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The Omnivore’s Hundred

Barbara Fischer linked to Andrew’s list and instructions :

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food – but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

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 here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

I added Bold and Crossed to indicate stuff I’ve tried but have no intention of eating ever again, unless I’m starving.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros – on the menu at Mugg & Bean,  but as soon as my kitchen’s operational I’ll try Deb’s recipe, it sounds much nicer.
4. Steak tartare – Read all about it.
5. Crocodile – yea, once, in Oudtshoorn – I was not impressed.
6. Black pudding – sounds horrible, but I’ll try almost anything once.
7. Cheese fondue – nice idea for a party, we also had The Real Thing (raclette?) in France.
8. Carp – Goldfeesh are carp, no?
9. Borscht – I want to make this sometime.
10. Baba ghanoush – first time I’ve heard of it.
11. Calamari – Tanya likes the takeaway Calamari at Muizenberg market,
12. Pho – Barbara mentioned Pho, maybe someday I’ll make it.
13. PB&J sandwich – over here, “jelly” is the stuff you mix from a powder and serve with custard or put in a trifle. I think you mean “jam”. I prefer maple syrup, but golden syrup works too. Or honey.
14. Aloo gobi – looks like something that should be on my “to try” recipe list.
15. Hot dog from a street cart – all the time. But here we call ’em “boerie rolls” and we use wors, not wieners, mostly.
16. Epoisses – maybe next time I’m in France.
17. Black truffle – my brother likes using truffle oil. For this kind of money I’d rather be buying expensive liquor.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes – Hmmm, it’s cherry picking season in Ceres again soon…
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes – I might be missing something, but in this context, “heirloom” means “grown in your own garden” like my grandfather used to do?
22. Fresh wild berries – depends on your definition of wild, I guess.
23. Foie gras – not common here, expensive.
24. Rice and beans – Moros y Christianos, lekker.
25. Brawn, or head cheese – We call it “silt” and it sucks.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper – does pickled Habanero count?
27. Dulce de leche – this is what you get when you heat condensed milk? Maybe I should try the real recipe.
28. Oysters – Bloemendal has a yearly champagne and oyster festival. Oysters are overrated but the bubbly’s nice.
29. Baklava – the Ocean Basket in Long Beach Mall has a Greek owner. This makes this particular franchise… a bit different from the rest.
30. Bagna cauda – looks interesting.
31. Wasabi peas – I like wasabi with sushi, must try it with peas.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi – and here I thought Lassy was a dog… Edit: Salted lassi (2008-09-02). I can get to like this stuff, and the sweet version should be nice too. Recipe here.
34. Sauerkraut – Oh yes, goes well with eisbein (Nag’s Head in Noordhoek. Recommended). I’ve also braised it.
35. Root beer float – Root beer is not something we get in South Africa. Have had many coke floats though.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar – Remy rocks. But I don’t smoke.
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O – Yes, if Peachtree Schnapps counts.
39. Gumbo – that I made myself, not authentic – will change if I ever visit the bayou.
40. Oxtail – many times. Popular dish in South Africa.
41. Curried goat – can’t say I’ve seen this on the menu anywhere.
42. Whole insects – You mean on purpose, not accidentally?
43. Phaal – oooh! *makes note*
44. Goat’s milk – well, Fairview makes it into quite nice cheese, if that counts.
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more – been there, done that, single malt doesn’t do it for me, I prefer Remy or even Jim Beam Black.
46. Fugu – Chances are the stuff I can afford is cut a little close to the gland.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear – we make it into witblits which is a noble destiny.
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone – We used to eat lots back before the whole poaching problem started.
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal – had McDonalds once, when they opened their first branch in South Africa, at the insistence of the (then not) ex. Life’s too short.
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini – Martini, yes. With olive juice, no.
58. Beer above 8% ABV – Belgian beer rawks!
59. Poutine – I should like this, seeing how I really took to the Belgian mayonnaise thing.
60. Carob chips – chips as in crisps? I only know carob-erzatz-chocolate.
61. S’mores – have roasted marshmellows but that’s about it.
62. Sweetbreads – I remember trying something with a sweetbread sauce once. Can’t recall being very impressed.
63. Kaolin – they mine the stuff in Noordhoek, there was a whole controversy over it, but I havn’t felt a great need to taste the stuff.
64. Currywurst – not yet, but Marko’s convinced me I need to make a plan. Edit : currywurst, at the AAD show (2008-09-20). Recommended.
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis – I think I need to drop more hints for an invite from the Cape Town Burns Supper Club. But then I’d need to recite poetry, and that could be… scary.
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho – on the list next to Borscht.
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe – and also Pernod.
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill – Around here, this would be either a cat or a dog, or the occasional pedestrian. Maybe if someone hits a kudu hard enough I’ll change my mind.
76. Baijiu – wiki says “after drinking it, most people screw up their faces in an involuntary expression of pain and some even yell out.” – I HAVE to try this stuff! Edit: Baijiu (2008-09-03).
77. Hostess Fruit Pie – no idea what this is? Brand name in the ‘states? Probably.
78. Snail – popular starter at many restaurants.
79. Lapsang souchong – if Twinnings tea bags count.
80. Bellini – Kir Royale is as close as I’ve got.
81. Tom yum – I order hot & sour soup almost every time we eat chinese/taiwanese. Simply Asia in Lakeside and Sea Palace in the Waterfront.
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky – chocolate covered pretzel sticks, sure, but not the brand name Real Thing.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash – I have several recipes.
88. Flowers – I always taste the garnish in lah-de-dah restaurants. Nasturtium, mostly.
89. Horse – Tanya couldn’t figure out why they put pictures of horses on the meat packages in France…
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish – In Zambia.
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox – I don’t think this travels well. I’ll have to visit New York
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta – on my “recipes to try” list.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake – Badger, badger, badger, badger…

