Carrot Top

Just as "There is more than one way to skin a rabbit", there is more than one way to strangle a priest. An amusing topic for thought. ....................................................... 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(?)

Well, a pipe dream perhaps it was, for me to think of. I like pipe dreams, though, and adore the idea of small independent businesses. It seems that many small businesses have gone under due to tightening regulations of all sorts (I am not saying this is "bad" just that it "is") and now there will be the extra pressure of higher gas prices. Not easy. But it does sound good that your particular customers are loyal and happy. It would be so wonderful if this thing, this gas price thing, did create niche businesses though. One must just hope.

If your sales of food have been rising regardless of the price increases, then obviously there is a good and solid demand for the product. Seems to me that this makes for an opportunity for some local person to start a business providing kosher meats closer to home. ........................................................ About forty years ago, my uncle. . .(who had gone to vet school on the G.I. Bill then worked at a poultry business -when I say poultry business I mean chicken farm - in rural Maine where he grew up). . .decided that something was missing that would be an asset to the farm. What that was, was a local source of the antibiotics that were fed to chickens (along with other various things that poultry needed that had to be made in a lab). He started that lab in his hometown, in central Maine. That was even considered to be more in the middle of nowhere than it is now. The only single thing that he was doing "different" (at first, although later he did develop his own lab products) had to do with location, location, location. Being the local source. Quelle business, let me tell you. Mucho dinero ahi. He eventually sold the business to "The Japanese" and stayed on as a consultant. Nothing wrong with making the most of what might seem to be a difficulty, but which actually can be an opportunity. Almost every cloud has its silver lining, if someone takes the time to turn it around and shape it.

Well said, in my opinion. And I agree, even though I am a mother of two and it would be an easier world if children were not children sometimes. But they are. And there are places that they will not belong until they are not.

Not from embarrassment, surely. A hot summer's day in Naples can be a tad overwhelming . . . ← It would depend on the preacher, it is to be imagined. The heat? Embarrassment? Shock? Perhaps. . .pleasure? These things are all so inextricably entwined, particularly in religious types.

I agree with you, rich. This is going to be a real problem for many people, many families, many businesses including the restaurant business. Many people live on stretched budgets already, and many people have developed a great dependence on credit. As I listened to a lecture today on the economic conditions that led to the "Enlightenment" in Europe before the French Revolution, many of the criteria seemed the same. . .the commoner was not making enough money to survive. . .credit stepped in. . .and one would live one's life in some sort of debt-induced servitude without escape. Looking around now, it seems spookily the same but for the fact that we have tons of cheap junk food to eat and lots of cars and lots of clothes, but instead of thinking "We've got to start a revolution to get out of this situation", we ("we") think; "How nice this all looks. . .let me get another credit card. Obviously, our society will have to re-balance. Carpooling? More mass transit? People deciding to live near where they work? "Just saying "No" "? But gosh, we drive around all day! To work, to shop, kids to soccer practice. . .! I do know that when I moved house this past June, the moving company had raised its rates substantially from a year before, claiming that gas prices had taken too much toll on their profits.

A tank of gas for me has risen from about $35. to about $72. within the last two years or so. What that does to me when I fill up the tank is to say to myself, "If I'm going out to eat tonight, it will be somewhere close to home." In a best-case scenario, this crisis could bring the idea of opening more and better restaurants in more areas rather than "the usual" areas. . .perhaps a bit more dispersement geographically. Well, yeah. That's best-case scenario.

Maybe right now would be the best time to make a notation of the dish "Iman Bayeldi" (?) Translation: The Preacher Fainted.

What a gorgeous octopus that is, Lucy! It is beaming with freshness. As you mentioned in the link, when you can find it, it can be much cheaper than squid. Actually, I prefer the texture of octopus to squid in a salad. . .a bit more toothy. . .but less toothy than say, whelk. (Which definitely does need pounding at the dock! ) Octopus is one of those things like. . .okra, say. Or. . .pigs feet maybe. You either love it or you don't.

http://www.parsonspickles.co.uk/pickled.html Now why do I feel like singing a nursery rhyme?

Why am I thinking that mussels are something that might be pickled to good result? Has anyone ever done this? I would imagine that with some sweet and savory tones added to the pickling liquid, such as carrot, onion, (cumin?) (cilantro?) lemon and orange zest, there's a good chance it would be excellent.

Not at all. Your forgetting your original point shows you to be a true intellectual, which I appreciate. Looking forward to reading of your adventures on holiday, which I see are posted.

No, you are not wasting your time roasting a goat, Varmint. Besides the fact that roast goat is a most delicious thing (and one that experimental eGulleters at a pig-pickin' will surely be excited to taste if they have not before) it is also quite a cool dude thing to do. A macho thing, a Manly thing. You will enjoy it. I hope. Anyway, I remember at least one thread on eG discussing how to roast a goat, perhaps even two threads. And although I have the patience and the expertise to roast a goat myself, (for it is always amusing watching petite females doing Manly things, don't cha think?) I don't have the ability to post a link to these threads. Might entail a broken fingernail or something, and I just cain't risk it. But they are there, I promise you. Search. . .and truth shall be found.

