The Fat Pride Times Bagel Meal Plate

Here it is, the often spoken of FPT Bagelmeal. Takes 10 minutes to prepare and about 10 minutes to eat. Notice the seeds were not removed from the thick jalapeno slices.

Reader Debuts PortalX Webstore With Gourmet Food Offerings

Regular contributor to The Fat Pride Times, Magnum (on the East Coast), has recently ventured into the world of e-commerce. Beginning with his own IRC Network (irc.portalx.org), he has built the PortalX.org name into a solid web presence. While his new store offers many many things, we are mostly interested here at the exciting selection of foodstuffs available there. Everything from gourmet cheeses for you uptown readers to bunker rations for our doomsday scenario readers.

PortalX Store Main Entrance

Fine Looking Piece Of Meat

We received an anonymously submitted photo of what appears to be a slab of prime rib being cooked off. The staff here all agrees it looks delicious. Please post your opinions using the comments link below.

More Info on Ted's SteakHouse From Reader

The Fat Pride Times has gotten lucky and had a reader send in some more info on this unique restaurant. While we have never been there, it appears this restaurant is very popular, offers souviner items and now has 3 locations! Hopefully this reader will keep sending me more info. The team here is not finding much new via the search engines. Here is a sample of the menu we found on fhwrdh.net:

10 oz. porterhouse steak

6 oz., 7 oz. or 8 oz. steak grilled with mushrooms and onions, served with a baked potato wrapped in tinfoil

gorgonzola and garlic salad

ice cream that we keep in the freezer just like you do at home

chunky rodeo chicken kids meal

the ted - captain morgans (or myers) rum and coke with a cherry

the bell - vodka and orange juice

the ted jr. - a glass of 7up

the theodora - a cream soda

french fries

fishsticks

a basket of rolls with butter and a butter knife (for mom).

Reader Recommends: Ted's of Beverly Hills (Bar & Steakhouse)

One of our readers has written in to let us know about his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles, 'Ted's of Beverly Hills'. This restaurant is considered a 5 star white tablecloth establishment and our reader highly endorses it. Apparently, Ted's was the first restaurant to serve baked potatoes in the aluminum foil wrapper, something that is now the standard at all restaurants. This was many of the restaurant firsts that Ted's introduced to the hospitality industry. The website fhwrdh.net also notes that this establishment also was the first to serve: rum and coke mixed together (called the "ted" - meyer's rum and coke), the steak sandwich and the gorgonzola and garlic salad. Fhwrdh.net also notes that Ted's introduced the serrated knife to the steak world, was the first to put lemon juice on shrimp cocktail and was the first to use two salad forks in the place settings. We will have more info to come including a partial copy of the menu.

Thanksgiving: Canada Edition

Our regular Canadian contributor Jackball has once again served an excellent meal with documentation for us all. The above photos were prepared from the following recipe:

Prepare Stuffing

4 cups bread crumbs, 1/4 lb bacon, 1/3 cup chopped onion, 2 tbls chopped celery, 1/4 cup warm butter, 1/2 tsp parsley flakes, pepper, salt, 1/3 cup warm milk.In a big bowl mix the ingredients, bread crumbs should be mushy when done.

Stuff the Turkey, cook at 375 for 4 hours depending on size of bird.

The staff here at The Fat Pride Times found some history on the Canadian Thanksgiving on twilightbridge.com:

In Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving. Other settlers arrived and continued these ceremonies. He was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him - Frobisher Bay.

At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their Indian neighbours.

After the Seven Year's War ended in 1763, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving.

The remains of the world's oldest noodles have been unearthed in China!

The BBC News website has breaking food news: "The 50cm-long, yellow strands were found in a pot that had probably been buried during a catastrophic flood.

Radiocarbon dating of the material taken from the Lajia archaeological site on the Yellow River indicates the food was about 4,000 years old.

Scientists tell the journal Nature that the noodles were made using grains from millet grass - unlike modern noodles, which are made with wheat flour.

The discovery goes a long way to settling the old argument over who first created the string-like food.

Visit the link below for full story.

The remains of the world's oldest noodles have been unearthed in China.

