auntlada, Greece never had a communist government, although it almost happened in the late 1940s, but it had often has had Socialist governments.

That's what I thought, but I'm not really up on modern Greek history.

Also, chopping carrots? Ick. For me, that's a good way to lose a fingertip. Then again, I use my mothers rule: If it takes more than 20 minutes of my time, I'm not fixing it. Casseroles and things like that are OK because although they are cooking longer than that, I'm not doing anything for more than 20 minutes. I love pre-chopped vegetables and fruit. I'm still a little disappointed I can't find chopped ginger in a jar the way I buy garlic. I only use it maybe once a month. I don't need a whole root, and I also can't seem to grate it very well. I think I need a new grater.

auntlada I agree on the ginger issue....I'd love to buy it pre-chopped because I don't use enough to justify buying a whole root...I've thought of "sharing" a ginger root with a friend who also cooks a lot....but they just moved 3 hours away from me! Ratbastards...too far for ginger root sharing!

A born and bred southerner to the rescue re:fried mashed potatoes. We fry everything auntlada so try this. Take left over mashed potatoes. Add an egg, a little flour (enough to bring it back to the consistancy of mashed potatoes...the egg will make it runny) and some chopped onions. Drop by the spoonful in shallow pan with just a little oil to cover the bottom of pan. Fry til golden brown. Yummy!!!
Must be the Scottish/Irish heritage that is so rampant in the south, but if it can be eaten? We'll fry it.

Indian food is one of my favorites. Pretty lucky to have a great restaurant here that's family run. Masala dosas are the house specialty and are truly mouth watering. She makes a mean lamb curry, too.

Add me to the single, not looking, non-maternal group. If it happens, it happens. I’m certainly not worrying about it. But if it does happen, I'll have to post SorchaRei's rules. I agree about the alone time as well. DariaG's living arrangement sounds mighty fine to me. If I had someone living with me all the time I would be asking, "Weren't you going to the game with your buddies?"; "I thought you were playing golf today?"; "Isn't this the weekend for your annual 'Guys go to the wilderness and play with all their toys'?"

I have a never-married 76-year-old aunt who says she's not an old maid; she's an unclaimed treasure. (Cute for someone her age to say, but, ugh, on the claiming part.)

I don't like a lot of beverages (coffee, tea - hot or iced, beer, wine), but I love ice water. That is the only thing that quenches my thirst (but I wouldn’t turn down Pepsi, margaritas, Jack Daniels & Pepsi, Orange Crush, or Tropical Punch Kool-Aid). Most people act as though I've committed some faux pas when I say I want a glass of water. "Just a glass of water; are you sure? We have A, B, C, D, etc." They seem totally befuddled by my choice as though they are not being good hosts by giving me water.

And I'm with Colin on how I like my scrambled eggs. I had a hard time watching TAR while everyone was eating those eggs. I cook scrambled eggs until they are tiny little balls - not those icky soup-like eggs like the ones from the last episode.

Suzikins, I was completely with you until the mint and chocolate as well.

It's Miracle Whip or horseradish mustard on sliced meat sandwiches. The yellow mustard is for hot dogs only. And no mustard on the burger!

Damn, it's still just me on the native side, then. Wah!

2-litres of Faygo are more like a dollar or $1.29 now, I think, but it's still a far cry from over a buck for a twelve ounce. And Kroger often has them on 2-for-1 sale. Mmmm, redpop. Never fails to take me back to church picnics and end-of-summer pool parties.


I'm not much of a cook, but I do make some of my own clothes, and for children of my acquaintence as well. Much easier for curvy 5'2" me then trying to find petites that fit. My mom made almost all of our clothes and her own, too, when I was younger (before she went back to work, to tie it into our earlier discussion) and that was as recent as the late 70s/early 80s. She doesn't sew much any more, but that's more a factor of time management and arthritis then it is inclination. I wasn't thrilled when I was younger with our homemade jeans and bathing suits, but now, of course, I appreciate the effort and wish I had her skill.

devajd wrote:

Thanks! I found it on their website and now just need to find it in the store so I can read the complete list of ingredients. The "Contains plant-based conditioners and natural botanicals" bit on their website has me worried it has aloe. (Yes, I'm one of the few people in the world who is very allergic to aloe.)

And on the food thing: I don't eat anything where I can recognize body parts. And, as far as I'm concerned, both Mayo and Miracle Whip are evil and gross!