Expert: (American Heritage Dictionary) (noun) 1. A person who has a high degree of skill in or knowledge of a certain subject. 2a. The highest degree that can be achieved in marksmanship. 2b. A person who has achieved this grade. (adj.) Having, involving, or demonstrating great skill, dexterity, or knowledge as the result of experience or training. What makes a person an expert in the subject of food, in your opinion? In a quantifiable sense. Would it be that they know how to cook well? That they have knowledge of how the things we eat grow and are then processed and distributed? That they read a lot of books about cooking? Or that they have formally studied the subject somewhere? Does eating in a lot of restaurants make one an expert? If so, what sort of restaurants. . .could one be an expert on food without having dined at a four or five star place? Could one be an expert without having dined at a streetcart? Or it is enough that someone eat every day? What is the criteria in your mind? What makes a person an "expert" in the subject of "food"?

Here. . .paraphrased but accurate. . from "The Splendid Grain" by Rebecca Wood. An excellent book if you like either the idea or the reality of eating grains. Fantastic book, in fact. Job's Tears, Steamed ........................................ 1 C Job's Tears 2 C water 1/4 tsp. sea salt 1 clove garlic, chopped or 1 small piece of ginger Put the JT in saucepan on high heat. Toast for 5 minutes, stirring. Put in colander and rinse well. Water and salt should be brought to a boil on high heat. . .add the JT. Toss in garlic or ginger. On low heat, simmer covered for one hour. Allow to stand for ten minutes covered. Serve.

It probably would have been best for me to have answered the question "Why are more chefs not running scared of websites" with the responding question "Why should they be running scared from websites?" and have taken it from there. My intent would have been clearer and more on-track.

I wonder if "coix lacryma-jobi" would work for a search. I would look but am short on time at the moment. . . They are supposed to be very very good for you. . and are used in Chinese medicine.

Depends how desperate and how hungry you are. The coffee could always be frozen into a granita and the sour cream blended with lots of brown sugar and lemon or orange zest to top it. . .

Of course there is nothing wrong with posting critical remarks. Again, in one of those posts I wrote that it was a good tool in general, the whole thing. It was two things, again, that struck me. . .and struck me strangely. 1. The title of the thread and 2. The question as to why more chefs were not responding to this thing that by implication was (and should have been) fearsome to them. So. I responded on two levels. One, as an ex-chef. I said things that I would have wanted to say if I were still a chef. . .but guess what? I would not have, if I was still immersed in that profession, for it would be the wrong thing to do. . .for mostly chefs are trying to be hospitable and kind to people through making food, and to reply would have undermined that steady goal. Then of course, being the thorough person that I am, I replied about three times in this way. The second level I responded on was my feeling that somehow this whole thing (the title of the thread and what I read as the conclusion in the first post) was bullshit. It seemed to be taking facts and shaping them into a thing that was made of poseur bullshit. I react strongly to what I perceive as bullshit. It thoroughly attracts me and I want to "take it on" till it can be torn apart and proved for what it is. If it is. Listen, I could be wrong, too. Nobody on earth is right about everything. But please, re-read those two original points I made to see if I have followed the points I wanted to make, along them, honestly and with good will. As far as the rest of it. . .the socio-cultural babble. . .well. Life sometimes takes on the semblance of science-fiction to me. Sometimes it really IS like science fiction. That discussion of mine was decoration and side-issues to the post. Rather depressing, too, so I don't really want to think about it. I hope that clears it up.

