Unexpected Food Gifts

[liuzhou]

Someone's making a killing. That is 10 times the price here in China.

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

Someone's making a killing. That is 10 times the price here in China.

 

I wonder if anyone is actually buying them, though!  😄

[liuzhou]

 

17 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I'm thinking I must have ordered something from that supplier in the past and their database has thrown up the wrong customer.

 

They have contacted me and confirmed that is what happened. They are now sending someone to collect the goods and convey them to the correct destination. Sorry, cats!

[Anna N]

5 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

They have contacted me and confirmed that is what happened. They are now sending someone to collect the goods and convey them to the correct destination. Sorry, cats!

That is good news.

[liuzhou]

Every year since 2001, Liuzhou local government have given me a gift of 5 litres of peanut oil and 10 kg of rice, in recognition of my status as an honorary citizen of the city.

 

This year they made some changes. This morning, four people from said government arrived at my apartment bearing gifts. They had customised the choice to my appetite and needs as they see them.

 

 

 

 

                        Grapes                                                                                                                                             Loquats

 

 

大青枣 (dà qīng zǎo) or Large Green Jujubes (aka Chinese Dates)

 

 

Regular Cow's Milk

 

 

Tissues

 

Toilet Paper

 

Much more useful. I already have sacks of rice and bottles of oil.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[BeeZee]

well, the gift certainly has both the whimsical and the practical...

[SusieQ]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:09 PM, liuzhou said:

Every year since 2001, Liuzhou local government have given me a gift of 5 litres of peanut oil and 10 kg of rice, in recognition of my status as an honorary citizen of the city.

 

This year they made some changes. This morning, four people from said government arrived at my apartment bearing gifts. They had customised the choice to my appetite and needs as they see them.

 

 

 

 

                        Grapes                                                                                                                                             Loquats

 

 

大青枣 (dà qīng zǎo) or Large Green Jujubes (aka Chinese Dates)

 

 

Regular Cow's Milk

 

 

Tissues

 

Toilet Paper

 

Much more useful. I already have sacks of rice and bottles of oil.

 

 

You must indeed be an honorary citizen with this largesse bestowed upon you. I'm serious, not sarcastic. 

[liuzhou]

7 hours ago, SusieQ said:

You must indeed be an honorary citizen with this largesse bestowed upon you. I'm serious, not sarcastic. 

 

I am officially so, but then I'm almost the only one here. Certainly the only one who has been here more than two years. I'm on 27 years now. I think I only got it for turning up. It's actually almost meaningless apart from gifts of toilet paper.

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

I don't know what I've done to deserve all these unexpecteds in one week.

 

A week or so ago I bought a can of smoked oysters online and they came with a complimentary bag of seaweed. I really enjoyed them so ordered five more. This time no seaweed*, but a dedicated oyster fork. It's 13 cm / 5¼ inches nosr to tail.

 

For scale

 

*Lack of seaweed is probably a blessing. I have a lot in the fridge alreadt.

Edited February 21, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I dumped 24 pounds of beans on an unsuspecting friend.  I don't feel guilty in the least.

 

[Kerry Beal]

 

Look at these beauties - showed up from Great Britain yesterday!  A favourite friend sent them for @Anna N and I. Hubbies eyes lit up when he saw them.

 

 

 

 

[TicTac]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

 

Look at these beauties - showed up from Great Britain yesterday!  A favourite friend sent them for @Anna N and I. Hubbies eyes lit up when he saw them.

 

 

 

 

They make a world of difference when nosing your favourite tipple.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

[Kim Shook]

Jessica went up to spend the day in Washington yesterday to do some Smithsonian-ing and brought back some British goodies from a shop in Union Market:

We’ve been indulging in one of our favorite things we do when we have British toffee – chewing up the toffee to soften and then biting into a Granny Smith apple.  It’s like the best caramel apple in the world!  For Americans who aren't familiar with British toffee, it's like very firm and very intense caramel.  Gorgeous!

 

[Katie Meadow]

Frankly, @Kim Shook, that sounds hilarious and I can picture the two of you trying to figure out the exact right moment to go for the apple. I really like English Toffee. When I'm craving that combination, and am too lazy to search out toffee, I just spoon some salted caramel sauce out of a jar and melt it in the microwave. Then I dip slices of apple into it.

