Text 7888, 111 rader
Skriven 2013-12-15 22:37:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
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 ML> When we were kids a lot of our peers had their tonsils
 ML> prophylactically removed. Now I understand the docs
 ML> disrecommend that course of action because of possible
 ML> arcane benefits.
 NB> Modern medicine keeps finding out that some things did more than just
 NB> what they thought was going on...

When I was a kid I actually questioned that - people said
that the tonsils were useless blobs of tissue, and I said,
how do you know that they're useless? Now, it is suggested
that there are arcane benefits, probably to the immune
system, which I kind of buy. The idea that the vermiform
appendix is a cache for probiotic bacteria I don't buy,
but it's likely that it has some kind of use as well.

 ML>> I ordered the lactose-free meal, which turned out to be identical
 ML>> to the vegan, hindu, bland, and gluten-free meals and possibly
 ML>> qualified for a couple other designations as well.
 NB>> Kosher, too...?
 ML> I've never ordered Kosher or Halal airplane meals but am
 ML> told that they're generally beef or chicken-based.
 NB> One would have expected that, to be sure... :)

That I'd never ordered that kind of special meal or that
they were meat-based? If you read the articles that gave
tips about flying before there were frequent fliers, a
common thread was that if you wanted a decent meal you
should order a Kosher one, as the hygiene was pretty much
guaranteed (the rabbi has to be in the room where the food
is prepared), plus it's packed individually and supposedly
with more care than the others. That was of course when
they served meals routinely. I deliberately never did
that, and my savvy friends said, why not? and I said quite
sententiously that I wasn't on the plane to eat.

Dairy meals are by far the easiest balanced meals to make
under the Kosher or Halal certifications, as there aren't
all the processing and handling requirements that there
are for meat.

   I was just wondering
 NB> if the meal was basic enough to meet that sort of designation, even if
 NB> it didn't have any meat...  ;) 

Oh, sure, provided that there was an imam and a rabbi
to certify the food's purity.

 NB> Kinda like Kosher salt, preserves, etc...

I guess a meal of all prepackaged Kosher ingredients would
be Kosher if put together in a facility that didn't have
trayf, but it would be pretty boring. By the way, all salt
is Kosher if uncontaminated. The term Kosher salt is a
misconstruction or mistranslation.

Roasted Garlic and Cheddar Dumplings
Categories: dairy, starch
Yield: 20

1 hd garlic
1 c all-purpose flour
2 Tb fresh minced sage
1/4 ts smoked paprika
1 1/2 ts kosher salt
1/2 ts freshly ground black pepper
2 Tb unsalted butter, melted and cooled but still fluid
1 lg egg
3 to 4 Tb very cold sparkling mineral water
1 1/2 oz sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into 20 1/4" cubes.

1. Heat oven to 300F. Cut off pointed end of garlic head;
wrap head in aluminum foil. Roast until soft and golden,
about 90 min. Squeeze garlic into bowl; reserve.

2. Combine dry ingredients and 1 Tb roasted garlic (save
remaining garlic for another use) in food processor and
pulse briefly to combine.

3. Stir butter and egg in small bowl. Add to processor
and pulse until well-combined. Turn in to mixing bowl,
add mineral water, and fold gently until dough comes
together; it will be soft and tacky. Cover tightly with
plastic wrap and chill 10 min.

4. Meanwhile, boil 8 c water in 10" wide, 3" deep
covered braising pan.

5. Spray work surface next to stove lightly with water
or oil. Using 2 forks dipped in cold water, lift 2 ts
dough and drop it onto misted surface; it will be an
irregular mound with a shaggy surface. Moisten fingers
with cold water and press a cheese cube lightly into
center, lifting dough a bit to make pointy top. Continue
with dough and cheese until you have 20 dumplings.

6. Add salt to boiling water. Moisten fingers again and
quickly drop dumplings one by one into pan. Reduce heat
to low. Watch dumplings, loosening if necessary from pan
bottom and flipping occasionally with fork. Keep water
at gentle simmer. Dumplings are done when they float to
the top and insides are like soft, baked bread when
tested, 5 to 7 min. Using slotted spoon, transfer
dumplings to paper towels. Dry briefly, and transfer to
parchment paper. Serve hot with ham-braised greens, beef
stew, or a brothy chicken or vegetable soup.

NY Times, March 20, 2002

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