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OK. My parents, brother and I visited Sumatra in 1976 and spent most of that two-week trip on Pulau Samosir in the Toba Batak land (pulau is Indonesian and Malay for "island"). While we were on a ferry going from Prapat on the "mainland" (in Sumatra but across Lake Toba from Samosir), some friendly Bataks told us that they would be having a second burial the next day and that we should join them as guests. The Batak people disinter the bones of ancestors about 60 years after they have died, rebury them permanently, and have a big celebration. There were two kinship groups represented, the wife-givers and wife-receivers, and one of the groups adopted us for the purposes of the ceremony. There was a lot of dancing and many people were dressed in colorful clothing. Pigs were roasted on spits over wood fires with an amazing mix of spices. The roast pig was so spicy and so uniquely delicious! That second burial has to be the best serendipitous adventure I ever had while traveling.

You and I were thinking alike. That's what it looks like to me. And a good rendition, as well.

I don't get the Knitting Factory reference.

One point to keep in mind is that pecorino represents an entire class of cheeses: Those made from sheep's milk. There are various different kinds of Italian sheep cheeses, and they can have very different taste profiles. For example, while Pecorino Romano (the type that undoubtedly inspired this thread) is very sharp, Pecorino Toscano is quite mild and subtle.

Dr. Beal, you must be very popular at the office! I think you're the first doctor I've heard of who bakes muffins for the staff! I didn't realize Manitoulin was the largest fresh-water island. It must be really big! I've visited Pulau Samosir, a sizeable island in Lake Toba on Sumatra. I had an amazing experience there that involved food, but it's probably pretty irrelevant in this blog. Your remarks about the genetic tendencies of First Nations people (we call them Native Americans in the U.S.) to retain fat for times of famine ring true to this Jew. I think the same thing is true of Ashkenazic Jews, African-Americans, and indeed many other peoples around the world (Malays included, apparently). Obesity is the product of excellent adaptation to times of scarcity and high levels of physical activity (migrations on foot, hard labor, etc.), isn't it? I don't mean to hijack your blog, but since you're a doctor and brought this issue up, maybe you'll want to elaborate on it as relevant. It's your blog, so it's up to you. Enjoy your week of blogging from such a picturesque place! [Edit: I forgot to mention that if there are any yellow haws on the island, they are great as sweet preserved fruit! I got some in Beijing and loved them! The Chinese preserve the red haws much more often, and they're also not bad at all.]

I cooked a couple of dishes out of a cookbook I got in Nice called something like "La Cuisine Gourmet Sans Sel." One was a really delicious roast chicken with red grapefruit and pink peppercorns. It was great, and I would make it again even for people who aren't on a low-salt diet, except that I probably shouldn't be eating grapefruit lest it interact with medication...

Bill, I really enjoyed getting to know you a bit through this blog. Your town and the surrounding area is truly gorgeous. Thank you so much for taking the time to present the great scenery and interesting petroglyphs as well as the food. Enjoy your house, your food and drink, your environment, and your friends, animal and human alike. And have a great trip to San Francisco!

You're very modest, worm@work. Looked great to me!

Chris, how did you pick the places you planning on hitting in New York? I'm not familiar with Bleecker St. Pizza, and I can't imagine what the "curry place" would be. Brick Lane???

Wow, those canyons are incredible! Thanks for the photos.

Apples are really good with blood pudding, too.

Just a note that the Malaysian food served outside the country (and certainly in the U.S.) is almost always West Coast food (Ipoh, Penang, KL). Malay food in Kelantan is very Thai-influenced. The influence has gone both ways.

Good Greek yogurt with honey drizzled over it and nuts on top is also a lovely dessert.

My mother cooked very nice renditions of some classic French dishes back in the 70s, when I was growing up. We all liked her Carbonnade Flamande, Coq au Vin, and Boeuf Bourguignon. She made a nice onion soup, too.

I agree, too. And as a musician, I'm particularly upset with the increasing disappearance of live music from bars, partly because of lack of interest from today's youth and partly because of the damned Cabaret Laws and noise complaints.

The eyeball itself? Yes. I don't eat that.

The $1 couldn't have been for the rice?

Many of my neighbors here in the East Village are very upset about the constant loud noise from bars that open onto the street, after midnight. Cops have to go around trying to enforce noise policies all the time, and once they leave, it gets loud again.

They look good, but it occurs to me that I've never asked precisely what "shocked" means. Very quickly sauteed at high heat?

Meat, vegetables and most woefully of all, pasta, since so many people don't know to salt the water. Pasta tastes awful if the water hasn't been salted. ← I disagree. The important thing is what the sauce tastes like, how well it's mixed into the pasta, and what the texture of the pasta is like.

A lot of "fusion cuisine" sucks, but that's not a statement against the concept itself. It's instructive that couscous is the favorite "French dish" in France.

I've been getting Cantonese takeout and bringing it uptown to my parents' place around once a week lately. After having gone to Congee Village and Great NY Noodletown repeatedly, I decided to branch out and try Congee. I'm glad I did. My order was as follows: 16. Roast Duck & Meat Ball Porridge 53. Sauteed (Dungeness) Crab with House Special Sauce (2 orders) H07. Deep Fried Chicken w. Garlic and Scallion Sauce (Half) H63. Live Shrimp w. Fish Sauce 99. Sha Cha Beef in Casserole With 3 rices (more than necessary because they were large rices and Sha Cha Beef is made with noodles), the total cost was $74.30, and man was that heavy to carry on the subway! The congee was not nearly as tasty as I've gotten at Congee Village and NY Noodletown. The dungeness crabs were GREAT!!!! Get them! The tomalley was particularly wonderful! The House Special Chicken (by any other name) was excellent and I believe it was superior to the versions I've had at both NY Noodletown and Congee Village, though I prefer Congee Village's version to Noodletown's, and both of those versions are also good. The garlic and scallion sauce really improves the dish, and for all of it being deep fried, it is not very fatty at all. The live shrimp were also great, and better than Congee Village's rendition. The Sha Cha Beef was a creditable rendition, and my mother particularly liked the unexpected use of small pieces of canned pineapple, but Congee Village's version, with more sauce, is much tastier. I went there Sunday night, and the place was absolutely packed, with a bunch of people waiting on line for both tables and takeout. This place deserves its popularity, and I will definitely be back for some of the same dishes and some other ones.

mascarpone and his wife and I had Sauteed Bad Smell Tofu tonight at Spicy & Tasty in Flushing, NY. It smelled stinky but the taste was almost like regular tofu, with just a bit of a cheesy taste and a nice texture which was kind of pockmarked with very small holes (which didn't go all the way through), which I presume were the product of fermentation. I liked it and would order it again, but the very mild cheesiness of it was kind of anticlimactic after years of being too chicken to order it because of the stink.

Ah, so there's another meaning for "halfway house," other than a place where ex-cons and recovering junkies go before being released into society... Sorry about the cyclones in Australia ruining the banana crop.

Apologies for taking this blog onto a brief tangent, but why are bananas so expensive in Australia, where you can surely grow them, and which is near other countries (e.g., Indonesia) where bananas are grown?