Proper Ginger Quantity For Maximum Teriyaki Chicken Over Rice Flavor

Above I have posted a picture of a standard teriyaki chicken meal from a local casual restaurant. I ordered this to go and helped myself to the ginger you see massed upon the top. This is the official Fat Pride Times recommended serving size of ginger per teriyaki chicken meal for maximum enjoyment.

Homemade Whole Chicken Fat Pride Times Style

All this chatter about whole birds led me to make my own over the weekend. Above is a picture of my whole bird before cooking. Unfortunately, I macked the whole thing then remembered I forgot to take a picture of it when it was done.

Reader Picture: Balinese Chicken (Indonesian)

One of our international readers has submitted the above photo of a dish called Balinese Chicken - an Indonesian recipe. The staff will be researching this dish and posting more info shortly.

Wasabi - Genuine or Fake? The Truth Is Out

After enjoying some of what we thought was authentic Wasabi paste and some California Roll Sushi in The FatPride Times breakroom a little research led to some interesting results. Genuine Wasabi is not easily found - what we had was horseradish and food coloring being sold as Wasabi. From the website freshwasabi.com: "Don't be fooled. The green smooth textured clump on the side of your sushi dish is rarely real wasabi. More commonly it is ordinary horseradish with food coloring added. Real wasabi is one of the rarest and most difficult vegetables in the world to grow. Few geographical areas are suited for growing wasabi. We are fortunate that our micro climate in Florence, Oregon is ideally suited for growing fresh wasabi".

Lesson to be learned is something about watching something or other - you know what we mean. Looking at the ingredients listing on our box of Wasabi found us with horseradish and food coloring.

The Flying Pie Pizzeria Review - 5 Stars

Wow, I had heard that these guys made an excellent pie but I have heard that so many times I never really believe it. These guys are for real. The pepperoni pizza is layered with cheese and pepperoni so thick that 2 slices will fill you up at first, and maybe a third a few minutes later. Very impressive and a 5 star ranking by The Fat Pride Times.

From their webpage:"Our Pizza Dough is homemade and hand-rolled daily. Fresh vegetables are cut and prepared each day. We use only 100% whole milk Mozzarella, Provolone and Romano Cheeses, and our meats are of the highest quality available. Our goal is to serve you the finest products and create an enjoyable atmosphere in which to serve you."

They have four locations:"The Portland Flying Pie Pizzeria is our first restaurant, where we have been serving our original secret pizza dough and sauce for over 20 years. Come see our new(huge)dining room. Issaquah is located just southeast of downtown Seattle, nudging the foothills of the Snoqualmie National Forest. It may be our #2 Flying Pie Pizzeria, but it is in no way second rate.The Lake Oswego Flying Pie Pizzeria is our #3 location —in the Lake Oswego Towne Square shopping center of Mountain Park. We hope you'll add their pizza to your list of tastful delights.Per your request, the Gresham Flying Pie Pizzeria (#4) is NOW OPEN and serving you the same great pies, with the same secret sauce, the same choice of crusts and deep toppings you crave -- without the drive across town." (Issaquah is in Washington State - the rest are in Oregon).

Bread and Milk Bowl?

I recently was on a social visit to a prospective new staff member's home and witnessed something I found very odd. This person took some regular sliced bread and crumbled it onto bite-size pieces and put them in a large bowl. Then milk was poured over them and they were macked on like one might eat cold cereal. I am always open to new ideas, and maybe this is an old one even, but this really put me off my lunch. Has anyone else seen this move?

OMG

OMG

Tapatio Hot Sauce - 5 Star Ranking

This stuff is the real deal. Nuff said. Comes in three sizes: mini, regular and 40 oz. Available most markets. From http://www.tapatiohotsauce.com

Give a kick to the taste of whatever you've got . . .It's not too mild and it's not too hot . . .Tap into the taste of Tapatío.

Tapatío Hot Sauce adds a kick to whatever you're craving! Our special recipe enhances but never overpowers . . .With the perfect balance between mild and wild! Tapatío Hot Sauce is going to take your taste buds to another level. So Tap into the taste of Tapatío!.

Jose-Luis Saavedra Sr. started the Tapatío Hot Sauce Company in 1971 as a privately held business and it continues being that way. The product's name " Tapatío " means a person born in Guadalajara, capital of the state of Jalisco in Mexico.