On a completely different note, I think my kitten has OCD. He wants to play fetch non-stop. I think we went for 4 hours Sunday. His favorite time to insist we fetch? 2:30AM.

Going back a few pages to respond; the problem with training my replacement was that I couldn't goof off online the past few days. Oh well, no more worries about that! But this will be a real potpourri post.

The funny thing is that I'm no longer employed at the Job from Hell -- but I'm still on the payroll! Yeeehah! Actually, I agreed to come back next week to cover for another person who's out on vacation -- it's a small enough office that with my replacement being new and the admin secretary being new, the rest of the staff will be stretched too thin. So I guess I'll become their vacation-fill-in person and work for them if and when I feel like it. Works for me. :-) And in the meantime, my benefits (including fully paid health insurance) continue through the month of September. Ain't no flies on this mama!



Oh, me too! My mother only had Miracle Whip in the house when I was growing up, which is just repulsively nasty. I was all grown up before I discovered how good real mayo is. I'll have to try Dukes next time around, if it's available here. Same with mushrooms -- I only ever tasted those horrid canned things growing up. Still hate 'em. But fresh mushies? Yummy!

I remember once at a Japanese restaurant, the folks next to me insisted that the restaurant go next door and get a bottle of ketchup for American Gourmet to put on his heavenly Japanese food. Yuck. Just....yuck. (Need I mention that he bitched his way through every bite nevertheless?)

I have to admit that a big reason I love working at home is that Papa Tiger doesn't. In fact, a married girlfriend of mine once said that she believes every husband ought to be required to go out of town at least one weekend a month. ITA. Right now having Papa Tiger a thousand miles away is a drag when it's time to take out the garbage, but a little vacation from each other? Priceless! I've already informed him that when he retires, he damn well better find something to do with himself because he is not going to hand around and drive me crazy all day!

Papa Tiger informed me -- after the fact -- that most of the "pork" served in Japan is really whale. Damn. It tasted good, too. But I'll never eat that again, I promise! I didn't know, really! Sorry, Shamu!

Re pizza: When the office moved recently, they ordered in pizza. Seven different large pizzas (for about ten people) from Domino's, all with pepperoni. I will eat anything on pizza (including corn and squid). Anything, that is, except Domino's pepperoni. Tastes great, but trust me, the intestinal after-effects are not pretty. No point in picking it off; the pepperoni leaves enough pepperoni juice on the pizza to cause the same effects. I asked for a veggie pizza or at least one without pepperoni, and was snottily informed that they "weren't taking special orders." Fortunately, a friend of mine made the actual call, and got me a small veggie. Bless her heart! But then I spent a couple weeks trying to explain to everyone that I'm not a vegetarian. *le sigh*

Re chopped ginger: Check Asian groceries. It's a common enough ingredient that you can usually find it there with no problem.

miri, you might also want to check and see if cake mascara works better for you. Maybelline used to make it, I know (I suspect that they still do, but you may have to hunt for it.) Otherwise, Chanel and Paula Dorf both make it, and it's available at Sephora (quelle surprize!) as does Longcils. It's what I always used when I was doing theatre and threatre makeup.

And I just checked my grocery store; Faygo is at 95 cents for a 2-litre, as opposed to 84 cents for "Sunshine" brand, and a dollar and change for Pepsi and Coke.

Wow, you can still get cake mascara? I was just telling Tigerdaughter today about all the cakes of Maybelline mascara (and eyeliner) I went through as a young teenager. Back when we took our raccoon eyes very seriously indeed!

Good heavens. I only worked for a few hours without interruption.



All that remains is to write a quiz so we know which flavour each of us is.

On food likes and dislikes: Like a few others on the list, I'll try anything once, and I'll even give some food two shots (I suspected that my initial dislike of uni, for example, was rather sushi-bar specific, and in an exceptional sushi restaurant I tried it again with better results). I wasn't particularly grossed out by the squid-eating in TAR4, except for the quantity that had to be consumed.

Adore Vernor's (but I drink diet). Also diet A&W rootbeer (diet Barq's is not a bad substitute, but diet Mugs is really weird -- it tastes just like the rootbeer flavour of these dextrose candies that I had when I was a kid that were called Bottle Caps, I think). Although I won't spurn it after it's been poured for me, diet Pepsi is not the same as diet Coke. (And while I do think that DC with Lime is infinitely better than the Lemon flavour, I think DC with a fresh squeeze of lime is better still. Sorry, Miss Alli.)

