mizducky

Julia, that is totally beautiful. I'm reminded a bit of Food Not Bombs, a totally decentralized movement to serve free dinners to homeless people. To be sure, that movement has very specific political agendas that might not be everybody's cup of tea. But regardless of the politics (or their dedication to vegetarianism), you might still find stuff in their logistics of running these food projects that you could adapt to your own purposes.

Aha, I see you were faster on the trigger, while I was taking my time laboring over my post ... The bizarre list of foods on the anti-gout diet lists mostly have to do with avoiding purine, one of the naturally-occurring amino acids in most all protein-rich foods--only this one amino acid is the direct chemical predescessor of uric acid. Research has shown that gout, or tendency to it, is mostly due to hereditary factors, but long-term excessive dietary purines can take a predisposition to gout and kick it over the edge. And booze makes the anti-gout list because alcohol ups the volume on whatever other gout-leaning activity is going on--plus I think the yeast content of beer adds some purines of its own. In real life, it's almost impossible to avoid all purines entirely--your body needs protein, after all--so you're basically looking at either eating a low-protein diet or taking meds to control uric acid for the rest of your life.

Excellent point re gout (or as we call it here in the south, "the gouch"). I've got to go to a meeting (where I'll have the pleasure of freaking out my colleagues with Korean fish cake), so how about you construct a trivia question that addresses the connection with gout? ← Okay, looks like rooftop1000/tracey is doing something else at the moment, so I'll keep going. The most common type of kidney stones are oxalate stones, formed when the fluid (urine in this instance) has such a high concentration of oxalate that it will no longer stay in solution and so forms crystals. Urine is not the only fluid in which crystals may form, however, and there are instances in which oxalate can form crystals in the synovial fluid, the liquid that's produced by the membranes lining joints. The crystals are very irritating (sort of like sand) and the joints become swollen and painful. The most common disease-causing crystal found in synovial fluid is not, however, oxalate, but something else. What is it? ← Aha! That would be crystals of uric acid, the immediate chemical culprit behind gout. The underlying condition involves faulty processing of uric acid in the bloodstream--either the kidneys aren't clearing it as fast as normal, or the body's churning out faster than normal--and so the excess uric acid crystalizes, usually following gravity to pick just one joint to collect in, most typically in the feet, especially the right big toe, though eventually it could strike anywhere. Uric acid crystals are shaped like sharp little needles, so the little buggers hurt like the blazes. I have never experienced such vicious pain as my first gout attack--just one toe, and I was completely laid low for a good two weeks. But I'm really intrigued by this bit: Now, unless I'm misinterpreting here, this is suggesting that gut flora also have an influence on gout? This is something I didn't know, and would love to know more about.

That's what I also get, with my admittedly extremely rusty college French. The amounts and measurement units do make a lot more sense that way, too.

Oh man, I would so love some adjustable-height work surfaces! Not only am I on the short side (5'3"), but the achey-bod issues have made it painful to lean over any counter to do work, even a reasonably proper-height one. It would be lovely to have a work surface I could pull up a chair to--and *not* one of those breakfast-bar type counters where you have to sit on a stool (which I find nigh impossible to even climb onto, let alone sit on for any length of time). As it is, I've been known to just take stuff out to any nearby dinette table and chop away out there, or to just pull a regular-height chair up to a regular kitchen counter even if it means having the chopping board about even with my throat. Fortunately I'm having less problems with the leaning-over-my-work thing these days, but still--it would be nice to avoid backstrain whenever the opportunity presents itself.

I almost never order chicken or turkey at a restaurant, because like many another frugal/tightwad eater, I go through a ton of the stuff at home, and so it doesn't really feel "special" anymore. Exception: I will order chicken if I'm doing "utility dining" rather than special-occasion dining--especially in places where it looks like the chicken is the only thing on the menu that I don't think they can screw up.

Let's see ... I do a lot of Asian cooking at home, but I'll probably always go out for pho, because I'd much rather have the guys down at the cafe go through all the labor and fuss of making that broth--plus they sell it for so darn cheap that I'd probably wind up spending more per serving trying to make it myself.

Any fiber that humans can't digest but bacteria can will produce the problem. Although inulin is present in high amounts in jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes and topinambours) it's commercially isolated from another source. What is it? ← Well, Cargill says they're extracting their inulin from chicory root. They also list some more foods naturally rich in inulin (some of which are repeats from previous posts): artichoke, leek, onion, asparagus, wheat, barley, rye, garlic, and bananas. Another source said dahlia bulbs, of all things, are also rich in chicory, but I don't expect to see anyone digging up their glorious dahlias anytime soon.

A really acidic one, to neutralize the alkali?

Well, as far as I'm concerned, an air mattress would definitely help some with the ouchy bod issue, as long as it was one of those thick ones and not the skinny little jobbies I recall from my more able-bodied youth. But I'd also have to elevate it at least a foot off the ground, as I'm not as spry at climbing off of the floor as I used to be. So I'd need to invest in a cot-thingie too. And then there's also the little matter of needing someplace to plug my CPAP machine into. Somehow I don't think plugging it directly into a power-drop meant for an RV would work all that well. ZZZZT POP--fried electronics! I know there are cigarette-lighter plug-ins and inverters, but then I'd have to watch I didn't drain the car battery down too far, plus manage the hazard of the electrical cord running from car to tent ... or I could buy a generator, and have to manage cord plus gasoline plus noise and fumes that my fellow campers might find objectionable ... you see how this is going? I've gone through this thought-exercise numerous times, and I always wind up getting frustrated, chucking the whole list, and dreaming about campers instead. Mind you, I'm hoping that my current health regimen will eventually make it easier for me to clamber off a floor and do without the CPAP, which would make tent-camping much more do-able for me. But I've got a long ways to go before I reach that point.

