Thursday, January 29, 2009

Haggis

‘Let me get this straight. You’re a food writer and you’ve never had haggis? You’ve never had haggis? You’ll be telling me you’ve never seen Star Wars next.’

‘Well, actually, I haven’t ever seen Star Wars,’ the look of shame that washed over my face was only partly deliberate and for comic value. Mostly it was about the shame.

To be fair these are just two of the many things on the list that is snappily titled ‘Things I probably should have done by now but haven’t, not due to not wanting to but because the circumstances have never been right and I’ve not made the time.’

I’m not a huge fan of those ‘If you’ve not done this you are not a worthwhile human being’ type lists that inevitably end with: walk the Inca Trail, see Aurora Borealis, swim with dolphins. I find them vaguely patronising and aimed at people who need to be told how to have fun (insert smile/shake of the head here).

But this is my own list. And it is things I haven’t done. Not things I have done and feel achingly and cloyingly smug about.

I’ve never been on a proper upside down, spin you round, make you vomit your spleen out through your nostrils roller-coaster (fear of heights, fear of speed, fear of falling out whilst 200 feet in the air and landing on my face). I’ve never read anything by Dickens (no reason, just haven’t). I’ve never seen a Shakespeare production. I’ve never been to Scotland or New York. I’ve never listened to a Sonic Youth album. Ditto Neil Young. I’ve never been to an opera or a ballet. I’ve never seen a Damian Hirst. You get the idea.

The list goes on when it comes to food. Never had a vindaloo (something I wish to rectify). Never eaten a KFC (something I don’t). I’ve never baked a chocolate cake. I’ve never tried frogs’ legs. I’ve never eaten tripe, brain, cheek or bollock (at least not knowingly). And I’ve never eaten haggis.

Until last night.

Last Sunday was Burns’ Night: an excuse (as if they need it) for anyone who is Scottish, claims to be Scottish, thinks they might once have been Scottish, is possibly of Scottish descent, has ever been to Scotland or seen the painting Monarch of the Glen, to drink whisky – without an ‘e’ (that’s not a drug reference) – read unintelligible poetry and eat haggis, that fabled national dish of Scotland.

Haggis is best approached with an open-mind and a willingness to ignore what is on the ingredients list, which reads like something from the opening scene of Macbeth.

It is essentially a great big sausage. Traditionally – and even today – sausages were a way to make palatable the bits that might have been less than appealing and we see this in many cuisines over the world from French boudin to Polish Kaszanka and the haggis is no different. Made from sheep’s pluck (liver, heart and lungs) and padded out with oats, suet and spices, it can be hard for some to swallow.

When I casually mentioned that I fancied getting a haggis for dinner on Sunday my comment was met with little enthusiasm and as such we ended up haggis-less. But my curiosity was finally sated last night when we walked up the road to take part in the quiz at the local pub. Answering general knowledge questions is tough work and at the halfway point we were offered plates of haggis, tatties (mashed potato) and neeps (mashed turnips).

Which was when I mentioned, perhaps mistakenly, to a fellow quizzer that I’d never had haggis. Knowing my line of work, his response was perhaps justified but I soon got to work filling this glaring chasm in my culinary history.

And I am glad I did because haggis is delicious. It has a great savoury taste, similar to black pudding (thanks to the spices) but a firmer and mealier texture reminiscent of course cous cous or quinoa. With buttery mashed potatoes and slightly acidic mashed turnip on the side it was perfect. It would have been a shame not to wash it down with a few ‘wee drams’ of whisky, which is possibly the reason it took me slightly longer to wobble-walk the few hundred metres back to the house than it normally does.

More scary peanut stories

Its very scary to hear out food has been contaminated and yet again here is another story.

Starbucks remove peanut products from its shelves in Canada

The FDA is currently investigating a salmonella outbreak that has been traced to a Georgia plant owned by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) that manufactures peanut butter and peanut paste

But "due to the serious nature" of the FDA warning, Starbucks has "decided to voluntarily pull all products containing peanut butter from company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada and stop using peanut butter in those products until further notice."