On cooking for others: I enjoy cooking (as a craft, as Zron aptly describes it), and will generally host large (12-18), sit-down dinner parties about 4-5 times a year. The crowd I'm cooking for now habitually includes: vegetarians (ovo-lacto and ovo-lacto plus fish -- and no, I don't know how fish are grown, etc., I'm just quoting), lactose-intolerant folks, mushroom-haters, eggplant-haters, people who hate or are allergic to fish and shellfish, teetotallers, people with a lower-than-average tolerance for spicy food (when I have an off-the-scale tolerance and fondness for it), foodies who both know and care about wine and food (in which group I sit), and to cap it all off, a type-capital-A diabetic who MUST eat by 7pm.

It takes some planning.

On the joys of singledom: I was a fantastically content single woman for 32 years -- and boy, the longer you get to live by yourself, the better you like it. For all the reasons stated by all the other women who have commented on this already, especially for the joy -- no, the necessity -- of daily solitude. Mr delta and I have been together for 7 years; we are not married, but we have lived together for almost 2 years, and we were practically living together for several years prior to that. In the early days of our relationship, I had that dream about neighbouring townhouses, but bit by bit I got used to sharing our space. And if you'd told me this would happen when I was 30, I would never have believed you. But I think the only reason it works is that we both need and understand each other's need for some daily privacy. Right -- and separate tubes of toothpaste. I don't care if tubes are plastic now, you still should squeeze them from the bottom.

My brother and his girlfriend were going to be, I thought, the last people I could point to when people ask me about when Mr delta and I will marry. But after 11 years of living in sin, they've decided to get married. Sigh.

Is it 10pm yet? No? Rats.

Hrmph. I'm waiting for the day you can just tell a unit on the wall what you want and it makes it for you, a la Star Trek.

Of course, the idea of eating food made out of reconstituted waste does kind of take the shine off that bright idea.

I thought that thing was a phone, pseudo. With a credit card and a bit of a time delay (plus the food slot moving over to the door), it seems to work about the same. Plus, no eating poo!

Yep, you can, MamaT. I still prefer it to tube mascara, and I positively detest tube eyeliner -- pencil or cake is the only way I go. I don't remember ever using one up, though; ususally I just got tired of it and bought a fresh one. It helps, for me, that I can use contact wetting solution to wet it, since about the only time I wear either is when I've got my contacts in.

Root beer? Dog and Suds house brand (It's a chili dog and rootbeer drive-in restaurant in Northern Illinois.) It's all draft, but they'll sell you a gallon jug if you want.

Where do you get cake mascara these days? I've looked for it for years and haven't seen it. I use a pencil for eyeliner, such as I wear.

Soylent Green is People!

And reconstituted waste? Anyone who eats vegetables fertilized with manure - or compost for that matter - can tell you all about that. Mmm, crapalicious.

Sephora has two brands, Chanel and Paula Dorf. Or you can try Makeup Mania online for the LaFemme brand at $4.00. Paula Dorf runs about $20.00 Longcils is $24.00, and then there's Lola Loves Lashes at $25.00. All three of those are available at drugstore.com

Why, George! George Sibley, is that you? [/sfu geek]

Is that a piece of poop, dried? Ew!

Here's a question. If you're applying cake mascara, do you still do it with a brush? Is it like using an ink stick for calligraphy?

Here's another: Is your mouth still open while you're applying cake mascara?

Christopher Ranch sells chopped ginger in a jar, I found this out when I mistakenly picked it up instead of garlic. Yes, I admit it, I use prechopped garlic and I often get the prechopped veggies. No, it's not difficult to chop veggies, but when I get home at 6:30 and have to cook dinner, bathe the kidlets and get them to bed by 8:30, any reasonable shortcut works.

delta yes, and yes.

the brush shape varies, some are square-tipped soft brushes, and others have a stiffer one that looks like a moustache brush or a tiny little hairbrush.

And I always have my mouth open when I'm putting on mascara. Don't know how it works, but for me it does cut down on the blink factor.

I also noticed that the Olympic swimmers all open their mouths when they're putting their goggles on. ANn raising their eyebrows, which I always do when putting on mascara, too.

In Toronto, you can get chopped ginger in a jar at major supermarkets (Loblaws, Dominions). Y&Y is the best brand of this.

