The Old Foodie

I agree with Adam on this. "sid" is (OED) "An inner husk of grain detached from the kernel in grinding", and the Midlands dialect adjective soddow or sidden means soft (mushy) as in cooked peas or grain. A soft porridgy non-meat dish of oats (or peas) would be appropriate for lent. I think "Vestrie" is the same as "Vestry" which has a non-church meaning of a small storeroom (also called a "wardrobe") No more time to explore - running late for the daily grind. Thanks to Pontormo for alerting me to this thread - I havent been active online for a week or so. I will be very interested in other ideas/opinions. Janet

Hello everyone - a million apologies for my absence - I have been too busy even to drink my quota of cups of tea, never mind enjoy your brilliance. Another million to you Anne, for keeping score. I should be back on track in another day or two.

"I" is for "Indecisive" which is not a situation I find myself in often. I think that is a decisive statement. Either a decision is sufficiently clear that indecisiveness is not an issue, or not sufficiently important, in which case either decision is OK, or since you can never really be sure how the alternative decision would have worked out, why sweat over it. However, if I do happen to be indecisive when cooking, and hesitate over how much to add or how long to cook, or some other such choice - that is when I have failures. I have no conclusions to draw from that, but I eagerly await yours. The stories of nothingness and calm I love. As for puff pastry. Calm and calming yes. I make it about twice a year. Always at Christmas, and maybe one other time. I wonder ("w" for "wonder"?) why I dont make it more often, because (a) I love doing it and (b) everyone says "why dont you make this more often". I blame the food/calorie/cholesterol police for the rarity of the event. Which means I am less calm, therefore in greater health danger myself. No more food-musings now, I must hie me off to the medical school. The new little first year darlings start on Monday, and we must appear calm and organised for them. Wish me luck. [can someone do "O" for "Organised" for me, to soothe or inspire me this evening, please?] J

Meringue type dishes have been around since medieval times, and we will never know who "invented" them. But - there is no doubt in my mind that the name 'Pavlova' is Australian. So - we own it, those Kiwis can make as many claims as they like - they are wrong. So there. On second thoughts it is such an awful sickly sweet thing I dont really care if they do want to claim it. We definitely own the Lamington (in Queensland that is). Back to the work at hand. Still in play: Virginia Woolf and Ba Bao La Jiang Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) and gravlax Barry Humphries and pheasant Howard Hughes and spam Charles Lindberg and sushi eminem and winkles insomniac still ahead. I am concerned that this scoring thing is putting some of you off the idea of joining in. Is it so? We can discontinue if that is the case as I am sure that the sheer love of the creative challenge will be sufficient for annecros, insomniac, Toliver, Domestic Goddess and the other few hardy souls who are in the thick of it here.

Sorry Everyone - I've been a bit too busy to keep up. Thanks Anne for taking up the slack. I should have the decks cleared a bit later in the day - or tomorrow and will catch up.

That only counts if they had a tea-bag to put in it. Who wants hot water? The next great "natural" combination: grain + yeast + water = bread and beer.

You dont need to make a salad dressing every time - a basic vinaigrette will keep very well in the fridge. Make it with your preferred proportions of vinegar (any flavour or type ) and oil, plus the salt, pepper, sugar, mustard as you wish - just dont add the "fresh" stuff like garlic and herbs if you want to keep it a very long time.

Error Report. Sorry Toliver - I didnt remove the humus challenge (you did get the point though) Updated list: In Play: Virginia Woolf and He Cai Dai Mao Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) and gravlax Ted Danson and Romullan ale Pablo Neruda and an icecream sundae Jack Black and steamed rice Barry Humphries and pheasant Thanks to Pontormo for picking this up!

Hello Everyone. In Play: Virginia Woolf and He Cai Dai Mao Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) and gravlax Theodore Roosevelt and hummus Ted Danson and Romullan ale Pablo Neruda and an icecream sundae Jack Black and steamed rice Barry Humphries and pheasant Just to recap the revised rules - a point is awarded for either a good (ie clever or witty or funny) 2-3 word solution, AND the more convoluted 6 degree step which is more in line with the standard for the game. insomniac still ahead.

Maybe wait till you catch up (whenever that may be, and certainly not tonight!) and then try writing something on "tired"? ← Tired. Tea.

Good Evening/Morning everyone. A bit quieter on the front lines I see, which is kindly as I have had a busy day and this screen is looking tiredly back at me. In Play: Virginia Woolf and He Cai Dai Mao George Washington and Würstelstände Tom Hanks and Meyer Lemon Harry S Truman and conch Mark Wahlberg and Shallots Can you do these in 2 or 3 degrees? Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda Annette Funicello and a doner kebab I look forward to seeing what fun you have while I sleep. Janet. edited to add - we are short of a challenge, someone please volunteer one - I nominate one of you lurking out there.