Thanks, Andrew!

Edit : I’m regarding this list as a challenge. Starting with the stuff I can make or find locally (the Michelin restaurant will have to wait).

2008-09-02 by Foooooood 6

So nice, working with professionals for a change

So I swing past the Lumber City on my way from Lansdowne Boards. Go past the counter, ask “may I browse” (this is a big warehouse place, not your typical hardware store). Guy (Neville) sez “sure”.

Find stuff on the shelves that look like what I need, make mental note of standard sizes. Past the counter again, “dowels?” — “behind you” — “thanks”. Pick up dowel of possibly correct size for fixing toy boat project (don’t ask).

Back to counter, start waving hands “I need 12 x 96 meranti, about 1.2 meters”

N: “Stock size is 1.8 meters”
Yours Truly: “Good, one of those and 12 x 144 pine, same length, and meranti, 10mm thick, about this wide” (show with fingers)
N: “that’s 44mm”
YT: “Lekker“.

YT: “And BTW I saw you have Etimo postform tops, but I need something redder”
N: “Would that be Mahogany?”
YT: “Sounds good”
N: (grabs catalogue) “600 wide, 3.6 meter length will be R949, but we’d have to order”
YT: “Sharp sharp, do you cut to size?”
N: “Certainly”.

Picked up a sample of the mahogany. I can work with these guys.

2008-09-01 by House 3

The Cape of Storms

August went out with a bit of a blow which some people called “the worst in 7 years“.

Sun Valley on Saturday :

Our house doesn’t have storm water gullies, the gutters vent straight down the side of the house. If it rains hard, we have a mini-moat around the house.

Fortunately it’s sand all the way down, so the water drains quickly.

On Sunday the sea was still rough. (For comparison, I took this photo on the rocks on the left hand side of the first picture below, on a nice day (September 13th) in 2004).

In typical Cape Town fashion, it clears up, the sun comes out, and it’s beautiful. With a flippen cold wind, I must say, but beautiful.

