Going through a cheese phase

If a book is well-written, I'll tend to read it -- even if it's not about a topic I'd usually be interested in.  Thus, about a year ago (Oh!  July 23, 2018 -- I wrote inside the front cover) I bought a "Cheeses of the World" book (A First Course in Cheese).  I've always thought cheeses were nice, but I was never "into" them.  But, after reading the book, I bought a few "fancy" cheeses from the "fancy cheese" section of the supermarket -- one or two per trip.  That lasted a few weeks -- but then I drifted away.

For some reason, though, a few months ago I came back to cheese.  I had two or three at work (I sometimes mix it in to my microwaved veggies, for added flavor), and a few at home as well (just for nibbling).  And this morning I started a notebook, and sat down and methodically tasted each of my cheeses -- logging the (approximate) date of purchase, the type, the location I bought it and the cost per kilo, and my impressions.  At the moment I have nine recorded (and seven in the 'fridge [I finished off two, which were just lingering -- small little pieces]).

I logged the cheeses because I have a poor memory -- especially for names -- so I knew that I'd lose track of which I'd tried... and more importantly, which ones I really liked (so that I could come back to them!).  My favorite thus far is the Meredith Dairy chevre goat cheese:  soft, creamy, full flavor; would be good on toast; niiiice!  (Noting that I bought it in mid-October (it's currently January 7th), but it got pushed to the back of the 'fridge -- so it may have continued to age more than if I got a "new" batch. 

The prices of the cheeses range from AU$38-AU$60/kg -- but because I'm the only one in the house that likes cheese (except for The Girl -- and she'll only eat mild cheddar -- I get the smallest little pre-cut wedges I can find -- which usually comes to around AU$3.50-$6.00 per purchase.  And then because I tend to only eat little nibbles, they last me a few weeks.  

The one I'm least enamored with is the Swiss gruyere:  nothing wrong with it -- but because I have a somewhat dull sense of taste, it just tastes like cheddar to me.  And at $52/kg, I'm better off just buying cheddar. 

I haven't ventured into the "stinky" or blue cheeses yet:  I tried one a few months ago, but it was too strong for me and had to give it away to a co-worker.  But I've just put into the microwave some veggies with an over-ripe (i.e. bought it three months ago) Tasmanian Heritage double brie:  it's getting a little "tangy" -- but I anticipate it being good on veggies.

--GG

Three fake beers

I keep a small stash of food in my desk drawer at work.

Near the end of the work-day (it's Friday!!!), I thought I'd have a fake beer.

Dug through my drawer:  turns out I have three different non-alcoholic beers.

This is actually the cross-section of them:  I actually had six in total (from memory (from left to right in the photo), 3, 1, 2).


Huh.


I chose one, poured it (room temperature) into a glass, and threw in a few ice cubes.

Enough to make a beer-lover cringe at a variety of levels.


--GG

Good times

Hm!  I haven't blogged in a while:  my main PC broke, and it's a nuisance to type on my oddly small "recording laptop".  But:  I am compelled.

I just had two of the most enjoyable experiences in my life.  One was about 10am this morning, when I had only been awake about 15 minutes, and somehow the kids and I all ended up on my bed, joking around and laughing, and at the end I was somehow hugging all of them at the same time and my belly was just a little sore from laughing.

The other was about ten minutes ago, when I finally got around to having breakfast.  I'm alone in the house, watching the enjoyable (to me) rom-com What If on DVD, and pouring myself a second bowl of cinnamon cereal with just the right amount of milk.


As a general update (and a note to my future self):  I have a backlog of woodworking projects to complete (and also to start), and tons of songs yet to record (and many to finish writing); lots of partly-started songs (song snippets; song ideas); and I've been dabbling with the bongo drums every day (basically every time I walk past them), and my peculiar two-string electric bass once or twice a week.  And my back no longer seems messed up -- so that's good (but need to keep doing my stretches daily, and back exercises 2-3x/week, for the rest of my life, rather than get lazy and allow myself to throw out my back again).


