What are you eating?

[BorisG]

Nice.  The hood above the stove looks nice.  The oven's being more than one movement away would sorta bug me but watcha gonna do?
I like the wheels on the chairs!!!

I prefer gas most of the time and I don't really mind electric stoves, but this one is super old so it's really pretty bad:




Allan


What did you burn?

[toledobass]

Those are the wings from the chicken.  They look like lumps of coal in that pic.  They're super brown and I'm not gonna say they aren't burned, but they were ok to eat and didn't taste bitter.

Allan

[SonicMan46]

Nice.  The hood above the stove looks nice.  The oven's being more than one movement away would sorta bug me but watcha gonna do?
I like the wheels on the chairs!!!

I prefer gas most of the time and I don't really mind electric stoves, but this one is super old so it's really pretty bad:

Well, the stove & oven are just separted by the door to the den, so easy to move 'things' between them, as needed - Thermidor cook top w/ a center grill; the overhead exhaust was their 'super' one (can't remember the airflow but was at least 50% more - really works well w/ the grilling); the wall units are KitchenAid - mircrowave on top; oven below w/ standard or convection settings - really works well w/ roasting things, like chicken - another nice feature was the conversion of many of the cabinets to 'full-extension' drawers, like the ones below the cook top - we've been quite pleased - 

[Sergeant Rock]

I've managed to have bacon for everything but lunch today. 
Allan

Something to work towards.* 

Bacon, bacon, spam and bacon


Sarge

[uffeviking]

My kitchen with the glass top stove. - (I cleaned it before the photo session, also left no burnt chicken wings! -)

And this is my favourite cook ware!

[George]

Yeah, it's a shake, but trust me, this is food, not a drink:

-Mocha Supreme
Coconut shake, almond butter, plantain, carob, and flaxmeal. LIVE

[Lilas Pastia]

You got your birthday present, congrats! 

Koivu made a comeback after injury already in the previous game. He's your captain, but not fluent in French, what's the general opinion about that?

To be slightly less OT:

I had two slices of toast for breakfast, one with cheese, one with cherry jam. And coffee.

Edit: to be exact, not Paul Coffey. 

Hi, Matti, Koivu is a hero here, and most people don't mind too much about his refusal to learn French, even though he's been living here for over a decade (I'm talking about the québécois of course, not the anglos who couldn't care less about that). As a person and an athlete he's a role model to many kids.

I had fettucine Alfredo and a green salad today.

[toledobass]

(I cleaned it before the photo session, also left no burnt chicken wings! -)

Whatever....

And this is my favourite cook ware!

What kind of cookware is that? it looks brand new.

Allan

[uffeviking]

The photo is over six month old; took it after I unpacked the shipment from Le Creuset. Their stainless steel items are a new addition to their line, a lot lighter than their cast iron enemaled cookware. It still looks like this after half a year of heavy use. 

[BorisG]

Wal-Mart's Sam's Club limits rice purchases

Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:12pm EDT

By Nicole Maestri

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Sam's Club warehouse division said on Wednesday it is limiting sales of several types of rice, the latest sign that fears of a rice shortage are rippling around the world.

Sam's Club, the No. 2 U.S. warehouse club operator, said it is limiting sales of Jasmine, Basmati and long grain white rice "due to recent supply and demand trends."

U.S. rice futures hitting an all-time high Wednesday on worries about supply shortages.

On Tuesday, Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. warehouse club operator, said it has seen increased demand for items like rice and flour as customers, worried about global food shortages and rising prices, stock up.

Sam's Club, the No. 2 U.S. warehouse club operator, is limiting sales of the 20-pound (9 kg), bulk bags of rice to four bags per customer per visit, and is working with suppliers to ensure the products remain in stock.

Warehouse clubs cater to individual shoppers as well as small businesses and restaurant owners looking to buy cheaper, bulk goods.

With prices for basic food items surging, customers have been going to the clubs to try to save money on bulk sizes of everything from pasta to cooking oil and rice.

Sam's Club said the large-sized bags of rice subject to the limits are typically purchased by its restaurant owner or food service customers.

Sam's Club said is not limiting sales of flour or cooking oil at this time. Costco said some of its stores have put limits on sales of items such as rice and flour, but it was trying to modify those restrictions to meet customer demand.

Costco Chief Executive James Sinegal told Reuters that he believed the recent surge in demand was being driven by media reports about rising global demand and shortages of basic food items in some countries.

Food costs have soared worldwide, spurred by increased demand in emerging markets like China and India; competition with biofuels; high oil prices and market speculation.

The situation has sparked food riots in several African countries, Indonesia, and Haiti. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that higher food prices could hurt global growth and security.

Rice prices have risen 68 percent since the start of 2008.

Trade bans on rice have been put in place by India, the world's second largest exporter in 2007, and Vietnam, the third biggest, in hopes of cooling domestic prices. Rice is a staple in most of Asia.

On Tuesday, Tim Johnson, president-CEO of California Rice Commission, which represents growers and millers of rice in the state, said: "Bottom line, there is no rice shortage in the United States. We have supplies."