And which of those will you choose to regale us with a tale of, Janet? think I have a story to fit each one - Our ears are perked and waiting. ← I'm pretty sure I have a story to match each one - but am a bit snowed under right now, not the least because keeping track of the 6 degrees game in another thread is taking the little time I have at present to 'play'. Sad, isnt it? I wear an academic hat on a part-time basis, and the academic year is about to start, so it is all a bit hectic. You know how sometimes you bite off more than you can chew ? I'll try to post something this evening - am at work now and my staff are giving me scowls as they walk past the door and see this blue and white page, when it should be grey and white with some red .......

When in doubt, invoke the Higher Authorities. According to the Expert on All Things, Culinary or Otherwise, the OED considers the concept of fusion cuisine an American Phenomenon (my Capitals). The relevant part of the entry on 'fusion' states: orig. U.S. = fusion cuisine. ]1983 Time (Nexis) 12 Sept., Some practitioners of nuova cucina make no secret of the fact that they are aiming for a fusion of French and Italian culinary techniques]. 1988 Nation's Restaurant News (Nexis) 9 May, The restaurant's French-Asian fusion is apparent in a dessert trio of flavored creme brulees ginger, chocolate mint, and an [sic] mandarin orange served in sake cups. 1998 Grocer 22 Aug. 44/2 What would typify fusion is to have a pasta dish, but to make it with Asian herbs. So you would use basil, but it would be Thai basil. 2001 Evening Standard 21 Sept. (ES Mag.) 49/1 Suddenly, anyone who could lay their hands on a fistful of lemon grass, a couple of kangaroo fillets, a bucket of coconut broth and a bunch of tamarillos was ready to open a fusion restaurant. fusion cuisine orig. U.S., a style of cookery which blends ingredients and methods of preparation from different countries, regions, or ethnic groups; food cooked in this style. 1986 United Press Internat. Newswire (Nexis) 15 Apr., The dishes Allison creates enjoy an enticing blend of ethnicity, one more subtle and intriguing than any of the influences considered separately... ‘We've always been eating what I call *fusion cuisine, and it's going on more rapidly today than ever before.’ 1993 Calgary Herald 24 Mar. D1 A wonderful fusion cuisine supper featuring tiger prawns in green curry sauce with mascarpone polenta. 2000 P. JOHNSON & C. O'BRIEN World Food: New Orleans 162 The global flavors of fusion cuisine and the essentialist simplicity of new American cuisine have led to exciting high-end interpretations of classic dishes that aren't bound by the rules of tradition. (Seeing "Fusion Cuisine" as a Named Movement or Fashion it seems.) Edited to correct a typo)

Good Ideas Pontormo, consider it done. Keeping track of who has to give up their points to someone else has been tricky –especially when there may be days between responses on the same challenge, so I propose the clever 2-3 stepper and the 6 stepper both get points. I think this is fair because, as described by Pontormo, they both have the potential to provide good answers, only the style is different. Keeping track of which are moved from 6 pointers to 2-3 pointers is also tricky (as I think Anne has found too) – so be patient with us and let us know if we miss something here please! The medical students' academic year is about to start, so I am going to be a bit rushed for the next few weeks. This is where we are at: Still in Play Virginia Woolf and He Cai Dai Mao Paul Whiteman and Ramen Noodles Saddam Hussein and chicharrones Paul McCartney and Crawfish Toulouse Lautrec and Peanut Butter George Washington and Würstelstände Can you do these in 3 or less degrees? Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda Haile Selassie and Vienna Sausages Ray Charles and Gefilte Fish Annette Funicello and a doner kebab Current top scorers are: Insomniac 44 annecross 37 Pontormo 22 And what happened to you, Daniel? We need some new contestants to de-lurk. Maybe we should call a re-start to the points, now that everyone has had chance to practice. That might encourage a few to come out from hiding and join in. What do you all think?

Good Evening everyone (well, it is in Aus) A few hardy players left in the game. Pontormo, an extra point for the sheer erudition and creativity in your solution to the Howard Roark and Chilean Sea Bass. insomniac way ahead with 42 points. mallet - what happened to you? Good luck with the supervision over(my)night Anne!

That's a great story Doddie! Have you eaten mountain snake since, or do you only have it when you are pregnant?

I'd like to hear food stories (or see a list of foods) associated with you feeling: Afraid. Bored. Calm. Disgusted. Envious. Funny. Grateful. Humble. Indecisive. Jealous. Knowledgeable. Lazy. Mad. Naughty. Obstinate. Proud. Quarrelsome. Rational. Stupid. Theatrical. Useless. Virtuous. Weak. Xenophobic. Youthful. Zany.

