Daily slop

[doc benway]

15 hours ago, old3bob said:

 

I read somewhere that chocolate from certain areas is high in heavy metal (cadmium maybe?)

 

 

Yes, raw cacao is grown best in volcanic soil and can have high concentrations of cadmium and other heavy metals. The processing of chocolate reduces those concentrations considerably but you need to be mindful if you consume large quantities of raw cacao.

 

 

[Nungali]

World chocolate supply in danger !  

 

OH NO  ! 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/21/cocoa-crisis-world-chocolate-stash-melting-away

 

Just when the end seemed near .... someone goes to Peru  and in a small poor village ;  'Say , what's that tree in your garden, it looks like cacao ?"  

 

The people there had cacao trees , a different more natural variety  .   We are saved    and   - you never know when or how good fortune may strike  -  poor Peruvian people  , rich 'overnight '  .  

 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chocolate-thought-to-be-extinct-rediscovered-in-peru-112189619.html

 

 

 

From the shadow  ;   " Psssst .....  Taomeow .... you want good pure indigenous Peruvian chocolate ?  Pure national with rich and complex fruit and floral flavours ?    For you .....    $100  for 50 gm .  "  

[Taomeow]

39 minutes ago, Nungali said:

From the shadow  ;   " Psssst .....  Taomeow .... you want good pure indigenous Peruvian chocolate ?  Pure national with rich and complex fruit and floral flavours ?    For you .....    $100  for 50 gm .  "  

 

A plausible scenario...  When I was in Peru, all they had in stores was Nestle.  Had zero luck finding coffee beans too, and even ground coffee -- instant was the only thing available in many places.  The locals explained to me that they export everything, nothing is left for domestic consumption.  (And then they buy Nestle and  Nescafe...)    

[Nungali]

You know you are in trouble when all they have is  .....   

 

 

 

 

[old3bob]

 

Why are people into  "bird nest" soup,  it probably has some  bird crap mixed in? But hell its "organic" right?

Anyone here tried it, its supposedly good...(bird saliva)

 

 

Edited March 26 by old3bob

[Taomeow]

1 hour ago, old3bob said:

 

Why are people into  "bird nest" soup,  it probably has some  bird crap mixed in? But hell its "organic" right?

Anyone here tried it, its supposedly good...(bird saliva)

 

 

 

No, bird crap is not mixed in.  And it's not just any bird, it's specific species of swiftlets whose nests are used.  The nest is washed a hundred times, by hand, with close inspection.  (I've seen the inside of some bird's nests in their natural state when I was a kid and liked to climb trees and explore, and the inside was covered in a layer of tiny little feathers all pressed together, much like a down mattress.  It's a bedroom, not a crapper, so I don't know about every nest and every bird species, but the ones I've seen, the inhabitants were shitting outside of, not inside.) 

I've had the drink made with bird's nest sold in some Chinese herbal stores (not the nest itself though, which I haven't seen or haven't bought because it was too expensive, don't remember which).  It's not a delicacy as much as a medicinal food.  In classical Chinese medicine (as in every other ever in existence until the Rockefeller intervention 100 years ago) there's no sharp demarcation line between foods and medicines.  Swiftlet's nest is one of the most potent yin tonics in this tradition, with great benefits for the kidneys, the lungs, and also used by women to enhance their beauty.     

Edited March 26 by Taomeow

[Mark Foote]

On 3/23/2025 at 11:03 AM, Apech said:

There is such a difference between simple proper food and slop.  They are almost like totally different things.

 

But why are we encouraged to eat slop?  Who benefits?

 

Who are the slop merchants?
 

RIP David Crosby
 

 

[old3bob]

17 hours ago, Mark Foote said:

RIP David Crosby
 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

Musical slop  is it   ?  

[old3bob]

 

This could sound like slop to some classical music purists but its rather catchy...

 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 02:40 PM by old3bob

[silent thunder]

define music, define purist, define slop... words words words...

within experiential joy, what use are words? 

 

the menu is never the meal.

fingers pointing to the moon are never the moon.

 

 

[doc benway]

Morning slop - 

2 scrambled eggs in a pan followed rapidly by a tortilla, pressing down gently to allow egg to cover both sides.

Cook, flip, then add sautéed onions, potatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Add shredded cheese (I like cheddar and Jack) then gently roll in pan and serve with salsa.

 

 

[Taomeow]

1 hour ago, doc benway said:

Morning slop - 

2 scrambled eggs in a pan followed rapidly by a tortilla, pressing down gently to allow egg to cover both sides.

