Hate mail for like-minded conservationists

[WhiteKiboko]

how many times does this now make that this thread has gotten a tad off topic ?

personally, im partial to broccoli and asparagus...

 

[cthulhu77]

I eat anything and everything...from kitty tacos in central america to roadkill kabobs in texas...its all good! I don't dislikefava beans, just don't care for the hard texture...perhaps I have never had them cooked right???
WK, these thread seem to all have a life of their own...mutation,mutation...who knows what is next???
Greg

 

[WhiteKiboko]

silly me.... i totally forgot that conservationists might not like fava beans either

 

[cthulhu77]

Please don't lump me in with THAT crowd! Every time I see a conservationist get on the tube (and on the soapbox) I run for cover...in this day and age, it still amazes me that people can't just use common sense to dictate their actions. Case in point: (and I know I am going to get some hate mail for this) the Alaskan wilderness. Great. I know that it is there, and I know that it has oil. Right now we need oil. The locals and natives support drilling, it would be a boon for the economy. hmmm...lets drill!
We have a water shortage here (phx) and now the local conservationist board is lobbying to prevent the storage lakes from being filled because a flock of birds has nested around the perimeter of the low-filled lakes...if we allow the lakes to fill, it will kill all the little birds. OH well. Natural selection at it's finest. We humans have removed ourselves from the order of life, and that is arrogant...lets face it, we are just animals, and we should do what animals do...
Greg

 

[nanoteuthis]

Getting back to brussels sprouts, they are healthy and cute! Like li'l baby cabbages.

As for fava beans, they are the main ingredient in an Arabic dish called foul mudammas (pronounced "FOOL moo-DAH-mahss") which I absolutely adore -- and since we live in a neighborhood with an increasing Arab population, it's easy to come by around here. Only problem is that along with the Musical Fruit it's made with industrial-strength fresh garlic cloves, so a 24-hour quarantine period in a room with an open window is required after eating the stuff.

The Tanster
Dept. of Environmentally Friendly Natural Gas

 

[cthulhu77]

We have a pretty good arabic restaurant nearby...and my wife loves garlic...we shall have to try that dish! I always wondered if the beans I had eaten just weren't done right...
Greg

 

[nanoteuthis]

how many times does this now make that this thread has gotten a tad off topic ?

Actually, I lost count. Wanna try figuring out how many times this thread was on topic?

personally, im partial to broccoli and asparagus...

Broccoli and asparagus both rock! But only the florets (broccoli) and tips (asparagus). As far as I'm concerned, the stems of either veggie are tough, tasteless, and only good for composting.

Arabic food rocks too! Plus it has something for everyone: Fattening, cholesterol-laden meat dishes that taste delicious, and heart-healthy veggie / bean dishes that taste delicious. And of course there's sahlab (anyone who hasn't tried that uniquely Mideastern dessert.... well, should). Our fave Arabic eatery around here is run by a Palestinian gourmet chef who defines the term "Earth Mother" -- her warm, effusive personality is remarkably similar to that of my late, beloved Jewish grandma. (When I see depressing news reports about the Middle East, I often think, "Why can't Jerusalem be more like Brooklyn?")

BTW, a long time ago the late Vincent Price -- before he was "the late", of course -- was on a talk show and demonstrated what he referred to as "one of the great classic recipes". You just had to steam young and slender asparagus spears, drizzle on a little extra-virgin olive oil, then fry an egg sunnyside-up, slide it onto the asparagus spears, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, fresh ground black pepper, and salt to taste. A good way to make your one-egg-per-week cholesterol limit more enjoyable.

Now that I've mentioned Vincent Price, we've got an excuse to do a graceful stream-of-consciousness segué from horror flicks to Cthulhu and back to cephs. Pretty neat, no?

Tani Banani

 

[WhiteKiboko]

i was making dinner for my mom last night and had iron chef on....it was an aspargus battle and not surprisingly, iron chef sakai (french) won.... to ceph up this post, mom did wince when she say the clip of the guy pulling out a huge octo in the intro.....

 

[cthulhu77]

I actually shrieked in horror when I saw the "octopus battle" on Iron Chef...(one of our favorites)...this chef dredges a LIVE octopus in batter and flour, then throws it into a tub of bread crumbs...poor thing is trying to clean out its eyes with a tentacle, and crawl out of the tub with the other seven...then WHAP! the chef lops off the head...yikes!
didn't care for that episode too much...
Greg

 

[Colin]

I once heard that the reason why kids dont like brussell sprouts is because when they are raw they are toxic and would make us ill if we ate them in that state.

Kids are much more sensitive to the taste from undercooked brussell sprouts and they immediately dont like them whereas us adults have maybe destroyed those relevant tatsebuds with so much alcomahol, hot curries etc that we are less sensitive...??????

 

[cthulhu77]

Hmmm...I never heard that brussel sprouts were toxic uncooked...nothing in my literature about that either. I think it may have been an insidious plot by b.s. haters to tarnish the image of tasty brussel sprouts! For some odd reason, I like the contrast between the bitter cabbage taste and the sweetness of garlic butter.
My wife however, hates them with a passion.
Greg
p.s. but she does like cuttlefish, so that's all good! (as pets, not to eat)

 

[WhiteKiboko]

how do cuttles taste anyway? i couldnt find anything in On Food and Cooking by McGee about B.sprouts being toxic but it did say the cabbage family (to which it belongs) contain mustard oils and cysteine derivatives that produce "various odiferous compounds, including hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, mercapans, and methyl sulfide" it also says cooking longer intensifies these reactions (and can even double them!) so the opposite of what colin said is more likely, although i agree with him that kids are more sensitive to certain tastes....

 

[Colin]

Oh well.. i did try to say that it was hear-say LOL

Anyway, cuttles taste the best out of the cephs IMO... i really think that octopus is pretty vile, maybe its just because i can only get it here in a small tin in its own ink... maybe better prep would help???

 

[Phil]

us adults have maybe destroyed those relevant tatsebuds with so much alcomahol, hot curries etc that we are less sensitive...??????

Taste? Oh yes, I faintly remember. Distant memories.........

This must be the reason no-one under the age of 30 goes to Real Ale festivals. Tastebuds are not beneficial at those events.

 

[perke]

I know of someone who use to combine alcomahol and brussel sprouts by dunking them in Cherry can't say I'd personally recommend it but each to there own.[/quote]