Monthly Archives: January 2006

IMBB #22: Rice Noodles in Beijing

We have arrived at our final destination before returning home –Beijing.  This city is full of friendly people, mind-boggling cultural sites, and of course– delicious food.  One restaurant that we have been to twice so far is Chuannriver Restaurant. I will post one day soon about the extent of our meals at this establishment.  Though, […]

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genevieve - i love reading about your food adventures. here’s a hint if you haven’t heard already – do not go to quanjude for peking duck! it’s for tourists and no good…ask around for a real place. good peking duck can be REALLY good. :)

Hayley - So… what’s a girl got to do to get a hint of your trans-Manchurian rail adventure? I’m a sucker for good food, but almost as big a sucker for train travel.

gemma - Hi genevieve,
Thanks for the advice. My boyfriend has been seeking out some peking duck and I had heard that place mentioned. We will look elsewhere.
Hi Hayley,
I am so behind with posting! I will eventually post about the Trans-Manchurian, but first I have to post about Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland. . .etc. . . I broke in about Beijing in order to participate in IMBB. If I have the chance I will try to put up some pictures and a brief description on my travel page in the next few days. Thanks for your interest, I will do my best!

boo_licious - Your adventures sound great – glad you are having such a fantastic time. I must admit I’ve not eaten Sichuan noodles but these sound really nice although not spicy enough as everyone associates Sichuan food with lots and lots of chillies.

J - hi gemma, great post and imbb entry!it sounds like you had a truly fabulous time…

gemma - Hi boo and J,
Thanks, we did have an amazing trip. So fleeting though! These noodles were so interesting, I just had to post about them. I am glad you enjoyed it.

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Dee in Beijing - I love that dish ! Do also try noodles made from beans and also from sweet potato – both look white/clear like rice noodles.

Zagreb, Croatia

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others. November 4th- 7th, 2005 John and I visited Zagreb, Croatia after spending some time in Rome, Italy.  While in Zagreb we visited a huge indoor/outdoor market in […]

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Pille - I love ajvar, too. I first got to try it in 1998 in Bosnia&Herzegovina. I even got a recipe from my host for making it myself – once I get hold of 10 kg of fresh and aromatic peppers they sell in the area:)
Luckily there are few shops in Edinburgh that stock ajvar and it’s not too bad actually.

gemma - Ooh, even though I have no access to the 10 kg of local peppers that you mention, I would love to take a gander at the recipe if you ever have a minute to send it my way.
I will definitely be on the ajvar hunt when I get back to Chicago.

Rjecnik - you have some awesome pics here. i hope the baked goods are as good as they look on your blog.
cheers
anja

t. - ajvar is great. next time you visit zagreb, leave me a message on my blog

engleski rjecnik - here is my cheer to ajvar. i saw that trader joe’s carries it nowdays. great.
best,
.e.r.

gemma - Hi e.r.,
I too have been pleased to find ajvar around Chicago. It seems like several establishments have picked it up in the last few years. I’m quite glad.
Gemma

Jen - Rich’s ftw!

gemma - Yes! (And Ann’s Bakery right up Leavitt, too)

A.P. - I am serbian myself and grew up eating the stuff, my favorite brand of ajvar that we buy in the chicago area is “Biljana Makedonski Ajver Hot”. Its perfect and you will probably find it in some world markets.

Gemma - Thanks for the suggestion A.P. I usually shop at Ann’s Bakery in West Town for Ajver (it’s near my work). I’ll keep an eye out for the brand you mention. Any favorite shops to suggest?

Pro Bono Baker turns 1!

One year ago I published my first post on Pro Bono Baker. While attempting to make naan and searching for recipes, I stumbled across Alberto’s site, Il Forno. Never before had I found such a site, but I immediately knew I would enjoy such an endeavor of my own. I began on Blogger, but soon […]

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Chef Melissa - CookingDiva - Gemma, Happy New Year! glad to know you are doing well…About the word verification thing,…it will go away by itself. It has happened to me several times after typepad suffered those big problems. But it went away…Do not worry.
Hugs,
M

Alice - Congrats! Looking forward to another great year! :)

keiko - Happy blog birthday, Gemma!

Zarah Maria - One year and growing! Congrats Gemma!

