drcuriosity | The BBQ Song

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

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.

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 :)

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 :-)

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

Yay :-)

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.

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.

The BBQ Song

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

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