The BBQ Song

[drcuriosity]

An ethnoculinary survey of the southern states that wolfwitch found for me:

My first attempt at making felafels didn't go as well as I would have liked, but the experiment was worthwhile all the same. I'd give it a C- - but then, working from scratch with unfamiliar ingredients and tools, it could have been a lot worse. As fate would have it, Ilan emailed me a proper recipe around four hours afterwards. It looks like I'd got around 75% of the way there myself, and probably would have got to around 90% on my second try, but having a reference to work from will speed things up considerably.

Dessert that night was Deep South's double chocolate ice cream drizzled with blackcurrant and raspberry juice and some of that fudge sauce that you heat up in hot water before you put it on. That's hard to screw up, at least :-)

One question on chickpeas, though. After soaking and possibly hulling them, do you think I should just blend them straight away, or try steaming or boiling them a little first to soften them? Bear in mind I have what's essentially a juice blender rather than a proper food processor, too.

Comments

[krasota.livejournal.com]

That bbq video cracked me up. They left out Virginia, though. I guess that's only fair now that we're a blue state. *wink*

And I like the California pic for Florida.

When you find yourself back on this continent, you and your love will have to come visit. Tom can take you to all the local bbq places.

[wolfwitch.livejournal.com]

I sent him a link to the page for Owensboro's BBQ festival as well. Including the photo of sauce being applied with a mop. :)

[elnigma.livejournal.com]

/me very fond of Carolina BBQ. Never had the yellow mustard kind though my mom used to make a killer thick mustard sauce for baked chicken (it'd be bright orange when done cooking!)

Some Vietnamese immigrants make really good BBQ, too.. how they do it I don't know (their secret) - but the result is delicious bright purple-stained meat. Oh my!

[drcuriosity]

Thank you! You've just reminded me of another ingredient I forgot to add: sumac! It's quite popular in Southeast Asian cooking, I hear. Quite tart - also goes well with tomato-based dishes.



The stuff I have is a bit darker than the variety pictured, though - almost the colour of dried blood.

[peterfitz.livejournal.com]

We've taken to using canned chick-peas (Delmaine) exclusively; they're just as good as fresh-soaked/boiled and much, much less trouble. They're more expensive of course, but on the other hand I don't have to waste those hours of precious life preparing the stupid things.

Note: the generic-brand canned chick-peas we tried were awful. I don't know what were done to them, but whatever it was, they were not a patch on the Delmaine stuff.

[shenya.livejournal.com]

Chickpeas I generally soak overnight then boil for about 3 hours in fresh water. From what I understand they can make you ill if not prepared properly (although not as drastically as things like kidney beans).

[aquitaine.livejournal.com]

I'm lazy so i just buy my falaffel. if you do go back to buying it, then the best brand is Sahara. ALthough keep trying as homemade would probably taste amazing!

[saucy-chef.livejournal.com]

Soaking chickpeas in water overnight with a bit of baking soda makes them nice and fluffy, then boil until all the white scum on the top is gone (I don't fully understand this bit, apparently it can make you sick if the scum is not all boiled away.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

The scum is bad for you.

[morte-o-merce.livejournal.com]

falafel is a pain in the ass to make, i've tried it a couple times with moderate success. i've been trying to learn to cook from home better since i can't afford to dine out much anymore. i'l slowly improving, i think.

[drcuriosity]

I'm basically trying to step out of my culinary comfort zone a bit. I can do plenty of variations on a bolognaise, or nachos, or random pasta or stir fry dishes.

I don't know. Something about trying to extend myself in fields that aren't directly related to getting an income or building a career makes it kind of relaxing, even when it doesn't work right straight away.

[morte-o-merce.livejournal.com]

nothing wrong with trying to expand your skillset. in fact, studies have shown that constant learning is the best way to stave off degenerative brain diseases commonly associated with old age. continous learning keeps the mind sharp, improves memory, and makes you hella more interesting at parties :)

[drcuriosity]

Yeah, I figure that I'll know I'm ready to die if I ever stop learning. I don't think I'm in danger of running out of things to learn, though - the universe is just too full of Interesting Stuff. And hey, improved culinary knowledge helps with catering those parties, too :-)

[wolfwitch.livejournal.com]

*cackles* Just wait 'til you get back here & I start you on my stacks of cookbooks!

[drcuriosity]

Yay :-)

I'm ready to die if I ever stop learning.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

What would you do with Eternity, should there be an afterlife?
My own indefensible theory is that when you die, you get a library card with no expiration date, and only then do you learn what sort of life you have lead.

Re: I'm ready to die if I ever stop learning.

[drcuriosity]

I think that's a very good theory, no matter how indefensible :-)

I guess it depends on the Eternity. If it's one with rebirth/reincarnation, I'd probably want to take a good look at my life, what I learned and didn't learn, what I did well and didn't do well. Then I'd choose a new life that took some of the important parts of what I considered "me" and provided it with new challenges and opportunities to let it extend and grow. If there had been any previous lifetimes that I had access to, a bit of comparison and contrast would be fun too.

In some ways, I guess that's what I try to do sometimes with writing and roleplaying already - take aspects of myself (or at least my self-identity) and put them in new situations and combinations that I can work through and reflect on.

In something non-reincarnative... hmmm. Eternity is an awfully long time, and that library card sounds awfully tempting. If not to learn more, then a chance to build more would be nice. Some of the more satisfying activities in my life involve creating things - words, code, food, concepts. Best when there is a certain subtlety, nuance, texture and/or elegance.

An interesting question. Thank you.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I would definitely boil them first.