As a result of the coffee company's decision, the following items will not be available in Canadian Starbucks outlets for the immediate future:

  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bar
  • Granola Bar
  • Peanut Butter Cookie
  • Peanut Butter Oatcake
  • Protein Plate
  • Peanut Butter Portion Pack (w/Bagels)

Information From here



From here
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
We find


PCA is notifying customers who received recalled products by phone and/or in writing. Customers should segregate and hold the product and call PCA at 1-877-564-7080 for further instructions. Consumers should contact the FDA and visit the agency web site at www.fda.gov for a complete list of all products affected.

“We have been devastated by this, and we have been working around the clock with the FDA to ensure any potentially unsafe products are removed from the market immediately,” said Stewart Parnell, President of Peanut Corporation of America. “Additionally, we are working alongside state and federal food safety experts in every way we can to help them protect consumers, both now and in the future.

“We want our customers and consumers to know that PCA is taking extraordinary measures, out of an abundance of caution, to identify and recall all products that have been identified as potential risks.”

The recalled peanuts and peanut products were distributed nationwide to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies as well as and in Canada, Haiti, Korea and Trinidad.

For more Information look here

And From http://efoodalert.blogspot.com/ We get this information
Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) announced this evening that the company has recalled all peanuts and peanut products processed and shipped from the company's Blakely, Georgia production facility since January 1, 2007.

Today's action follows the publication of FDA's investigation report that described unsanitary conditions in the Blakely plant.
So can anyone tell me has this made it into the Korean News because I have a lot of peanut butter loving friends.

help this girl, pity her.

demam sudah 3 hari! huh...
teruk yg amat. x cukup tdow.
imagine dpt tdow sejam -2 jam je sehari.
sbb skt kepale yg amat.
then hari ke3, pagi td. x tahan sgt.
pagi2 bute, drive ke clinic.
owhh...MC for 2 days. hurm...

anyway. just wanna share with u.
and ask ur opinion. ur comment.
this is a story of a friend of mine.
pity her. i dunno how to help her anymore.
hurm... guys. just 1 wish. tolak ansur.
jgn pndg rendah dkt kwn ku ini.
atas segale kesilapan n kelemahan die.
cuz she's too innocent to be blame.
yg baik jdkan teladan. yg buruk tuh.
jdkan pengajaran...

let say ppl.
she's a smart ppl from a great school.
which is boarding school. could be SBP or MRSM.
she's a friend of mine dr kecik lg.
then die de masuk boarding school juge.
but dont worry. i think. non of u guys.
kenal die. well...i ade 9 buah sekolah ye.
primary + 2ndry. so. jgn main teka2 je. =P
so. she could b a friend of mine dr mane2 skola nih.

okay. she's smart. she's nice. she's good.
die caring towards her friends, fmly & bf. [time ade]
die... setia nak mampos. seriously.
die... tahlahhh. baik ah yg penting!!!
lawa pon lawa jgk. ramai ckp die lawa.
but mcm biase, she's down to earth.

okay...there's diz guy. die syg. die care.
but still die org x declare pape pon.
and FYI, that guy USED-2-BE a player.
owh gosh. silap2 sampai skrng pon die player...
i mean dr cite a friend of mine nih.
laki tuh cam player je lg. huhu...
actually. i tataw cmne nak buat. kwn ku inih.
get over him. i dont think he deserved her!

imagine this...
ku bagi name kwnku ini Julia.
and that stupid guy as buaye. wahahah...

