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Wha???? "So what's a globally-minded spice wimp to do?" Uhm, how about realize that not all global cuisines developed with lots of good ingredients on hand, and not all global cuisines are "good" just because they're "different" or "exotic".

Spice is not a flavor, is a flavor-hider, something to mask what's truly under there. I'm going to get flamed for this, but i stand by it. If it tasted good, you wouldn't need to spice the crap out of it so that you don't taste anything after bite number two.

If you want to deaden your tastebuds in the short term of a meal, and slowly dull them over time so that eventually all you can enjoy is "spicy", then go for it.

Brilliant. Love this post.

so i've always been interested in getting one of these pans, but i feel like the square shape is always too small. More like a sandwich snack than an actual lunch sandwich size, which doesn't really help me much. Am i imagining this?

Wow.

I was hoping to learn something about seaweed harvesting, which i didn't realize occurred in the NE. Instead i got a bunch of hippie dippy new age mumbo jumbo, learned nothing, and lost 3 minutes.

Is there a "disappointed" button i can click?

Salt. For sure. And knowing when to stop! :)

Sorry but this video was terrible. "They like to hide in little divots, like this..." and i'm looking at the guy's shirt. Awesome.

Man, i'm sorry but British snacks is the epitome of things i DO NOT WANT TO EAT. :( I've tried half of the stuff on this list, and as far as i'm concerned can be described as "not offensive" to "awful". I'm not a total snob, mind you -- i can fall to the call of Cool Ranch Doritos as much as anybody -- but the British versions especially of Cadbury products make me want to hurl. Soooo sickeningly sweet! I think even Cadbury made in the states tastes better... or at least less sweet.

You know this is so interesting. The more i read this thread the more i understand the idea of the mothers/grandmothers that don't get vegetarianism, and why people are offended by vegetarians or too many questions about their cooking. The fact is, most of us cook out of love, for people we love. We make things that we enjoy because we want our friends & loved ones to enjoy it too. And when you have picky eaters that pick through the sandwiches to avoid roast beef or mayo (previous comment) or a vegetarian that dismisses a dish outright, well its a little disappointing that they don't share in that enjoyment you tried to create for them.

I totally get it, btw -- i'm not saying people should give up their beliefs or that everyone should eat meat to satisfy the host -- not at all.

But it definitely has that feeling of "we're all enjoying this together, we're having this meal together, but one person is not participating in the togetherness of it". It can be vegetarians, picky eaters, people that don't drink alcohol, whatever the case may be -- i think that's generally why ppl choose to surround themselves with others that share their beliefs. And that's why we see some of this anti-vegetarian hostility/questioning. People bond over food across cultures, and when people don't want to participate in your food because of their beliefs, on some level it feels like rejection, so people question it.

And yes, your grandma could find a veggie dish to share the love, but the problem is your grandma probably doesn't see the veggie dish as being as tasty as a meaty dish, and so she doesn't want to make that compromise. She wants you to enjoy the thing that she enjoys -- we all want to relate to each other, and yet we can't help but approach things from our own perspective.

Human nature -- funny thing.

I personally never drink dark liquor and have always seen a toddy as an excellent "entry level" drink for those that don't drink rum/whiskey/etc.

Here's my take:
Cup of boiling water
Healthy dose of honey
Shot of whiskey
3-4 cloves, maybe even an anise pod

Porterhouse!!!

This is irritatingly stupid. Oatmeal eaters in motels everywhere? The same oatmeal eaters that can't simply use the coffee pot to heat water, and then make the oatmeal in one of the paper cups provided by the hotel? Give me a break.

I for one am pretty psyched about this.

When a TJ's opened in my neighborhood i was exited to check it out, only to come home all disappointed by the seafood selection. COULD NOT BUY A SINGLE THING from their frozen seafood section. Everything is on the red list or at least the orange list. Even shrimp is from Thailand, which is known for poor harvesting/farming practices -- imported shrimp is on the red list, btw, so the TJ's employee who commented above saying that you don't even carry any of that stuff is way off. Its not like there's no shrimp available more locally than, say... half way around the world.

In any case, i came home and sent them a long email, to which they responded "we'll let our seafood buyer know of your concerns". I'm glad that they're changing their practices.