Mjx

I'm an archaeologist by profession, and the name makes me cringe too. I wouldn't be surprised if starchy wild tubers also made up a significant part of paleolithic diets, something forbidden on the modern plan. You are absolutely right about the probable reliance on bugs, eggs, and microfauna as protein sources. Not to be pedantic, but your assumption about the reliability of paleolithic hunting is incorrect. There is actually quite a bit of evidence that paleolithic humans (and Neanderthals for that matter) were very effective hunters of large game, and in some cases were successful enough to hunt selectively. . . . . Although I'm aware that paleolithic humans reached a high degree of sophistication in the later parts of the paleolithic, my understanding was that there was little reliance on large game hunting, or even trapping, during the earlier parts of the period (and I understood the so-called 'paleo diet' as supposedly reflecting what humans ate during the earliest phases of their existence). Even if you grant the probability of a fairly steep learning curve, it would have taken a while to refine tools and skill to the point that they were reliably efficient. I cannot bring myself to read the book: any idea of the author's stance on the consumption of grubs and such?

Frozen peas, frozen grapes. In fact, frozen any-small-sweet-items are fantastic, and when I was a kid, I'd often eat them until I shivered. I tend to eat these in scoops, by hand, so there's a cooling effect on the hands, too. Also, eat as little as possible: I've found that if I under-eat, I start to feel chilly (during mild weather; in hot weather it just helps me to feel cooler), and this is probably pretty common, since it brings you metabolism to the lower end of its range.

More like something to do with Prussic acid, aka cyanide

Some effect of the tannins?

That was my first thought (it certainly makes sense), but that would still beg the question of why this hasn't ever happened in Italy, where there is certainly no shortage of gender stereotyping! I'd have to add that the waiters who've done this haven't struck me as the sorts who would accept gender stereotyping in themselves (but it's no secret that thinking something doesn't automatically make it so). I've had this happen in all categories of restaurants, incidentally, from the very modest, to the high end, and this has also happened when I've ordered fish or chicken, if my fellow diner happened to order something vegetarian. I'm hoping some of the members who work, or have worked as waitstaff, will weigh in on this.

I just make the sorts of things I ordinarily cook, and skip the starch; this just takes a little adjustment, but I found that this happens very quickly. Anytime I switch to this style of eating, I feel fantastic, am almost revoltingly healthy and energetic, and lose weight. Too bad I think heaven is probably made of bread. The name makes me cringe, however, since it is simply inaccurate: Paleolithic humans (i.e. before humans had migrated to arctic regions, or begun domesticating animals and cultivating grains) almost certainly relied on insect matter, raw eggs, and various small, easily caught creatures, for protein, rather than on meat from birds and mammals (hunting with primitive weaponry was pretty unreliable in terms of providing protein).

What I said, upthread. Now you may be thinking, 'So, why not regulate what marketers are allowed to say, instead of abolishing something damn tasty?' To which I would have to reply, 'I've no idea.'

Dark chocolate with black pepper, coffee, or balsamic vinegar, zuppa inglese, and a raspberry sorbet that is focussed on the tartness and intense aromatic aspect of the berries, rather than their sweetness (personal favourite combination when I get ice cream).

Over the years, I've noticed something odd: When I'm dining out with a friend who happens to be a man, waitstaff frequently switch our orders. If the main courses consist of vegetarian lentil stew and sliced steak, the soup ends up in front of me. Black coffee and coffee with milk? I get the milky coffee. Desserts consisting of a fruit salad and a slice of chocolate cake..? Guess who gets the fruit salad? And, without exception, these are all wrong. So, we grin, and swap. Usually, the waiter looks confused, smiles weakly, and melts away. Occasionally there's a mumbled apology, but not usually, although I think this is more due to embarrassment than lack of manners. Not a huge deal, no point in making a fuss over it. But it's happened so often, I can't help wondering what is going on. There's no question of my being easily confused with my dining partners, since I'm short, undistinguished, and definitely female, while my dining partners are seldom ordinary looking, and unquestionably male (and most are tall). I'd guess it was simply the projection of gender cliches, but with just two people at table, that seems hard to believe. This is not a regional or temporal thing, either: it has happened over the course of a couple of decades, and on both sides of the Atlantic. Oddly, although I've experienced this in both the US and Northern Europe, it has never happened to me in Italy, where gender stereotypes flourish very openly (more so, I'd say, than in the US or Northern Europe). I'd love to hear how often you get your dining partner's food: Does it happen a lot? what sorts of items are involved? Any idea of what on earth is going on?

I'm sort of... fuzzy, looking, I guess? Anyway, I've not infrequently had waitstaff ask something along the lines of 'Is it all good, honey?'. From a middle-aged or elderly woman, this seems, well, not so unusual; coming from a brawny guy with facial piercings/neck tattoos, it's sort of startling. This has happened a couple of times, and I've had no answer, apart from dumbstruck staring (it doesn't help that 99 times out of a hundred, this question tends to be asked when I've just taken on a mouthful of food).