* julia ni lg punctual bab2 mase dr i!!! seriously. huh. if i ni da kire straight bab2 mase, julia ni lg straight! but... since da 1st time die kuar utk dating or lunch n what so ever dgn julia nih, buaye tuh akan lmbt. x pernah x lmbt... die org da jmpe berpuluh kali. but then...x de sekali pon buaye tuh ON TIME. lambatnye bukan setgh jam n what so ever, lmbtnyer ituh 2-3 jam! but still. julia ini tunggu sorang2 & x pernah pon balik... FYI, buaye nih adelah MANUSIA pertame yg julia sanggup tunggu lebih2 sampai 2-3 jam.

* bile lmbt. julia nih tanye la nape lmbt...n buaye tuh tak pernah jwb betol2, die akam main2 n last2 julia nih x pernah dpt reason yg acceptable. Julia nih dah pernah menangis depan buaye nih sbb tnggu lame sgt, pernah marah dah, and pernah pukul ape sume sbb geram. tp still, semua tuh sekejap je sbb Julia happy dpt tgk muke buaye x gune nih. and buaye nih, akan ckp sorry itu pun kdng2 and still, akan dtg lmbt setiap kali jumpe...

* buaye ni juge. merupakan MANUSIA pertame yg julia ni sanggup top up... mmg la skit, rm5 - rm10, but kumpul2 dah bape ringgit. dah 5x mcm tuh... taw x Julia nih x reti pon nak share top up ape tah lg top upkan utk mane2 lelaki... even dgn ex-bf die dulu yg couple berthn2 pun die x pernah top up kan cuz julia ni cam pk, top up tuh kan melibatkan duit. die x nak kena tipu. so die sgt berjage - jage bout pape libatkan duit. its not like die kedekut... yes she's not. x berkira pon ttg duit. cuma die takot. tp utk buaye nih! die sanggup top up kan. julia sanggup beli kad top up awal2 utk top up kan buaye nih anytime buaye nih mintak.

* since die kawan dgn buaye nih... ramai dah org yg Julia ni sendiri x pernah kenal, and memang x kenal, warning die ttg buaye nih. ade yg call die gune private number, msg die, and so on warning ttg buaye nih... yg slalu julia kene warning are about bertape PLAYER, CHEATER, and DEGIL nye buaye ni. tp. julia still tutop mate n percaye buaye tuh sbb buaye tuh minx julia cayekan die. so...julia ttp tutop mate, n percaye, buaye nih betol2 dah berubah... die taw dulu buaye ni player, but die anggap buaye ni dah berubah. i dont think so! die sedeyh dgn ape yg org warning ttg buaye tuh tp julia nih...tetap. tetap percayekan si buaye nih...

* julia ni jugak, time demam2, sanggup bangun kul 3 pagi just nak jmpe buaye nih... buaye tuh janji dgn die mlm tuh nak jmpe la. itu la. ini la. sekali pukul 3 pagi baru buaye tu muncul... julia nih tgh demam n baru lena tdow, sbb x leh tdow, sanggup bangun n drive just nak jmpe buaye tuh. dahlah buaye tuh lmbt, pompuan tuh sanggup bgn pepagi bute utk die, die x de pon nak tunjuk rase terima kasih ke ape... i da marah2 julia ttg nih. haih~ rase nak lempang2 je buaye tuh.

* julia ni gak. kalau keluar dgn ex-bf die dulu pon, bukan jenis mcm couple yg lain...i mean. julia nih x ske jln pegang2 tgn ke ape. ape tah lg biar bf die peluk pinggang ke ape. mcm couple lain d depan public... sbb bagi Julia nih, [die pakai tudung] die rase kene hormat tudung tuh. nak buat dose pon, die rase x ske... haaa. camtuh la Julia nih. but dgn buaye mengong nih, die lupakan prinsip die tuh!!! julia biar buaye tuh pegang tgn die bile jmpe...mcm couple, even buaye nih kononnye hanya kwn dgn die. nasib baik pegang tgn x lebeyh2 lg! tp...tah ar. ape buaye tuh nak? kalo x nak kapel, xyah ar gatal nak pegang2 tgn kwnku nih! tp julia biar... hurm~