But if you have an immersion blender with the chopping attachment (a Braun, say), it's actually really fast to blend a batch of it from fresh ginger. Add a little bit of water, and you can keep the paste in the 'fridge for quite a while. Or take a bit of seran wrap, and glop teaspoonfuls of the ginger every few inches or so; then wrap, and twist between the glops (so they look like a string of hard candies). Stick the whole thing in the freezer. You can untwist the ginger in single teaspoons to add to cooking. (This same trick works really well for minced garlic, too. It's way way better tasting than ground ginger. Garlic salt doesn't even live in my kitchen.)

OK, first time on this thread. Couldn't help but join in the food discussion.

I'll eat just about anything that isn't alive. Offal/entrails don't please me too well either. I did test it by making menudo (Mexican tripe soup) one time - it just didn't do it for me. The thing that really got me about the live octopus eating in TAR 4 was the thought of those little guys moving around in my stomach after I had swallowed them. Sorry, that was gross!

I used to live in Michigan, and miss Vernor's. Regular and diet! Why did I never try Faygo Redpop? Do other states have Superman flavor ice cream? Now I live in Iowa and haven't found the local consumer specialties yet. Any suggestions? I had lutefisk when I lived in Minnesota (ooooh - exotic!) and kinda liked it. I was told that Minnesota keeps the Norwegian lutefisk industry alive. The best specialty I've found here is a big fried pork sandwich, and, having grown up in the south, I have to say - Iowa, can't you do better? Ah yes, the wild wild food of the Midwest.

I used to enjoy cooking more, but since I'm single and generally really busy, I find it just takes so much time...but I always try new stuff. I generally try to judge whether I'm going to like what I'm fixing another 4-5 times. Good thing I like a lot of things.

This was mentioned upthread a few times - fries with mayo. Mmmmm.....try it if you haven't.

Soylent Green is people! I need to watch that movie again. Dystopias - ahh, good times!

I have never heard of cake mascara. Something else to investigate! Danke.

Aw, I’ve been cheating on you guys with the Olympics section, and you bring up food phobias. Nothing that is even close to seafood comes near me. I’ve always been this way and my entire family have always been fish junkies. I didn’t pitch fits and my parents didn’t spoil me, I just ate a lot of hushpuppies in restaurants when I was growing up. I will eat a little if I am a guest, but for some reason fish and shrimp just don’t register as food products to me. It’s like trying to eat the napkins.

unbridled, you are me! I have four mustards in my fridge right now. Unground for cold salads (pasta, egg, potato), horseradish for beef products, brown for almost everything else, and...toxic yellow Frenches for hot dogs!
I also have Miracle Whip for deli ham, and mayo for roast beef, but when I make chicken salad I have to make mayonnaise from scratch- I just like it that way.

And since you guys brought up regional sodas, would someone in NC please lift a glass of Cheerwine and think of me. I miss it so much. That and Eliot’s apple juice.

And count me in as someone who is still looking and still thinks that babies would be nice someday but what with my parents not having me until they were thirty-five, my clock is still set on snooze.

And thanks for cracking me up, Zron...
...was exactly what I yelled when I saw the green algae based smoothies put out by Naked™.

Boy, have I been missing out on a great forum!

unbridled, bluedevilblue, Cerise6304, RachelRSL, and Bubbacat, add one more to that list! I'm 34, single and childless, and have been accused of "having the wrong priorities" just because I love my career and don't spend life hunting for a man and wanting babies.

If I meet the right guy some day? Great! But I don't think I'm cut out to be a mom. Until then, I have wonderful nieces and nephews and will spoil them rotten (much to the irritation of my sister!)


DariaG


I've never heard anyone say that before! I have the same texture issues as you, and can't eat tomatoes but still like the taste of them, heh. The same with onions... I like the taste, I just don't want to chew them.

Can't STAND mayo. Or watermelon.... or coffee for that matter. Give me a Diet Coke (and keep 'em coming!)


RitaTome


Hee! This is so true! Irish/Scottish here, and from the South. My arteries were never so happy as when I moved to NJ.


Mama Tiger


I REALLY wish you hadn't told me that, heh. I just got back from my first trip to Japan in May, and (as someone who hates seafood) I was ALL OVER the fried pork. Ah, well.....

Rosamarina, my soulmate! I don't know if other states have it or not -- I've only ever lived in MI and SC, and I don't remember it in SC, but then I couldn't get lots of stuff I was used to there. When I was little I LOVED to go to Meijers with my mom, because if I was good we could go to the Purple Cow while we were there. I always got either Superman or Blue Moon ice cream. I don't know what either of these are supposed to be flavored like, but I still love them. Even if I feel a little silly ordering Superman ice cream as a 31-year-old. I deal.

