Omnivore's 100: #65 Durian

On my break today I went to check my email and facebook. When I went to facebook I found this message from my friend Christy:

hey lauri are u free tmr? i bought u durian, the no. 65 on the omnivore's hundred:)

I immediately left her back a message and texted her to get the durian. My mind was racing, how bad would it smell, would I hurl? Would people run away from me after I ate it? Christy had to get the durian from her friends car, where it had been hiding for the day. 1 Min. before my next class I see Christy calling and I run out and there she is with my Durian. Wrapped up in a bag. It smells she tells me. She also lets me know that I can freeze it if I dont finish it and want to save it. And that if I get it on my hands they will smell for a bit. Just as I was walking back to class with the Durian I saw my friend Cynthia. Poor Cynthia, little did she know when she woke up today she would be peer pressured into eating the stinky fruit. But she was in! We had a plan. After class we were going to get forks and sit outside and try this. We also thought of over places we could put the Durian to freak people out by the smell. We parked it on a picnic table outside and started. We opened the bags and the smell started to hit us. Once we opened the plastic and the box it came in it was'nt that bad. We each took a forkful and counted to three. I also held my nose, just in case. Not bad we decided. We tried to figure it out. Mangos for sure. Very creamy/custardy like. We tasted something else out couldn't put out fingers on it. Then Cynthia figured that it was mango+shrimp shumai= durian. Overall not bad. We discussed ways we could cook it and make it better. Cheesecake, pudding, a sweet bread. After I saw my friend Haruka called her over to try the Durian. As she was walking over she stopped about three yards away. She said she could smell it. She tried it, we all liked it, but not loved it.

After we left I texted Christy and asked what I could make with it. She said ice cream , put it on cake, make pancakes with it. And creme puffs. Creme Puffs. Mhhh. So the Durian is in the freezer awaiting it's fate in the form of creme puffs.

Breaking the bottled water habit!

Really, is it absolutely necessary for you to keep buying bottled water?
No, it is not.

You are paying waaay too much for it. Yes it may *Only be a dollar for a bottle*, but at $1 for a 16 oz. bottle that's about $8 a gallon that your spending. Most of that bottled water you're paying for is the same water that comes out of your sink. According to the SCWA if you live in suffolk you pay about $1.46 for 1,000 gallons. And you bitch about the price of gas!

That plastic bottle that is sitting on the floor of your car empty is going to sit in a landfill much much longer. How long i dont know exactly but im sure its will be around longer that you will, and probably your grandkids too.
Plus plastic leaches crap into your water, which tastes nasty. Do yourself a favor and buy a Sigg bottle, they are made of metal and your water will only taste like water. Not chemicals. Get one here: Sigg

Water is becoming like oil. We're in for a shortage. Of all the worlds water about 3% is fresh water which is drinkable. Of that 3% about 2% is tied up in frozen glaciers, and about .5% has been consumed. Leaving about .5% for now. Thats not very much, so use it wisely, don't waste, and don't continue to keep telling Corporate America that you are cool with paying $8 a gallon for water, because you may have to in the future!


Last January Matt and I bought Sigg bottles for about $24 bucks each.
We used to buy the 1.5 Liter bottles for about $2.00 each.
2 a day x 5 days a week= 10 bottles a week
10 bottles a week x 4 weeks a month= 40 bottles a month
40 bottles a month x 10 months so far= 400 bottles so far that we have kept out of the garbage. And we saved $750 so far by not buying bottled water! We have a built in water filter in our fridge, and also a Brita, both are great.


Tell your friends!

Oh, my source of inspiration for writing this and spreading the info was:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2222424/34252081

The Omnivore's Hundred

I love lists. I love crossing things off of lists even more. It makes me feel highly accomplished. When I saw this omnivore's hundred on Just Hungry I knew right away this would prove to be quite a challenge.

I plan to use this list as guide to expand my palate in ways I may not have previously thought of as being an option. Many bloggers doing the Omnivore's 100 have taken a liking to crossing off the items which they would never try. I thought about it, and originally did the same. After giving it some thought and deciding that this was more about a culinary journey, than yet another blog meme, I came to the conclusion that everything was on this list for a reason. Even more so that I should try it all. While granted there are some things on this list I'd probably rather not eat, and some that will singe my poor English taste buds instantaneously, I will still try it. So while I may not be able to eat a serving of roadkill, or put back an entire raw scotch bonnet pepper, I will at least make the effort. Also anything that I have previously eaten on this list I will write about it, when a future eating occurrence arises.

With list in hand, I'm off to try everything listed here, and write about it. Watch out Andrew Zimmern, I'm out to eat my way through this list, and durian is already crossed off, AND I'd eat it again.

Here are the rules of this

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.

Lauri's Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
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
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut- :)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict- One of my favorite things from the dinner, or a monte cristo
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
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


Updated May 28th 2009 -41 down/ 59 to go!

Recipe Box Swap Thursday!

I just recently discovered a Neat blog I have to say...., No That is the name of the blog. Anywho, today is recipe box swap, so here is a recipe for my FAVORITE cookie ever! Apparently these are not easy to come by outside of the Metro New York area. If I ever do move from here at least I will be set with these. Bagels are my next problem! If have never had these before you must make them. You will not be disappointed. The cookies are light and tender, just like they should be!

This recipe is from Gale Gand of the food network. One tip I do have is to Absolutely make sure that you sift the cocoa powder for the black frosting! Other wise you get little cocoa lumps when you spread our frosting out. This doesn't taste different, it is just an aesthetic thing . These are so tasty, so tasty that my husband took two for breakfast the other day! They also keep well in an airtight container for at least a week (if of course they last that long) And don't let the icing seem tedious. Its quick and easy.

Black And Whites

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Vanilla and chocolate icing, recipes follows

Vanilla Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Icing:
1/2 vanilla icing recipe
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. In a mixer, cream the butter. Add the granulated sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, and extracts and mix to combine. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar-egg mixture and mix to blend. Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared pans. With a spatula, press and spread each cookie into a circle about 5 inches in diameter and about 3/8-inch thickness. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Let cool on wire racks.

Icing: In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, milk, and vanilla together until it forms a smooth icing. Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in the cocoa powder and milk until smooth.

When cool, turn cookies over, so the flat side faces up. Spread white icing on half of each flat surface, then spread the other half with chocolate icing. Let set at room temperature for 30 minutes.