Thanks guys; if at some point either of you whip some up I'd love to hear how it turned out/if you liked it!

Hi guys,

I was wondering what your best kitchen tips were? It seems most people who like to hook develop a few interesting non-recipes that nevertheless save time or get a better result than the common wisdom.

A few of mine:
1. You can easily peel lots of garlic at once by removing the outer layers of paper, smashing the whole head with a heavy cutting board, and shaking the heck out of it in between two largeish metal bowls.
2. If you're cutting hot peppers, use vinegar to wash your hands - this works better than soap/water or fat, as the capsaicin (the chemical that gives you the spicy feeling but also will make your eyes feel like they're aflame) is soluble in the acetic acid solution of vinegar. I usually follow up with soap and water to be safe, but vinegar on its own seems to work fine.
3. If you want a good salad dressing but are watching your fat intake, the Punjabi people of India have a salad that I'm quite keen on especially for its fat-free dressing:
The salad is at its simplest cut-up red onion and cucumber, but often consists of lettuce or cabbage, cucumber, red onion, tomato, green chilis, carrot and daikon. This is dressed at its simplest with some lime juice, but nicer restaurants make a dressing consisting of:
-The juice or two or three squash-ball sized limes
-Powdered cumin (as much as you like)
-Black salt (Indian salt - it has the smell of eggs because it has some sulfur in it and adds a weird sort of umami quality to the dish, but any nice salt will do - as much as you like)

If you want something a bit more flavoursome toss in some mashed or minced garlic, some mint leaves and a bit of honey or squeezed orange juice.
If you're watching your salt intake, I'd suggest a bit of chili powder in lieu tentatively. Sometimes, if I want a 'pretty' but easy salad, I just lay out the vegetables on the plate in a sort of fan pattern, squeeze the lime juice over each plate, and dust each with the spices - it looks very nice with the colours of the spice, but is really quick to prepare and not too 'wet' on the plate.

For me it's:

1. Treats me well
2. Can carry on an intelligent or interesting conversation and make me laugh – I don't nec mean in a snobby way, like I don't expect or require we can discuss early Impressionism or the economic effects of the rise of the nation state following the Peace of Westphalia, just something with a bit of depth
3. Nice face (e.g. good eyes and good smile)
4. Dick that can, as said earlier, get me to where I want to go

I don't really have a 'type' body-wise; I've been attracted to most body types on the right person, though a great ass is a huge plus regardless of the guy.

Was anyone else surprised at the unanimity in favour of 'face' over 'big dick', or am I just a jaded ***hat?

4 cups grated cabbage
3 tablespoons grated coconut (not sweetened or anything; the frozen type you can get at Asian markets is best but the unsweetened baking stuff should be OK)

Heat up a frying pan to just below smoking, put two teaspoons of oil in it, and to that toss in a chili pepper, some curry leaf if you can find it, some mustard seed (a teaspoon or so) and some asafoetida (1/8 teaspoon); a bit of garlic (a clove) is optional but also works nicely, and some people like to put in a bit of turmeric for colour. When the mustard seeds start to pop, throw in the cabbage and toss to coat and soften. Near the end throw in the coconut, stir and let it cook until the cabbage has wilted somewhat.

The dish comes from the far south of India and is a really neat take on cabbage for if you're bored of coleslaw, cabbage rolls or Chinese-style preparations of it (my go-to cabbage stir-fry is from China and uses some smoked ham and black bean sauce but it's rather heavy and a bit more guilty than this stuff.)  I often serve it alongside a bean dish or simple grilled meat with some rice. Indian and Chinese cooking are two of my interests alongside Italian Thai so I thought I'd share a bit.

Short answer: No, assuming you're not close relatives (though first cousins can marry in Canada) and that you're both above the age of 18.

Long answer:
I am not a lawyer, but: GENERALLY SPEAKING, Canada will marry any two people regardless of their origin or background (a lot of Israelis, for example, go to Canada to get marriage because the Israeli govt will then recognize the Canadian marriage as an Israeli one) without a health screening. Generally speaking so long as your spouse can get lawful permission to enter the country for the marriage to take place, (and you are legally entitled to marry - the only major criteria are age and not being immediate family, so you're probably safe) the marriage certificate will not be withheld. Each individual province has its own Marriage Act, and all marriages need to comply with the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act and the Marriage for Civil Purposes Act (federal laws). There are a few random gotchas that might require a health screening in individual provinces, but only under obscure circumstances – for example, in Alberta a judge can refuse to marry someone he suspects of being "mentally unfit" (disabled or whatever), and in that case to override the judge you'd need to get either a lawyer or a doctor to vouch that you're not, for example, in a mental hospital involuntarily. You may want to consult a lawyer though, as there are other considerations - for example, marrying someone nullifies any will (as in last will and testament) you wrote prior to the marriage taking place in many circumstances.

