Milagai
-
Posts
1,041 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by Milagai
-
-
gosh! where DO these speci"men"s come from?
the worst i encountered were neanderthals who
didnt lift a finger to help and goggled in amazement
when i flat out asked them to do something.
obviously disappeared rapidly from my horizon...
but the rest of you have some astonishing war stories.
my family consists of saints and angels apparently ...
milagai
-
my family story is very similar to anzu's.
hvae you seen gurindar chadha (bhaji on the beach)'s
movie on all the different thanskgivings? got great reviews.....
also, my family being veg, and hating bland food, can't
do most of the "traditional" (great point whoever made about
it being so dependent on20th c food industry mass products) stuff.
so we take the ur-american ingredients - beans, corn, squash, pumpkin,
(no tobacco, sorry), tomatoes, peppers, etc. and make whatever
with them.
one year it was veg chili, corn bread, and and the other veg into sides
another time it was sri lankan wattakka curry (pumpkin stew) served
in a hollowed out pumpkin, with the other stuff as different sides,
etc along the same lines.
general curiosity: sweet potatoes are so great made in different
ways, WHY did they ever get turned into that abomination called
candied yams, and WHY (squared) is that so popular?
milagai
-
My editors were skeptical of it. I have nothing against, Blue Nile itself, I'm just not sure if I will be writing about it in the near future.
that's indeed too bad.....
ethnocentric editors....
milagai
-
It really is remarkable that a few hundred years ago, one would never have asked your question. We have become so insualted from the real world that we have lost sight of what survival really entails. If you look at pictures of people from the 1930's and earlier, they ll have a drawn look (except for Diamond Jim Brady!) because of the lack of calories in thier diet. They simply did not get enough to eat and your question would not even be academic to them.
Doing in the family chicken for Sunday dinner was common. No problem, kill it, clean it and we eat.
It is only very recently that we have the production of food and goods to allow people to choose what to eat and develop philosophies about what is correct and what is not.
The problem is that the people who believe in these philosophies want the rest of us to do as they do. They have contrived all sorts of reasons and arguements about why we souldn't eat animals and in your case kill mice. Frankly, I wouldn't lose a minutes time worrying about the death of a mouse. Unfortuneatly for the mouse he is low down on the chain and fortuneatly for use, we are at the top. I hunt, fish, process my own animals and eat meat, fish and fowl. I am as humane as possible but realise that the animals still feel some pain. I do not lose sleep over it. There are many more important things to worry about on this earth. -Dick
Honestly not trying to be argumentative, or to try influence anyone
else's food habits BUT:
1. did you see the PBS episode of frontier family where the
family guy grew (in his opinion) so thin and gaunt and weak
when the family ran out of meat and he had to eat beans,
that he insisted on calling in a modern doctor...
The doctor came onto the set and pronounced him to be extremely
healthy, at a healthy weight and muscle tone. Doc said that people
were so accustomed nowadays to the overfed look that they often
"saw" emaciation where there was none....
(I am not saying real starvation does not exist; it did, and still does
AND can be relieved by veg as by animal diet)
2. Most of your examples derive from cultures where
the notion of a vegetarian diet perhaps never existed.
(Though was it not Pythagoras who advocated
being vegetarian?) On the contrary
there are examples of cultures where vegetarian diets have been around
for literally thousands of years. It's not a recent development.
And your level of starvation or health did not depend on whether or not
you were vegetarian, but whether or not you had enough resources
to get sufficient food.....
And people HAVE developed a discourse of compassion towards
other animals for thousands of years in Asia......
3. People ALWAYS have chosen what is acceptable or not to eat....
Historically in Europe, dogs weren't eaten - except maybe in times
of extreme famine. Why do you eat the family chicken on Sunday
and not the family pooch?
So, what's your point really? enjoy your food choices,
and let the OP ask their question ....
Milagai
-
i don't think this is really poetry, but certainly
is speaks to the emotions and draws the most
beautiful word-pictures.
from the pillow book of sei shonagon:
29. Elegant Things:
A white coat worn over a violet waistcoat.