I've never found a company that makes good Superman ice cream in the carton, though. You have to get it at the ice cream place.

ETA: Mel, I'm sorry. That's always rough. I hope that watching TAR cheers you up just a bit.

I don't mind fries with mayo, but I can't take it for more than a few fries. I know several people that use plum sauce, but I like salt, vinegar and ketchup. And do Americans really find it that odd that Canadians (I'm not sure about other nationalities) put vinegar on their fries? It's so good and versatile. Cleaning solution and food accoutrement!

I love ketchup, just like you JenEx. Reading this thread, I was beginning to think that I was the only one that liked ketchup. I would never waste it. I know one guy who eats ketchup on its own. This is the same guy who, when he goes to Subway gets two 12" subs on italian bread, double chicken, double cheddar cheese and nothing else. It's good, but way too dry for me. I prefer it with sweet onion sauce.

I can be very picky when it comes to food. I can't stand even the smell of cucumbers, olives or ranch dressing. I don't like tomatoes raw, but I do like tomato soup, bruschetta and salsa. I never used to like onions, but I'm actually quite a big fan of them now.

I absolutely love watermelon and cantaloupe, but I find honeydew to be very bland. Though it is good with vanilla ice cream.

On another note, my bf of 1 1/2 years and I just broke up yesterday, mostly because I'm moving away and we'd never get to see each other. It was hard enough getting to see him when I live 30 minutes away, nevermind two hours. He also said he'd been feeling distant lately, and I had noticed it too. When he first said, "we need to talk," I started to cry my eyes out because I knew what was coming. We went for a walk, and he hugged me and told me he still loved me, but that it would be for the best. He figures he might also be moving to London next year and that we can give it another shot then, and "if it's meant to be it will be." I'm doing okay, but whenever I thinnk about how he started to cry I start to cry again. He is my first love and I pictured us being together forever. Before I left his place we sat, held each other and cried. I'm still crying quite frequently, but I talked to him again today, and I'll probably go to his house this weekend because he's having a party, and we have many mutual friends. (My best friend is dating his best friend.) It's going to be awkward, but I'm hoping that we work this out and remain friends.

I feel better typing this all out, as I've told most of the story to my best friend Mallory, but no one else. We'll get more time to talk on Friday when we go for tattoos.

And now I'm off to watch TAR. I have to record it for my mom and dad, because I got them hooked during TAR3. Mom watched the first two seasons occasionally, but now neither of them can miss it.

ETA: You can get Superman ice cream in Canada.

Mmmmm. Malt vinegar on fries. Off to TAR -- yay!

Yes, all the pizzas were covered in meat. And thus, “contaminated.” I don’t consider picking meat off a meat pizza a viable method to make the pizza vegetarian. And none of the vegetarians at this event did either.

I look at it like this. I wouldn’t serve a salad where I’ve picked off all the shrimp to someone who was allergic to shrimp. Why would a vegetarian consider a de-meated pizza vegetarian? However, maybe that’s just me.



I’ve lived here almost all my life and I’ve never heard of such a thing. And if it’s true, somebody should let the street vendors know. I’ve eaten veggie dogs in downtown TO, pizza from “by the slice” places and all manner of foods at various Fringe Fests over the years.



Word to that. Whenever I’m in a restaurant, I go to great lengths to make sure that the food I’m served is void of any kind of animal product. Lately though, I’ve begun refusing sour cream, because it most likely has gelatin in it, and people keep thinking I’m a freak for asking if their sour cream contains gelatin.

However, I have no problems eating “exotic” foods. I’ve eaten all manner of ethnic foods: African, North African, Middle Eastern, Asian, Latin American and various European foods. I particularly like spicy food. And I’d kill for a really good falafel.

I can’t say that I’d eat bugs, though. No matter how good they’re supposed to taste. And since I never really liked beef or pork as a child, I wasn’t ever keen on eating mutton, lamb, goose, duck, rabbit or any kind of game. When I lived in France, the second family I lived with wanted to make me rabbit and frogs legs. They never did, though, because they gathered that I wasn’t terribly receptive. They did, however, manage to get me to eat escargot. Alas, I’m of the belief that nearly anything is palatable when smothered in so much butter and garlic.



Applewood smoked cheddar is heaven. So. Good.