Since this discussion appears to have moved into the region of semantic nuances, I'm going to shove in my oar, too. If something is called a 'bitter', it is reasonable to expect bitterness to be its salient feature; beyond that, the bitterness may be balanced by other flavours (or not), be intensely or mildly bitter, or have distinctive aromatic elements that support or counter expectations. Given the definition of 'tincture', it would be reasonable to expect these compounds to be strongly flavoured (perhaps, but not necessarily bitter, given their often medicinal origins), intended to be used in small quantities. For most people, 'tincture' is going to be a far less familiar term than bitter. What the use of such terminology really comes down to is whether or not you believe the language belongs to everyone, and is the common currency of communication, or that marketers (or anyone others) are privileged to do what they wish with language, and insist that their take is correct (for those who fall into the latter camp, I have some shares of the Brooklyn Bridge for sale at a very attractive prices )

It might also be that some substances produced specifically for laboratory use might contain preservatives, stabilizers, and other materials that are not approved for human consumption/require preservation in equipment that is not readily available outside of laboratories (e.g. refrigeration at temperatures no achievable by consumer or food industry equipment).

Is it just me, or is 'frozen dairy dessert' right down there in the depressing category with 'processed cheese food'? I took a look at the offerings in the dairy cases at three supermarkets around here today: I don't think any would meet the standards for 'ice cream', but since pretty much all frozen, ice-cream-like desserts are called is ('ice'), the differences among them aren't identified in the name.

This is brilliant: I didn't know that a naked beef patty has a specific name (raised vegetarian, my meat-related ignorance has some shocking depths to it), and although I knew about Kellogg (and have heard some really odd things about him, which I haven't looked up, because I think I prefer to believe them), I'd never heard of Salisbury, so... thanks!

Related to food-name conservatism, I'm conservative about getting Italian culinary terms more or less right, at least if they've been in fairly heavy rotation for a while: What really kills me is the use of a terminal 's' in plural forms, since that doesn't happen in Italian, and most of the time, it is tagged on to the Italian plural form. 'Porcinis', 'paninis', and 'raviolis' is like saying 'footses' or 'mouses' (it's 'porcini', 'panini', 'ravioli'). I can live with 'pizzas', because there's just one plural form involved (if I heard anyone saying 'pizzes', I'd probably start bleeding from the ears).

Before. I trimmed them of all sinew and anything that looked greenish or unpleasant, which rendered some of them about half their original size. But duck livers (these ones, anyway) aren't that huge to begin with. Good luck with the rabbit liver, be sure to report back! Rarerollingobject, thanks for all the information; the livers came out beautifully, but just a quarter of an hour or so before everything was ready to serve, I remembered that my boyfriend does not eat liver, except as pate'. So, I ended up dicing the sauteed livers (and kidneys), and sort of concealing the bits amongst the pinto beans. It tasted lovely anyway, and rabbit is always good; it was accompanied by rice, and sliced red bell peppers. I took two pictures (one of which is only partly out of focus), neither of which seems good enough to post, unfortunately.

The cherry element might have been maraschino (and if it wasn't, it still might be work really well in the reconstruction). Incidentally, I've never understood why so-called 'girly drinks' are problematic, unless they're made with crap ingredients (but anything made with crap ingredients is a waste of time, whether it's a Shirley Temple or a Martini); after all, the whole point of drinking is to enjoy yourself with something you like.

You might want to consider a completely different option, that of a height-adjustable rocking stool (I've seen them at AI Friedman, downtown). This can be adjusted so you are practically standing, but the weight is off your feet. The rocker bottom keeps you from slouching in a problematic position for long periods of time. It's easily stashed in a corner, or carried to another room, for other uses. I don't know about the longevity of gel mats, but this has simply got to outlast the most robust of them. The price on the Varier model is insane, but it seems likely that other companies exist, which make virtually identical units at other price points.

Honestly? I think that when the food manufacturers pulled that crap in cereals years ago in the late 70s early 80s that that was when US food morals went to hell. From then on out, the food companies were able to pull more and more sheet on us. Why did we accept it? Europe wouldnt have accepted it. I just hate to disappoint you, but 'Europe' (or, the 40+ really diverse countries that comprise it) drank the Kool-aid, too; the only difference is in the specifics of what happened.

It was imported from France. The recipe I'm working from uses the pan juices, plus lemon and white wine as a sauce, so I'm planning to incorporate the liver into the side dish of pinto beans that is going to accompany this. As will, I suppose, a whole bunch of other parts that it turns out were also included with the rabbit, and that I didn't notice before, since I got it wrapped and frozen. I'm now wondering how lungs sautee.

The pyramid was rubbish, anyway. The plate concept looks like a riff on the Zone diet, when the author breaks it down into its simplest terms. I see the dairy lobby still has a firm toehold, there... nothing wrong with milk, if you like it, but in terms of human nutrition, it's pretty pointless (unless one is harbouring the hope of morphing into a large ungulate).

Thanks! Did you slice them before cooking, or after? In the image, it looks like before, but..?

That looks delicious; would you mind elaborating a bit on how you handled the liver? I have a rabbit liver I'll be sauteeing or frying this evening, and it's a first for me, so I'm interested in pretty much everything relating to the preparation of small livers, especially when I see results this good!

Thanks, these are some great ideas! I think that this time, I'm going to go with frying or sauteeing, then perhaps cutting the liver into strips, and combining it with either the rice or the pinto beans that will accompanying the rabbit.

Actually, the 'organic evaporated cane juice' is sucrose