Duck eggs.
Shaved ice mixed with liana syrup and put in a new silver bowl.
A rosary of rock crystal.
Wisteria blossoms. Plum blossoms covered with snow.
A pretty child eating strawberries.
hmmm. does she mean only to look at, or is there
any eating involved?
milagai
-
does it have to be ground mustard from a bottle?
i use black mustard seeds nearly every day in
the south indian home cooking i do....
and sometimes grind some in a small food processor
for specific dishes...
the bottle stuff i use mostly for sandwiches...
milagai
-
to the op:
woo!
how can I entice you and your spouse to my place to
wash my after-party dishes?
i'll feed you great grub of course!
milagai
-
wazaa / milagai - are you suggesting that the single all-spice is able to substitute the whole mixture of garam masala?? <snip>
no, I said I don't see why it is a substitute for garam masala, it is a poor substitute for cloves, IMHO.
With all that eugenol (65 - 90%) I can't see how anything else would be detected, flavourwise. see Spices, Gernot KatzerGaram masala would have to have substantial amounts of cardamom and cassia, and a dash of mace as well. If you just added allspice, you would get a hint of clove flavour, that is all. The name allspice was given way back in history, and the name has stuck, it is not a modern suggestion that it is a substitute for 'mixed spice', garam masala, or whatever.
cheers
Waaza
Waaza: i am very aware that the name allspice is misleading
and it's not really a sub for garam masala!
and allspice is not just clove tasting,
it is definitely clove plus.
like i said, in a pinch, blah blah
milagai
Suresh, how do you add your star anise to your desserts? do you extract it?
-
I enjoyed the Ethiopian food at Blue Nile. The restaurant itself is somewhat, how shall I say this, kitschy.
My friends, however, simply did not like the food. And while this is certainly no reason to forgo writing about it, I often have to keep in mind that my greater audience is not nearly as adventurous with food as I am. Since I am still a new writer, I have to toe that line between offering places that are new or novel and offering places that might just be a little too out there for the common palate. I'm trying to build up an identity as a writer so that people can trust me and my dining choices. But that's just my schpiel.
Any other recommendations are always welcome. I'm especially looking for Mexican places, as we are trying to run a showcase on Mexican food in the area. So far I've got Melinda's and La Villita.
and what's wrong with kitschy decor if the food is good?
and re "greater audience" not being adventurous with food, in this day and age,
in an "educated" place like the triangle, such attitudes are
beyond pathetic. ....
i have food likes and dislikes too, but i see them as being
my own shortcoming than dismissing an entire
(yummy) cuisine.....
the triangle has such a diverse population that what is considered
"the common palate" might be much wider than assumed,
and your audience will likely reflect that....
have you actually received feedback as a writer that you need
to narow your spectrum?
milagai
-
I started a thread on Chowhound 'Not About Food' on this very topic...
You wouldn't believe the flames cast in my general direction. But it's nice to see the discussion a little more elevated here.
I'm a vegetarian trying to move back into meat eating, mainly because I can't get excited about beans any more. In fact, everytime I think of something I want to eat, it's pretty much always got meat in it. My body (appetite?) wants meat.
This is of course no moral justification for anything, in itself. I'm not one for arguments of the 'if it feels good, it must be right' vein. I thought for a long time that I shouldn't eat meat because I would experience revulsion from a slaughter (e.g. Jude the Obscure) but I've since realised that my squeamishness has no necessary logical connexion with morality (the surgery argument mentioned above is an encapsulation of this point). But it could, if my revulsion comes through empathy. I'm not sure that it does, however, in my case.
There are a few good reasons I've found, though, for moving back. One is that by not eating meat, I damage (in a minutely, totally insignificant way, I admit) both the inhumane and the humane animal producers. When all is said and done, I would much rather see humane production win out ... by buying their product, I increase demand, which will pressure supply, and eventually it will become more available and cheaper. Which means more people will eat it. So if animals are going to die for food, whether I eat them or not, I think it better to support producers who give animals a much better life.
