The Ordinary Radicals - Trailer

The Omnivore's 100

So thanks to my food studies list serv I discovered this random list of foods that I suppose is meant to challenge those of us who consider ourselves "well-eaten" (like well-read, you know). In the spirit of wasting some time (this is a sanity-saving device now that life is too busy for words), I'm going to just do it now. I found it here, and the genesis is traced from that blog on back to whoever came up with this nutty idea.

How It All Works:
1) Copy the 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. I have to italicize b/c I don't know how to strike through on blogger...duh.
4) Optional: Post a comment at Very Good Taste, linking to your results

The 100
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea [I've had tea with nettles as a component, so I'm giving myself credit]
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare [I think it was termed "kobe sashimi" when I had it]
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp [possibly? no idea. baby brain doesn't go well with this sort of task]
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 [oh yeah, baby]
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes [pineapple and raspberry]
19. Steamed pork buns [just last Sunday for lunch]
20. Pistachio ice cream [wouldn't have but John recently ordered us a shake with it instead of whatever it was I had wanted, and as I feared, I didn't really love it - it was real though, not neon green]
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese [just not sure I can go there although I probably would, given enough whiskey first]
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper [I know my limits]
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi [must try this next time - I always go mango with my lassi]
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float [just had this last night]
36. Cognac with a fat cigar [I've had them separately but I'm not sure if together...]
37. Clotted Cream Tea [again, separately, but I don't think together]
38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O [sadly, my campus was dry]
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects [depends on the # of legs & eyes]
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk [does it count as cheese or yogurt? I say yes]
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more [a bartender I flirted with in Napa gave me a taste from a vintage of my birth year - I'm sure it was that pricey]
46. Fugu [??]
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin [raw, even]
51. Prickly pear [I think I must have]
52. Umeboshi [??]
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle [again, can't remember, seems possible]
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine [??]
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads [they'd have to be cooked by a starred chef]
63. Kaolin [??]
64. Currywurst [sounds awful]
65. Durian [??]
66. Frogs’ legs [yum!]
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake [all, actually]
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette [that's weird of me]
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe [want to]
74. Gjetost or brunost [??]
75. Roadkill [not that I know of]
76. Baijiu [??]
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky84.
3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu [Guy Savoy]
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare [I had rabbit on Thursday - what's the diff?]
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse [been places with it but other stuff was more appetizing]
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam [hell, I've been to the Spam Jam!]
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

I have to credit adventurous sushi chefs, the city of New Orleans, and the buffet at Bellagio for many of my bolded items!

My score is 70. How many have you eaten?

Orient me

My baby gave me the finger today while I was nursing her.

That pretty much sums up our relationship lately.

I'm kind of looking forward to 8 hours of orientation today.

Mostly because I know I will miss her by the end of it.

I'm Back

Ha ha! After not quite one month I am here again to entertain and delight. I just got so sick of watching John getting to blog that I determined to find the time. At the moment I have a milk-drunk child sitting on my lap. I figure I can get a few keystrokes in while she poops out what I just fed her, before it's time for diaper change and more entertaining her. We have grandparents in town but they're busy...still, they watched her and we went OUT, like fully out, and that was really quite amazing. I'm still stunned at how long I got to stay away (with a bottle at home, she can go like 5 hours without me - whoa). We saw The Dark Knight and even ate afterwards. It was like a date or something.

I really loved that movie, btw. Also Wall E, which we just took the baby to (figure other kids will make noise so it's OK - again, grandma took her out when she got fussy). Maggie did end up watching parts of Wall E (I try to limit her watching tv or movies, but sometimes, I just give in) and she was fascinated. I mean, if she's going to see anything, Pixar's pretty solid stuff.

But to watch Dark Knight without having a baby on my breast - wow! It was the first movie I've done that since she was born (I've seen 4 in the theater and she ate during all the others, which isn't ideally comfortable, plus distracting). Maybe I enjoyed it so much because I could really watch it. Well, that, and Heath Ledger - WOW.

So I have to give a quick update on school. I'm feeling really good about it. I had lunch with my "buddy" (GTU assigns the newbies an advanced student in our pgm so we have a guide), and she insisted I only take 2 classes, and even told me exactly what to take so I could be busy but not overwhelmed. I love this woman. I owe her my sanity. Now I will only be away 3 hours two days a week. It will hardly affect our feeding sked at all. Plus I really still miss my girl when I'm gone, so it won't be too hard. What a relief.

School starts in 2 weeks then. Since I'm not taking anything at Cal this semester I don't have to start until Sept 2. Nice. I'm so enjoying my time right now. I do have orientation - three brutal, almost 12-hour days, starting Friday! But we're working out a feeding schedule and the school is being so awesome about accomodating us.

I'll write more about starting the program when I've actually done that. So far, all I know is that my books are going to cost a fortune. But at least they're all books I really want, so I can't complain too much.

So on to the Maggie update. She has really come a long way. She still has the loudest squall of any newborn you'd meet, but she reserves it for more special occasions these days. Some days we only get the screaming for a few minutes, which is awesome. Others, she has a harder time. The worst part for me is not knowing if she's just mad or actually in some kind of pain. We have found some hints as to her troubles - we can usually tell if she's tired, or sometimes if she's hungry or wet (she'll even tone down the crying for those - more fussing than screaming - unless we've let it go really too long). Still, she's such a mystery.

She does seem to bore easily. We tell ourselves she's just very intelligent and therefore cannot abide any activity for very long. She's always wanting to see something new. She loves sitting at the table with us while we eat, and loves going outside (cranes her neck up to look at the patterns the trees make against the sky). It's really fun to see her personality developing, even though she is a drama queen like her mother (and father, in all fairness).

We got our living room painted and some furniture (somebody's giving us a crib and high chair - what a blessing!), and it all is pretty cool. If you want to visit my house (I have a HOUSE, man!), come! I'm so proud of it. I love my washer/dryer (and using cloth diapers!), love my clothesline out back, love my grill (yay craigslist grill), love walking around my neighborhood. All in all, this was a great place to choose. I do hope to plant veggies or herbs, but in the meantime, we've found a glut of CSAs to choose from, so that's good. And we hit at least one farmer's market a week (there are three that are easy to get to for us).

Berkeley is definitely the foodie town. What a perfect place to do my work! And I'm going to visit Michael Pollan's office hours when school starts. The only bad thing about eating here is that it tends to be expensive. We always said LA was the best town in the world for good food that doesn't break your bank. It's totally true - up here, the great food is available, but so expensive. And most places we've gone that we can afford are NOT all that. So it's sad. In LA you can always find a tiny family-run place with cheap, delicious food. Here, you get what you pay for. Pity.

Anyway I have to run. This post has been a luxury but the day has to start. It's nice to write again. I hope to write more soon. Peace!