As usual (sorry to go on like this, but the subject has taken my interest ) there are some underlying things that affect my own ideas on this. Two important things in particular seem to me to be aspects of this entire situation where anyone can critique any business or person pretty much unhindered on the internet. These two things have an effect on how I personally "take" this. The first thing is the nature of the internet itself. The second thing is people in general and our culture at this moment in time in particular. The first. . .the nature of the internet. Anyone can portend to be an expert on the internet. We all know the jokes about dogs and about people in their underwear. And I think we all know that this could be true in cases. Who is that person on the other end of the screen? One thing that bothers me about the internet is that although I have "met" many intelligent and wonderful people on it. . .and although it is a marvel in terms of offering up all sorts of information at one's fingertips. . .I do notice that there seem to be a great number of people who take to using it as a sort of psychological dumping place. They say things and do things that they never would do or say in their day-to-day life. Unfortunately, most of this is not of a very creative nature, nor of a very nurturing or helpful nature. . .except perhaps to be helpful in the way of ridding their systems of some poison that resides there. What are the most popular sites on the internet? Pornographic. If pornography were as common in day to day life as it is on the net, we would have a very different world. Whether that is what the general public wants, who knows. Recently I looked on a different site that focuses on food. What I found were a great number of people fighting and insulting each other and the site. This happens just too much in this media for it to be an oddity. It is a fact that if people want to fight, to argue, it is an easier way to do it behind the curtain of the screen. This disturbs me. And this has an effect on how I ultimately understand the media as a whole. The second issue that recently has been coming to my mind is the level of satisfaction that people seem to have in their lives, today, in this culture, and how they attempt to find a way to assuage their need for satisfaction. We are among the first generation where the average person does not make their living by "creating" anything. Instead, we are in the information age, and many people make their livings by simply exchanging information. Yet I sense a much higher level of dissatisfaction in daily life among people in general than previously, when the culture was different and when perhaps a small satisfaction could be found in looking at what the day's work had produced, rather than having nothing "real" to look at. And I see a hunger for satisfaction that comes out in different ways. Some people eat. They eat too much. . .and this in my mind is a major cause of the "obesity epidemic". Some people spend every extra moment looking for entertainment and succor from others. . .from the others that do create things. Movies, magazines, books, clothes, things at the mall, and restaurants and chefs. There seems to be such a hunger, such a demand, such a need. . .that goes slightly beyond what feels right or balanced. For the satisfaction in oneself is then demanded to be found somehow in these creative things that others have created. How close can one get to being truly satisfied with life without being creative oneself in some way? There is always the nudge of discomfort, the urge of "I could have done that better", the desire to inform as to how it could have been done. And I just see too many unhappy dissatisfied people "out there", looking for satisfaction in external things that others have created. It is really just. . .sad, if not sometimes even a little spooky. Where might this lead to in a world without boundaries? It leads to the people who do not create, setting up a whip and chair in place for those that do create. . to "answer" to them somehow. To fill their emptiness. It won't work.

Finally, in response to this idea as taken to its furthest, this is what I want to say: "If you think you could do it any better, please feel free to give it a try." Now. Nobody else here has felt the same way about whatever it is that they do, have they? Please. Open a restaurant. We need good ones. But if that is not in the cards, at least be courteous and gracious and ethical when giving opinion on how you think it should be done. And maybe do not expect a direct and personal response unless you are at the table itself, and the chef right there in the kitchen. You want response, this is the best way to get it. One on one. Person to person time of happening open ended and real. Again, this is not directed at eG or anyone in particular.

We're mostly in philosophic agreement on this, Pan. I don't generally "follow" critics nor reviews too much. . .no matter what the source (and in this it is possible that I am unusual). Why not? For this was my profession and I guess I feel qualified to make my own judgements based on knowledge and experience. . .and also, like Bux, I do not enjoy being in supermarkets. I guess that if anything external comes into play (for often I'd rather just use my intuition upon looking right at the place) it would be that thing that used to be called "good will" or more easily perhaps just reputation. Word of mouth reputation is a rather free-floating thing. It doesn't land upon a place that is new. . .nor is it defined and qualified by any professional critic. . .nor is it determined by any group of people opining on the place. It is something indeterminate, an idea or concept of quality that verges on the "classic". If anything external would make my feet wander towards a place, this would. ......................................................................... Again, my comments were not directed at eGullet. They were directed at the idea of critical opinions by the public that were posted on the website mentioned in the first post being defined as something that should "make chefs run scared". This twists the whole idea of what every single chef I have ever known does. . .which is try very hard to make people happy. . .into some alternate and ugly shape. You can not make really great things happen when you are supposedly to be in a position of "running scared". The. . .creative desire. . . .is broken. Imagine yourself, you in the position of playing a piece of music. . .or someone else doing whatever it is that they do professionally. . .doing it to a crowd that was interested and curious to see, or alternately to a crowd that sat with hard eyes and demanding expectations. How would the thing come off? Sometimes anger or fear can move one to do "a better job" momentarily. But not on a long term basis. And how very strange to think that someone would want their food to taste like fear itself rather than like understanding and love.

Do you think you can snag a recipe for those? Or does anyone have one? These things are killer.... ← I have a recipe for them somewhere. . .from my own grandmother in Waterville. If nobody else comes up with one by the end of the blog, I'll start a hunt through the endless unorganized files I have. . . Expensive recipe, though. I remember buying lots of powdered mustard last time I made it, lots lots. Probably better to hit the spice stores rather than the grocery store for that. . .

Does that sound good? Does that sound good? Does a possum like to cross the road? Does pot likker go with day-old biscuits? Hell, yeah, that sounds good. It sounds fantastic!! ← Eh. You charmer, you. (Where's the smilie that has the smile where the face cracks open from smiling too hugely?) We'll just have to see if we can make it so you can git you a piece or two. (Edited because I forgot my Southernspeak for a moment. All those double "you" s and "y'alls" and "yerselfs". . .confusing lest it's spoken daily. )

They have too much of a sobering influence, I think. I did just come across a recipe in my old files for a Peanut Brittle Crunch Cake that might help the peanut lovers survive. Does that sound good to you?