I've been moving for over a week now, and am working on the sourdough post, but until then, here's this to waste one's time:
From verygoodtaste.co.uk, The Omnivore's 100:

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.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
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
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
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
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
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
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
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (all of them)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Posted at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found, a few months ago, that I really missed baking bread nearly weekly. The bread I baked wasn't really daily-eating bread, but it was fun and there's nothing like the smell of dough in the oven, being transformed into something supremely delicious. I've been working on my breadmaking skills, and I think I'm getting better. I've made a series of doorstop-style loaves, which I believe had fallen due to over-proofing. I've been studying the chemistry of bread, from the way that gluten forms and how yeast eats all the bits of sugar its fed. Reading, however, doesn't seem to really be helping in and of itself. I'm dealing with a crap oven in a rental apartment, the wildly varying temperature of Portland's summer, and craziness in the moisture. Despite this all, I started a culture about 7 days ago which has become a proper sourdough starter (using Susan's awesome instructions), and it's happily eating whatever I give it with great abandon. And thus, this, dear readers, is what I'll be using tonight to make my first sourdough loaves. The bf and I went down to Bob's Red Mill last Saturday and purchased a ton of flours (well, okay, so maybe 30#), and I have a feeling I'll be baking up a storm this fall and winter. I am going to track this sourdough bread with photos to show you my triumph (or utter failure to bake bread that looks like bread)! Hopefully with more tomorrow... wish me luck!

Posted at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)