* julia pernah tanye buaye nih. nape x couple? nape x declare? buaye nih just jwb x declare x bermakne x syg. tp... masalahnye. die buat Julia nih da mcm kekasih hati die yg dipergunakan semate - mate. julia nih dah syg gile kan, mesti la die takot anytime je buaye nih blh tinggalkan die cuz x declare pape pon. bile julia nih ckp die takot hilang buaye nih. buaye nih ckp die serious... tp still la mcm tuh. die gantung je julia. kalau julia tnye je pasal nih, or bangkitkan pasal ni, buaye tuh akan ckp julia x caye dkt die n what so ever ayat2 x bersalah mat romeo. last2 julia nih yg mintak maaf and tak ckp dah pasal tuh even hati die memberontak...geram owh~

* SMS. julia nih paling pantang if elok2 tgh msg, tibe2 je x reply or hilang. kirenye cam i pon if i tgh msg julia, then i ade keje, i akan bgtaw die i ade keje. cuz julia ni kan x ske menunggu. so, die mmg pantang org hilang tibe2. tp...laki nih. buaye nih. ckp bz yg amat. so die nak msg, die msg. julia reply or msg, buaye nih reply lg 5-6 jam pon julia sabar. die percaye buaye nih bz. lebih terkilan...julia nih jenis off hp bile tidow. tp utk buaye nih. die x off. hp die betol2 seblah die time tdow. die x buat silent pon. sbb kdng2 buaye nih msg die pukul 3-4 pagi. die akan try gak bgn time tgh tdow, just utk msg buaye nih sampai la kul 5-6 pagi. die sanggup korbankan mase tdow die jgk utk laki x gune nih...

* julia gak x pernah marah buaye nih except sbb buaye nih lambat... seriously i pon tataw nape julia nih leh sabar gile. julia nih cam childish skit, cpt excited. skali tuh... julia nih gune la tande seru [!]. nak tunjuk die excited [dlm msg].. buaye nih blh ckp "amboi, pandai marah". and terus buaye nih merajuk... hello??? bodow ke ape. julia nih excited pon nak slh fhm n nak majuk. and da point is guys, EVERYTIME die org gadow or buaye tuh merajuk, julia akan mengalah n pujuk buaye tuh gile3 even semuanye salah buaye tuh... julia nih kdng2 mkn hati je. sbb die yg x bersalah, last2 kena pujuk si buaye tuh. alasan julia, x nak burukkan keadaan.

* buaye x de perasaan ni gak kuat merajuk atas sebab2 bodow n kecik. yer la cam julia ni tanye pape skit, terus majuk. majuk die lame n buat kwnku nih cam org bodow! huh...skt ati je. yerlaaa si julia nih call die berpuluh kali n msg berpuluh msg, buaye nih blh buat bodow. julia nih nangis2 pon die buat bodow. FYI, again, julia nih x pernah nak pujuk org lebeyh2 if die taw die x bersalah. n buaye ni juge MANUSIA pertame julia nih pujuk bagai nak rak... hurm. bile buaye tuh rase nak reply, die reply la. tu pon die akan ckp... saje nak tgk julia ni syg die ke x. bangang x? blh nmpk x bertape julia nih bnyk bekorban? hurm...

actually...bnyk lg julia nih story dkt i. tp x teringt da.
wahaha. and sakit ati je nak ingt.
tp yg buatkan i write this post.
cuz. latest yg julia bgtaw ttg buaye nih...
sgt buat i kecewa. terdiam. n...sdeyh.
sedeyh dgn segala pengorbanan julia.
okay ppl. here it goes...