Because my PC is down, I've lost track of the days. But they still pass by.  Relentlessly.


--GG

A taste sensation

I was frying some eggs this morning.  On a whim, I spread some English mustard (mild, not hot) among the uncooked egg, then let it cook in.  It was surprisingly good:  I recommend.

It would probably work well with American-style mustard, as well as dijon mustard.

Gonna try it again tomorrow:  actually looking forward to it!


--GG

Truth in advertising

One of my traits is that I don't want to trick people, or obscure the truth, if I'm giving something away.  So if I have a package of cookies that I'm handing around, and it's a few days past its "Best By" date -- I ask, "Would you like a cookie?  It's a few days past its 'Best By' date."

So today, I had a hankering for a soda -- but I'm trying to cut down on my sugar intake.  So, I bought a 1.25 L bottle of diet cola.

I asked my teammates at work “Anyone want some room-temperature soda with death chemicals?”

Surprisingly, no takers.


--GG

Are your truffles too squeaky

Two days ago (Wednesday), during my lunchtime walk, I happened across a small "natural foods"(?) store downtown.  It had only been open for three weeks.

Among other things, they had Mrs. Dash seasoning.  I hadn't noticed that it's not available here in Brisbane, until I saw it and realized that I never see it in the grocery store.  Bought a shaker of it.

They also had truffle oil: little bottles of oil, with slices of black truffle in it.  I'd never tasted truffle before, but I'd heard of it, so I was curious.

Yesterday and today, I tried putting it on my microwaved veggies at work.  It was tolerable -- but it didn't make my food taste better -- just "different" (and a little weird).

Since I was just tolerating it, rather than enjoying it, I figured it was a waste to force myself to use up the bottle -- because someone else would actually appreciate it.  So I'm giving it to a co-worker.

But, now I know:  I don't appreciate black truffles.


--GG

Two food insights

Two food insights for you:  one that I've known for a few years; the other that I just figured out in the last few weeks.

Old:  when you cut up a watermelon, the center is the sweetest; the closer you get to the rind, the less-nice it is.

New:  when eating a carrot, the end near the tip is sweeter than the end near the greenery.  This has two implications:  it's nicer to eat a carrot from the tail to the tip; and if you children are fussy (reluctant) about their veggies, give them the end near the tip and save the "wide end" for yourself.


--GG

Saving the earth one banana at a time

For whatever reason, my 25-floor office building doesn't have a recycling program. So whenever I have a can of soft drink, I carry it down to the street during a break and toss it in of the city's recycling bin (which is paired, on the street, with a garbage can).

I realize that saving my cans is a little OCD -- but I figure it's good for the environment, and it doesn't take much extra effort.

A few days ago I took this concern for the environment to the next level:  I have a stash of plastic containers at work.  Whenever I -- or my co-workers! -- have fruit peelings or cores, I take them home.  Most of the things get composted (blue lid); the ones that the chickens like (e.g. apple cores) go to the chickens.

As with recycling, it's good for the environment -- and it doesn't take much extra effort.


--GG

Making a new mom laugh

At the end of each meal, my great-grandfather on my Japanese side (i.e. my maternal grand-mother's dad) used to pour a little tea onto his plate, swish it around, and drink the resulting mix.  My great-grandmother didn't like it (she thought it uncouth) -- but apparently he didn't like to waste food.

This is all hearsay:  he died before I was born, so I never met him.  But I share similar traits:  I put hot water in jam jars, put the lid on and shake it up, then drink the results.

It's kind of like spiced cider -- but berry flavored..

When I do this at work, it nauseates my Canadian co-worker.  She's off on maternity leave now, but as I rinsed out an empty jam jar at work, I thought of her.

My manager was kind enough to take the shots shown here with her camera-phone, and send them to my co-worker.  Apparently, she was amused.  :)


--GG

Slushieriffic

I like slushies, smoothies, frappies, milkshakes, and the like.  I'm also relatively frugal.