Oy. And I have a package of shirataki sitting in the fridge, but was feeling under the weather today and not up to messing with any cooking experiments ...

Maybe "grav-hax" is badly-spelled Swedish for "fag hag" -- hey, you said this joint was in drag, y'know ... (sorry, couldn't resist )

Now see, I have read somewhere that many tropical regions (Mexico, India, Indonesia, etc.) go in for spicy foods specifically because they make you perspire, thus helping to cool the body. Mind you, though, you have to like the sensation of dripping with sweat. For me, it's not so much an issue of what I will and won't eat during the summer, but what I will or won't cook. When the temperature tops 90 degrees, I tend to avoid the stove like the plague ... but I'll happily eat all sorts of hot and substantial foods if someone else prepares it (and, preferably, serves it to me in an air-conditioned room). Nonetheless, my food choices do tend to lighten up a bit during the summer. Again, it's not so much what I won't eat in the heat, but what I will eat more readily because of the heat (and, conversely, find a little less appealing during cooler weather). In colder weather, I find that too much raw leafy greens and citrus fruit can actually give me the chills, but in warm weather they suit my system a lot better.

Heh. Far be it from me to imply in any way that your bubbe was laying a bubbemeise on you. All I know is whatever bubbemeises my mother told me: in this case, her understanding was that this song was meant to be taken ironically. My grandparents' families were pretty danged poor, all from shtetls in one of those pieces of Poland that Russia kept on taking back all the time--their forebears were no doubt glad to at least have something to put on the table, but I could see how some would have been tempted to wax smart-ass about the recurring main ingredient, no matter how cunningly prepared.

His rant against Lithuanian potato mania made me think of this classic Yiddish folk song: Somehow these folks don't seem all that enthusiastic about their traditional potato cuisine. (Geez, it's been forever since I had a potato kugel . . . ) Oh, it appears this author missed this delicacy.

I just had a wild little vision. You know how a lot of RV campers join these RVing associations and get together for jamborees? Reserve a campground all together and party for a weekend? Well, I just flashed on the concept of a bunch of eGulleteers staging such a camping jamboree. Campfire gourmandry a-go-go. Grilling and smoking and sausaging and out-door wokking till dawn. I tell ya, it could be a sensation. Or a group cardiac arrest. Oh, I just had an even wilder vision: such an eGullet camping jamboree ... staged at Burning Man. (Goes to lie down until the fit of evil chortling subsides ... )

Hiya, therese! Happy blogging! I'm already envious of those peaches. Okay, it's not produce, and it's a background design rather than a between-the-numbers graphic, but Oregon does offer a license plate featuring a nice-looking salmon. Edited to add: Oooh! The dim sum pics slipped in while I was busy posting--yum!!!

I want to put in a good word for mmm-yoso!, the blog of my fellow San Diego-based food fiend Kirk. According to the blog's one-line description: "An Ex-Pat Kama'aina explores food in San Diego and points beyond." The thoroughness and humor with which he does that is really delightful--not to mention really helpful. And he specializes in a lot of my favorite kinds of places: little hole-in-the-wall mom'n'pop joints, especially anyplace serving Asian foods or Hawaiian plate lunch.

Okay, I have another entry in what could become a series: Unsightly Eggplant Dishes We Have Known and Eaten. Observe: Now, this actually tasted pretty nice (except I was way too caution with the salted black beans). But I know certain people will look at this and immediately think: "sewage".

Many thanks for a most wondrous blog! I don't know which was more impressive, the food or the cameraderie of the folks sharing the food. And I am now filled with a certain culinary, not to mention general, nostalgia for the Pacific Northwest. I really am due for a trip back up there--I already owe a bunch of Seattle friends a visit as it is--and it would be lovely to swing up to Vancouver and see y'all. It may not be for a goodly while, but I'll be sure to let you know. Cheers, and good night!

Heh. Any time I dine on soup or a saucy dish, I stand a great risk of getting at least one splatter on the front of my shirt. This might not be quite so embarrassing if the front of my shirt were not so, erm, prominent. This propensity increases at Asian restaurants--I'm fairly decent at chopsticks, but they do seem to up the odds of getting drips on my person. Getting out of, and home from, a restaurant when your blouse has started looking like a map of various Indonesian island chains can definitely be an exercise in humility (or something).

Fortunately, they seem to have overlooked the restaurant in the San Diego branch ... at least so far. ← You ARE lucky! Does your still do the Sunday brunch as well? ← About the Sunday brunch, I don't know, as I tend to stay far away from IKEA on the weekends--between their crowds, and that of the other box stores that share its shopping center, that place turns into a total zoo. But here is a little of what the local IKEA-restaurant is up to on a daily basis--including a nice-looking daily breakfast special. My local IKEA does also have the takeout-only cafe just beyond the cashier's stations, but the last time I looked, alas, they did not have anywhere near the wealth of different varieties of pickled herring I remembered from the Seattle IKEA several years back.

Ah, yes, the IKEA meatball-o-rama. I featured the local branch prominently in my foodblog: clickie. I gotta say--after a day of tromping around an IKEA, those meatballs do taste mighty fine. Fortunately, they seem to have overlooked the restaurant in the San Diego branch ... at least so far.

That was one fabulous meal. I repeat--you Vancouver eGulleteers have *really* got it going on.

All this fantastic food-and-foodie action, and cute kitties too! Dang, I really need to get back up to Vancouver someday. You guys got it going on!