think beets and carrots and sweet potatoes and so forth are probably OK. Another thought, as someone whose mitochondrial DNA (from mother-to-grandmother-to-great-grandmother, etc.) is Native American and is closely related to people in Asia, maybe I should eat like an Asian, not a European?

So glad you did not fall down, Zora. So, what did you think about the chow?

One reason might be to give searchers a way to avoid the rising use, nay, inundation, of recipes by rackets that cut-and-paste pther people's content onto seemingly-benign websites in order to do something-or-other that involves gazillions of links to unrelated content? eHow for example?

My friend is very pleased with the recommendation, she and her sister have signed up for a private class this coming Monday. I got a great big hug and a request that I thank you.

Co-worker's sister is in town until 7/20/11 and wants to take a cake decorating class with her. Suggestions?

Not sure whether Girasole is authentic anything but we ate there once last year and enjoyed ourselves very much. We were coming back from a visit to Sky Meadows, took a detour hoping to find something to eat, drove past it, and then turned back because it looked lovely, and so it was. We had no expectations whatsoever. Very much a thing of the moment, but what we experienced was appreciated. It was late summer, and the flowers in the garden were beautiful, and the sunlight was beautiful. My sense is that, like so many restaurants out in the country, they try to sell cater to all palates and that means something that pretty much anybody would like, e.g., steak. But we found things we liked.

There IS SO something wrong with poutine! There are SO MANY things wrong with poutine! There . . . . just . . . . ARE . . . . ARE . . . . ARGH!

Economy ~ a lot of those fancy meals were paid for by expense accounts, wining and dining customers, contacts and prospects. For several reasons, those days may be gone. Not so much money sloshing around. Even if there is money it looks bad to be eating like a lord when the employees are doing twice as much work for no more money. And political climate has put the kibosh on wining and dining Congress critters anymore. Demographics - aging - there is a widening gap between the haves and have-nots. And the haves are getting older. Personally I have lost tolerance for wheat, dairy, saturated fat, and sodium. Have to watch what I eat. A lot of older people are like that. Looking forward to Barbara Kafka's upcoming new release, "The Intolerant Gourmet." Demographics - empowerment of women. It used to be that eating out was a special treat, and you'd get all dressed up for a special occasion, where Mom could get all dolled up and did not have to do the dishes. But that's not my generation. You still see this on, say, Mother's Day, where for some women it's still a very special treat to be taken out, and they get all dressed up for brunch. Personal style - I just don't want to be fawned on. I want good food, and that's it. Happy as a clam to have my special meals at Rays or Dinos. No desire to even try The Inn at Little Washington. And what's the point of the funny thing that the wait staff do with their fingers when serving bread at Eve's, anyway? It creeps me out. Good manners are natural. Dignified, respectful, friendly, whatever suits the place and the time. Artificial manners are not good manners. False dichotomy - fancy interior decorating does not improve the quality of the food.

In an ideal world, snipping off your own sprouts, or pulling a bunch of bean sprouts from a large tub would be a healthful act, but what about people who don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom or coughing or sneezing? Heck, half the time doctors still don't wash their hands between patients in hospitals. I am perturbed because I eat a nice grocery store salad bar salad almost every day. Whole Foods, Giant, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Shoppers. Spring mix, shredded carrot, shredded red cabbage, chopped celery, sliced mushrooms, sliced peppers, sunflower seeds, and what have you, taken back to the office and eaten at my desk with organic virgin olive oil, wine vinegar, and a big sprinkle of Mrs. Dash. Slow sodium, no trans fats, gluten-free, lactose-free, eat-the-rainbow and all that. But at least in a salad bar there are sneeze guards, there are serving spoons for every item, and at the base is a cooler. As a salad bar aficionado, I have observed that some salad bar wallahs really take it to an art form, some at least take it seriously, and some are just going through the motions. I hope that these recent tragic events will raise the consciousness of salad bar wallahs everywhere.

They take debit cards, too. I don't think of that as "credit", per se.

Older son and I are coming, bringing a cooler with ice and an eclectic assortment of strange non-alcoholic beverages. Probably buy beer when we stop for ice. Doubt we'll be there before 2:00. Can't believe how soundly I slept!

I am planning on preparing several batches of smoked meat broth to see which one I like best. The goal is to come up with a go-to base for beans or greens. Batch one, smoked ham hocks from Whole Food BBQ department in Fair Lakes. Batch two, smoked turkey drumsticks from Whole Food BBQ department in Fair Lakes. Batch 3, smoked turkey drumsticks, from Koch but sold by Whole Food. My thought is to add carrot, celery, and parsley to the broth. Chicken broth, as part of the base? Herbs? I am thinking that onions and garlic should be reserved for the final dish. My guess, in advance, based on prior experience, is that the Koch drumsticks will have an acrid flavor, although they claim that they are natural. Boil and/or rinse first, to get rid of surface smoke? Or let the chips fall where they may?