@serenity1188:

1)Cowboy Cum-shot

1 part Butterscotch Schnapps
1 Part Irish Cream
Large dollop of whipped cream
Mix together with crushed ice, garnish with mint

2)Hot BUTTered Rum

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch salt
Bottle dark rum
Boiling water

In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Refrigerate until almost firm. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs. Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway). Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately.

These 2 are now separated into 2 entries into the contest ~ leatherbear

Hey serenity,
You might want to be more specific than a "stick" of butter – in some places, a stick is a pound or a half pound and I know a lot of places have them way smaller than that?

Oh, and a good cold-weather drink:

Jaguar's Milk:
Combine 1 part milk with 1/2 a part condensed milk. Blend & chill.
Later on, add 1 part cachaca and 1 part creme de cacao (white/clear if you have it).
Serve with a garnish of cocoa powder if you want.

And an alternate way of making gravy, for those afraid of traditional roux or who want something faster:

1. Take your drippings and put them aside
2. Boil the giblets with enough water to cover, an onion, some herbs if't please you, a carrot, celery, bayleaf and peppercorns – boil it down to 2 cups or so of liquid
3. Save 1 cup or 2 of the water from boiling potatoes
4. Get a small jar and add 2-3 tablespoons of flour to 3-4 of water and shake. Add a bit more water -- you want a slightly-thick but pourable liquid without lumps (strain if need be)
5. Bring the drippings to a boil -- supplement with a bit of butter if you wish, or animal fat of whatever sort if that's your game. Add salt and pepper or some paprika, and then drizzle in half of the
flour mixture, whisking as you do
6. As the mixture thickens, add some of the stock to stretch it, and then more of the flour

This method lets you stretch drippings easily without sacrificing flavour, and the flour/water mix is called a "cowboy" roux. The important thing is to let the gravy cook a bit longer to make sure there's no floury taste.
This gravy is a white gravy and is a bit different than a true roux because the flour in roux has been browned. The stock will however generally compensate for this.

Brie Wheel:

Get yourself a nice wheel of brie – spring for the French stuff. It should have a skin and a powdery surface. Put it in a pan or other shallow dish, atop some cooking parchment. Brush on some good olive oil and heat your oven to 325. Rub a clove of garlic onto the oil and throw some herbs atop it. Bake that fucker for a good 10-15m or until it's lost a bit of cohesion. Open it up and cut a few slits into the top (steam!) and tuck some mince garlic in it, scattering a bit more on it. Cook until garlic's softened, then broil it very briefly at a good 450-500 (make sure the garlic doesn't burn) to brown the top slightly. Serve with crackers or some other crisp delivery system and a bit of lemon, and/or some pickles. When you cut into it, the centre should be rich, gooey, warm and a bit runny. The skin is delicious too (and perfectly edible on real brie). This is a VERY rich appetizer, also suitable (with some jam or preserves and sans the garlic perhaps) in lieu of a dessert course. The reason for the lemon and pickles is that the salty and sour will help cut the warmth and richness of the dish and reduce its heaviness. A small wheel of brie will answer for a large party -- 3 inches will serve six in all likelihood, and a full (six inch or so) wheel will feed a party if there's something else alongside it.

Here's a few – I don't go in for the new, insipidly sweet cocktails which came to dominate following the 70s (which is, regrettably, when gays also got their own social space without major legal sanctions and so followed us thither...)

#1)El Capitan (Chilean):
Combine equal parts Pisco and sweet/Italian/red vermouth. Add half to a third of a part lemon juice. Stir. Served neat.

#2) Sidecar Variant: (US, early 1900s)
Equal parts Metaxa 5 or 7, lemon juice and cointreau. Shake, strain, serve in a cocktail glass. This is related to the lemon drop but way stronger and not anywhere near as sweet. If you can't get Metaxa, feel free to use brandy.

#3) Harvey Wallbanger (great morning drink and good for beginners):
2 parts vodka
1 part Galliano (a sweet vanilla liqueur)
Orange juice to taste.

#4) Moscow Mule: (1930s-50s, USA)
1 part good, ice-cold vodka
1 part lime juice
Ginger-beer to taste. Stir/serve.

#5) The Aviation, my favourite (early US). The ingredients to find for this thing are often a bitch to get your hands on.
2 parts dry gin (2 oz)
1/4 part (1/2 oz) Maraschino liqueur
1/4 part Lemon juice
1/8 part (1/4 oz) Creme de violette
Shake it with ice, strain and serve with a cherry if you've a mind to. Done properly, this is the most amazing shade of blue-purple and just ever so slightly cloudy. Its taste is amazing.

When I create the pol for this category these will go in as 5 entries not 1. Technically the rules are 1 recipe per post . So we treat this as if it was 5 posts