Snacking while eGulleting... (Part 3)

liuzhou · March 10

Dutch goat's cheese (Le Chevre) with smoked Gordal olives and sweet chilli peppers

liuzhou · April 13

I'm stocking up on 'open-hearted nuts', the literal translation of the Chinese name for pistachios. Trying to maximise my hoard before the price doubles. 99% of our pistachios come from the USA.

liuzhou · April 14

This may not seem much to get excited about to most of you but I can explain.

1) Hummus is almost unknown here and difficult to find.

2) Because of its unavailability, to satisfy my hummus needs, in the past, I’ve made it from scratch. All the ingredients are available. However, I have to make the tahini, too. It is equally difficult to find. Although I’ve made the tahini and then the hummus many times, it’s a grind (literally).

Hummus Ingredients

So for me, it’s fun to just open a tub of this very good hummus imported from Lebanon. I buy the regular type but it also comes in a number of flavours: with za-atar; with red peppers; with red hot chilli.

$3.50 USD / 215g a tub plus delivery $0.55 no matter how many tubs I buy.

Edited April 14 by liuzhou (log)

**Smithy** · April 14

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

This may not seem much to get excited about to most of you but I can explain.

1) Hummus is almost unknown here and difficult to find.

2) Because of its unavailability, to satisfy my hummus needs, in the past, I’ve made it from scratch. All the ingredients are available. However, I have to make the tahini, too. It is equally difficult to find. Although I’ve made the tahini and then the hummus many times, it’s a grind (literally).

Hummus Ingredients

So for me, it’s fun to just open a tub of this very good hummus imported from Lebanon. I buy the regular type but it also comes in a number of flavours: with za-atar; with red peppers; with red hot chilli.

$3.50 USD / 215g a tub plus delivery $0,55 no matter how many I buy.

A bargain! I love hummus but would be seriously challenged if I needed to make the tahini first. 🙂

liuzhou · April 26

On 4/14/2025 at 11:44 AM, Smithy said:

this very good hummus imported from Lebanon

Oooops!

'Lebanon' is not the best way to spell 'Jordan' where the hummus really comes from.

معذرة (maadhhera) as they say in Jordan and Lebanon!

Edited April 26 by liuzhou (log)

liuzhou · April 27

Today, I picked up Jordanian za'atar hummus.

liuzhou · May 19

Things are not what they appear to be.

This is called 斑马肉 (bān mǎ ròu) on the packaging. This literally means 'striped horse meat' non-literally, 'zebra meat', hence the image of said well-known equines, Equus quagga.

Except, it isn't zebra meat. Underneath the image, it says 素食 (sù shí), which means 'vegetarian'. It is vegetarian zebra meat, not the meat of zebras, although, of course, they are vegetarian. incidentally a homophone of 素食 is 俗世 which means ‘the vulgar world' in Chinese Buddhism. This is no coincidence, I'm sure.

Of course it's ultra-processed crap like all these fake atrocities. Full of unpronounceable additives and preservatives, the only thing like zebra is that it is striped. An approximation of a meaty texture misses the mark. completely, but it is coated in a nice spicy Sichuan flavoured sauce. If chemically enhanced cardboard prepared Sichuan style is your thing, then I highly recommend it you see a shrink.

NOTE: I didn't buy this; it came as a freebie with a six-pack of beer I had delivered. I'd need a lot more than six cans before I'd eat it.

Edited May 19 by liuzhou (log)

liuzhou · June 28

Today, Muhammara and Pita Bread

Kerry Beal · June 30

On 6/28/2025 at 9:52 AM, liuzhou said:

Today, Muhammara and Pita Bread

Did you make the Muhammara?

liuzhou · June 30

26 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Did you make the Muhammara?

No.

I ordered some hummus online and they ~~incompetently~~ accidentally sent this instead and I was too lazy to send it back. It actually wasn't very good. Watery and insipid. Little flavour, at all. I'm sure I could have made better. In fact, I have done.

liuzhou · July 15

Fried Scorpions.

liuzhou · July 17

Nothing wrong with scorpions! Taste just like crunchy shrimp. The venom in the tail is neutralised by cooking.

liuzhou · July 17

... but for the non-entomophages among you, today's snackery.

油炸小鱼 (yóu zhá xiǎo yú), deep fried little fish. I bought these pre-cooked but add salt and chilli flakes.

blue_dolphin · July 21

I don’t usually snack in the evening, but I’m currently nibbling on some aged Gouda (Trader Joe’s 1000 day) and sipping a small glass of wine.

This came about due to my new Apple watch which buzzed and told me to stand up and move around for a little while. I didn’t have any little tasks I wanted to embark on at this hour but it occurred to me that I could go get myself a little snack.

Probably not the intended result of this “fitness reminder” 🙃

When I finish nibbling, I’ll look up how to turn this function off!

liuzhou · July 21

11 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

a small glass of wine

What's a small glass of wine. Never heard of such a thing!

chromedome · July 21

5 hours ago, liuzhou said:

What's a small glass of wine. Never heard of such a thing!

