chances are that i am, but here we go anyway.
the olympics are weird and a bit silly. i realised this yesterday afternoon watching a strangely dressed woman barely move on the back of a horse whose hair was did and who seemed to be prancing strangely as a result. i realised it this morning when the fact the we didn't win an expected gold seemed to have caused national outrage, and said swimmers were dragged in front of cameras to explain why they lost.
really?
why does it even matter? what are we missing that we take it as such a heartfelt loss? it's nice that people can ride horses and swim quickly, but there are other nice things too.
there will be calls for more funding so that we can ride and swim faster than other countries. why though? so that those individuals that receive the funding get an individual gold medal and individual sponsorship deals that give even more money to the individuals.
as a disclaimer, i don't generally like sport, so this no doubt clouds my perception. i'm also sure that this isn't medal envy...
wouldn't it just be better if we focussed on giving it a 'red hot go', and giving it a 'red hot go' in other areas of human endeavour (you know, those things beyond sport).
P
ps apologies for this non-food post. the author felt it necessary.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
cauliflower soup with burnt butter and pomegranate
i know, right? sounds good. it is (not blowing my own trumpet here...never been that flexible, nyuk nyuk).
here is a photo...
there was some serendipity happening here.
i ordered an extra boxiflower (box cauliflower) and an extra half turned up in the box. the half got roasted and added to a bigger roast vege salad with buckwheat, quinoa and mint. the whole one got souped! simply, an onion and clove of garlic browned off, cauliflower fried for a little bit, some stock added and blended up. nothing more. on it's own it was really tasty and sweetly cauliflowerish.
about a year ago, i had lunch with some colleagues at loam restaurant in drysdale. without a doubt one of the most memorable meals i'll ever have. one of the things that stuck in my palette-memory was the burnt butter that was served with the bread. it was, reportedly, some browned butter mixed in with normal butter. yep, it tasted it good as it sounds - caramelly, toasty, nutty and buttery (der). "one day, i shall try this at home for it cannot be difficult" i thought to myself. yesterday i made an attempt and it worked perfectly. i bought some fancy butter and 'burnt' about 40% of it, then took it off the heat and added the unmelted 60% and let the whole thing melt. whisk while cooling the bottom of the bowl over some cold water. eventually it will set and be light and delicious.
last night, after doing all of this, i decided to add some of the complex and delicious burnt butter to the simple and delicious cauliflower soup. SYNERGY (i.e. bigger than the some of its parts)! today i chucked in a couple of pomegranate bits leftover from last night's salad. MOAR SYNERGY! an occasional pop of tartness to the sweet and nutty soup...sated.
anyway, how have you been?
p
here is a photo...
there was some serendipity happening here.
i ordered an extra boxiflower (box cauliflower) and an extra half turned up in the box. the half got roasted and added to a bigger roast vege salad with buckwheat, quinoa and mint. the whole one got souped! simply, an onion and clove of garlic browned off, cauliflower fried for a little bit, some stock added and blended up. nothing more. on it's own it was really tasty and sweetly cauliflowerish.
about a year ago, i had lunch with some colleagues at loam restaurant in drysdale. without a doubt one of the most memorable meals i'll ever have. one of the things that stuck in my palette-memory was the burnt butter that was served with the bread. it was, reportedly, some browned butter mixed in with normal butter. yep, it tasted it good as it sounds - caramelly, toasty, nutty and buttery (der). "one day, i shall try this at home for it cannot be difficult" i thought to myself. yesterday i made an attempt and it worked perfectly. i bought some fancy butter and 'burnt' about 40% of it, then took it off the heat and added the unmelted 60% and let the whole thing melt. whisk while cooling the bottom of the bowl over some cold water. eventually it will set and be light and delicious.
last night, after doing all of this, i decided to add some of the complex and delicious burnt butter to the simple and delicious cauliflower soup. SYNERGY (i.e. bigger than the some of its parts)! today i chucked in a couple of pomegranate bits leftover from last night's salad. MOAR SYNERGY! an occasional pop of tartness to the sweet and nutty soup...sated.
anyway, how have you been?
p
Saturday, March 17, 2012
box hysteria
so quite deliberately I haven't ever mentioned that my boxes come from ceres. this not for any reason other than this blog wasn't ever an advertising space. it matters now because of one story in a melbourne weekend newspaper about land contamination and the ban on sale of food grown at ceres hq in brunswick.
you see, not much of the story was true, and when given all the facts it seems they didn't get in the way of a good story. ceres fair food people explain it here.
why do I believe ceres, with a clear vested interest, over this melbourne paper? cos I've dealt with the same paper over some stuff, and the same thing happened. they got a good story, which was untrue and backed up by cold hard evidence (which was provided), but they ran with it anyway. sound familiar? oh and there's also the independent tests that identified the problem areas (which were not used for commercial purposes).
who cares? lots of people. ceres does good things in lots of areas, and has been damaged by the article. most of you who read this know this stuff already, but i thought it worth writing down in case some one gets here by google.
i continue to get my box, and it continues to give me top quality local seasonal produce in a way that is good for producers, the environment and me. one article, based on misinformation, won't stop that.
byeee
P
you see, not much of the story was true, and when given all the facts it seems they didn't get in the way of a good story. ceres fair food people explain it here.
why do I believe ceres, with a clear vested interest, over this melbourne paper? cos I've dealt with the same paper over some stuff, and the same thing happened. they got a good story, which was untrue and backed up by cold hard evidence (which was provided), but they ran with it anyway. sound familiar? oh and there's also the independent tests that identified the problem areas (which were not used for commercial purposes).
who cares? lots of people. ceres does good things in lots of areas, and has been damaged by the article. most of you who read this know this stuff already, but i thought it worth writing down in case some one gets here by google.
i continue to get my box, and it continues to give me top quality local seasonal produce in a way that is good for producers, the environment and me. one article, based on misinformation, won't stop that.
byeee
P
p.s. happy new year. normal transmission (i.e. probably not much) will resume shortly.
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