Omnivore's 100 (Reblog)

From the Very Good Taste blog... Italics are mine. The only things I struck out are things I've already eaten :-) Well, and the cigar.

---

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (I've had it and would never consider eating it again.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (I guess I haven't eaten from a lot of street carts.)
16. Epoisses (Mmm, stinky cheese!)
17. Black truffle (Unless black truffle oil counts...)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (I'd need a compelling reason to reconsume this.)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea (Although I've had all the ingredients, separately, in the right country.)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (How could I not know what this is?)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (Nothing special. Why the fuss?)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (Got some in the fridge right now...)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (Don't judge me!)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (This doesn't really look up my alley, but I'd eat it.)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (Thymus isn't my thing, but it isn't horrible. Not like natto.)
63. Kaolin (Well, who knows? I've eaten dirt without detailed analysis as to its composition.)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (I've been dying to try this for years.)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho (I almost struck this out, too. That much cold tomato is almost too much for me.)
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost (In the fridge, too -- won't go with the umeboshi though.)
75. Roadkill (I'm assuming the venison sausage SB made was killed with a gun.)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong (I've had smoked Chinese tea, but not sure about exact provenance.)
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. (Worse, no meals at any at all.)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (But sign me up!)
91. Spam (Eurrghhh...)
92. Soft shell crab (Spider roll ga oishii desu ne!)
93. Rose harissa (Not sure what rose harissa is? Harissa is made with chilis.)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Belgian Ale Night

Last night we had AM, ALS & RWM over for fish tacos and a sampling of Belgian ales. NDM sucked down a fruity lambic while the rest of us worked our way through 5 bottles of ale.

• The first, and still my favorite, Chimay Grande Reserve. I don't think anything can beat this dark, sweet, malty, creamy elixir. I wouldn't normally have started out with this one, but all the others needed some time in an ice bath to reach the proper temperature.
• Next we hit the Slaapmutske Triple Nightcap. Creamy like one expects from a corked Belgian, but much lighter than the Chimay. Despite a nice bitterness I found this beer a little short on character.
• Third was the Caracole, whose snail label I really liked. (I'd assumed this beer was named after dressage before I noticed the snail.) This beer was close kin to the Slaapmutske, with some more Christmasy aromas of cloves and allspice.
• Finally another winner with the Koningshoeven quadrupel! You can tell where my tastes lie; this was a much darker, deeper brew than the preceding ales. Harsher and less creamy than the Chimay, it was still an excellent beer.
• We finished off with another lighter ale, the Chouffe. At the end of the night whatever faculties I use to judge beer are mostly spent; this was an acceptable version of the light Belgian ale.
  

Besides the great food (NDM even made corn tortillas and refried beans from scratch to go with her usual fantastic fish; my only contribution was a hot slaw for the tacos) and beer I had an opportunity to learn all about chlamydia's effect on koala population decline from RWM, an expert in the field. Beer and education, what more could you ask for?

Garden Miscellany

My final miscellany post of the day... Starting off with the first frog we've seen in our yard since moving here.
NDM's favorite squirrel, which helped us dispose of a pound of walnuts and hazelnuts that have been lingering on since winter. The little tree-rat showed absolutely no fear -- I think NDM took this photograph at a distance of about 2 feet.
The wife hasn't been as industrious as normal this year, what with studying for boards every waking moment, but she still managed to cast some concrete planters. This one was destined to be filled with opuntia and sedum.
Finally, I've given up posting photos of Molpe's garden kills. For a while it looked like they'd petered out with the arrival of the new puppy, but she's in fine form again. She's even done three in a single day now. I'm afraid if I keep documenting that it will eventually be used as evidence in a war crimes tribunal, so here's a picture of a cute, fuzzy, harmless kitten.

Leftover Food Photographs (chow)

Looks like I've been tardy with some recipe action. Here are a few things we've cooked and eaten that never made it off the hard drive... First up, a zucchini parmesan. Oh lordy have we had some zucchini this year. Feel free to drop by if you want some.
A little bok choy stir fry...
I made a coconut curry with some fresh coconut. Apparently I didn't photograph the actual meal, but was pretty pleased with myself for splitting the coconut into perfect halves. After scooping out the coconut I gave the halves to the puppies, who had a field day.
Oh man, was this good. Gnocci with fried real buffalo mozzarella slices together with a spicy red sauce.
NDM's production here -- her always fabulous hot and sour soup.
This was a delicious made-up whatnot that I threw together when my parents were visiting. A warm salad of roasted celeriac with fennel and olives.
A cold side-dish of spicy cabbage to eat with stir fries.
A zucchini boat. This was in fact the first dish that I ever cooked for the wife, way back when she was a pre-wife, a decade or so ago. Scooped out the zucchini and cooked it with pasta, cheese, and sundries before throwing the mixture back in the zuke for baking in the oven.

Dogorama (Pets)

Here's a mess of random puppy snaps, mostly from the last month. This lead photo, however, is from the distant past when we still had a microLíle. She's bigger than 'Dolon now.
'Dolon won't get on the hammock, although he's happy to jam his head through the ropes to get his licks in. Líle isn't worried about unstable footing at all, though -- especially if there's a person around to jam a paw into.
Here the dogs give thanks for the bounty they are about to receive.
Another puppy-Líle, sitting on her divan. She's three or four times that volume now.
Here's a current Líle -- although her hugeness is of course dwarfed in this photograph my Cylcopean might. This is her Cute Death Ray posture.
'Dolon was ecstatic to get another visit from my parents. He totally crushes on my father.
These are the kind of puppy kisses I try to avoid.
Nothing is more fun than a kong in a pool of cool, clean water...
Relaxing in their twin beds after a long day.
Farewell, puppies! Until next month!

Cottage Cheese Bread (Chow)

I tried a dill-heavy, onion-light variation on Peggy's cottage cheese dill bread today, throwing it into a French bread mold. Very tasty, although also very soft and delicate. The wife feels the dough would have lived out a happier life in roll rather than loaf form.

Sisterly Sisters (Pets)

Here is a sight that has been rarer and rarer as our kitties have aged... I think it has been over two years since Scylla and Molpe last deigned to sleep together. Must be another summer of love.