After watching news about flooding in Louisiana, I decided to go to the annual Louisiana State Society crawfish boil and show solidarity for my old home state. Wish they were not both on the same day.

Will be there. What to bring? Awaiting inspiration. Weather is so variable. Will it be hot, or cold? Rainy, or dry? Sunny, or cloudy? Husband, who usually can be relied upon for heavy lifting, is playing bagpipes at the Virginia Renaissance Faire. Over the years I have found that dishes that taste so good after the short trip from kitchen to dining room don't survive so well in the back of the SUV during the trip to Fort Hunt and hours on a picnic table. Something springlike. European. Vegetable intensive. Awaiting inspiration. I would bring the charcoal grill, for asparagus, portobellos, bell peppers, and other lovelies, but, to be honest, this is the husband's forte, not mine. Risotto primavera? It won't be good after hours on the picnic table. Hmmmm.

Looking for peeled young coconuts. Any sightings? Especially interested in ones such as these from Frieda's produce that don't require hammers, chisels, machetes, cleavers, or battle axes.

I think it is. My paper menu is at the office so can't say for sure but did the one you went to have a graphic of a lady who was wearing sort of a Heidi costume if Heidi was from El Salvador?

Off topic, perhaps, but Dona Azucena in Springfield on Hechinger Drive makes amazing pupusas, too. My favorite also the Revuelta (pork, cheese, beans). I never use the hot sauce but never remember to say I don't want it and am always amazed when I open up my to-go-bag back at my desk to see a little plastic baggie of hot sauce. I would think a baggie of hot sauce violates the Geneva Convention? Would make a great weapon . . . . At any rate, leaving that aside, those pupusas are tasty little suckers. Less than $2 each. I am susceptible to heartburn but these never give me heartburn.

OK, well, whatever the lunch, don't forget the wine drinking, the candle burning, the hand holding, the music, the dancing, and the love making. Not that you would, of course . . . . As for candles, let me give a pitch here for unscented real beeswax candles. The candles, well, they are hard to find. For some reason, people prefer ones with color and scent. But nothing, really nothing can compare.They smell like heaven, or real flowers, what is the difference? Nothing can compare, not paraffin, not soy, and not any kind of scent. And nothing so erotic as a bedside illuminated by candle light.

Had some interesting quinoa soup at a Bolivian restaurant in Springfield, in the site of the old Village Chicken, formerly a Peruvian chicken restaurant, still (improbably) called Village Chicken, 6715 Backlick Road Springfield, VA 22150. My honest review of the restaurant in general is that it's plain home cooking if your mom is Bolivian, and a good cook but not a superlative cook. I went there because it was reviewed by Tom Sietsema and I work in Springfield. Only went there once, so far, so not enough to start a new thread for it. I just wanted to mention the quinoa soup. The broth was pleasing, meaty tasting, as well as vegetal, lots of parsley and herbs. Maybe half a white potato, maybe half a hacked chicken leg, a piece of beef, one by three inches, cooked into submission, in a largish bowl. Not much else to say about the soup as soup so let's move on. I like soup. And now I like quinoa soup. The server, probably also one of the owners, told me that the quinoa is cooked along with everything else, from the beginning. The quinoa was almost completely translucent, giving a very pleasant body to the broth. All you could really see of the quinoa was the little semicircular germ, although the quinoa itself had not completely dissolved, and remained distinct. I liked the effect well enough to say I found it revelatory, and intend to put quinoa in soups and braises as a thickener for the foreseeable future, because I am not eating wheat anymore, and it seems like an ideal way to thicken broth without gluten, that is to say, without flour. Not slimy as oat groats can be, not starchy and absorbing everything around it as rice can do. Not like anything else at all, and very nice. Of course one could expect Bolivian moms to know how to cook with quinoa, but who knew what Bolivian moms actually do with quinoa? Why didn't I ask myself that before?

Sorry to be dense but what is the thing about prix fixe? Lunch is lunch, no? And why not dinner? If money is a problem, why not pick the most wonderful place you can afford for a relaxed dinner, then go home, drink wine or cocktails, play music, burn candles, hold hands, dance, make love? Just saying . . . .

I've seen a couple of induction burners in action in the wild. For brunch at Brion's Grille in University Mall in Fairfax, the omelets are cooked to order on free standing induction burners. The omelet wallah used to cook the omelets on gas and prefers the induction burner because he thinks it is less dangerous. He looks to be late high school, early college age, and when questioned about whether he would want an induction cooktop when he has his own place, opined that when he has his own place, he won't be doing the cooking, so it would be up to his (hypothetical) wife. But the waffle and pasta wallah opined that he would love to have an induction cooktop but thought that the pots and pans would be very expensive. He is somewhat older than the omelet wallah, but I surmise that at home the pots and pans are made of aluminum. New Season in Loemans Plaza in Falls Church uses induction cooktops for the hot pot, which one cooks oneself, so I have used that. It seems to be very responsive and fast, perhaps faster and more responsive than gas.