I wonder what the worldwide cardamom shortage is
doing for the mental health of the Swedes.

Not to mention the Danes. I only use it in a few things but I would
certainly miss it if I didn't have any at all.

It's a distinctive flavor and not duplicatable
or even substitutable. I don't like it especially
but would miss it in a certain few recipes.

I see that the wholesale price at auction in India just shot up from
$36 to $57/kg last month as a result of last summer's floods
following by drought there.

Yes - and this is India and prewholesale.

I'd better go buy a bag of last year's crop before the retail prices
go up here. I just checked Loblaws online and right now Suraj brand
ground cardamom, a 50g bag is just $3.49 (so $69.80/kg) whereas a
49g bottle of McCormicks is $10.99 which works out to $224.30/kg.

That's $30 a pound vs. $100 a pound. But of
course McCormick and Spice Islands do extract
a sizable markup.

Suraj is an Australian based importer there of Indian atta flour, spices, pulses and chutneys which now markets Indian foodstuffs in Canada as
well.

Which store carries this brand locally?
For you that is.

I buy their stuff all the time as their products are as good as the
more recognized brand names but much cheaper.

Oh, for sure. We have similar offbrands - El
Guapo, Goya, and so on, as well as the bulk
offerings at some markets.

(I also patronise AGT Foods which is the retail arm of Regina based

Did you show that to me? I'm not recalling that.

Alliance Grain Traders Inc. which bought out Quebec based CLIC
International Inc., a Canadian food packager, canner and retail and distributor of ethnic foods including rice and pulses. They are the
only canner I know who process and sell lupini.

Here, Pastene sells salted lupini in jars.
They're almost inedible from the brine.

New Orleans [...] offered in
restaurants for most or all of December. A lot of
the places offer set menus for $50 or more that are
represented as good value but aren't really

So another industry rip-off just like New Year's Eve, Valentine's
Day and Mother's Day promotions.

Not as extreme, though. Those one day a year events
have a (in the customers' minds) captive audience.
Reveillon menus have to be just competitive enough
to sustain themselves.

Our grandkids embrace [...] second Christmas and New Years

Yay for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah

Given the ethnic make-up of both Yellowknife and Fort McMurray they
are not familiar with those holidays but do celebrate Tet. All the
girls have Ao Dai dresses for the occasion.

I don't recall seeing ao dai dresses; the closest
I can think of is the uniforms worn by Singapore
and Malaysian Airlines' flight attendants.

+

tests coming back negative

Very clever word play. Did anyone else notice?

Thanks. Probably.

... I just invented a new word: plagerism.

OK, I can ivent a neword or two too.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

Title: Curried Frogs' Legs - Ech Nau Ca-Ri
Categories: Vietnamese, Fish/sea
Yield: 4 servings

Stephen Ceideburg 1/4 ts Salt
4 Pairs of jumbo frog's legs 2 tb Nuoc mam (fish sauce)
1 Stalk fresh lemon grass, or 2 oz Cellophane noodles
1 tb Dried lemon grass 2 tb Vegetable oil
2 Fresh red chilies, seeded 1 sm Onion, chopped
-and sliced 1 c Chicken broth or water
2 Shallots, sliced 1/2 c Coconut milk or heavy
cream
2 Garlic cloves, crushed 1 ts Cornstarch
1 1/2 ts Sugar Fresh ground black
pepper
1 ts Curry paste Coriander sprigs for garnish
2 ts Curry powder

This delicious lemon grass and coconut-laced curry comes from southern
Vietnam. If you prefer a very hot curry, simply use more chile peppers.

Cut the frogs' legs into bite-size pieces. Rinse with cold water to
remove
any chipped bones. Pat dry and refrigerate.

If you are using fresh lemon grass, discard the outer leaves and upper
half
of the stalk. Cut into thin slices and finely chop. If you are using
dried
lemon grass, soak it in warm water for 1 hour. Drain and finely chop.

In a blender, combine the lemon grass with the chiles, shallots, garlic,
sugar, curry paste, curry powder, salt and 1 tablespoon of the fish
sauce.
Process to a very fine paste. Rub the paste over the frogs' legs. Cover
and
refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak the cellophane noodles in warm water for 30 minutes.
Drain.
Cut into 2-inch sections.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over moderate heat. Add the onion and saute
until translucent. Add the frogs' legs and brown well on all sides, about
3
minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat,
cover
and simmer for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pan and add the coconut milk, the cornstarch diluted in 1
tablespoon of cold water and the remaining 1 table- spoon fish sauce.
Cook,
stirring, until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.

Add the cellophane noodles and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from
the
heat.

Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with coriander sprigs.

Serve immediately with rice, French bread or over rice noodles.

Note: Instead of discarding the upper half of the lemon grass, crush it
and
cook it with the frogs' legs for extra flavor. Remove the stalk before
serving.

Yield: 4 servings.

From "The Foods of Vietnam" by Nicole Rauthier. Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
1989.

-----
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)