My GF's now-deceased former mother-in-law belonged to an obscure, cult-ish religious sect. During a visit to her house after her conversion, she explained that my now-GF and her then-husband that while her sect discouraged drinking, they understood that this could be an issue for those who had until recently been denizens of "the secular world." So she was allowed one glass of wine per day.

Context: She had already filled the glass. It was one of the novelty kind that holds an entire 750ml bottle.

...and she was completely, deadpan, unironically serious.

JoNorvelleWalker · July 21

9 hours ago, chromedome said:

My GF's now-deceased former mother-in-law belonged to an obscure, cult-ish religious sect. During a visit to her house after her conversion, she explained that my now-GF and her then-husband that while her sect discouraged drinking, they understood that this could be an issue for those who had until recently been denizens of "the secular world." So she was allowed one glass of wine per day.

Context: She had already filled the glass. It was one of the novelty kind that holds an entire 750ml bottle.

...and she was completely, deadpan, unironically serious.

Novelty kind? Mine is Baccarat, pattern Haut Brion. Though I don't usually fill to the brim.

blue_dolphin · July 21

I had the novelty kind. That’s a 750 ml bottle of wine in the glass.

IMG_3312.jpeg.ef2c480b400bf1ebd4353901ff9c2afb.jpeg

liuzhou · 2025-07-30T11:31:45Z

I'm not big on sweet snacks but like these.

新疆八宝切糕 (xīn jiāng bā bǎo qiē gāo), literally ‘Xinjiang eight-treasure cut cake’ a traditional snack or cake from China’s far western province, Xinjiang. As always with number in China, there aren’t necessarily eight ingredients, but around eight. These had ten. Jujubes, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, raisins, black mulberries, and flaxseed, all held with that old traditional favourite, 4-O-α-glucopyranosyl-D-sorbitol syrup aka maltitol syrup. Honey is used in more traditional versions.

liuzhou · 2025-07-30T11:45:34Z

On 7/21/2025 at 12:35 PM, blue_dolphin said:

I don’t usually snack in the evening, but I’m currently nibbling on some aged Gouda (Trader Joe’s 1000 day) and sipping a small glass of wine.

A bit late, but I found just what you need.

Ddanno · 2025-07-30T11:53:39Z

7 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

A bit late, but I found just what you need.

Sorry Ma'am but your husband is clearly inebriated and has to leave

**Smithy** · 2025-07-30T12:59:10Z

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

I'm not big on sweet snacks but like these.

新疆八宝切糕 (xīn jiāng bā bǎo qiē gāo), literally ‘Xinjiang eight-treasure cut cake’ a traditional snack or cake from China’s far western province, Xinjiang. As always with number in China, there aren’t necessarily eight ingredients, but around eight. These had ten. Jujubes, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, raisins, black mulberries, and flaxseed, all held with that old traditional favourite, 4-O-α-glucopyranosyl-D-sorbitol syrup aka maltitol syrup. Honey is used in more traditional versions.

I'm no longer a big sweets person, but this looks really good to me. I should look around for recipes along these lines. I don't suppose you have one handy? (I also don't have access to maltitol syrup, with or without the formal chemical name you so hilariously provide) but I have a lot of honey and maple syrup.)

liuzhou · 2025-07-30T13:17:57Z

56 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I'm no longer a big sweets person, but this looks really good to me. I should look around for recipes along these lines. I don't suppose you have one handy? (I also don't have access to maltitol syrup, with or without the formal chemical name you so hilariously provide) but I have a lot of honey and maple syrup.)

I'm sorry, I don't have a recipe. I've never met anyone who who home makes them. They are usually sold by street vendors who descend all over China from Xinjiang every year when the nuts are in season.

Edited yesterday at 01:55 PM by liuzhou (log)

**TdeV** · 2025-07-30T16:23:20Z

@Smithy

3 hours ago, Smithy said:

I'm no longer a big sweets person, but this looks really good to me. I should look around for recipes along these lines. I don't suppose you have one handy? (I also don't have access to maltitol syrup, with or without the formal chemical name you so hilariously provide) but I have a lot of honey and maple syrup.)

I found this

http://www.xianguotea999.com/the-art-of-crafting-traditional-eight-treasure-crispy-cakesa-step-by-step-guide/

No idea if it's sensible or not.

Searching 'Xinjiang eight-treasure cut cake recipe' produced a lot of items for sale.

liuzhou · 2025-07-30T20:59:40Z

4 hours ago, TdeV said:

I found this

http://www.xianguotea999.com/the-art-of-crafting-traditional-eight-treasure-crispy-cakesa-step-by-step-guide/

No idea if it's sensible or not.

I Searching 'Xinjiang eight-treasure cut cake recipe' produced a lot of items for sale.

No. That's about a different type of cake. Not the ones I showed.

Ba Bao (8 Treasures) is a very common term in Chinese, especially in food names - not only cakes and not only those 8 ingredients.

Ba bao soup, ba bao congee, ba bao tea, ba bao beef, ba bao rice, ba bao vegetables, ba bao pickles .... The list is endless.

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Snacking while eGulleting... (Part 3)

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