Text 28294, 165 rader
Skriven 2012-08-17 02:43:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av HAP NEWSOM
Ärende: smemories 130
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 -> I am slightly atypical, but I have smell-o-vision
 -> in my brain.
 HN> I have memories of smells, but I don't
 HN> think I can get them to my nose effectively.

I have two normal ways, one easy and one hard.
The easy way is what I figure from my readings to
be the standard way, you think of a smell or taste
and conjure up an impression in your head. It's
not the same as the original, but it is a pretty
good stand-in. Think of a favorite food, something
you've had a bunch of times - you should be able
to make a very evocative and accurate "image."

When I concentrate really hard, I might - and this
happens very seldom - be able to convince my head
that there is a smell outside my envelope, detected
by my nose and retransmitted to my head and I
presume reprocessed as though it were real. This
is really a sort of self-induced hallucination, and
it appears to be facilitated if there is some actual
similar smell in the environment that I can "bend"
so I am able to pretend it's something else. That's
number two, but I don't see mention of it in the
literature.

There's an abnormal one too, which I have experienced
on rare occasions. I actually smell a smell that isn't
there - this is also hallucinatory but not induced by
my own consciousness. Writing about it, oddly, caused
one just now, just a whiff of some cheap Rioja.

==
 -> They should legalize throwing games. When the Red
 -> Sox come over, for example, just pitch batting
 -> practice at them! 
 HN> Well, lets not be too hasty..there's something
 HN> to be said for playing the spoiler role as well.
 HN> Happily we've managed to do that a number
 HN> of times, and sadly we've had it done to us
 HN> as well. 

When it's beyond hope, one should do whatever one can
to sink the Yanks!

 -> There are ways of dealing with that. Friends,
 -> neighbors, under the bed. Speaking of camera
 -> gear, what's a Minolta 7000 Maxxum?
 HN> Too much stuff to move, hide, etc. and 
 HN> too much work to move it all even if 
 HN> there were a place with enough room!
 HN> easier to remain in the house and 
 HN> simply sit and enjoy.

Ah.

 HN> The Minolta 7000, was a game changing
 HN> autofocus camera put out in the mid
 HN> 80's.

Thanks. I found one. I think it cost my mother
several hundred in its day and probably is worth
a tiny fraction of that now. I figured it was
negligible and didn't count it in the accounting
for the estates, besides which, in their declining
years my father said that all their stuff belonged
to me, to be cared for and used for the benefit of
me and my brother. He should have put it in writing.
The household stuff, all the personal property, no
problem. The house for sure should have been put in
writing, which would have saved us approximately
$200K - a big chunk of the estate, but he had the
paranoid idea, probably put into his head by my
mother, that as soon as he signed over the house
my brother and I would throw him out on the street.

 -> Probably not difficult, or you can make your own -
 -> lightly toast some rice with fine-broken-up pieces
 -> of sweet spices, such as cinnamon and star anise,
 -> either that or just use five-spice. Grind coarse
 -> and use.
 HN> roasted rice powder you can get I
 HN> know that much...maybe just add the
 HN> five spice powder to that?

Yeah, toast it first.

 HN> Currently the water has been 
 HN> restored! At least in the kitchen
 HN> and the new toilet gets put back
 HN> in place each night (thank goodness!)

La la la la life goes on!

Rat Braise
cat: odd, shock value, main, art-eest-eek!
servings: 20

15 whole rats, skinned and gutted, tails removed
salt and pepper
6 Tb extra-virgin olive oil
4 md white Spanish onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
5 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bottle red wine
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange, zest only
1 hd garlic halved down the center vertically
- not peeled
1 pt blueberries
2 qt chicken stock
2 c veal glace
red wine vinegar to taste

Lightly season rats on one side with salt and pepper
and sear on both sides in 3 Tb extra-virgin olive oil
until lightly browned using an oven-safe rondeau or
braising pan large enough to comfortably fit without
crowding. Transfer rats to a 5-x-8" molded edge sheet
pan.

Add onions, celery, and carrot to the rondeau or
braising pan and sweat 5 min. Add thyme, bay leaves,
and rosemary and sweat until aromatic.

Deglaze the pan with wine; add cinnamon, orange zest,
garlic, and blueberries. Reduce by 3/4.

Add rats back into the pot along with any drippings.
Add chicken stock and veal glace and bring to a boil.
Return to a simmer, cover with a lid or foil; bake at
330F for 90 min or until meat is tender. Remove from
oven. Let meat cool in liquid until it is easy to
handle and then transfer to sheet pan.

Strain liquid and reduce until 3/4 to 1 c remains.

Pick the rat meat and discard all bones. Once liquid
is reduced, mix 1/4-1/2 c into meat until just
moistened (you do not want a lot of liquid), and
season with salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar.

Line the sheet pan with plastic wrap, with the wrap
extending over the edges. Pack meat onto the sheet
pan and fold the plastic over so it completely
covers meat. Refrigerate overnight to set.

Unmold the meat while cold and cut into 20 portions.
Heat a saute pan with 3 Tb extra-virgin olive oil.
Sear one side of the meat until golden brown,
transfer to an oven at 350F until heated through.

For sauce, reduce remaining liquid from meat by 1/2,
until it is the consistency of syrup. Drizzle over
plated meat.

Serve with a full-bodied cabernet sauvignon.

Source: NY Times 7/26/2012; recipe developed by Yuri Hart
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