Text 16177, 117 rader
Skriven 2008-11-05 15:43:00 av Michael Loo (1:18/200.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Glen Jamieson
Ärende: Recovery 181
====================
 GJ> I have heard good reports as well as bad, for both countries.  It
 GJ> would probably be easier for you to get a visa for Thailand than for
 GJ> Cuba.

Actually, the Thai are so avid for even the degraded American
dollar that no visa is necessary for US passport holders,
provided that the passport has at least I think six months'
validity on it.

 GJ> Regrettably, Nelson Mandella is past his prime, and there are few of
 GJ> his standard.

He was apparently most excellent as a human being but not so
effective as a leader, as most of his prime years were spent
in prison.

 ML> I flew in and out of Terminal 3 in January. The good thing about
 ML> it is that there's no SATS Lounge, so I get to use the Silver Kris.
 ML> The other good thing is that there are good sleeping facilities in
 ML> the corridors. The other other good thing is the free wired Internet.
 GJ> The 20 minute free computers are always occupied.

More reason for carrying one's own laptop plus ethernet cable.

 GJ> I have a super-efficient
 GJ> digestive system which retains food for 48 hours, and extracts all
 GJ> possible nourishment from it..

Hum. I thought my digestive tract was efficient, as it retains
food for something like 48 minutes.


 GJ> It seems to be hanging on, but then watermelon is no stronger in
 GJ> flavour, and that has retained its popularity.  The darker the red of
 GJ> the dragonfruit flesh, the better its flavour.

Therein lies the rub: I've tended to have milk-white
dragonfruit, with an experience or two with pink.

 GJ> I always like to get the durian ice-cream in Singapore, as they have
 GJ> some of excellent quality there.

I recommend you to Dessert Mouse (not Desert Mouse or Dessert
Mousse), at the Simei MRT stop. Tell Chris the proprietor
that Steve from Sydney (a friend of mine) sent you, and you
may get a free or discounted durian cendol. By the way, do
this experiment: have a snack of Sauvignon Blanc with unsalted
roast cashews. What does this flavor combination remind you of?

Dormouse, Apicius style (not tried)
cat: historical, appetizer, not tried
servings: 1

1 md dormouse, about 6 oz, cleaned, skinned
s&p
2 Tb clarified butter
1 ts honey
2 Tb dry red wine
1 ds asafoetida (hing powder)
1 ds garum (substitute 1 t nuoc mam)
2 thyme sprigs
1 Tb honey
1 ts poppy seeds, toasted

The dormouse should be plump. Season it with salt and pepper
and butterfly it.

Heat the butter until it is almost smoking. Brown the dormouse
well on both sides.

Meanwhile, mix the honey, wine, asafoetida powder, and garum.

Remove the dormouse from the pan and set it aside on a warm plate.

Deglaze the pan with the liquid mixture and add the thyme sprigs.

If the juices of the dormouse run pink, return the dormouse and
its juices to the pan to cook fully. Dormouse should be cooked
medium to medium-well. Remove the dormouse to the warm plate.

Pour the deglazing juices around the dormouse.

Spread a little honey on the dormouse and strew with poppy seeds.

After Apicius

 -=> Glen Jamieson said to Dave Sacerdote <=-
 GJ> What was the inside colour of your dragonfruit?  The kind with a dark
 GJ> red interior has more flavour than the white, and is more attractive
 GJ> when cut.

Ah.

 GJ> The dragonfruit plant is a strange variety of tropical succulent.

It's a cactus, and the fruits are a cousin-on-drugs of the
famous tuna fruit of which we've spoken here on the echo.

 GJ> In a slight change of subject, there has recently been an
 GJ> investigation into the quality of imported EVOO, and it was found that
 GJ> many brands on s/market shelves included chemically extracted olive
 GJ> oil, and some included canola and other oils.  As one tester put it,
 GJ> the stuff was of such poor quality that it would not be allowed to be
 GJ> imported into Italy or Spain, but it was considered good enough to be
 GJ> sent from there to Australia.  At the last Melbourne Agricultural show,
 GJ> Australian olive oil producers were giving out free tastings, so that
 GJ> people would know the difference between proper EVOO and the rancid
 GJ> imported stuff. Has anything like that been happening in USA?

Here, we have a reasonably effective Food and Drug Administration;
further, we have palates. This means that many of us can tell the
difference between EVOO and industrial waste.

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30

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