[Maison Rustique]

I should have taken photos (there are a couple on my FB page), but friends sent a care package to us via A Spoonful of Comfort which I hadn't heard of before. Our package contained 2 generous cartons of chicken noodle soup, 6 delicious dinner rolls, chocolate chip cookies and a pretty ladle. The food was delicious and it was an unexpected, comforting treat. They offer boxes for many types of occasions and the cost isn't really much different than sending flowers. I would highly recommend them.

[liuzhou]

This is definitely food and drink related. A friend with a sense of humour decided I needed this.

 

 

 

 

It's a cup and came with an unexpected teaspoon.

 

[blue_dolphin]

21 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

I should have taken photos (there are a couple on my FB page), but friends sent a care package to us via A Spoonful of Comfort which I hadn't heard of before. Our package contained 2 generous cartons of chicken noodle soup, 6 delicious dinner rolls, chocolate chip cookies and a pretty ladle. The food was delicious and it was an unexpected, comforting treat. They offer boxes for many types of occasions and the cost isn't really much different than sending flowers. I would highly recommend them.

Thanks for this recommendation!  I just put a query in to see if I can order a combo of 2 different vegetarian soups. I like the fact that the soups can be frozen if the recipient isn’t ready to eat them right away. 

[Shelby]

15 hours ago, liuzhou said:

This is definitely food and drink related. A friend with a sense of humour decided I needed this.

 

 

 

 

It's a cup and came with an unexpected teaspoon.

 

Looks like our trash can only a lot cleaner.

[FauxPas]

On 3/2/2023 at 7:15 PM, Kim Shook said:

Jessica went up to spend the day in Washington yesterday to do some Smithsonian-ing and brought back some British goodies from a shop in Union Market

 

Funny to see Smarties as we think of them as Canadian even though they have UK origins. 

 

This was the old (slightly annoying, ha) Canadian jingle:

 

When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last?
Do you suck them very slowly, or crunch them very fast?
Eat those candy-coated chocolates, but tell me when I ask:
When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last?

[Anna N]

4 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Funny to see Smarties as we think of them as Canadian even though they have UK origins. 

 

This was the old (slightly annoying, ha) Canadian jingle:

 

When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last?
Do you suck them very slowly, or crunch them very fast?
Eat those candy-coated chocolates, but tell me when I ask:
When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last?

To the tune of lonnie Donegan's does your chewing gum lose its flavour on the bed post overnight?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

To the tune of lonnie Donegan's does your chewing gum lose its flavour on the bed post overnight?

 

That's what was going through my mind!

 

[chromedome]

It's a silly jingle, but having been a kid at the time I can attest to its ubiquity. And hey, it was successful enough to keep M&M's out of the Canadian market for decades.

[KennethT]

My wife brought this back from Tokaji in Hungary:

 

 

Too bad she couldn't bring back a bottle of Oremus!!

[Anna N]

 

So I was having an unpleasant medical procedure today and my ride was none other than @Kerry Beal. She arrived with some wonderfully crispy and porky crackling with  

 three dipping sauces. There was more in the refrigerator for me when I returned from my appointment. 

[BonVivant]

On 3/19/2023 at 7:53 PM, KennethT said:

My wife brought this back from Tokaji in Hungary:

 

 

Too bad she couldn't bring back a bottle of Oremus!!

 

But what are you making with the paprika? "édes" means sweet paprika. Only add, generous amounts, paprika to hot fat and briefly to prevent bitterness and turning brown.

 

I spent the last 2 weeks of December 2016 in Hungary. The final days of the year were in Tokay ("Toe-Koi", like French "moi". At least it sounded like that when I ask Hungarians to pronounce the word so I could hear it).

 

Train station

 

Road block, Tokaj style.

 

It was so cold in Hungary that winter. -7C to -10C every day. We ate warming gouyash a few times, both beef and fish versions. The following photos of gouyash were taken in Tokaj.

 

 

 

The fish gouyash were for the partner. I only had a tity taste each time (most freshwater fish taste swampy to me 🤢).

 

Tokaj is a small wine producing town. We were probably the only 2 (non Hungarian/Eastern) tourists round that time of year. It's so dead in the winter.

 

Only a handful of wine tasting places were open and we made the most of it. Excellent Furmint and other Hungarian native grape varietals you almost never see outside Hungary.

 

Would love to return to Hungary. Good wines and hearty food.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by BonVivant (log)