The beginning was humble, Mr. Saavedra started his business in a rented 485 square-foot building in Maywood, California and began the manufacturing and distribution of this popular hot sauce from this small industrial warehouse. He continued to work out of that site for the next fourteen years. The Tapatío Hot Sauce Company's modest beginnings were tumultuous to say the least. On a good day only several cases were produced. As sales increased, Tapatío required more help and the family responded; Jose-Luis Saavedra Jr. gave up his profession as a physician to become General Manager.

In 1985, the company moved to a new 7,800 square-foot location in Vernon, California, just 5 miles away from Downtown, Los Angeles. The building was much bigger than the first location, but it had only a single loading dock and limited storage space, which created a new series of problems for the company. Consequently, it was time to look for a larger place that would provide enough space to meet the company's current requirements and ever-growing needs. After a long search a site was found where a developer would build to suit the spacious new 30,000 square-foot facility that Tapatío presently occupies. It is a brand new state-of-the-art facility with several loading docks and a fully automated production line; the company that was founded in 1971 has evolved into a modern plant. In addition, Tapatío now has added help from Mr. Saavedra's two daughters; Dolores uses her law degree to handle all of the company's legal matters while Jacquie runs the business office.

Tapatío currently distributes nationally and has begun exporting to Mexico, Canada, Central America and some countries in Europe.

Visit the website for more info, history and cool t-shirts!

College Student Reader Needs Recipes

One of our loyal readers is currently attending college and has told the staff here that he needs some new ideas & recipes for quality food at reasonable prices. We suggested he go with the homemade salad and sandwiches plan as many of the ingredients can be used in both and 10.00 worth of supplies can make a lot of meals. However, we need some hot foods to suggest and some other ideas. Please help out a fellow reader and post your ideas using the comments word/link below. You dont have to sign-up to leave a comment - its real simple. (FYI: the photo above is not of the reader in need of recipes)

We Have a Nice Toaster Recommendation

Reader Magnum, who wrote about the problems he had with the Toastmaster toaster and uneven toasting results, has now found a winning toaster that makes the FatPride Times cut. The "GE Classic 4-Slice Toaster" is now in his kitchen and toasting it up proper. Magnum recommends it for anyone who likes fully toasted bread - which should be everyone.

Cake Photo by Bruss "International Traveler"

Our roving international correspondant Bruss sent along this photo of a cake he macked on awhile back and regretfully the staff here misplaced until today. This cake is long gone by now.

Magnums's Microwave Cheeseburger Endorsement

Regular reader and contributor Magnum has reported with some interesting info for us. He has tried the Hormel brand frozen/microwave cheeseburgers and says:"These burgers for something that is already made and microwaveable are delicious. i would give them a 10+"

For cooking he recommends:" 1 minute 20 seconds in the microwave if you have an 1100 watt one and do not sit it on a paper towel like it says wrap it in a paper towel then cook it, if not the bun will come out hard". Nice work as always from Magnum

The Hill People & Crazy Food Canning

Our international correspondant from New Zealand has pointed us to a webpage that tells the tale of some mountain folk and canning/preserving foodstuffs gone mad. The following info was found on the tristateneighbor.com website.

"This year they helped plant the garden. I increased the garden size to accommodate our goal of entering 500 jars of canned goods at the fair this year," Maurer said.

"Last winter we canned venison, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, chili sauce, tomato soup, turkey, catsup, barbecue sauce, fish, sweet potatoes, duck, butternut squash, pumpkins and potatoes. You might say that whatever we find, we can. The entries will help out the competition at the fair and it will give the boys a little bit of income," said Maurer.

"I had never canned jams and jellies so we tried that. This year we are going to add jalapeno pepper jelly and canned squirrel. The canned squirrel was Smokey's idea. We asked the Fair Board to add it to the list of acceptable items and they did," Maurer said.

"This is a hands-on experience for the boys. They help plant the crop, pick the crop and can the crop. They label, wipe jars off and go with me to enter at the fair. There is hardly anything that can't be canned. We may try canning cauliflower and broccoli this year also," she said.

Ok, the key issue above, incase you missed it is canned squirrel. Holy christ man. I like squirrels and I feed them in my yard. However, they are basically rats with bigger tails in my opinion. The lasy says "You might say that whatever we find, we can", which also troubles me as I can only wonder what she has told us about.