We were at the Ekka (state fair) yesterday, and we wanted to buy some slushies.  But the frozen Coke vendors had massively marked up the cost -- basically double what it costs at the 7-11.  On the other hand, the fruit smoothie folks were basically charging what they charge ''on the outside''.  So for 50c more, I could have a regular-priced fruit smoothie rather than a same-sized frozen Coke.  Also, the largest size was not much more than the medium.  So, I bought four larges, for me and the kids (The Lady didn't want one).

But -- there was frozen yogurt mixed in, which has a slight sourness to it -- so the kids didn't like their smoothies.  So I had to drink mine, plus theirs.  So, that's four.

About an hour later, I bought another one:  that's five.

And on the way home, I picked up a frozen Coke.  That's six.  Although this time it was a medium.


I'm pretty sure that six frozen drinks in one day is a personal record.


--GG

Sandwich brain-teaser

I'm rather proud of this one.  :)

My youngest son asked me to cut the crusts off his sandwich:  fair enough (see photo).

But then he asked me to cut it into **two** squares.  Hm!

I told him that it wasn't possible:  I could cut it into two rectangles -- or perhaps four squares -- but not two.

But then -- inspiration struck!  I'm pretty darned pleased with the results.


Because the blog entries are posted in reverse-chronological order (i.e. most recent on top), I'll actually post my solution on April 9th...


--GG

Pair of square sandwiches

Two square pieces of sandwich.


--GG

Gluten free food

On gluten-free food:
 
Gluten-free food that's not bread or cakes or cookies aren't bad -- things that inherently don't have gluten (like tortillas). But it's hard to make gluten-free baked goods.

My personal witticism is to call them "glutton free": You eat one, then think "Nah -- that's enough."

--GG

Magic stomach

One of my super-abilities is the ability to take a nap just about any time, any place.  I tap in to this when I travel:  I get on the plane, doze off -- and magically arrive at my destination.

Unfortunately, I also tend to do this in the car -- which means I don't know where anything is in town, because my wife does most of the driving (hometown girl!).  Despite having lived here for ten years.


My other super-ability is having a pretty big gap between satiation (i.e. ''I'm no longer hungry'') and being actually **full**.

For example:  Today my co-workers and I went out to lunch at a Japanese place.  I ordered the udon noodles and beef -- basically, a fairly large bowl o' noodle soup.  When the server delivered it to my end of the table, she also gave me a large bowl of rice with teriyaki beef on top.  ''Wow,'' I thought to myself.  ''I didn't know that it came with rice.  That's a good value for money.''

Since the soup was kinda hot, I started in on the rice and teriyaki.  I was about halfway through when I overheard my colleague, at the other end of the table, comment that her order of teriyaki rice had never arrived.  Oops.

I apologized, and said that I thought it had just been part of my meal.  She said that was fine:  the server has assumed that it was their error, and was bringing out a replacement.


After I finished the teriyaki rice, I wasn't hungry any more.  But neither was I **full**.  So I turned to my noodle soup -- a complete ''lunch'' by itself.  And I finished the whole thing.

And a can of orange soda.


And then that afternoon, at work, I was a bit peckish.  So I had a few handfuls of cashews.


My co-workers at my old job sometimes wondered how I'm not the size of a house.  The reason is that I don't eat like that **all** the time -- only at work, when there's leftover food that I think might go to waste.

Most of the time, I don't eat that much.


--GG

Food dream grandma dream

Dreamed that I was squeezing out little dollops of garlic paste from the tube o' garlic paste, onto buttered toast, spreading it around, then eating it.

That's not a terribly exciting dream -- but it was specific. And tasty.

I also dreamed that I was hanging out at my paternal grandmother's house. In my dream she had out-lived my grandfather (rather than in real life, which was the reverse). She wasn't eating properly: for example, she had slices of the rye bread that she makes, in a plastic bag on the counter that had gone stale.