Wal-Mart shares were up 0.4 percent to $56.80 in afternoon trading, while Costco shares rose 1.7 percent to $69.26. (Reporting by Nicole Maestri, editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Tim Dobbyn)

[BorisG]

Load Up the Pantry

Brett Arends, wsj.com

April 21, 2008

I don't want to alarm anybody, but maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food.

No, this is not a drill.

You've seen the TV footage of food riots in parts of the developing world. Yes, they're a long way away from the U.S. But most foodstuffs operate in a global market. When the cost of wheat soars in Asia, it will do the same here.

Reality: Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons to believe prices on the shelves are about to start rising a lot faster.

"Load up the pantry," says Manu Daftary, one of Wall Street's top investors and the manager of the Quaker Strategic Growth mutual fund. "I think prices are going higher. People are too complacent. They think it isn't going to happen here. But I don't know how the food companies can absorb higher costs." (Full disclosure: I am an investor in Quaker Strategic)

Stocking up on food may not replace your long-term investments, but it may make a sensible home for some of your shorter-term cash. Do the math. If you keep your standby cash in a money-market fund you'll be lucky to get a 2.5% interest rate. Even the best one-year certificate of deposit you can find is only going to pay you about 4.1%, according to Bankrate.com. And those yields are before tax.

Meanwhile the most recent government data shows food inflation for the average American household is now running at 4.5% a year.

And some prices are rising even more quickly. The latest data show cereal prices rising by more than 8% a year. Both flour and rice are up more than 13%. Milk, cheese, bananas and even peanut butter: They're all up by more than 10%. Eggs have rocketed up 30% in a year. Ground beef prices are up 4.8% and chicken by 5.4%.

These are trends that have been in place for some time.

And if you are hoping they will pass, here's the bad news: They may actually accelerate.

The reason? The prices of many underlying raw materials have risen much more quickly still. Wheat prices, for example, have roughly tripled in the past three years.

Sooner or later, the food companies are going to have to pass those costs on. Kraft saw its raw material costs soar by about $1.25 billion last year, squeezing profit margins. The company recently warned that higher prices are here to stay. Last month the chief executive of General Mills, Kendall Powell, made a similar point.

The main reason for rising prices, of course, is the surge in demand from China and India. Hundreds of millions of people are joining the middle class each year, and that means they want to eat more and better food.

A secondary reason has been the growing demand for ethanol as a fuel additive. That's soaking up some of the corn supply.

You can't easily stock up on perishables like eggs or milk. But other products will keep. Among them: Dried pasta, rice, cereals, and cans of everything from tuna fish to fruit and vegetables. The kicker: You should also save money by buying them in bulk.

If this seems a stretch, ponder this: The emerging bull market in agricultural products is following in the footsteps of oil. A few years ago, many Americans hoped $2 gas was a temporary spike. Now it's the rosy memory of a bygone age.

The good news is that it's easier to store Cap'n Crunch or cans of Starkist in your home than it is to store lots of gasoline. Safer, too.

[uffeviking]

Hysterical behaviour, like the kind encouraged by the above two posts, will be the cause of shortages here in this country. Panic buying is irresponsible and should not be encouraged. Nobody is going to die of starvation in this country!

[MN Dave]

Tonight we will be dining at Maggiano's. I'll probably have the chicken cacciatore.

[SonicMan46]

Tonight we will be dining at Maggiano's. I'll probably have the chicken cacciatore.

Son & DIL in town for 3 nights - plan to 'eat out' each night - last night, ate @ Bernardin's, just a 10-min drive from our home - wife & I started w/ the Seared Tuna Carpaccio - thin strips of rare tuna on an oriental flavored salad bed; I had the Swordfish steak, wonderfully flavored & grilled w/ a delicions lightly fried 'mash potato' cake & peas; wife had my 'usual' ostrich dish, which is prepared w/ a great sauce - meat medium rare (really one of the best recipes for this bird that I've eaten, and have had that dish many times there!) - shared a bottle of Conundrum - usually don't order that wine (mixture of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, & Viognier), but it can be a good choice w/ a 'mixed' company of wine drinkers!

Next two nights, much simpler - just our neighborhood Italian & Mountain bistros - I'll likely have Veal Piccata w/ sauteed broccoli (lots of garlic shavings) tonight, and then probably a non-beef 'meat' dish on Saturday night (venison or elk depending on their 'specials' that night) - 

[matti]

most people don't mind too much about his refusal to learn French, even though he's been living here for over a decade.

I would!

[George]

It's time for some Whole Wheat pizza and Reed's Natural Ginger Brew. 

[BorisG]

[Lilas Pastia]

Hysterical behaviour, like the kind encouraged by the above two posts, will be the cause of shortages here in this country. Panic buying is irresponsible and should not be encouraged. Nobody is going to die of starvation in this country!

It's a recurrent feature of every mini or real crisis. Otherwise sane and reasonably intelligent prople become irrational. Lunatics and nincompoops tend to react with the kind of primitive, caveman behaviour one would expect from remote Borneo tribes. The Y2K bug scare caused many otherwise normal people to stockpile like crazy.

[BorisG]

[BorisG]

S. Pellegrino's 2008 World's 50 Best Restaurants

http://www.theworlds50best.com/2008_list.html