I think there’s a difference in having legitimate food concerns and being rude. Hypothetically speaking, if you make an effort to invite me to a barbecue you’re throwing, I don’t care what kind of vegetarian option you give me, just so long as there is one. However, if you go to the trouble of inviting me, knowing I’m a vegetarian or allergic or whatever, and serve me something I can’t or won’t eat, then I’ll be miffed. Silently, of course. But still miffed.



At the time I extended the invitation, they had only just started the diet. They made it seem insurmountable, but in the end, I made a roasted vegetable and chickpea couscous with couscous grain and whole wheat pita. It was quite good. I know next to nothing about the diet, except what my friends tell me.

Someone mentioned not being able to find ginger in a jar, like garlic. Except you can. I have a bottle in my fridge at this very moment. It’s excellent.

Oh, and count me in as someone who doesn’t like coffee, though I find the smell divine. It’s a huge disappointment to me, that I can’t drink coffee.

And now, it's time for TAR.

This made me want to let you all read this from my pseudo-aunt


And I just saw the rupert ad...please go away. I hope he has NOTHING to do with the next survivor.

Hee. That's great, labral. I always was of the opinion that french fries are a vegetable and I should therefore eat 5-10 servings daily.

I just saw the Rupert ad too (during TAR of course). Kill me now.

Even my friend, who still kind of likes Rupert, turned to me after that ad and asked what the hell it was.

TWoPers aren't the only ones to note the new and improved Rasslin' Rupert.

[/QUOTE]Re chopped ginger: Check Asian groceries. It's a common enough ingredient that you can usually find it there with no problem.[/QUOTE]

Ahh....I live in a pretty small community....about 25,000 people. There are 2 Universities between here and the border community 8 miles from here, and there is a very small international store....so I'll check there. If not, I'll be in Portland in two weeks so I'll go to the international district and pick some up there. Thanks to all who knew ginger was available in jar form! Woo! You people rock!



[/I]grr....I can't seem to close the quote tag[/I]

You've got extra /s in your opening tags, princesslola. Speaking as one who has hosed more than a few tags in her time....

princesslola, I picked mine up at Safeway, a fairly common chain. But when I did purchase it, it was the first time I'd seen the ginger being proffered. I've seen all kinds of variants of garlic and garlic with jalapeno, but not ginger. Until the time I purchased it.

Also it looks you have the /tag thing at both the beginning and end of your tags. Which would be why it's not working.

Thanks both of you! I seem to be tag handicapped tonight! Anais I've got a Safeway a mere mile from my house....I'll do a double check there on Sunday. I haven't seen the diced ginger before, but I could be overlooking things.

Speaking of Safeway....Mr princesslola and I are in love with our fishmonger at Safeway....he always gives us the best deal. King crab legs on sale for $11.99/lb we get for $9.99 lb....and the best, best deal happened a few weeks ago. We love clams and Safeway had Manila steamers on sale for $4.99/lb. So we went to get about 4 pounds worth....Tom (the fishmonger) says....hey, I've got a 2lb bag of clams only....no shells...are you interested? Hell ya! Most of what you pay for when you buy clams is the weight of the shell....I love me some Tom....he's going to get a Christmas card/bonus from us for sure!

edited to add....everyone keep your fingers crossed for us....we are in the process of buying a new house and I was certain that we were about $3,000 short for closing because our stocks tanked a few years ago and didn't fully recover. Well, the Mr sat me down and said I was going to love him and hate him. He pulled $3000 out of various books/envelopes.....he's been salting money away for the past 6 months. Even though things have been tight recently, how I can I hate him? He pulled $3 grand out of books! I freaking love him!

The first time I went to Japan, my (business) hosts announced that they were taking me out to dinner. Did I want to go for French or for Japanese? Duh. Japanese, please. "Well", they said, "well, last month your colleague IdiotBoy was here and he wanted Japanese food, and well, are you sure?" Absolutely!

So off we went to one of these places where Japanese businessmen go after work to eat and drink and make sure their wives get plenty of alone time. I was the only woman there who wasn't serving food. They order food and beer.

A beautiful carved wooden box is placed in front of me, with 12 little square holes in it, all in a row. Each hole has a gorgeous ceramic bowl in it with some kind of food in it. "Special Tastes!" my hosts beamed at me. "You eat it in order, left to right."