--GG

Homeward bound

The day before I was to fly out, it continued to snow, with a whole lot of extra predicted.

(Photo to the left: me standing barefoot in it. It's been a while since I've been at my parents' house with snow about.)

My dad suggested that it would be prudent to spend the night in a hotel near the airport, rather than try to slog my way through from my parents' house, the morning of. I agreed.

So: my dad booked me (and paid for!) a hotel room, and a few hours later I took the airport shuttle down. Spent the night there. Walked a few blocks and got Taco Bell for dinner (yay! As I've mentioned, no Mexican fast-food in Australia...) Watched the Bourne Identity on cable, plus various Spanish-language soap operas (no, I don't speak the language; but the cultural nuances were interesting).

The next morning, had the included breakfast; packed; took the hotel shuttle to the airport -- and -- well, rode an airplane home.

Ayep!


--GG

Root beer store

While being driven from Lynnwood up to Everett, my host commented on The Root Beer store as we drove past.


''In Australia, you don't have root beer,'' Games Boy said. ''Here, we have a whole store for it.''


--GG

Pizza discovery

Cooked up a pizza for me and the rest of the family -- different sides for different palates (the kids just like plain cheese). Actually thought to go raid our little flower pots of herbs.

It was dark, used a flashlight, just snipped randomly. Turned out that one of my handfuls was mint.

Turns out that mint is actually tasty on pizza. Neat-o!


--GG

Optimized slushie

(Photo: Slushie of Destiny; my friend Slag's arm)


As you probably know, I like my slushies. It's my "afternoon break" ritual.

While going on a walk this morning during my morning break (I'm trying to go on short, brisk walks during my breaks), I noticed that the convenience store on the main floor of my office building has a slushie machine.

So, I checked it out during my afternoon break. Not only was the consistency highly pleasing, the flavor was even better than the 7-11 across the street (which, in turn, is better than the flavor of McDonalds and Burger King slushies).

Side note: You know how there's coffee snobs, and espresso/cappachino (misspelled!) snobs? Well, I'm a bit of a slushie snob.

Anyhow! The **best** part? They have a "loyalty card" (what I think of as a punch card): buy a few, get one free. And the ratio of purchased-to-free is **very** good: buy three, get the fourth free.

And! At the 7-11, they have a small, medium, large, and very large size. At this convenience store, they have all the sizes except for small. On the punch card, the free one is a large -- but the three you buy can be any size! Niiice....!!!

So, even though the same size cup is 20c more than at 7-11, for frequent fliers such as myself -- it's the place to go. :)

And, for those instances where their slushie machine is broken, or on defrost -- I still have three "back-up" 7-11's within a four-block strip.

Good stuff.


--GG

First day on the job

First day on the new job was today! Wasn't sure how formally to dress (an office job -- but AU is a little less formal than the U.S.), so I went with a shirt and tie, but no suitjacket. Figured I'd gauge how the other males dressed, and adjust accordingly.

The only other male in the office (it's a small dept. -- only seven of us so far) had a dress shirt, but no tie. So I'll probably wear a tie most days, but maybe not always.

At one of my previous universities there was a Thursday market on campus, where people would set up clothing booths, used books, and etc. One lady had a "vintage clothing" booth which included neckties for five bucks each -- so I used to buy one or two a week. After a few months, she upped the price to ten or fifteen bucks, saying that five bucks each didn't cover her handling and cleaning costs. Fair enough -- but it shifted the price (for me) from "impulse buy" to "a serious decision". And that was the end of my frequent necktie buying.

None the less, I think I have around 50 neckties. So I'll probably wear one every day.

Also: You know how I love the slushies. Well, there's a 7-11 directly across the street -- and another one two blocks away. Lovin' the downtown...!!!

And there's a "world music" instrument shop, with funky percussion instruments (and juggling gear, incense, and etc.) about two blocks away. Neat-o.


--GG