EDIT: I forgot this point, so I'll add it now. If I start to eat well raised meat, it becomes a social 'condition' of eating with me. My family is not going to become vegetarian because I'm one, but they will switch to organic/humane consumers so that I can sit down to dinner with them. So, instead of 3 supermarket meat eaters and one veggie, you have 4 people supporting humane producers. This seems like a better option.
There are holes in the argument above, I admit. It's distastefully pragmatic. Should I not act by Kant's maxim, and act in a way that I would accept my behaviour to become universal law? That is, if no one consumed any animals, would they not be better off? I'm still wrestling with this issue. Yes, all things die eventually. But it comes down to the definition of murder. Why is it alright to kill a pig and not a human being? You can't kill someone and say 'He woulda died anyhow'.
But to avoid dying myself, I must destroy. It is the essence of life. Unless I self-immolate, either a pig gets chopped up, or a hundred sardines, or a whole bunch of plants. How do you weigh life? What is more precious? I would never chop down a sequoia to save a mosquito, but that's how some vegetarians seem to think. Is killing a whale better than killing a hundred pigs, because you end one life rather than a hundred? Is intelligence the only thing that gives life value? I'm beginning to think I must accept a certain amount of destruction in my wake, and the environmental effects of pure vegetarian living (unless I grow all my own food) may be less acceptable to me than a roast organic chicken every Sunday.
Just my long-winded musings...
I was raised non-vegetarian, by scientist parents who overturned
generations of vegetarian tradition in favor of what was deemed
healthy at the time.
and I have changed right back to being veggie, for similar reasons.
my family is now veg (DH, self, 2 kids) because mainly i cannot
see any good reason to return to eating meat, other than my
own greed. and contrary to my parents' day, most of our
health issues these days are due to over nutrition than under nutrition...
and thankfully for my greed, the indian vegetarian cooking tradition,
more than amply supplemented by those from other cultures,
ensures that i will never be bored in many lifetimes.
occasionally i even enjoy "fake meats" but there's more than
enough options without those....
i have honestly yet to get bored ......
plus, the main thing to me is that
the world population is now 6+ billion, and cannot be sustained
on a meat-centered diet. estimates say how many litres of water
and kilos of grain are needed to produce 1 kg of meat?
and 1 kg of meat is one meager meal for 4 people whereas
1 kg of dal (or 1/2 kg dal and 1/2 kg rice if you are being picky)
will feed family of 4 for about 3 meals).
The rate at which we are overconsuming our resources,
and daily hearing stories about overfishing of species,
destroyng wetlands to construct shrimp farms,
razing amazon forest to grow soy to feed cattle (not humans) etc.
makes me sure that future generations are going to look back
and say "what the %%^& were you all doing?!"
(these criticisms can be applied to commercial large scale agriculture
too, but it takes less plantbased food to sustain populations compared
to animal based food)
re value of life etc. the jain religion really has this worked out very
well and very consistently: live according to ahimsa (non violence)
and don't subsist by taking the life of sentient beings - they are not
"placed on earth to be eaten"... so that rules out not only
animals as food, but also take mice in humane traps, rule out widespread
pesticides, etc etc.
in jainism, the most spiritually advanced persons are encouraged
and venerated for choosing the most consistent way to die:
fast unto death (recognising that non-sentient life, plant life, is also
equally valuable). but clearly this is not for everyone and even among
jains this is hardly a common thing..... beyond extremely rare.
a related query: why do veggies invariably get cautioned
"oh, you must be careful to balance your diet" while
meater c ounterparts who get almost no fruits, veges, or grain,
don't get parallel cautions?
and what was with anthony bourdain in the eg thread criticizing
vegetarians for being self righteous and afraid to
eat new "wierd" foods?
i find that MUCH more among meaters,
and i think veggies are much more open to international cuisines,
different ingredients, etc...
milagai
-
wazaa / milagai - are you suggesting that the single all-spice is able to substitute the whole mixture of garam masala??