So I picked up my chopsticks and started eating. The first couple of bowls had yummy stuff in them. By the time I got to the still-squirming, still-alive tiny little squids in the middle bowls, I was just all focused on eating it all. The last couple? I have no idea anymore. I just know I ate them, and tasted them, and survived them.

And suddenly my hosts are leaping out of their chairs and slapping me on the back and telling me what a great person I am. Seems Mr. IdiotBoy had demanded Japanese food and then refused to eat it in the most rude, Ugly American way possible. So Special Tastes was a test that I passed.

After that, they ordered in sanely good food. After a few hours of more food and beer, they started sharing with me the tricks they had played on IdiotBoy. One of them handed me a bowl of soup with beef tendons in it (which I loved, by the way -- yummy stuff!) and said, "When he got really scared that he couldn't eat anything here, he asked for beef, so I ordered this!"

Yeh, no wonder IdiotBoy hadn't wanted this second trip to Tokyo. But I did, and I loved it. Even the Special Tastes. Because now I know I can eat anything.

And that knowledge has come in handy since then (most notably in India, where I discovered that the food I hate the most in all the world is water buffalo).

I used to loathe watermelon. Icky texture and no taste. Then I had watermelon in Singapore, and I realized that the problem is that it doesn't get hot enough where we grow watermelons in N. America. Singapore watermelon is insanely good.

You know what's weird? I never really craved Cheerwine until I moved away (just to VA! Not a big move!) and couldn't get it anymore. I would try going into shops near the border and ask for it (standard response 1: "No, we don't sell any wine" SR2: "Well, we've got Boone's Farm"), but to no avail.

My mom started stockpiling cases of it for me (and Sundrop for MrKate, who is from PA but fell in love with Sundrop due to his sister living in NC). I've now hooked about half a dozen friends on the two, and have quite a border operation running.

Did you know they apparently make Cheerwine ice cream now, too, and actually have expanded outside of the NC borders into a few border towns in SC?

And is RC cola a regional cola? I don't hardly hear about it even back home anymore, but that was always the mark of a trip to the Blue Ridge for the day - a can of RC cola on the front porch of the general store.

karatekate, I saw one episode of AITC, but that bit about extraterrestrial cows will stay with me always. Just cracks me up.

Love watermelon and cantaloupe (if they’re ripe) but I really don’t like honeydew. Too sweet when it’s ripe. The problem with so many fruits in N.A. is that we get them unripe. Fruit isn’t supposed to be hard and bitter, people! Getting ripe fruit at the farmer's market makes summer the time of year I lose weight without trying.

Love the smell of coffee. But to drink it I must fill it with enough cream and sugar for it to resemble coffee ice cream.

I love the smell of beer, but I’m allergic to hops (of all things). Fortunately, that leaves hard liquor and wine as options.

My favorite Chinese restaurant is in Flores, Scotland, which has about 400 people. Amazing food. Take away only. And there are so many Indian ex-pats in England and Scotland that there’s plenty of authentic Indian cuisine. I’m actually really fond of a place on the Royal Mile. Who’d have thunk it? (I don't remember who upthread was going to Scotland, but if you'd like to spend a week near Inverness, I know a great self-catering place. Very posh and if you are a big group of 4-6 people, very reasonable. Plenty of things to do on day trips in all directions. Just e-mail.)

Fried mashed potatoes was a frequent leftover dish at my house when I was small. Make it into a patty (at room temp, with egg or even just add milk to make it pattyable), dredge in flour, sauté in oil or bacon drippings or butter. Serve as starch at meal with or without gravy.

Not a regular comer to the Meet Market, but I wanted to share something I got a chuckle out of this morning. Turned on the NBC HD coverage of the Olympics, and they were showing heats of some random men's sprint. The camera showed one competitor, with "NAMIBIA" emblazoned on his jersey, triggering my reflexive, "That's NAMIBIA, jackass." Funny enough, I thought, got a chuckle out of Mrs. FFX. Only moments later, though, the annoucer said, "And here we see [guy's name] from Nambia." At which point we both broke out laughing, and had to go back to be sure that's really what he said. Apparently, he just hasn't watched enough TAR: International Pronunciation.

If you buy enough boxes from the GS & store them in the freezer, you can have them year round. Especially since NJ GS sell in the fall and NY GS sell in the spring and you have connections to a troop in each state.

I saw the runner from Namibia at the Olympics too & did the same thing. I wonder if we could get some Namibia team olympic gear to wear at TARCon5?

