Um, what is that exactly?

Right, in the food quiz I posted in the last entry there were something things that I didn't think I had eaten because I had no idea what they are. So, here, just in case you didn't know either, are some quick definitions and links.

Epoisses: a pungent unpasteurized cows-milk cheese.

Bagna Cauda: is a warm dip typical of Piedmont, Italy. The dish, which is served and consumed in a manner similar to fondue, is made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil, butter, and in some parts of the region cream. The dish is eaten by dipping raw, boiled or roasted vegetables, especially cardoon, celery, cauliflower, artichokes, peppers and onions.

Phaal: (sometimes spelt as phaal, phal or paal) is an Indian curry dish, which originated in South India. It is one of the hottest forms of curry regularly available . . . [I stopped reading there.]

Umeboshi: are pickled> ume fruits. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a plum but is actually more closely related to the apricot.

Poutine: is a dish consisting of French fries topped with fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy and sometimes additional ingredients. The freshness of the curds is important as it makes them soft in the warm fries, without completely melting. It is a quintessential Canadian comfort food.

Kaolin: [Well, wikipedia doesn't list as a food, only--as I said--as a clay mineral. So I'm not quite sure what the food reference is.]

Currywurst [is pretty much what I thought it was]: is a German national dish consisting of hot pork sausage (German: Wurst) cut into slices and seasoned with curry sauce (regularly consisting of ketchup or tomato paste blended with curry) and generous amounts of curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup-based sauce seasoned with curry and other spices. Currywurst is often sold as a take-out/take-away food, Schnellimbisse (snacks), at diners or "greasy spoons," on children's menus in restaurants, or as a street food.

Durian: is the fruit of trees from the Durio belonging to the Malvaceae, a large family which includes hibiscus, okra, cotton, mallows, and linden trees. Widely known and revered in Southeast Asia as the "King of Fruits", the fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk.

Chitterlings: sometimes spelled chitlins in vernacular) are the intestines and rectum of a pig that have been prepared as food. They are a type offal. [Yeah, I was guessing that. Change my answer on the previous post to "never".]

Andouillette: (pronounced Ondwiyet) is a classic French culinary specialty composed of intestines originally stuffed with pork or veal. In major restaurants, Andouillettes can be served either hot or cold. The taste is acquired, as is all offal, but can be compared to strong pork sausages.

Gjetost or Brunost: is a brown Norwegian whey cheese, The Norwegian name brunost means 'brown cheese'. In North America it is referred to and sold as gjetost, which is an older spelling of geitost that is no longer frequently used elsewhere.

Baijiu: is a Chinese distilled alcoholic beverage.

Tom yum: is a soup originating from Thailand. It is perhaps one of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine. Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chili peppers.

Pocky: is a Japanese snack food that consists of a biscuit stick coated with chocolate.

How would you score on "The Omnivore’s Hundred"?

I got this from the "Shelterrific" blog (which is fab, if you haven't already found it) who found it elsewhere. Can we do strikeouts in Blogger? I don't think that's an option. I have to admit that there are some things that I'm just not sure about--I might have eaten it . . . and some that I really didn't know what they were. Can't wait to see some of your responses, readers!

Instructions:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at Very Good Taste linking to your results.

1. Venison (I'm pretty sure I have)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (I probably have, but I can't remember)
4. Steak tartare (Again, probably have, can't remember)
5. Crocodile (I might try it)
6. Black pudding (I think I tasted this in Scotland. It was not good).

7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (No idea. I could have.)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (Probably, at a buffet . . .)
15. Hot dog from a street cart (Many, many times in my youth)
16. Epoisses (Don't know what this is)
17. Black truffle (does shaved in a risotto count?)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (thanks to MAH's father!)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (I might have tried this before but I would never eat it now.)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (Never!)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (that's a "never" for me)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (huh?)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (That's a never for the second part!)
37. Clotted cream tea (do they mean an afternoon tea with clotted cream? that's a yes, otherwise it's a no)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (um, this is Jello shots, right? well, duh, I went to college in the 80s)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (that's a never)
41. Curried goat (another never)
42. Whole insects (Never, never, never!)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (I wish!)
46. Fugu (Never!)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin (Never again!)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer (I think)
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I'm pretty sure I have . . . but probably never again)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips (thanks, Mom, the health-food nut)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (Never!)
63. Kaolin (Isn't this an ingredient in porecelain?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs (Never!)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (I did try it -- although Lisa H. did not, as I recall . . .)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (pretty sure I have)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (Um, isn't that pretty much "never" for anyone?)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (Never!)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (Never! Never! Never!)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (probably, wouldn't swear to it)
100. Snake (Probably a "never")

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls . . .

There is a BMW is our garage.

