Moopheus

Theoretically, at least, yes. In practice, of course, we are not all perfected.

Well, the interviewer did ask if he'd thought about becoming a Buddhist or Hindu.

For comparison, there's this from the Buddhist Anguttara-Nikaya sutra: "What is right action? That someone avoids the killing of living beings, and abstains from it. Without stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, he is anxious for the welfare of all living beings." (In much Buddhist literature, the phrases "living being" and "sentient being" are used more or less interchangeably.) There are also specific injunctions against being a butcher and accepting meat (for monks). There's no notion that the world was create entirely for our benefit.

The other day life handed me some black bananas, so I made banana bread, with chocolate chips. Basic Betty Crocker recipe. You can pretend it has nutritional value. Should be gone tonight, though.

I've been a vegetarian for four years and actually find it's uncommon these days to go to a restaurant and see nothing at all on the menu that I can eat, though these days I can't afford high-end restaurants in any case. When I worked in the Flatiron building and had an expense account, Tamarind was a favorite, though the chef who was there then now works at Amma. It was still pretty good the last time I was there.

No kidney beans, please. Of course bean paste has long been a traditional staple of Japanese dessert; it probably wouldn't be hard to adapt to euro-style dessert. William Shurtleff's Big Book of Miso has a short section of miso-bearing dessert recipes. Misos vary a lot in their natural sweetness. Haven't tried any of these recipes myself yet, though lately I've been trying to find more uses for it. Actually, now that I'm thinking of it, miso might solve a problem I've been working on.

I have a theory that almost anything can be made palatable with the addition of enough a) tomato sauce, b) cheese, c) chocolate, or d) some combination of the above. Except maybe kidney beans. The things I hate most are fake foods: margarine, miracle whip, cool whip, "non-fat" and "reduced-fat" anything, and the like. Phaelon56 said: possibly this was in the days when you might still get margarine made with pork fats, and there may not have been much of a difference.

I had some from A&S just a few days ago, and now that you mention it, it didn't seem quite as good as the first time I went there (about a year ago), though I haven't bought it frequently enough to really be sure. It was still good cheese, maybe a little less salt? Not sure. A couple of times I've gone in there and they've given me a piece out of the brine vat in the back; this last time it was a piece that was wrapped on the counter. Don't know if that would make much of a difference. Haven't tried the cheese from Fratelli, usually just go there for bags of tortellinis, or raviolis if it's been a good week.

This is a great quote. Can just imagine Mr. Light (heh), Chief Marketing Officer, sitting in his office one day and looking through his marketing research, and realizes that research says that he, Larry Light, should have choices at the restaurant for which he is Chief Marketing Officer. "Well, I'll be damned," he says. "Who woulda thunk it?"

Actually, I live in Brooklyn haunted by the memory of real coffee. And even more haunted by the memory of real ice cream, but that's a different thread.

Well, you might have to wait a bit--the web site appears to be here, but there isn't much there. I hadn't heard about this, though to this day I'm still mad that George Howell sold out to Starbucks and let them destroy the Coffee Connection. Coffee really hasn't been the same for me either.

I'd think that if the handles are lighter, that would shift the center of mass further from your hand. I wouldn't think that wouldmake it feel lighter. There's a nice cookware shop near me that might let me do a comparison. Heck, they might even know more than the customer service people. I've been meaning to check out new scales anyway.

As the warning label says: "Don't take set it and forget it literally"

Kim must have just gotten back from vacation. I just got this in my email, a response to a query I sent on Jan. 3. Note that this is far less informative than the response I got on the phone. Hello, Thank you for choosing All-Clad. I apologize for the delay. This is (and continues to be) an exceptionally busy time for us here in Consumer Service. The formulation for All-Clad has not changed. I'm not sure why your pots may seem heavier. Are you compairing pots from the same product line? Sincerely, Kim Nemitz Consumer Service Representative All-Clad Metalcrafters, LLC

Rein's Deli in Vernon, CT has Menhattan and Queens.

If memory serves me right, at the City Bakery (in NY) they sell homemade marshmallows for $6 for 12. So $17 does seem a bit of a premium to pay for the convenience of mail order. I like the Williams-Sonoma catalog. It gives me ideas for things to buy at other shops.

I have to say, it shows, uh, questionable judgment on the part of the reviewer. Not having been to the restaurant described, my impression is that the rhetoric is rather excessive and makes me think that the reviewer has had a very, very pampered existence. But this is not necessarily sufficient for a defamation claim. After all, if reviewers are not allowed to state their opinions, however harsh or unfair, then any system of independent review is weakened, and would have nasty First-Amendment repurcussions. For this reason, opinion is generally protected from libel claims. In US law at least, some issue of substantive fact must be at stake (laws vary by state). On the other hand, to quote from The Copyright, Permission and Libel Hanbook, "However, many courts will rule that if a review or critique is made in bad faith or maliciously, and it does not represent the critic's honest opinion, the review may not be protected from defamation claims." If, for example, the reviewer wrote an overly harsh review because he had a personal agenda against the owner, that might be libel. UK law is different; it's much more sympathetic to the complainant. There are plenty of instances of authors being sued in Britain for material that passed unchallenged in the US.

Going to?

You can do it either way--make a very strong, concentrated tea (i.e., with a very small amount of water), strain it and add it to your cream base, or infuse it directly into the cream, then strain and make the cream base. You want to avoid adding much extra water to the base. I've tried "Mr. Green Tea" ice cream, and don't recommend it--okay flavor, terrible ice cream.

Here's some information from Cornell University on low-carb dieting: Ask the Expert Why feel guilty about yogurt, raspberries, and walnuts? Those are perfectly good foods. As far as I can tell, no diet has ever done better than eat a balanced diet, don't eat too much junk, and get off your butt once in a while.

Oh, why choose? Tosci's, Christina's and Herrell's are all great ice cream. My preference was usually for Tosci's. JP Licks and Emack & Bolios also good, though not as rich and tasty in my opinion as the top three. If you're willing to take a drive Bart's in Amherst and Northampton is great; Herrell's is out there also. Sadly, living in New York now I am deprived; here in the city there isn't anything of that quality, or at least not that I've found yet. There were a couple of good places here in Brooklyn that have closed. Boo hooo hooo.

Thinking about possibly making a trip over to this place, and wondering what sort of eatables they have--their website talks only about the coffee. I know I'll be more inclined to go if there's also a nice piece of cake to be had.

I don't see how any body using a hand tamper could give you a very accurate report of how many pounds of pressure they gave the tamp.

I've just returned from having two double espressos (wheee!) at Gorilla coffee, and they seemed to be doing everything right according to your checklist. They use a Faema E61 and Faema grinder/dosers, and hand tamping. The coffee is roasted right there in the shop. The counter guy made a point of mentioning that they'd just had the E61 completely cleaned right down to the piping. And indeed, there was no hint of bitterness, rancidity, or other unpleasant notes in the shots. The crema wasn't quite as dark as in that photo, but still pretty rich, and as I said, without any bitterness. Perhaps not the best I've ever had, but still pretty good. Williamsburg is actually kind of a long trip from here, and I usually have no reason to be going over there, but maybe someday.

Eisenberg's is okay but the sandwiches at Junior's are better--I've had really excellent egg salad and tuna sandwiches there, and the egg creams are pretty good too. Some of the best falafel I've had in New York has been off a street cart. Now that's good cheap eats!