WOW! there is a lot for me to learn...
it's only me who does this.
i don't think it's a widely accepted use....
and like i said, since garam masala recipes vary a lot
and since allspice has a more complex flavor
(not just one note), it sort of kind of maybe
can substitute in a very great pinch....
like episure, i'll have to wait until the
rest of the world catches on to this before
suggesting it widely....
milagai
-
mostly brought up on vegetarian Indian food, I would like to know the wonderful uses of the two spices.
I did find out from internet searches that kabab chini is all spice
but have not much clue how to use them in Indian cooking
p.s. I am a converted non-veggie so feel free to encompass meats in your suggestions
no idea if this helps, but occasionally when i've run
out of garam masala, i sub allspice.....
since there is a fair variation in recipes and flavors
of garam masala, i can sort of get away with it...
milagai
-
In my stomach brain, Blue Nile did for Ethiopian what Kim Son did for Vietnamese. Which is to say they both convinced me that I don't really like Ethiopian or Vietnamese.
eh? does that mean you don't like ethiopian food at all,
or that blue nile you think is not good?
i can't claim to be very knowledgeable or a great conoisseur of
ethiopian food, but the few times i've had it (e.g. in dc etc.) it's been
fabulous! blue nile is one of the only places in the durham area to
get any and it's not at all bad!
they have a counterpart in chapel hill that's so-so in comparison....
why did the "companions" of the OP who didn't like blue nile
dislike it? ethiopian food phobia, or a genuine critique of the
specific restaurant?
if the former, well, really......
that's no reason to leave it off your list!
if the latter, do enlighten me? (i mean that sincerely)
milagai
ps: to fix your ethiopian food phobia, unless there is
a raleigh area restaurant that i don't know about,
try a trip to wash dc.....
-
[
is Blue Nile still around in the Lakewood shopping center?
That should get on your list.
Also Pao Lim (though people say the quality is erratic....)
Sitar India Palace has a great weekend buffet with good South Indian food,
though the Cary area restaurants (Tower, Suchi, etc. etc.) are a cut above...
Milagai
-
Recently at a friend's house I ate grapes, with
a yogurt + mint dressing.
Really good, so simple.
She said it was Greek (she isn't, I'm not,)
but I want to know more?
I could not find this on google at all.
Any insights?
Thanks in advance
Milagai
-
Good to see young'uns like Noah appreciating good food. Way'ta'go, Mummy.
Thanks Dejah. So many kids subsist (and I do mean subsist) on nothing more than processed food, a fate I didn't want for my son. Our household rule is that Noah must try everything on the table once; by try, I mean chew and swallow one bite. If he doesn't like it after that, then fair enough. But if a food that he doesn't like happens to appear on the table another day, he has to try it then too. That's how Noah developed an appreciation for roasted asparagus and roasted cauliflower: through repeated attempts. And I always remember to thank him for trying.
I am the same with my children. They eat the same meal that I cook for myself and my SO. Same rules apply in my household that they need to take a few bites and if they do not like it, they do not have to eat it. Both of my children will eat it all the majority of the time. They are both seafood fans and love mussels, clams. lobster and crab and will eat most vegetables that I cook for them. I feel very fortunate to have such good eaters when I hear from other parents that their kids don't eat very well and will want to eat the same things over and over.
BTW, great blog! I was fortunate enough to meet Joie and Ian, along with a few other egulleters on my trip down to Vancouver in April. I'm looking forward to getting down there again sometime......so many restaurants that I still want to try. Although I think that HSG will be a regular stop for me when I am in town.
ITA with what both the above posters said.
I've always maintained, and am now seeing with my own
2 kids, that the popular US notion that normal kids won't like
veggies or "different" food is a myth.
How you raise them makes all the difference in most cases.
And the whole processed kid food and kid menu thing is an
insult to children...
