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eG Foodblog: adoxography - transiting Venus and Taylorville driveby


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balmagowry, were those other historicals by Robinson?  If so, weird, he's known for being completely anal about details like that - or maybe he's better with the speculation research than the historical. :)  I just don't see how all references to food can be completely ignored over a timespan of that length. As for being distracted by food in something, I can see your... hey! Zoidberg's like lobster!

Nope; the one I was fulminating about was by Ross King - same guy who wrote Brunelleschi's Pyramid and Michelangelo's Floor. Both of which I was looking forward to reading, but now I don't think I trust either of them.

The other was absolutely marvelous - it's upstairs and I'm not and I disremember the author's name (uh-oh, mags will kill me, I think he's a friend of hers no less, and I shall certainly desire his more acquaintance, because this one grabbed me as much as the other repelled me), but I'll look it up later if you wish.

Those fries are devastatingly beautiful and they fill me with desire. Are the green bits garlic shoots? or is there more there than the parmesan and garlic?

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To be honest, given the prominence of the garlic flavor, even if it was parsley, it should have been garlic shoots.

I had a dream last night that people kept coming up to me and complaining about someone else's bad breath, and I was then forced to confess it was me.

There was a lot of garlic on those fries.

Yum.

Back to Masala Chai this morning - I figure if the toothpaste didn't cut through, the amount of cloves I put in the tea should. And if that still doesn't work, well, like the rest of the staff here who work on the floor, I have about 3 tins of assorted mints in my desk.

My favorites, btw, are the green tea MYNTZ with ginseng. I think, considering how quickly they disappear from my desk, they are a favorite of my co-workers as well.

It's Friday which means Astro and Galactic Burger Day! With tater tots! And later - Harry Potter at the Imax.

--adoxograph

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Top 10 reasons why adoxograph was touring the French Pastry School...

10) Wanted to meet Dusty Baker

9) Considering a career in sugar sales

8) Doing recon for her al queda cell

7) Hopelessly addicted to eating freshly-made baking mishaps

6) Loves men in white

5) Still stalking nightscotsman

4) Wanted to observe the endangered croquembouce in its natural surroundings

3) Did it on a dare from Mrs. Fields

2) Safest place to hide while on 'break' at the planetarium

...and the number one reason adoxograph was touring the French Pastry School...

1) Considering a career in the field?

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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I would make the claim that one's perception of a culture is often strongly influenced by the cuisine.

Here is cuisine and culture in today's news. From the Salon article about Bush and the G-8 summit:

"When his turn came to speak, Chirac did not mention the dispute over Iraq but spoke instead of how much he had enjoyed the G-8 summit, particularly the food. "Over the last few days, this cuisine here in America was certainly on a par with French cuisine," he said.

"He particularly liked the cheeseburger he had yesterday," Bush quipped.

Chirac responded: "Excellent."

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I would make the claim that one's perception of a culture is often strongly influenced by the cuisine.

Here is cuisine and culture in today's news. From the Salon article about Bush and the G-8 summit:

"When his turn came to speak, Chirac did not mention the dispute over Iraq but spoke instead of how much he had enjoyed the G-8 summit, particularly the food. "Over the last few days, this cuisine here in America was certainly on a par with French cuisine," he said.

"He particularly liked the cheeseburger he had yesterday," Bush quipped.

Chirac responded: "Excellent."

Coming from a Frenchman, especially that Frenchman, at any time but especially now, that is an extraordinarily conciliatory remark. Wonder if he meant it. Not that that matters - the mind-blowing thing is that he said it, in public and on the record.

Oh, BTW - the other book, the wonderful one I couldn't put down, was A Case of Curiosities, by Allen Kurzweil. Beautifully written, engrossing, with touches about it that remind me of Robertson Davies.

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has anyone done a study on how much higher the average egullet foodblogger's grocery bill gets in the week they post their blog? or do you all eat such fancy meals every day even without the pressure to post pictures?

Making biscuits, tuna sandwiches and ordering fries and a pint at Goose Island is about as economical as it gets. Did I miss something? :unsure:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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i was looking at the pictures from early in the blog--missed most of it as it was happening in real time. some other blogs have featured fairly elaborate meals. i don't object by any means.

so, has anyone done a study on how many days into the average egullet foodblog the meals go from elaborate to whatever's easy?

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i was looking at the pictures from early in the blog--missed most of it as it was happening in real time. some other blogs have featured fairly elaborate meals. i don't object by any means.

so, has anyone done a study on how many days into the average egullet foodblog the meals go from elaborate to whatever's easy?

Don't know about statistics or studies, but beg to remind you that I started my blog with a trip to the local diner. The only thing easier than that is ordering pizza.

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i retract all my bleary-eyed, first cup of tea in the morning attempts at cracking wise.

(edit to add: especially since if i'm not careful i might piss someone off and get fingered to do a blog myself)

carry on.

Edited by mongo_jones (log)
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i retract all my bleary-eyed, first cup of tea in the morning attempts at cracking wise.

(edit to add: especially since if i'm not careful i might piss someone off and get fingered to do a blog myself)

carry on.

Oh, you're on the radar now my friend :biggrin:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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i retract all my bleary-eyed, first cup of tea in the morning attempts at cracking wise.

(edit to add: especially since if i'm not careful i might piss someone off and get fingered to do a blog myself)

carry on.