I just wrote something about this in my Facebook status and I'm watching to see how long it takes before people figure out that this is a loaner car. I took my Mini to get it serviced and they'd already taken it apart when they realized that they didn't have the right part for it. So, since it's a BMW dealership, they gave me one as a loaner. I was a total wreck driving it home. It's an automatic too, which is totally weird when you're used to driving stick.

I mean, seriously, people, did you think I was getting rid of my Mini? And, please, if we were buying a new car it'd be something sensible, like an Outback, or something. Can you really see MAH spending that kind of money on a car? I can't even get him to buy some new pants, for God's sake.

I manage to get through one back issue of Wired while I was waiting it the comfy BMW dealership (nice chairs!). The estrogen-heavy morning television programs on the big flat screen TV were pretty annoying. (Wow, is that Martha Stewart show awful!) And, yes, in an act of defiance that I will not apologize for, I drew a mustache on Sarah Palin's face on the cover of Newsweek (or Time or whatever it was).

It's a dreary afternoon here in the Boro--and I'm feeling a little discouraged about how hard it's being to round up authors for my book proposal. Perhaps someday I'll be so successful that when I get an email with an offer like that I won't bother to respond to it either . . . but you, know, I think I would probably always respond. I'm that kind of person.

Happy Anniversary, MAH!

Yes, it was just one year ago today that a lot of this blog's readers helped us celebrate our wedding--was it only a year? Seems longer (but not in a bad way). Who can forget the flowers, the toasts, the polkas, the YMCA, and, of course, the never-ending supply of cookies? Yes, I think a wonderful time was had by all, certainly the hosts/guests of honor enjoyed themselves.

We spent a lot of time considering what we would do to mark the occasion--particularly when we're trying to be a bit frugal in preparation for an upcoming trip to DC. On the spur of the moment, we went out to brunch yesterday here -- a little pricey, to be sure, but it seemed appropriately festive. We had sparkling wine, MAH got lots of red meat, I got lots of fresh seafood, and the desserts (as promised) were quite tasty. Plus it was just a gorgeous fall day and perfect for a short drive.

Tonight we'll be celebrating by eating up as many of last week's vegetables as we can, alongside that old favorite, roasted chicken. I think we may also celebrate by bagging up a ton of leaves in the front yard. There may be a bottle of champagne in the fridge too, somewhere behind all those veggies . . .

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Sometimes I think I should make a list of televisions shows that I should not watch. I say this after just finishing the episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" in which he goes to Spain. But it could easily have been any one of many episodes of this show. After a viewing experience like this, I seriously question how I am spending my time.

I think part of the reason I enjoy watching shows such as "Project Runway" and "Top Design" (this season of TD is great--so much better than last season--you should be watching it) is that I am at heart a creative person. Or at least I've got a serious creative component. So watching people design and cook, and work with food and textiles and paint really makes me want to do that too. Also the people involved in these professions just seem like a lot of fun (granted, yes, this is television). They are committed to high quality in areas of our lives that most of take for granted---food, clothing, and shelter.

And yet, what I am doing now--the kind of writing I am supposed to be doing now--has no creativity in it. I am supposed to be writing a serious non-fiction book. A technical how-to book. This is not a creative endeavor. It's not fun, which is probably why I've been having trouble doing it. I enjoy the exploration part--finding new sites, connecting with the people who maintain them. But then again . . .

I've encountered a lot of people in our profession who are really not fun. Some of them can be downright nasty. Petty, discourteous, lazy, two-faced, passive-aggressive jerks. Sure, there are some good people out there, but I've got to tell you, sometimes I don't think they're the majority. It makes me wonder why I bother--particularly after watching that show about Spain. Not that there's a direct connection between Tony's show about Spain and anything I could do here in the Boro. But, you know, there are other things I could be doing that might be more personally satisfying.

You all have these thoughts too, don't you? But you snap out of it when you realize that you can't afford to quit your jobs and drop out and become a pastry chef or a cheesemonger or whatever. But, funny thing, I don't have a job to quit (really). So it's a lot harder for me to snap myself out it. But snap myself out of it I must. Even people who don't have jobs to quit still can't throw everything aside and follow their daydreams. But it is something for me to think about once I've closed out my current commitments--do I want to keep doing the kind of work I'm doing, or should I look for a different tree to start barking up?

"It's fun to get things in the mail."

A true statement, I think, and an event that happens less and less these days.

My father is notorious in our family for being a sucker for replying to things he receives in the mail. He sends money to probably a dozen or so animal-related charities and also practically anything related to Native Americans. (My parents have a division. My mother handles all the requests for money for people [except for Native Americans] and my father gets all the ones for animals. She supports Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders. I think she's managed to draw the line there.) As a result, my father receives thank-you presents from these groups--lots of stuffed animals from WWF, stickers, cards, calendars, blankets . . .