2008-09-01 by House 0

What I did yesterday afternoon

I always get my best ideas in the shower. In this case, the best way to get power to the gate motor.

There’s a plug point in the living room, I drilled a hole through the wall, fitted this box on the outside, and ran a pipe …

… through this Malawian-dug trenchette …

… to this weatherproof box, where I will eventually fit a plugpoint for vacuuming the car …

… and via a flexible conduit you almost can’t see in the above pic, to the gate motor.

A dip in the jacuzzi with a good looking girl and a glass of red wine rounded off the day.

2008-08-27 by House 1

At last, the 200mm unit

Recap : I bought the whole kitchen in flat format, audited it, found the two wall units were supplied twice, the two units under the window were too small, and four units were not supplied at all. I then managed to get them to fix the two units, and supply three of the four outstanding units.

Well, on Friday I finally got the last unit, the 200mm unit between the corner unit and the large (600mm wide) drawers.

This rack system comes from A&D Distributors (this is their display unit), and is made for a 200mm wide space. (I didn’t know this when I specified the 200mm unit. Serendipity).

This is what you get for R390. Including three baskets, not shown.

I decided to assemble this unit in place, because I realised I won’t be able to screw the sliding assembly into the 200mm wide (168mm on the inside) space, at least not easily.

Used two spare legs to level & square the unit while the glue dried.

With hindsight and perfect measurement, this unit should have been 195mm, not 200. The whole assembly, with a panel on the right hand side, is just proud of the doorway. But then again, the doorway is not yet trimmed. This sort of makes trim necessary, though.

On Saturday we went and bought 22 square meters of VNE20A1 (not named) grey tiles for the bathroom (from Builders Warehouse). R59.99/square. I also returned the brass fittings I didn’t use (because I got the same stuff cheaper at Muizenberg market) — R264.75 credit, w000t.

On a totally different topic — Saturday it rained, hard, so friend Randall came out on Sunday and spent most of his day fitting a gate motor, with very little help from me. I now have the Malawians digging a trench for power — the unit runs off a 12V battery, with a small transformer to keep the battery charged. The benefit of this is (1) it works when Eskom doesn’t and (2) you only need lightweight wiring, which saves a bit of money.

2008-08-25 by House 0

I’m sane! I’m sane! *happy dance*

At least, compared to these people, I’m sane.

This post sums up what I’ve learnt as well. I don’t look at the credit card slips any more, I just sign ’em :-)

Moloch’s Whore

Restoring an old house is like worshipping a pagan god in that both require sacrifice. Moloch demanded your first born child, old houses require much more.

Old homes require cash. Huge, filthy, fist-loads of cash.

At first you don’t mind so much. You think that a little sacrifice is necessary. You are still excited by the project, you are lulled by dream-visions of what the end product will be. You can see the fresh paint, the shining, refinished floors, and all that beautiful wood work.

Once you start feeding it money, it becomes easier and easier. It becomes part of your routine. Nails, saw blades, paint, and lumber become part of your normal monthly expenses. But, as the months and years drag by you start to feel the pinch. You put off your dry-cleaning as long as you can; you find yourself eating more pinto beans and peanut butter sandwiches; and, if you find a book or CD that you want, you put it on your amazon.com wish list instead of buying it. Then a day comes when you notice that all your sport coats have shiny, thread-bare elbows, your shoes have cracked soles, and that you haven’t had a haircut in months because you thought it a waste of money.

Things that other people consider major problems become interesting challenges for you. Instead of taking your car to the shop when your car’s second-gear quits working, you master the art of driving without it. Five months later when first-gear also quits, you find yourself taking pride in the fact that you can start from a complete stop on an incline in third-gear.

Late at night as you lay in bed, you can hear this relentless sucking sound. It is a persistent whistling of the atmosphere around you vanishing into a void. You are anxious. You know that your savings are gone, your budget is maxed, and it is only a mater of time before everything around you falls to pieces. When you do sleep it is fitful and tense. You dream of a vast weight bearing down on you, pinning you to the ground. You awake tired and thinking, “Should I work on the bathroom ceiling or back hall this weekend?”

