Sorry, I've got to come down hard on anyone who eats in close public quarters not meant for eating — and it doesn't matter what it is. If I'm not in a restaurant and I can smell your food, it's nauseating. Buses, trains, airplanes, doesn't matter. It's absolutely awful!
Hmm, not for me. I always thought half the fun of trying a new ethnic recipe was having an excuse to wander through the specialty markets!
Kale is absolutely, no question, my favorite vegetable of all time! My three staple applications:
Braised with chickpeas, onion, & garlic
I'm not usually a big brownie fan, but I went nuts over David Lebovitz's dulce de leche brownies. Amazing.
I think this is the first time I've seen a pastry dough suggested as the base for a flammekueche... Every time I've had it in Alsace, the crust has been somewhere between a very dry pizza dough and a crackerbread. I can't imagine pastry dough would blister in quite the same way...
But lest you take me for a snob, I've been known to make ghetto-flammekueche with actual pizza dough and regular old sliced bacon.
This reminds me of the absolute shock — shock! — I experienced as an American when I moved to southwestern France for a year and discovered that fresh fruit and vegetables were cheaper than packaged foods. Bottled water was cheaper and more readily available than soda, even at grungy corner sandwich shops. The daily outdoor produce market attracted tons of low-income immigrant families, because that was the best place to get a lot of food for little money. It's just a completely different world.
Hmm... I'd have to say my favorite cheeses fall into three categories.
1. Any cheese with a Basque name, especially Garrotxa, Etorki, and anything made of sheep's milk.
2. If I want something creamy and light, Chabichou.
3. If I want to stink for days, Tomme de Savoie!!
I love the reusable tiffin idea (from the link in lemons's comment)! What I wouldn't give to be able to order delivery or takeout with a clear conscience... As it stands, the whole styrofoam/plastic thing is the reason I refuse to allow myself to order any delivery at all.
I finally made this, and wow, is it tasty! Don't be scared of using the bean water if you use canned chickpeas, because it holds a lot of flavor and gives the sauce some body so it coats the pasta. I took the liberty of adding the zest of one small lemon to the herb-garlic mixture, and the juice of half the lemon — part squeezed in while the liquid simmers, and the rest over the finished dish just before grating the Parmesan. It added a really nice brightness.
My favorite vegetarian dinners are often two dishes that might otherwise be classified as "sides" put together, or a hot vegetarian dish with a cool carrot slaw salad. The ones that I crave over and over again are Orangette's Braised Winter Greens with Chickpeas, Onion, and Garlic made with lacinato kale, and a Turkish bulgur and lentil pilaf with allspice, tomatoes, and mint. Both are incredibly tasty, and I nearly always end up eating the leftovers for breakfast the next morning...
I think this brings up a bigger issue - in our always-on-the-go lives, we find ourselves sharing more of what would once have been private (phone calls, meals, etc) in public spaces. That being the case, I think we need to adjust.
Not to sound like Emily Post, but I think a little bit of consideration goes a long way. So, if I grab a curry a few stops from home, I'll wait until I get home to open the boxes, knowing that some of the scent is already leaking. If I do need to actually consume something on the train (and yes, this goes for airplanes too) I'll grab something not too smell: a sandwich (hold the onions), fruit, energy bar, cut up veggies, etc.
It's bad manners and just plain inconsiderate. The crumbs and garbage left behind attracts bugs and germs. I'd like to see a crack-down by issuing fines to those guilty of this infraction.
My mother drummed into me that it is not polite to eat if front of people unless there is enough to go around. It stuck, which is why I have to offer complete strangers tic tacs and gum (which seems to always be appreciated, but not always accepted).
You expect people to eat on planes, and personally, I would rather smell curries than airline swill any day of the week.
I'm in Chicago and we're not supposed to eat on the buses or trains. One day I was riding the bus home with a vicious migraine - one that was making me feel nauseated. One of the passengers on my bus was another driver eating a smelly pile of gyros and onions. I wanted to barf right on top of him.
I'm also sure that the messy eaters are why I sometimes see roaches on the trains and buses. Gross!
No food, at any time, on public transit.
Drinking coffee or tea... no. Eating (sorry)... yes. And it's unsanitary, too.
wow i've never seen so many people be "DISGUSTED" and "REVOLTED" by food before! i agree with annien and butrflygirly -- try to be discreet, make sure you clean up after yourself, have some common sense. but if i'm getting on the subway for 1 1/2 hours (which i did round trip every day through college) and i have to RUN to get the subway, yes, i will drink my iced coffee on the train. i'm not waiting another 20 minutes for one to arrive, i find that ridiculous.
I take the subway every day, and have no problem with a cup of coffee or a bag of chips around me. I do on RARE occation when in a rush (though never when the train is crowded) eat a sandwich. The foods that annoy me when other people eat them are hot foods (they smell more than cold), anything the requires a fork and knife (more chance of leaving a mess), and thingd like sunflower seeds (for some reason people think they can fling the shells and leftover bits on the floor.
When it comes to air travel, there's one airline that insists, for their vegetarian breakfast meal, to serve curry. I'm a vegetarian, and can't stand most curry. I feel awful when everyone turns to look at me to figure out who brought the stinky food. I don't know too many people who would want to be around curry at 8am, and hate to be the source of it!
@annien: Thanks for the props! I feel as you do (maybe since we are both Grad students currently?) and say it should be ok, but if avoidable then please do.
@dantsea: I used to ride mass transit everyday, AT LEAST twice a day. So, I've been there. I did that as long as I could (it's cheaper and easier on the environment) but had to stop. I find rude behavior (sitting while elderly stand, leaving trash behind, etc) more repulsive than people eating. I realize I am not the only person on the bus and have to be respectful of other passengers.
This whole debate seems somewhat patronizing?
If you don't like the experience of "mass transportation" why not buy yourself a SUV to get around in?
@dantsea: Not daily, as I work at home, but I do at least several times a week, particularly in this weather! And I am never guilty of ingesting anything more than a swig of water.
@annine: Thanks. And that was *no* lady...
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