Joe - Congratulations on your first year, Gemma! Here’s to many more!

gemma - Aww, thanks everyone! It has been a pleasure to get to know you over the last year and I look forward to our future culinary adventures. (and thanks for the information on the word verification Melissa! I hope it goes away soon)

Pille - Gemma – I am soooo pleased to hear that you went to my home town:))) I haven’t been to Balthazar myself yet, but I’ve heard good things about it. How long and when were you in Tallinn? I only left on Jan 5th – it would have been great to meet up for a glass of hõõgvein – there are lots of nice cafes in the Old Town..
Happy blog birthday!

mindy - Well done lady.
Can’t wait to have you home and baking with us soon.

Justin - I’m so jealous of your trip across the world. If you do decide to go to culinary school, I highly reccommend you work in a kitchen first… like Patrick is doing. Its not as easy as you may think… not that I don’t you wouldn’t be able to handle it. I think you would be able to but… still I highly recommend it before dropping $30k or more on school.
and keep updating this blog its great…
J

Justin - I’m so jealous of your trip across the world. If you do decide to go to culinary school, I highly reccommend you work in a kitchen first… like Patrick is doing. Its not as easy as you may think… not that I don’t think you wouldn’t be able to handle it. I think you would be able to but… still I highly recommend it before dropping $30k or more on school.
and keep updating this blog its great…
J

mzn - A very happy blogiversary!
Any more details on the garlic ice cream? Sweet? Sharp? Weird?

J - hi gemma, happy blog birthday to you! here’s to many happy returns…

John Fitzpatrick - I’m interested in hearing about the spelt wheat in Lucca. Or any more interesting healthy food from there.

gemma - Oh no Pille! I would have enjoyed your company very much, I thought you were in Scotland! Tallinn was wonderful. I wish we could have stayed longer, but one day I hope to return. We didn’t sample too much at Balthazar due to the prices, but what we had was excellent. I also enjoyed the Meister Michael Apple themed restaurant. Very good soups for a cold day. Thanks for the kind words!
I am looking very forward to it Mindy, not too long now. We are off the Trans-Manchurian and ending our first day in Beijing. It is a really fantastic city from what I have seen so far.
Hi Justin, great to hear from you. I certainly agree with your sentiments. I think I have decided to pursue finding a job in a bakery when I return to Chicago to see if I am cut out for it. I will let you know what I find. I hope you are well.
Hi mzn, thank you. The garlic ice cream was sweet at the beginning and the taste slowly changed to a fairly pronouced, earthy garlic flavor near the end of the palate. It had a bit of bite to it. Though, I have to admit that I wish they had been a bit more daring and made it even more garlic-y. I will have to try my own.
Thank you J!
Hello John, I have to admit I don’t have much knowledge of healthy foods from Lucca, we kept to a pretty indulgent diet in Italy–though I will see what I can find out. Thanks for stopping by.

Pille - Hi Gemma, well, I am back in Scotland now. And I should have paid more attention to your travel itinerary on the left – then I would have noticed that you’re in Tallinn during the holiday season. Oh well. Next time, hopefully:)

melissa_cookingdiva - Gemma, I am so happy because you are having so much fun…Hugs,
M

gemma - Hi Pille, I should have paid more attention to your blog too. It is a shame we missed each other! Hopefully we will cross-paths again one day.
Thanks Melissa! I hope you are well too!

Rome, Italy

I spent the last few months traveling from London to Beijing. Here is a taste of one place we spent time. Follow the links to read about others. October 27th- November 1st, 2005 When John was young he spent a few summers living in Rome with his family.  As a result he has many fond […]

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John - Everything on here makes me hungry.

keiko - Gemma, everything looks so good… I hope you’ve both been doing fine, looking forward to reading more of your lovely posts.

gemma - Well John, you have the lucky situation of having eaten most of this with me!
Hi Keiko, we are doing well. We have three more weeks to go. . .this trip has gone so fast. . . Soon I will have to find another job! I hope you are well too.

Mandy - Hello–I’m new to the blog. I love reading about your journeys. My husband and I recently took a year off traveling. It was wonderful and I am so thankful we had that opportunity.
We visited Rome a couple years ago and the pizza and gelato are just incredible. How do you feel about having to pay to sit down though? Kinda takes away from the indulgence, in my opinion. I love sitting down to really soak the food in, not go outside to sit on a rock! Especially with such sensuous Italian food.
Hope you had some pastries, too!

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