The Devil Queen, the old whore upon the hill, beckons. After so much, who are you to deign her?

Edit : so now I’m reading the Devil Queen blog from the beginning. Difficult thing, reading blogs backwards. But oh so worth it. John can write. And he likes Lovecraft, and Monty Python, and, and, and…

2008-08-21 by House 0

So much for their one saving grace

As hardware stores go, the Builders Warehouse in Tokai is… so/so.

They’re large, and have a selection of stuff, but there’s also a lot of stuff they don’t have. And their prices are good, sometimes, but some other stuff is a complete rip off.

Their sales staff range from pretty good… to useless. The paint guys are great. The electrical guys are not bad at all. On the other hand, the bunch hanging out by the tool section have no clue as to what they’re selling, and can’t offer any advice. And the dude on the cut board counter should be drawn, quartered and shot.

<me> “Excuse me, how much is your bullnose postform countertop (points at stuff on shelf one meter from dude) in Etimo?”

<dude> “I can’t tell you that we have to order specially” *wanders away*.

Not “can I get back to you?”. Not “approximately $bignum but I’d have to confirm”. Oh no.

But despite this, I spent probably R50k with these guys the past few months.

Because they were open until 19:00. Convenient. But this changed — they now close at 18:00, just like all the other hardware stores. So they’ll be seeing a lot less of me.

Oh, and they’re also a gunfree zone. In my friend Richard Boothroyd’s words, “not when I’m there, they’re not”.

2008-08-19 by House 1

Geek Alert : Some basic jacuzzi mathematics

It takes one kilo-calorie to heat 1 litre of water by 1 degree C. A calorie is 4.184 joules. In science-speak : “The specific heat capacity of water is 1 cal/gram-C or 4.184 Joule/gram-C”.

A Joule is also a Watt-second. Which relates to the well-known kilowatt-hour by a factor of 3 600 000.

In mathematical terms :

Q = mc(DeltaT) : m = mass, c = specific heat capacity, deltaT = amount you want to heat the water (or anything else) by. The important thing is that all the units match, to get Q in Joule you need c in Joule/gram-C.

The optimal jacuzzi temperature seems to be 39C (102F). So if the water is at 15C, deltaC = 24.

And thumbsuck : the typical jacuzzi is around 1000 litres.

Q = 1000 x 4184 x 24 (Note the sly dropping of the decimal from 4.184 — this is because we’re working with litres not grams, a liter of water weighs 1000 grams) = 100416000 Watt-seconds = 27.89 kWh. Which at the current 47.38c/kWh equates to just over R13.

And with a 4kW element, this will take almost 7 hours. Of course this ignores any losses, anything that’s warm wants to cool down, so it will take more energy and time to actually heat the jacuzzi to 39C.

I’m contemplating keeping the thing at say 25 degrees or so, that won’t lose too much heat to ambient and it’s halfway there, energy and time speaking.

2008-08-18 by Geek House 0

Ouch eina moer

About four or five years ago I rewired the DB at Amperbo. It’s a 3 phase ‘box, and dated back to shortly after the second world war when my grandfather built the place — think ceramic holders for fuse wire, big switch boxes looking like something from Dr Frankenstein’s lab, and the like.

I replaced all most of this with modern trip switches, an earth leak unit, two geyser circuits, etc. We also ran new wires up to the loft for the geyser and lights, replaced some of the wiring to the plugs (especially the rusted pipe under the kitchen floor which shocked Pieter every time he cooked in bare feet), and so on.

Anywayz, at the time, we bought a 3 phase earth leak unit, cost a bit over R800, and we thought it was rather steep.

So I went to buy a 3 phase earth leak yesterday. R1715.

And thence the title of this post.

2008-08-14 by House 0

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