He has also joined and dropped a membership with the Gevalia mail order coffee company more times than I can count. The evidence of this is the collection of castoff free coffeemakers and carafes in our basement (although they do use some of the carafes). When we were last visiting we said he was thinking of rejoining them again. I expressed the view that this was not really an environmentally sound practice--all that energy being used to ship the coffee when he has a very good local source at the store he visits practically every day--and besides the coffee is more expensive (when you add the shipping) than his local supplier. But, he replied, "It's fun to get things in the mail."

That has come to mind recently as some of my frivolous magazine subscriptions have been coming near expiration. I've also been receiving (in the mail) imploring communications from magazines I used to subscribe to who want me back. Yes, it is fun to get stuff in the mail. I like glossy, silly, lifestyle-porn magazines. As LH and I have discussed, Real Simple really isn't what it used to be. I gave them another shot for a year, but I don't think I'll be renewing. Martha Stewart wants me back, and I may give her a go. She's offering to throw in a subscription to her food magazine for free. I just allowed Cooking Light to send me a couple of free issues. I am a fan of theirs. The non-negotiable subscriptions (at the moment) are The New Yorker, Wired, O, and Vanity Fair. I think that's all of the them at the moment. I dropped Bon Appetit because the recipes were usually just too complex for me--but the pictures were divine.

Am I the only one with a thing for magazines, or do some of you share that vice?

Back online -- and now wireless!

Yes, I'm writing this on the laptop, down on the couch in the basement, connected to my own wifi, not stealing someone else's. But let's go back a bit . . .

So, the morning after I posted last I got a message that Norton had an update available and I was encouraged to update. Ok, fine. When I was installing it, I was told that it was incompatible with Zone Alarm, and that I would have to uninstall Zone Alarm. Fine. I did. Installed the new Norton. Then, thinking, c'mon, I've seen messages about "incompatible" before, I went ahead and reinstalled Zone Alarm. Um, no, they really do mean they're incompatible. The computer would get a certain point in the start up and then lock up. So, I called MAH. I mean, I kind of knew what I needed to do, I just wasn't sure how to do it. So, I called Geek Squad and heard how much it would cost. And then MAH talked to someone at work who said just hit F8 to get in safe mode. So, with that, I knew I could do it, so we put it in safe mode and I deleted Zone Alarm, and we're back.

But for all of Friday I was off-line. Kind of relaxing, actually. I polished some silver, cleaned up the house, exercised, made some tomato sauce. But as can tell, no work was done on the book.

Saturday was a gorgeous day, so we walked down to Octubabest--one of the sidewalk festival things they have here in the Boro. This took up basically the whole afternoon--we entered raffles (which we didn't win), bought some gourmet dog treats, cheese, soap, and some soup to benefit a soup kitchen. Oh, and funnel cake. (Jealous, Bobby?) It was nice time.

After eating our soup (yummy), we settled in to watch "The Highlander"--one of our Netflix movies. Now, MAH and I were both under the impression that this was actually a decent, maybe even a good, movie. Boy, were we wrong. In our opinions, this movie has no redeeming qualities. An interesting germ of a story buried in a terribly written, directed, and acted movie. With a soundtrack by Queen. And bad action scenes. I wanted to quit watching at many points, but MAH said we had to see it through. Bad, just bad.

I just got a a friend request on Facebook from someone I knew in college--one of those people I hadn't really thought about in, oh, what, fifteen years? He was a friend, so I accepted. Then I went back and looked through my people on Facebook from my class (again, I had done it a while back), and again, wow. All those people who were once such a big part of your life--the old boyfriends, the people who you had petty little fights with, the people you thought were so cool, all there. You look at a person's name (and sometimes picture) and all these memories come flooding back. It's very odd. I sent a couple of friend requests, but not a lot. I'm a cautious person.

Oh, so, yes, today we finally bought a wireless router and installed it. That had been on the "to-do" list for a while, but I told MAH if he wanted me to write this book I needed to be able to move around the house and not sit in the same chair for eight hours a day. I think he wants it so that we don't have to take turns on the computer. Easy installation. Slow day here--MAH made eggplant parmesean with our weekly CSA eggplant. Now we're watching the Eagles game on Tivo and waiting for the Phillies game. Maybe this wifi thing will mean an increasing in blogging (here), but just please, keep me away from Twitter or I'll never get anything done!

Wow--that's something

Today I got a comment on this blog from someone I consider a blogging celebrity. I always think of this blog as something only my friends read--although the stats would indicate that if that's true, I've got a lot more friends than I realize. But anyway, I think BA wrote about this over on his blog--didn't you? The first time you get a comment from someone whose blog you admire but who you don't know? Wow. Of course, and I hope this doesn't sound egotistical, but in some circles (very small ones), I guess I sort of am a bit of a blogging celebrity myself, because of the other blog--but that's only in our little professional circle. I do try to make a point of writing on other people's blogs, especially the newbies, just so they know someone's reading and they're not alone. I hope it helps. When you're starting out it really helps to get the encouragement.