The fingeree always has the option of refusing... but I must say I think a mongo blog would be pretty damn interesting - with all due regard to Ms. V and Kiefel's marvelous and engrossing blog, I'm almost starting to regret my decision not to tag you when I had the chance.

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Great pictures! I look forward to seeing more.

Speaking of cardamom. Does anyone know what the difference is between cardamom pods and deoriated cardamom? Are they used in roughly equal proportions? I have a bottle of decoriated and all recipes give measurements in pods.

Keep up the great blog!

Tastes pretty good, needs more salt

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a small green cardamom pod probably contains about 10-15 small seeds--i can go upstairs and crack a few open to verify the count if you really want me to. but the pod is what really scents certain indian rice dishes (though you don't eat the pods themselves).

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megalomatt -

decoricated is just the cardamom seeds removed from the pods. i have found on average that there are about 7-10 seeds in every pod. the thing about using the seeds is that they're a little less potent (they've already had their fragrance released). cardamom seeds are also very hard. i've never had much luck in my coffee (spice) grinder turning them into perfect powder - always need to use the mortar & pestle. the benefit of using pods is that you can crush them lightly and then remove them. if you're planning to crush the seeds for tea - you might want to strain it after brewing.

edited - pronouns are confusing

Edited by reesek (log)

from overheard in new york:

Kid #1: Paper beats rock. BAM! Your rock is blowed up!

Kid #2: "Bam" doesn't blow up, "bam" makes it spicy. Now I got a SPICY ROCK! You can't defeat that!

--6 Train

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Ok, actually I think mongo has a point, so for the record : lunch Monday on Adler, dinner included grocery trip, $11 (fish was free). Tuesday, cinnamon rolls, tunafish- all pantry supplies. Dinner out for 2, $25. Wednesday - $5 lunch in the cafe, $4.50 for shrimps with heads. Thursday - lunch from the cupboard, pint and fries, $10. Today's lunch $5 because there were no astroburgers, stupid free week.

So far spent - about $60, including at least two full meals for two. Not all of my groceries were depleted by cooking, so there is still (much) food to be had for free. This is slightly more than I would normally spend, but it's not actually blog related, more sleep deprivation/special occurance related. I don't often go out for drinks, and usually limit myself to one meal upstairs per week.

But mostly now I'm just annoyed that there were no astroburgers because it is free week.

Instead, I was subjected to a veggie sandwich on foccacia with fresh mozzarella, fritos on the side, and a cranberry juice. It was very trying. I may even be forced to eat one another time.

Oh and by the way, those bread products that you put your hamburgers and hot dogs on are rolls, not buns, so tell these people to stop correcting me. And if anyone in the Chicago area knows where I can find proper hot dog rolls, you know, split on top, I'll, uh, make you a lobster or crab roll.

Lunch today was too early, way too many hours until Harry Potter.

--adoxograph

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I'm currently reading The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

I enjoyed reading the first two-thirds of the book then lost interest. Robinson can get a little preachy for my taste.

Kevin

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Ok, actually I think mongo has a point, so for the record : lunch Monday on Adler, dinner included grocery trip, $11 (fish was free). Tuesday, cinnamon rolls, tunafish- all pantry supplies. Dinner out for 2, $25.  Wednesday - $5 lunch in the cafe, $4.50 for shrimps with heads. Thursday - lunch from the cupboard, pint and fries, $10.  Today's lunch $5 because there were no astroburgers, stupid free week.

True. My food costs were atypically high during my blog week...but I was hosting a party for 100+ that week :wink::cool:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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megalomatt -

decoricated is just the cardamom seeds removed from the pods. i have found on average that there are about 7-10 seeds in every pod. the thing about using the seeds is that they're a little less potent (they've already had their fragrance released). cardamom seeds are also very hard. i've never had much luck in my coffee (spice) grinder turning them into perfect powder - always need to use the mortar & pestle. the benefit of using pods is that you can crush them lightly and then remove them. if you're planning to crush the seeds for tea - you might want to strain it after brewing.

edited - pronouns are confusing

reesek, the way the arabs do it is even easier -- they just float a couple of pods in the little cup of coffee. Worth a try if you are ever having a small cup of the heavy stuff and don't feel like working too hard. (Basically just pour the coffee over the seeds).

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Yes, Mongo does have a good point (though on reflection I don't think my costs were unusual during my blog week; then again, I'm not exactly living on a very predictable budget/schedule these days) - but y'know what? I don't think he's all that interested in the answer.

(edit to add: especially since if i'm not careful i might piss someone off and get fingered to do a blog myself)

The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks. I bet deep down he's kind of tempted, and that's why he keeps prowling around muttering about how he's terrified of being tagged. Keep him on the radar, kids.

And if anyone in the Chicago area knows where I can find proper hot dog rolls, you know, split on top, I'll, uh, make you a lobster or crab roll.

Is this like those mango-loid perversions Mongo was suggesting on that GM thread? What if we don't want to be a crab roll?

EDIT for emphasis

Edited by balmagowry (log)
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And if anyone in the Chicago area knows where I can find proper hot dog rolls, you know, split on top, I'll, uh, make you a lobster or crab roll.

Is this like those mango-loid perversions Mongo was suggesting on that GM thread? What if we don't want to be a crab roll?

The Jewel Osco had those in their bakery bins -- I used them for cheesesteaks once in a pinch, and frankly they were closer to the real thing (albeit a little smaller) than anything else I'd tried.

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