Katherine

Always have a backup plan. If your travel agent is wrong, you'll starve on the trip. Then you'll complain, and he'll say he was sorry, which won't change the memory of your suffering one bit. Chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit, in the very least.

The first law of dietary modification (for Sam) Any changes made to a person's diet for a purpose other than maximizing deliciousness will result in a net lessening of deliciousness.

What I say is, "Three parts gin, one part sweet vermouth, a dash of Campari, and a cherry." That is, in the few places in town that actually stock Campari. What does "dash" mean to you? I think the problem is that I'm basically invisible. They don't always listen, so they don't necessarily get it right the first time (ie, olives instead of a cherry). Then, the second drink, they don't remember exactly what the first one was, so they guess, based on -what?- my physical appearance? - I'm a woman over the age of 40, so I must want vodka? -, instead of asking. The same bartender also messed up a saketini, mixing 3 parts vermouth to 1 part sake, and claimed that was the recipe. (Just give me the octopus!) I don't like to send back more than one drink in an evening. I just take it as a sign that I'm at the wrong bar, or shouldn't be out drinking tonight. It seems to be a problem with male bartenders rather than female.

I think you're coming to this conclusion with absolutely nothing to back it up. It's an assumption on your part (and one I disagree with), not a conclusion of any sort. You're assuming that if a person doesn't actually say "I'm a vegetarian because I love vegetables," then it means he doesn't really like vegetables, or doesn't really care about how they taste one way or the other; that his philosophy, whatever it may be, overrides matters of taste or likes and dislikes. I think it's much more likely that, if asked, a vegetarian won't say it because he'll assume it's a given that he likes vegetables, and then get on to his other reasons, whatever they may be, because those reasons are not "givens." And yes, I agree with mongo_jones, evangelism is a terrible bore, isn't it. On the contrary, we could slightly edit the sentence to read, "Actually liking the food they choose to eat is not a particularly high priority for most Americans, and this is clearly reflected in the overall poor gustatory quality of American cuisine." (Not speaking of a handful of exceptional restaurants in any metropolitan area, but of "cuisine" as representing the eating preferences of the majority of Americans here.) Why would vegetarians be any different than most other Americans, when it comes to the quality of their food choices?

I assure you, there are damn few vegetarians out there who are only doing it to annoy you.

The little voice inside my head tells me I shouldn't have to pay more for vegetables than meat, so when asparagus is not on sale (and the regular price is $3.99, yikes!), I eat broccoli. In truth, I eat a lot of broccoli.

Do you attribute this to the nature of the diet and its effects on you, or the fact that you can now eat with people of any dietary persuasion?

I haven't tried sweet white vermouths, so I can't comment on these. The drink with a touch of Campari is something I only make at home. It takes only about 1 teaspoon of Campari to give it the right edge, and for some reason, even bartenders given explicit instructions think Campari! Negroni! I can make that! and put in a whole ounce. I hate Negronis, way too sweet for me. I did have a sweet martini made with vodka once, again, by yet another bartender who had trouble following directions. Tasteless.

I don't know if it made the national news, but a couple of years ago we had a family here in Lancaster who had their children taken from them because they were strict vegans and their children were found to be dangerously malnourished. The court found that it was fine for them to choose what and how much they consumed but their children had to be fed according to generally accepted standards. The simple truth is that incomplete amino acid chains cannot fuel a rapidly growing body or something will suffer. The brain in particular. All these children were very small, looking at least 3 years younger than their contemporaries and were found to be a bit slow mentally. An older sibling, from an earlier marriage, who had been living with the grandparents from age 4, was normal in size and mental development. I see a lot of vegans at the health food store where I buy a lot of my baking ingredients and many of them do not look all that healthy to me. Ah, but the question is not whether these people are seriously misguided. That is a topic for another thread. The question is, are they pleasant and sociable?

The vegans I have known are no more sociable and no more often pleasant than non-vegans. A while back I read an article someone had written attributing the sometimes violent antics of EarthFirst and PETA to the fact that their malnourished bodies were telling them to go kill something and eat it. So they misdirected their violent impulses, which were intended to be against humans' natural prey. Since most violent people are not vegans, there is something wrong, or in the very least, incomplete about this theory.

Shrimp made with coconut oil is good, shrimp made with coconut oil and coconut milk is exquisite. Chicken made that way is pretty damn good, too.