* julia contact ku baru2 ni. and bgtaw... die sedar die dah buat macam2 utk buaye nih. segala bnda yg die x pernah buat utk mane2 lelaki atau manusia die buat. die sedar buaye nih tak hormat die as perempuan, ye la, biar die tnggu lame2. and so on... tp julia ckp. die da tataw nak buat mcm mane supaye buaye ni berubah. and lg i rase cam sdeyh... sbb julia ni dah GIVE n DO EVERYTHING 4 him. sumpah sahabtku ini sanggup korbankan prinsip die ttg mase, maruah dan segalenye utk laki nih. u do really know what i mean with GIVE EVERYTHING n DO EVERYTHING? yer ahhh...anggap je la julia nih mmg dah buat n korbankan mcm2 utk die. and latest. julia tanye...

"kalau lelaki yg x pernah kissing...mesti x reti buat french kiss kan?"
i was like...excuse me? julia... nape tanye mcm tuh?
and i da terngange. n said... "OMG! u did that???"
and she was like..." yup. it's my 1st time..."
lagi cam bangang. buaye tuh mcm pro okay???
i da mcm...mcm mane blh jd nih???

* die ckp. last jmpe buaye nih. buaye kiss die. utk 1st time. mule2 kiss pp. then dahi. then lips. then blh buat french kiss. hello??? i mean. ok fine. Julia ni bukan jenis mcm nih!!! tp die biar okayyyy!!! semuanya die buat utk BUAYE nih. segale bnde die x pernah buat pon. kalo buaye nih, baru 1st time kiss julia nih pon blh terus buat french kiss, nmpk sgt ah mmg dah pro kan?! hurm. frust menonggeng sgt dgr cite julia... frust dgn die yg korbankan segalenye tp hati die tersiksa.

* n da worst part. sehingga buat i menulis ttg julia...sbb tataw mcm mane nak bukak mate julia nih. anggap je la, hurm...ssh nye nak ckp. hari yg same pas die org kissing2 nih. Julia tdow dgn die. yer~~~ sumpah sy nangis dgr cite julia. sdeyh... terkilan. n so on. Julia tdow and i guess, Julia dah korbankan segalenye utk laki nih. okay. da worst disgusting part - Julia nih tataw pape, x ske pon nak pegang tgn mcm couple lain, tapi buaye tak gune nih da kiss die n tdow dgn die!!!
yg plg i frusttt... julia buat juge oral sex. bnda yg julia paling kutuk n takot 1 ketika dulu... julia ikot je n biar je ape buaye tuh buat... =[

* julia ckp, mule2 die kiss je. x sangka die buat seterusnya ituh... u know da step kot? mule2 die peluk2 n kiss julia then buaye x gune tuh mmg pro la i ckp!!! yer laaa... kalo tuh 1st time buaye tuh buat project, mesti ah die takot2. [tataw la if laki mmg x takot if 1st time buat...] ni tak. julia ckp, dr stu, last2 dua2 x berpakaian. okay. i nangis ok dgr cite die!!! then if laki buaye tuh x biase, x kan la reti nak buat oral sex ituh??? i tataw la julia dara lg ke x cuz org ckp selalunya 1st time dara pecah, keluar darah. tp julia ckp tak keluar darah... actually,julia contact i pon...sbb die ckp die takot sgt if die pregnant. owh god... ape lagi laki tak gune tuh nak? julia bukan perempuan murahan... i kenal die mcm mane. hurm... die still baik mcm dulu. cuma...die buat mcm2 utk buaye tuh. i mean da really3 macam2!!!

i kesian yg amat dkt julia. i tataw nak buat ape da. tataw nak ckp ape dah. n tataw la nak ckp jenis jantan x gune ape buaye tuh??? guys. rasenye. if jantan cam buaye tuh....

die syg julia betol2 ke?
betol ke dah tak player?
betol ke x pernah buat projek?

entahlah... hormat julia pon tak. ape tah lg serious. bodow gle pnye jantan. julia tuh ramai peminat n die x layan sorang pon since die dgn buaye nih berkawan! i pon tataw jenis laki ape buaye tuh. guys3! really3 need ur opinion n comment ok. hurm...i wanna save julia. she's too innocent. and to sweet to be unhappy. help me~ =[