Ok, I'll bite.......What? My simplistic answers. Horse meat is, perhaps, considered too cheap and mundane to grace a restaurant menu. People don't go out to a restaurant to eat horse meat. Related question; I can't recall ever seeing a recipe for horse meat in a cook book.They must exist; mustn't they? ← My understanding is that horsemeat is eaten for health reasons - it has a long history in France this way. There is a thread on horsemeat here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=62176 You are right about the dearth of recipes for it . There was an intermittent campaign to promote horsemeat in the 19th Century - as a food for the poor folk of course. Several promotional banquets featuring it were staged in the 1860s' by well-intentioned gentlemen who presumably never intended to eat it regularly themselves. I posted a menu for one of them on the above thread.

I am absolutely stunned - that file has been downloaded nearly 500 times! I thought only a small handful of people might be interested. There is clearly more interest (or curiosity anyway) about food history than I thought. I am delighted!

Good Morning/Evening everyone. The state of play is as in Anne's list above. Insomniac still ahead, now with 29 points. It will be a busy week for me (so, what else is new?) but I will do my best to keep up with the scores and the challenges. Pontormo - if you can come up with a simpler/better scoring system, let us know please! I didnt think this game would be so popular. 80 challenges so far. Janet

It has been a bit quieter - thank goodness! Here is where we are at: Still in Play: Virginia Woolf and He Cai Dai Mao Attila the Hun and coconuts Joan of Arc and baguong Haile Selassie and Vienna Sausages Fat guy and birds nest soup Pope Benedict (the current one) and oreos Marie Curie and oatmeal Can you do these in 3 or less degrees? Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda Tinky Winky and Sardinian Maggot Cheese Sid Vicious and Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints Johann Strauss and arancini Haile Selassie and Vienna Sausages Kafka and pea soup Lord Alfred Tennyson and Sodium Alginate I have to agree with Pontormo, there is a certain elegance with the longer, more convoluted ones. insomniac still ahead with 29.

there you are Karen, the title for your first book "A feminist defence of fast food", or "In defence of fast food, by a feminist chef". Or something. I'll buy it, and I bet kiwichef will too.

I think the whole Fusion Debate is a bit silly. There was no tomato in "original" Italian cuisine until the New World was discovered/invaded - so does that mean that Italian cuisine since the 15th/16th centuries is no longer pure, it is South American / Italian ??? And potatoes in Indian or Thai food. Or rice (from Spain, probably, via the Moors via wherever in the East it originated) in medieval English food - is rice pudding then Chinese/Arab/Spanish/English?

Sorry - take HP and eggplant out of that list. Thanks Pontormo (points were correctly allocated though)

Amazing how life in the other half of the world goes on apace while one sleeps, isnt it? Thanks Anne for keeping track. Still in Play: Johann Strauss and arancini Virginia Woolf and He Cai Dai Mao Kafka and pea soup Alfred Hitchcock and bouillabaise Saladin and candy floss Attila the Hun and coconuts Joan of Arc and baguong Harry Potter and eggplant Haile Selassie and Vienna Sausages Can you do these in 3 or less degrees? Sun Tzu and Hansen's Diet Black Cherry Soda Tinky Winky and Sardinian Maggot Cheese Sid Vicious and Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints Currrently Leading: insomniac with 25 points annecross with 19 points insomniac - I gave you an extra point for "tiramisu is an Italian booze soaked trifle, George W. Bush used to be a booze soaked Texan trifle". I think your Kobe beef one was a bit tenuous though (was that before or after the martinis?) - but Pontormo cam in with a good one for that challenge, so you lost any point I might have allowed. I see Anne allowed you the Tiffany B one - also a bit tenuous (but funny). An Announcement: [or three or four ] 1. Anne and I are working on a prize for the winner. We must add that this is not an Official eGullet competition (if indeed there is such a thing), but we would like to thank you all personally for this fine opportunity to spend so much time at our computers keeping tally of challenges and points. We really dont know what we would be doing with our time otherwise. This was supposed to be a one-night wonder, but it has unleashed such a flood of creativity that we are in awe. 2. Anne and I are having so much fun we dont know if we can take more than two weeks of it, unless someone else takes over. 3. There are still too many of you lurking. If you are new to eGullet (lets say less than 20 posts, we will give you 2 points extra for joining in. Please make a comment that you wish to claim these points as we may forget to check) 4. This is the "gold standard" of solution to which we would like you to aspire, as per Henry H Lo (hhlodesign). Thankyou Henry - but dont sit back on your laurels. 1. Rick James has long been linked with cocaine use. 2. Cocaine is a white powder. 3. Powder is the name of a movie from 1995 Starring Jeff Goldblum. 4. Jeff Goldblum was born on October 22. 5. 22 is the number of calories from fat contained in White Castle Clam Strips. Have fun. Janet