Immersion blenders are the bomb. I use mine almost daily. I'm a big fan of pureed soups, but never used to make them because pouring hot liquid into the blender? Not fun.

I've actually really gotten into cooking, and reading about cooking, lately, and I think it's too soon to sound the death knell for home cooking. I'm not a huge fan of the pre-chopped veggies -- I think they keep more flavor and nutrients if you chop 'em right before cooking, plus if I do them myself, I get to choose the size and shape (though they're not so pretty because my knife skills leave something to be desired). I have been known to use them on occasion, though, and I think they're much closer to, say, buying your chicken already boned and cut into parts, than to popping a Lean Cuisine in the microwave (which I've also been known to do, though lately I've been trying to avoid). My great great grandma would probably think I'm being lazy just because I buy my whole chicken already dead, plucked, and cleaned, with no feet for stock, a few innards neatly wrapped in paper tucked inside, etc.

I'd also like to think that all the coverage given to Julia Child's recent passing means there are still plenty of people out there willing to put in some effort for good food. Not necessarily 7 days a week, but more often than just holiday dinners. Of course, Julia rocked in *so* many ways.

And on a TAR-related Julia note, last Saturday my PBS station showed the Jacques & Julia egg episode -- complete with ostrich egg! In the intro she joked about needing a buzz saw to get it open. Then at the end of the episode, J&J put on goggles, plopped the ostrich egg in a big ol' bowl, and smashed it open. Then, into the frying pan and..."Bon appetit! We'll probably still be cooking this when you come back for the next episode." I really wish I'd seen this before I saw Colin vs. the egg.

Okay, so tomorrow's the day I'm driving 10-11 hours from Pennsylvania to Michigan (by myself) for my brother's wedding. And I'd like to ask a favor of JenEx, BartEnder, and all the other Michigan folks on the board (and I know there's a lot of you out there). The wedding's in Shelby Township, and I'm staying in Rochester Hills. Would you please see that I-75 from, oh say, Monroe to Auburn Hills is cleared of all major traffic tomorrow between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM? Thanks, I'd really appreciate it. Actually, I'll probably go around the city (something like 275 to 96 to 696 to Telegraph to Square Lake to 75 to M-59 to Crooks Road), so it would be nice if those could be cleared as well. Again, my thanks. ;)

karatekate I remember getting Cheerwine as a kid (in SC) but I grew up pretty close to the border.

It's funny. I really would like to move out of the south because I hate the heat and humidity. But I think the food would be hard to leave. Fresh veggies still warm from the sun, Duke's mayo, Blenheim ginger ale, RC cola and moonpies, fried green tomatoes, fried okra (hell, fried everything).

We took a trip over July 4th to the VA Blue Ridge foothills because I wanted to see where my grandparents had grown up. Lots of the food my grandmother cooked are still served there....fried apple pie, in particular. I hadn't had one of those in years. It's really interesting to see the different types of "southern cooking" and how much it varies from region to region. Even here in SC we have Low Country cooking (coastal) vs. Up Country cooking (mountain) vs. Midlands (flat land). Each region has distinct differences....particularly in barbeque.

I'll get right on that, Bubbcat.

SorchaRei, special tastes? That is an excellent story.



I went on a business trip with a couple of Vietnamese ladies who worked for me and they insisted we go to a Vietnamese Pho restaurant. Beef tendon soup? Dee-vine!

I'm so tickled that my area of Flahda is getting a little diversity around the edges. I'm caucasian, but damn, there's such a thing as toooo white.* The only place I can find Indian sauces and spice blends? The London Shop. The gal that works there tells me that take-away Tikka Masala now outsells fish-n-chips in England, so maybe the jokes are right! Lemon grass? Luckily it grows well here.

Cheerwine? Is evil and must be destroyed. I had to courier a batch out to my brother in Colorado years ago for his wedding, but the last leg was on a little plane and the baggage compartment was not pressure controlled. All my clothes for the wedding and a pair of beige suede boots were bright pink! EVIL I tell you, EEE-ville!

(*Please don't take this as a racist comment; what I'm trying to say is that I'm whitebread American, and this? all the time? is the freaking definition of boring. NC was a much better melting pot.)

Was it me? I love having the house to myself all day long, and it's actually an adjustment to have Mr. Weds home on the weekends. The rules are: don't bug me about what TV I watch, don't make me watch sports or anything with a lot of shouting, and don't nag me to make you lunch. You'll eat what I eat.