Cook, flip, then add sautéed onions, potatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Add shredded cheese (I like cheddar and Jack) then gently roll in pan and serve with salsa.

 

 

 

How people like their eggs is another can of...  well, eggs.  I'm not surprised that in the Gulliver's Travels they went to war over which end of the soft-boiled egg to crack -- and that was just a minor point, you should see the way cooking time and the initial temperature of water etc. are sometimes discussed by egg devotees.  Scorched ground.

 

I don't make soft-boiled eggs anymore in mourning for my antique English porcelain egg cup which didn't survive a fall on the kitchen floor.  It was so pretty, it turned every egg into a special event.  I can't replace it with just any egg cup, and the likes of that one I can't find at a reasonable price.

     

The sloppy version I sometimes make is known as shakshuka.  Tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, onions, garlic, cheese, herbs, spices create a base in which eggs gently poach.  But this one is for when I'm inspired -- it takes too long for a regular breakfast meal.   

 

 

  

 

  

[Apech]

3 hours ago, silent thunder said:

define music, define purist, define slop... words words words...

within experiential joy, what use are words? 

 

the menu is never the meal.

fingers pointing to the moon are never the moon.

 

 

You are a complete genius- make the menu edible so the people can eat their words.  I’m going to patent this immediately!!!!!!

[old3bob]

5 hours ago, silent thunder said:

define music, define purist, define slop... words words words...

within experiential joy, what use are words? 

 

the menu is never the meal.

fingers pointing to the moon are never the moon.

 

 

 

words to define words....

[Taomeow]

Sloppy use of words is both the cause and the effect of sloppy thinking.

 

And obscenity is the crutch of inarticulate motherfuckers.  

[old3bob]

1 hour ago, Taomeow said:

Sloppy use of words is both the cause and the effect of sloppy thinking.

 

And obscenity is the crutch of inarticulate motherfuckers.  

 

WTF 

 

(but the spelling looks right)

Edited Saturday at 11:19 PM by old3bob

[Nungali]

[doc benway]

19 hours ago, Taomeow said:

     

The sloppy version I sometimes make is known as shakshuka.  Tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, onions, garlic, cheese, herbs, spices create a base in which eggs gently poach.  But this one is for when I'm inspired -- it takes too long for a regular breakfast meal.   

 

 

  

 

  

 

Shakshuka is delish!

If I’m feeling industrious, I’ll occasionally make fresh tortillas with red cornmeal. 

That kicks it up a notch but like you say, too long for a regular breakfast meal.

 

[Gerard]

On 30/3/2025 at 5:29 AM, Taomeow said:

 

it takes too long for a regular breakfast meal.   

  

 

Maybe better an Oyakodon (chicken-egg rice bowl).

 

 

Edited yesterday at 06:25 AM by Gerard

[Taomeow]

7 hours ago, Gerard said:

Maybe better an Oyakodon (chicken-egg rice bowl).

 

 

Looks like something that will take more time than shakshuka, or at least as much, if you make it from scratch.  I would make something close out of leftover rice and chicken from the dinner the night before to make it quick.  

 

A somewhat similar dish I like is Katsudon.  https://thewoksoflife.com/katsudon/ But that's for dinner.  And the way they served it in one of the Japanese restaurants I patroned before the lockdowns put it out of business, it had no slop.   Speaking generally, one of the reasons I like Japanese cuisine is that for the most part it doesn't have much slop at all.  You can see things clearly and know what it is that you're eating.

 

 

 

 

 

    

[Nungali]

Daily eggs : 

 

2 scrambled  with some fried onion,  chilli and  capsicum rolled  and folded in  a tortilla , pan fried then sprinkled with cheese and toasted  with chili sauce, sour cream, sliced pickled jalapeno  and chopped coriander on top . 

[Taomeow]

One of my methods.  Not daily but used often enough.  I seldom want any carbs for breakfast, and hardly ever more than one egg.  Preceded by two cups of coffee with butter.  (Yes, with butter.  What the popularizers of this approach call "bulletproof coffee."  No milk or cream in my coffee, ever, but the idea to add butter was revolutionary and I never looked back.  Of course it's unsalted butter.  Irish.)    

 

[Nungali]

Sloppy coffee  ? 

[Taomeow]

7 hours ago, Nungali said:

Sloppy coffee  ? 

 

Often sloppy, but not because of butter -- because of the method I use to make it.  You have to watch it closely or it will suddenly foam up over the edge and deposit slop all over the stove.  Cleaning up after this kind of accident is part of life -- happens roughly once a week.