Light entertainment about food

Not really normal for me, so all the better. Thanks, Jessi!

The following is a list from a blogger who has challenged omnivores everywhere to try everything on this list once in their lifetime. I must admit, I shall never meet that challenge, but I had fun thinking about it.

Directions for fun:

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.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison (I've had elk, and there is some venison in my freezer, but I haven't tried it yet)
2. Nettle tea (Ugh. Tea. I can't handle it unless there is cream and sugar. I was spoiled by that trip to London at the age of 10)
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht (Not a big fan, but I've eaten it. The best thing to do with beets, in my opinion, is to slice them, cook them, and then stab then, while saying in an evil creepy voice "BLEEDING BABY BEETS." Great fun when you are young and forced to eat beets. At least everyone suffers.)
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (YUM)
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 (No wine for me, can't have sulfites)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (Sorry, this is one food I won't eat for ethical reasons. I guess we all draw line somewhere. Plus it sounds gross. The liver is the body's detoxifier. I choose not to eat it.)
24. Rice and beans (I should technically cross this one out. I hate beans. But I'd eat it if I were really hungry, with less protest than some of the crossed out things.)
25. Brawn, or head cheese (Umm. No.)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (Eek. Mouth on fire! Bad pepper!)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas (see number 26. Except substitute peas in the last statement.)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (Actually, I really like clams. But they don't like me. After three entirely separate incidents, I got the message and stopped eating shellfish in general.)
33. Salted lassi (No salty drinks, please.)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float (Boy, I'm weird. I hate rootbeer. Funny how opinions are so strong and so individual. However, I love a coke float with chocolate ice cream--go figure).
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (No strong alcohol. I find it too strong and exceedingly bitter. Just ask my husband. Hey-he gets a designated driver built-in, mostly.)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (Vodka's about the only thing I can handle, since it is disguiseable. However, I'd just as soon have the Jell-O without the vodka)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (Maybe, but I doubt it)
43. Phaal (Again with the spicy. I'd eat curry, but I have wussy American taste buds, plus spicy make my mouth itch. Is that normal?)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (see number 36)
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala (My favorite Indian dish)
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (The Krispy Kreme doughnut originated in my home town. One of the most divine items. But secretly, even better: take a slightly stale glazed Krispy Kreme, melt a little butter in a frying pan, and re-fry that doughnut. You CAN improve on perfection. Plus, I grew up in the South-everything's better fried.)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear (Tastes like apple. Only more dangerous to eat.)
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I probably have had certain portions of this, but I think I can safely say I've never eaten a Big Mac. Just the plain old cheeseburgers.)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (Revisit #36)
58. Beer above 8% ABV (ditto)
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (Being in the veterinary trade, just can't eat certain organs, sorry.)
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (Have smelled it, and that's as close as I EVER want to get.)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (Oh yes, all of these!)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (See 62. Actually, I'd much rather eat a thymus than offal. I've seen too much E.coli in my time to eat intestines.)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (Alkyhol. Nope.)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu (Also alcohol)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong (TEA--run away!)
80. Bellini (more alcohol)
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 (Sorry Monty Python.)
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (Apparently spicy. No can do.)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano (Have eaten, do not like.)
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (No coffee either--how do I survive?)
100. Snake

And people say I'm picky....well. Maybe. Truth is, I find many foods bitter that others like, such as the coffee and alcohol. Even coffee ice cream is gross to me. I have gotten a little better, since I can take a little coffee in my chocolate cake, but given a choice I'll eat some other dessert than tiramisu. And then there's the allergies--sulfites, clams. And did I mention the texture thing? Pudding, creme filled pastries, custard, yogurt--they all give me the gag factor. The bean thing? Kind of a combo texture bitter thing. Damn. I really do like a lot of foods, I swear. And I have a few thing to add to the list. I've eaten squirrel, octopus, conch, star fruit, tobikko, anchovies, green tea ice cream (hideous and awful, but I've had it), and an entire seven course dinner based on mushrooms. So much to eat. Mmmmmm. Too bad it's bedtime.

P.S. I'm sorry I had to remove all the links, but I'm not versed enough in html to make the blog do what I want (namely bold, link AND keep things the same damn color at the same time) and with the links the format was getting confusing. So if you need to n=know what the heck everything is, either Wiki it, or go back to the original blog page (linked above), where everything is linked still.

Endings

Funny way to start a blog post after almost a year, I guess. But this week has been dramatic, making me wonder if there's something about the end of March that I should hide from next year (considering my March of 2007), or just sort of pushing me back into needing to say something about life by shouting it into the electronic soup.

Part the first. This has been one of those death/crisis weeks at work. As a veterinarian you do see plenty of death, and plenty of heartbreaking diseases and/or circumstances that lead to death. You don't get used to it, and you shouldn't. The best news for anybody who wants to get out of the ER and into private practice is that 1) you see way less death and, 2) often it has more meaning because the animals you see that are dying you know, you grieve for. Maybe number 2 should make it sound worse, but somehow, at least for me, it isn't. It's not easy, and it sometimes makes me cry later on that night, at home, where I try to leave work behind, but there's something noble? ethical? at least decent about providing that one final service for a patient; making it as quick and as peaceful as possible, and providing their family with compassion and understanding during a tragic and heart-rending decision.

Many weeks, I see no grieviously ill patients at all. It's been quite some time since I euthanized a patient, and I am grateful to the universe for that. And yet, this week many dear and beloved patients have struggled to their utmost and failed. The elderly dog with terrible immune-mediated joint disease that finally no longer responded to medication. The neurologic dog who howled and circled and stumbled all night. The 21 year old, 5 pound cat whose kidneys finally failed her. And we have had some near misses with grave undertones: the newly diagnosed congestive heart failure dog; the ferret with abdominal effusion likely from cancer; the ferret with a blood sugar too low to measure. Somehow this week has felt less like "the universe hates us" or perhaps "why do bad things happen to good people" and more like a gentle "all things end in their time; acquiesce to the slow march of time." I don't really know why, because I have definitely spent a lot of time in the why do bad things happen camp, but I am moved profoundly and quietly by this sense of grace in the face of grief.

Part the second. Several of my friends may be emotionally where I was last year; stunned, broken and full of doubt. From relationships lost to abrupt loss of future paths, this week has been scattered with little emotional shock-waves. To those I love I send as much support as I can. Whether that be talk or not, a silly card, or complete disregard of the subject at hand and a deep insightful discussion of the best easter candy to be had in the US, I'm there. It's spring here in Oregon, please call.