Speaking of which--oy! Yes, you all know about the book deal, and you may or may not know that I haven't really done much on it. Bit of a procrastination problem there. But yesterday I got an email from my editor telling me that their British counterpart is now very interested in picking it up as well, so could I please get it done early? Yes, my editor kept assuring me, this is very good news, but . . . crap! Hence, going on "sabbatical" from the other blog. (Like that's going to work. I just wrote a blistering post that should really irritate people. Yah! But I'll wait to throw that up until next week.) And I'm trying to put together another book proposal that's due at the end of the month. That's for an edited volume which is, of course, a huge pain in the ass to line up. Too much stress.

And, yes, the tomatoes and basil keep coming. This may be the last week, but I picked up another ten pounds or so of 'maters at the CSA last Tuesday. More sauce. I really should count how much frozen sauce we have in the freezer. I use the really large yogurt containers to freeze it--we must have ten or so in the freezer. And who knows how many little pesto cubes. You CSA people out there might want to read this post from a foodie blog--I think I found the blog initially while searching for recipes for some of our CSA produce, but here it is, "My Last CSA."

What else has happened? MAH mentioned going to the David Byrne concert--which was, of course, awesome. I posted about that on Facebook--MAH said I should go back and look at what I've posted on Facebook to remind myself of the past few weeks. I should note that even David Byrne hasn't been posting to his blog as often he he did on his last tour.

Things have been pretty low key here in the Boro--shocking, I know. With MAH singing on Tuesday nights (choir practice, not karaoke) and working Wednesday, he's not home as often--which makes me sad. Oh, and we did have to go up to my parents to visit a few weekends ago. Both because I was starting to get the annual fall guilt-vibe and because my mother's old computer had finally died and she bought herself a new machine with Vista. Between the Geek Squad and my brother, most things were working but not everything. She couldn't get access to her old email, including all her old email addresses, which was vexing her--and so, by mother-guilt extension, me. It was easier to go up there and deal with things in person. I didn't actually solve her email problems while we were up there. The solution didn't occur to me until later, so I had to through the agony of walking her through finding the files I needed on her backup and sending them to me. Then I reconstituted her email system on my (non-Vista) computer, then walked through her inbox on the phone and identified which addresses she needed. Now the problem is solved. For now.

Oh, and I've gone to two meetings now of the "ladies' club" that I'm not allowed to talk about. Both within walking distance. I went to the first meeting although I hadn't heard anything from the acquaintance of mine who sponsored me. She wasn't there, but all the older ladies were very kind and friendly. They probably felt sorry for me, since neither one of my "sponsors" was there. Turns out that my acquaintance had had a falling out with the society matron at whose house the first meeting was being held. So she's avoiding the club for a while. I knew the woman who was giving the second talk (on modern Latin American art) (another faculty wife), so I walked over to that one. Again, everyone was very nice, and since I knew the speaker, it was a bit easier. MAH and I agreed that I need to establish that I'm my own person so it's good for me to go on my own.

Movies? None in the theater. From Netflix--"Out of Sight," "The Big Lebowski," "In Bruges," I think that's about it. I saw "Out of Sight" when it first came out--all I remembered was that Clooney looked great and I liked Jennifer Lopez's clothes. After seeing it again, those are still my main impressions. Sorry--I know it's a good film, but that's what stayed with me. I was seeing "The Big Lebowski" for the second time, I think, MAH for the first. I had fuzzy memories of it, and I think on the whole it improved on the second viewing. MAH was unimpressed, I think. Neither of us was particularly keen on "In Bruges"--which had gotten raves on my favorite film podcast. I thought it had moments of brilliance, but I had problems with the story. MAH, was, again, unimpressed. You'd never be able to guess in a million years what two films are now lying in their little sleeves on the front hall table. Go ahead, try. WRONG! "Babette's Feast" and "The Highlander"--neither one of us has seen either of them. I hope you're appreciating the masculine/feminine, high art/commercial contrast there.

I don't know when we'll find time to watch them, though. What with baseball season and football season still active for Philadelphia sports fans. We're so behind on our news shows--John and Steven. We're up to date on "Project Runway" of course (and me on "Top Design"). A very frustrating season. If you're a fan and you didn't read TLo's fantastic post, "We're Having Our Own Damn Reunion Show!" go immediately and read it. As people keep saying in the comments, their blog is getting to be only the only reason to watch the show anymore. God, I love those boys!

If we'd been thinking of you, we'd have gone last Friday to the faculty club "barn dance"--with a real square dance caller. But that's a sacrifice we wouldn't make, even for you, dear readers.