From the Ridiculous..

I was just reading Karakia Coast and he had a link to a very funny blogpost that had me lol, so much so that I had to read it twice.

This is most certainly one very serious man's expression against over-protectionism. Check it out...

To the Sublime...

VeuveClicquot at Sugar Delerium has tagged me for Melissa at The Traveller's Lunchbox joint project (read - not quite a meme) for 5 things you've eaten and think that everyone should eat at least once before they die.

Oh dear... and thank you!

What makes me smile the most as I put it into my mouth? What do I roll around on my tongue, gently nudging every single tastebud until they yelp with pleasure? What makes me sit back with a tear in my eye and think "Now I can die?"

This is a very tough decision, there are so many things out there that evoke gut reactions, and so many things that, when eaten, bring back memories that are almost more vivid than the day they happened.

Food, which is essentially, salt sweet bitter sour and umami, has a sixth element that alot of people forget, the smell factor. Not only does this add all of the nuances that are lacking with the 5 standard food flavours, but it is also the strongest of the five senses linking us to our memories.

After much deliberation and many walks down memory lane I have made my choices.

My Five Things to Eat Before You Die

Oysters on the half-shell with lemon - my idea of heaven would be going to an oysterbar (The Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York would be a good place to do this). Ordering a dozen mixed, slurping them down slowly, comparing textures and flavours and enjoying the fresh scent of the sea coming off of their shells, with the tang of the just spritzed lemon juice adding a filip of zestiness to round out the overall sensation. Once the dozen are demolished comes the decision of which types you should have as your main course!

Plain old tuna salad made with yellowfin tuna that you have caught that day and immediately cooked en papillote with a mirepoix, gently coated with homemade mayonnaise, spring onions, celery and freshly coarsley-ground black pepper and a dash of Maldon salt or Fleur de Sel. This is the most sublime dish imaginable, simple, homemade bring-to-school tuna salad brought to the pinnacle of lusciousness.

Uni - just out of its spiny shell - with a cool sea breeze coming in from the ocean, a fire scenting the air, hot sake, iced beers and good friends.

My mother's original Christmas shortbread cookies from my childhood - the smell of the Christmas tree mixed with the bite of freshly peeled Mandarine oranges that came in a wooden crate, competing with the buttery and sugary smell of the just baked cookies still warm from the oven - You will be 4 years old again and too excited to sleep!

Black raspberries (not to be mistaken for blackberries or brambleberries) just picked and warm from the sun - eaten out of hand, with birds calling overhead, cicadas buzzing in the bushes, dust powdering the still air, a lake down the road to be jumped into, and an endless summer just waiting to be explored.

All my foodie blog reads who I would have the chutzpah to tag for this have dedicated a post already, so if anybody reading this would like to join in, just hit the link and enjoy pondering.