Text 6753, 108 rader
Skriven 2006-10-19 23:38:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JOAN MACDIARMID
Ärende: RE AIRLINE FOOD 441
===========================
 JM> a bit odd, but not bad. You were probably
 JM> right about the plum type, but they might not
 JM> have been stoned...Ilona's weren't, but
 JM> then she makes cherry pies without pitting
 JM> the cherries, too! As long as the diner is
 JM> warned to watch his teeth!

The only ones I recall having eaten had jam in them,
either that or fruit cooked to the degree it was
almost jam. 'course, that was in restaurants, where
pits in prunes might mean lawsuits.

 JM> There are a lot of different types, apparently.
 JM> The Bogracs style one I posted did call for some
 JM> heat. Probably most are not hot, though, just
 JM> aromatic. (I wonder if a hypothetical Hungarian
 JM> Cooking Echo would have "goulash wars"?)

I'm sure, but the Hungarians, being a tempestuous lot,
would probably shed more blood than we would on the
subject.

 ML> the next picnic, but be forewarned, it is Not Cheap.
 JM> I should appreciate my gift bottles much
 JM> more, I guess. I do realize it is something
 JM> "for special" and would cost more than any
 JM> "everyday" wine.

True, and to be savored in small quantities, not
quite like everyday wine.

 I still wish my local
 JM> special wine shop (a huge outlet called
 JM> Premier Liquors in North Buffalo, which has
 JM> a huge variety of wines in all ranges of
 JM> quality) stocked a little

They might do a special order. If you were willing
to get a consortium of friends for a dozen or maybe
even six bottles, they would be more than willing
to do one - and even give a discount.

=

 JM> I never heard that, but 200-proof reagent alcohol is generally
 JM> dehydrated by that last 5% by co-distilling it with added benzene or
 JM> toluene.

Yep, that's right. Toluene, I thought, but in quantity not
significant - but your experience (below) gainsays that.

 JM> point, the rest is 100% (almost) ethanol. But you can't count on
 JM> complete exclusion of traces of the benzene or toluene, which are
 JM> carcinogenic and do accumulate in the liver. Those don't usually cause
 JM> much problem in chemical reactions. I tend to believe all this because
 JM> of a chemistry  department party I attended at Duke in which the 
 JM> punch was assembled by a reprobate student who apparently doped it
 JM> with 100% lab alcohol, and I could taste the benzene/toluene in it.
 JM> Nasty, beyond being unhealthy!

I guess UT sprang for more expensive reagents. I had quite a
bit of the stuff at one time (don't drink it straight!), and
it didn't taste impure.

 JM> Actually, I don't know if that was a burn. I have gotten silver
 JM> nitrate marks, too, from using it to titrate for chlorides, but my
 JM> understanding was that it reacted with skin to deposit reduced silver
 JM> in the skin tissue. That's colorless until you get out in the sun, in
 JM> which the silver converts to a silver oxide which stains the skin
 JM> black! It was painless in my case, but a shock to leave work into the
 JM> evening sun and see black polkadots start developing!

Developing being the operative term!

 JM> Hm. I wonder why no one has used this to offer temporary tattoos that
 JM> won't wash off but will wear off after some months? Only in black, of
 JM> course.

That sounds interesting. Is there a toxic effect, I wonder.
Not from your few polkadots but rather for teenagers, who'd
be likely to cover every available square inch of skin with
the stuff. Other than that objection, sounds like a cool idea.
I wonder if one could use several different photoreactive
chemicals to make multicolor tattoos.

Green beans with basil
cat: side
servings: 6

1 lb green beans, picked over, topped and tailed, strung
1 oz basil leaves, chopped
1 garlic, minced
2 Tb Parmesan
4 Tb olive oil
s&p
1 Tb balsamic vinegar

Steam beans until tender.

Pound basil, garlic, cheese, and oil (in that order) in a mortar
to make a pesto. Season to taste. Add vinegar and mix well.

Pour pesto over green beans.

adapted from de'Medici brochure
posted 10-20-96
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