Winding Down

The whole holidays plus Thailand thing is starting to come together. My last ebay auction before the trip closes today though I will have a ton of stuff to get photographed etc when I get back. Current pen stock will make at least twenty auctions and there is more stuff inbound.

Culinary planning through the 25th is complete and the only shopping I have still to do will be last minute fresh stuff on the 24th. Here's what's planned:

Tonight: Chinese hotpot (side pork, fish balls, beancurd, mushrooms), steamed greens with oyster sauce, rice.

Tomorrow: Crispy pork and pickled vegetable, stirfried greens with dried shrimp, rice.

24th: Chorizos en sidra, Mariscos con nueces y setas, Saffron rice, Cucumber salad.

25th: Gravlax, the best steaks I can find with anchovy butter and Gratin Dauphinois, Fig and green bean salad.

Next on the agenda is packing light for the trip. I'm trying to keep things down to a shoulder bag plus the video camera and accessories.

My take on the top 50 foods list

In no particular order, fifty foods I think everyone should try at least once, preferably often.

1. Black pudding (there's a surprise)
2. Epoisses (may substitute other raw milk washed rind cheese)
3. Whitebait
4. Copper River salmon
5. Fermented bean curd
6. Uni
7. Arbroath smokies
8. Caviar
9. Cassoulet
9. Choucroute
10. Pho
11. Laksa
12. Dosa
13. Mussels
14. Clams on the half shell
15. Chanterelles
16. Real Amish Summer Sausage
17. Muscovy duck
18. Kitfo
19. Chipotles
20. Pickled walnuts
21. Wild strawberries
22. Pork crackling
23. Soft shell crab
24. Red beans and rice
25. Octopus
26. Squid
27. Real barbecue of the kind that can only be obtained from a hole in the wall in the nastiest parts of US cities.
28. Collard greens
29. Spring cabbage
30. Irish potatoes
31. Fresh pasta
32. Pickled herrings with sour cream
33. Preserved ginger dipped in dark chocolate
34. Turron de Alicante
35. Thorntons toffee
36. Any raw milk blue cheese
37. Real farmhouse cheddar cheese
38. Serrano or Parma ham
39. Fresh figs
40. A well made omelette
41. Lentilles de Puy
42. Perfectly fresh mackerel
43. Seared tuna
44. Ethiopian coffee
45. Sashimi
46. A real, made from scratch, Caesar Salad
47. Arborio rice
48. Flageolets
49. Pesto
50. Som Tam

If feeling memeish, bold the ones you have eaten, italicise the ones you want to try, strike out the ones that disturb you and add new ones to make up the fifty.

Or just make a new list...

Methinks Toronto must be on Santa's naughty list

Toronto: Issued 3.30 PM EST Wednesday 22 December 2004
Winter storm warning in effect.
Tonight .. Snow becoming mixed with freezing rain overnight. Snowfall amount 10 to 15 cm. Wind becoming northeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 overnight. Low minus 6.
Thursday .. Snow ending late in the day then clearing. Snow mixed with freezing rain in the morning and possibly mixed with rain in the afternoon especially near the lake. Snowfall amount 10 to 15 cm. Wind northeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming northwest 40 gusting to 60 in the afternoon. High zero.
Friday .. A mix of sun and cloud. 40 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 16. High minus 9.
Saturday .. A mix of sun and cloud. Low minus 15. High minus 7.