Today's NYT has a related article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/09/nyregion/09promise.html
Milagai
-
Up next: a few thoughts on Filipino eating habits, or "Cultural Justification For Eating 6 Times A Day."
I LOVE that, and am looking forward so much to it!
Milagai
(who needs no justification whatsoever to eat 6 times a day
but would love to have one handy....)
-
Does this really have to be in the India and Indian Cuisine forum? Are you not interested in how non-Indians learned to cook?
To answer: no, this belongs anywhere!
I just thought of it when on here ...
Milagai
-
wow! that sounds amazing! perhaps a cookbook from you one day?
(said hopefully)
milagai
-
.......................................................
And I must agree with you about Indian desserts. Those nine-out-of-ten Scotsmen obviously must be Heathens. Or perhaps their faculties have been affected by the whiskey(?)
ooohh 9 out of 10 scotsmen, i am soooo convinced, totally
what was i thinking (where's the emoticon for 'slaps self on forehead')
tell you what, as a sign of my absolute conversion to the cult of
haggis, i will expiate my former heresy
by sacrificing my share and that of my descendants unto
the 19th generation to those 9 / 10 scotties.
in return, send me all the indian desserts you don't like...
that will be a very suitable penance, oh the horror....
milagai
(not milagi)
-
Hey haggis is way better then lots of stuff. Like Indian desserts for instance.
surely you jest
yes, animal offal stuffed into its paunch must surely be
"way better" than milk, cream, sugar, flour, and cardamom
milagai
-
Can I assume that you folks who don't refrigerate tomatoes & fruits like peaches don't patronize farmers' markets, or if you do, you're able to buy precisely what you need?
I tend to overbuy at this time of year, but if I don't refrigerate these things after a certain point, they rot.
(Refrigerated ripe tomatoes are returned to ambient temps before consumption of course.)
Or is there some rot-prevention trick I've missed?
Good point: I also overbuy at this time of year,
from farmer's markets, but make tomato thokku,
peach chutney, huge quantities of fresh salads that are quickly eaten,
and all the rasam etc that I would use canned tomatoes at another
time of year, I make now with fresh etc.
Chutney, thokku, etc. I refrigerate fairly soon but again I push them
till they get eaten...
Dals etc. do get refrigerated.
It's just the un-processed item that does not get refrigerated....
ps: I also don't refrigerate ghee....
With 2 young kids in the house it gets used up quite fast.
Milagai
-
I had a guest recently tell me she was allergic to curry. I tried to explain to her that it i not possible to be allergic to curry as it is a blend of several spices. No no she says curry is a power made from grinding curry leaves. now normally I would leave it a t that but if it is cumin in the curry she is allergic to and I use it somewhere in her menu she is still going to have a reaction.
Actually, there is such an herb called curry leaves. I had no idea it existed either.
This weekend on PBS, Indian chef and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey was on an episode of Julia Child's last cooking series. During the show she cooked with curry leaves. In the U.S., she said they are grown in Florida.
Turns out that the leaves are used quite a bit in Indian cooking and sometimes Vietnamese cooking, too.
Go figure.
curry leaves (murraya koenigii) are widely used in south indian
cooking, but are never an element of "curry" powder, which
most indian cooking rarely uses ....
milagai
-
question? how long can eggs sit outside unrefrigerated?
somewhere buried (p2) in this FDA document:
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/0...00282-vol20.pdf
is the quote:
..." research into the effects of refrigeration on the growth of SE
in eggs demonstrates that the natural antimicrobial characteristics
of shell eggs will inhibit the growth of SE even when eggs are stored
for several days or more at ambient temepratures..."
(SE = Salmonella Enterides)
I've heard informally ~ 7 days.
Of course, if the shell gets cracked, all bets are off.
OTOH: If the laying hen is infected with salmonella,
it can get into the egg prior to shell formation.
That way, the only way the consumer is safe is to
cook the egg, refrigerated or no....
Milagai
Triangle Favorites
in Southeast: Dining
Posted
what do people think of tallulah in chapel hill?
we haven't been there yet...
milagai