Here's my uni story: My daughter graduated from college this spring, and the uni incident happened before she entered high school, so I'm thinking it was probably ten years ago. I had introduced her to sushi as a wee tad, and the Koreans at the first Japanese restaurant in the area were amazed that she ate sushi at the age of three. I guess they had never before seen such a kewpie-chan eat sushi like an adult. At the time of the incident, we were into speedskating, so we were eating a fair number of calories. Sushi was one of our favorite foods, and we had sampled everything available locally. It was at the Cambodian sushi bar that the incident occurred. I recall that they were having an all-you-can-eat one night a week. Basically, you ordered what you wanted, you ate it, and you were allowed to order more, as many times as you were still hungry. The last plate had the uni nigiri-zushi on it. I recall that the color was a little intense. I was in fact not very hungry at this point, and neither was my daughter, as we had both had a fair amount to eat. But there was the uni. I took a bite of the piece. Imagine, if you will, what a lobster would taste like if it had sat, dead, in the blazing sun on a wharf in August, for at least 24 hours. You got it. I flew to the restroom. My daughter, unaware of the reason for my rapid departure, also took a bite of the uni. I haven't eaten uni since. I also know that there is no relationship between spoilage bacteria and pathogenic bacteria, otherwise, we'd both be dead now.

I buy Parachute brand coconut oil at an Asian store. It smells wonderful, the price is excellent, and it is food grade. It has cosmetic uses (both skin and hair, pm me if you're interested), but it makes marvelous fried plantains or curry. Yes, you can melt it into your scrambled eggs, if you're trying to increase your intake of coconut oil. I too am a person whose cholesterol level is consistently lower than 140. When it comes to premium butter, I'll make my own from glass-bottled heavy cream. But sadly, I eat very little bread nowadays, due to questions about wheat sensitivities.

Is there any way to tell the roast date on the pods, or not?

In a funky cafe, whatever. In a nice restaurant, no giant septum rings, no safety pins in the face, no obvious split tongues, please.

6:1 gin:dry vermouth is better for the dry martini. 3:1 is the proper ratio for the sweet martini. Which is not really sweet, just not dry. This is a good drink to test a bartender to see if they can follow instructions. I tell them exactly what to do. Last time I ordered it, the guy put in a skewer of jumbo stuffed olives instead of the cherry I requested. Not listening...

3 parts gin, 1 part sweet vermouth, garnished with a cherry: the classic sweet martini. Sophisticated but not self-consciously so. Get those damned olives out of my sweet martini! Add a little Campari and a drop of orange oil for my signature drink. I brandied some fresh sweet cherries, so I'll have nice big ones this winter, instead of those minuscule french ones.

I don't shop at the chain that has loyalty cards because: their regular prices are higher than the regular prices at the chain that doesn't have the cards their sale prices are higher than sale prices at the store that doesn't have loyalty cards their selection sucks, compared with other stores crummy customer service made it really hard to apply for the cards, anyway. That, and the privacy issue. Most people receive a loyalty card and never read the circulars again, so they believe the drivel that they're saving lots of bucks. So it's a really effective marketing tool in that way.

I believe it was Rachel who originally posted that you soften these babies in hot tap water. I never had any luck til I tried that. Cold water doesn't cut it.

Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, bacon fat, chicken fat, peanut oil.

I missed something here. What is nonfat half-and-half? Dairyrich?

I eat the tail nibs if they're deep-fried, 'cause that seems to crisp them up, but certainly not in a soup or stew. I do recall my first kitchen job, where we were selling "baked stuffed shrimp", in the shell, prestuffed, and reheated from the walk-in. One woman liked them so much she ate them, shell and all, and ordered another plate. Each to his/her own.

Some people drink fresh, raw milk and believe it has almost mystical healing properties. Raw milk is unavailable in my area, and I don't drink milk anyway, but I'd be willing to try a cheesemaking project at some point, as long as we're keeping things hypothetical. If it's legal to sell raw milk, then test results should be available from various dairy farms. You can compare a raw milk dairy with one which only sells pasturized, as well as with state standards. My understanding is that raw milk is held to a much higher standard than pasteurized, but my info may be no longer current. Without this information, I'd just guess that (in general) listeriosis shouldn't be much of a problem for you, but for pregnant women and babies, the risk is greater.

I read on CH that Kristina's is closed. Sorry I don't have lots of recommendations, but I never get Downeast anymore.

Real Liederkranz? Who makes this? It may very well be that the current cheese plate is in fact a sharp white cheddar and not Liederkranz, but in every article that I have read that discussed the cheese plate at McSorelys, and asking the waitstaff on at least 1 or 2 occassions, its always said to have been Liederkranz. You must ask them where they get it. True Liederkranz is unlike nothing else, and sadly, has been unavailable for many years. Even a reasonable approximation would be worth seeking out.