passionate about food!

[rabergnc]

Personally I see no reason to have closed out the thread Maverick. Y'all will note the basic topic header is "say whatever you want (almost)-Not about Bags. Nothing posted in the thread was vile (except maybe hummus - just kidding I love hummus), derogatory, ill willed or otherwise ill considered. I have never seen this as a strictly travel thread - far from it. The community of folks who have participated in the forum over the time I have been following it have discussed a variety of far ranging topics and should continue to do so. If a person is seeking a forum devoted strictly to travel, there are bunches out there. No one forces anyone to either participate in the forum and individual threads. If anyone does not like a thread, they can simply ignore it.

Maverick - there was nothing to apologize for.

Soapbox being put away and I am going back to my traditional lurker status.

[bltkmt]

+1 from me...why are we swayed by what one poster (yonkdaddy) thinks? I found Maverick's thread to be interesting and was following it. I initially came to this forum for the TB product discussion, but have come away from it with much more useful information about many other topics. If you don't like the topic of a certain thread, ignore it! No need for the sarcastic tone.

[BPritchard]

I concur

+1 from me...why are we swayed by what one poster (yonkdaddy) thinks? I found Maverick's thread to be interesting and was following it. I initially came to this forum for the TB product discussion, but have come away from it with much more useful information about many other topics. If you don't like the topic of a certain thread, ignore it! No need for the sarcastic tone.

Forum topic is "Not about Bags". Maverick's topic is therefore appropriate. It is informational in breath.

What would not be appropriate is any topic that may start a flame war. That is for other forums.

I feel that the majority of us can determine what is appropriate here.

[Darcy]

I think it'd be fun to have a thread where we discuss our eating choices -- whether that's a passion for traditional Italian cuisine or ethically-focused or health-ceneterd food -- share recipes, etc. So I'll go first! Earlier this year, I purchased a Vitamix (a Made in USA super high power blender), and I've been making a green smoothie every day since. I used to stress about what I was going to do with all of the greens (kale, collards, chard, beet greens, radish greens, carrot tops) in my farm share, but now I just blend and drink any vegetable that I don't get around to cooking. As a result, I'm now eating way, way more vegetables and fruits than I ever did before. My green smoothie is usually something like: apple, celery, 1/2 lime, kale, raspberries, and watercress. I rotate the greens every day, so maybe instead of kale I'll use chard or spinach and instead of watercress I'll use parsley or cilantro. It makes me feel great to start the day with a smoothie like this. I think the only thing I don't like about it is the word smoothie.

If going out to eat, my first choice has always been Mexican food... or Mexican food (the taqueria or Chipotle kind, not the giant plate of cheese kind), but after discovering Vietnamese food I finally have another option. I love all the fresh vegetables and vegetarian options, and any meat-eating dining companion(s) I'm with can find something they like, too. Now I need to learn how to cook Vietnamese food at home.

[bltkmt]

I have been looking at the Vitamix lately too, Darcy. They are expensive (!), but seem to be a fantastic product. We eat a lot of smoothies (I don't really like that word either), and the traditional blender does not really do a good job. How difficult is it to clean the Vitamix?

[Katy]

My grandmother makes a lot of smoothies as well and buys a new blender every 6 or 8 months as she burns up the motor (she may or may not get a Vitamix for Christmas). The Vitamix motor will last a LOT longer. So while it may seem expensive, it will pay off in the end when you don't have to replace it .

[Darcy]

I have been looking at the Vitamix lately too, Darcy. They are expensive (!), but seem to be a fantastic product. We eat a lot of smoothies (I don't really like that word either), and the traditional blender does not really do a good job. How difficult is it to clean the Vitamix?

The Vitamix is expensive, but it's incredibly well made and I'm confident it will last forever. I've bought much less expensive kitchen gadgets that I've maybe used once or twice because they're not designed well and aren't inviting to use. I've used the Vitamix pretty much every day since I purchased it. (Hmm, this description reminds me of another company and what they make...)

Cleaning it is easy. You fill the blender with some hot water, a tiny bit of soap, and turn it on high speed for a few minutes, then rise the interior and wipe down the exterior and you're done.

We should come up with a word to replace "smoothie".

[Yonkdaddy]

OK... I'm sorry! And perhaps in some karmic way I'm getting my payback... Something I ate yesterday is causing much havoc today.

[Janine]

Ditto to what was said about the closed thread. There was no reason for it to go pear-shaped and I'm glad that it is being revived here.

I have Vitamix envy. I just bought a blender for $16 at Target. It's for mixing big batches of formula, so I can't justify sinking a whole lot of money into it. Our daycare will heat bottles and feed the boys, but they won't mix a bottle for them. So, every morning I mix what feels like 10 gallons of formula and divide it up into bottles. Maybe I should be using an old-skool cowboy hat...ha ha...get it?...10 gallons...okay, I can live with my jokes being funny only to myself. :-)

These formerly-known-as-smoothie concoctions sound interesting, but I can't picture what it would taste like to drink liquified greens. I love spinach and have it several times a week, but my imagination seems to stop when the spinach hits the blender. What kind of proportions would one use for such a beverage? Does it end up tasting very green, or are the fruity parts more prominent? What's a good recipe for someone trying this for the first time?

I love Vietnamese food, too. I'd love to find a good Vietnamese cookbook - one good for someone first learning Vietnamese cooking traditions, that uses items I can find at Kroger.

[Katy]

Ditto to what was said about the closed thread. There was no reason for it to go pear-shaped and I'm glad that it is being revived here.

I have Vitamix envy. I just bought a blender for $16 at Target. It's for mixing big batches of formula, so I can't justify sinking a whole lot of money into it. Our daycare will heat bottles and feed the boys, but they won't mix a bottle for them. So, every morning I mix what feels like 10 gallons of formula and divide it up into bottles. Maybe I should be using an old-skool cowboy hat...ha ha...get it?...10 gallons...okay, I can live with my jokes being funny only to myself. :-)

These formerly-known-as-smoothie concoctions sound interesting, but I can't picture what it would taste like to drink liquified greens. I love spinach and have it several times a week, but my imagination seems to stop when the spinach hits the blender. What kind of proportions would one use for such a beverage? Does it end up tasting very green, or are the fruity parts more prominent? What's a good recipe for someone trying this for the first time?

I love Vietnamese food, too. I'd love to find a good Vietnamese cookbook - one good for someone first learning Vietnamese cooking traditions, that uses items I can find at Kroger.

I laughed!! I was quite surprised by the formerly-known-as-smoothie concoction's taste! They're quite delicious.

[maverick]

OK... I'm sorry! And perhaps in some karmic way I'm getting my payback... Something I ate yesterday is causing much havoc today.

oh no, i'm so sorry to hear that you're not well.

no worries, yonkdaddy!

i was excited about what i felt was eating well and wanted to share that excitement with others. i figured if folks felt motivated reading that, if it made sense to them, then they could hopefully see the benefits that i am seeing. and if it didn't, they'd probably just ignore it. i just felt really bad that it would bother someone so much that i thought it better to just kill the thread at that point.

the brat (bananas, rice, apple sauce, toast) diet can be helpful with the stomach once your digestive system is ready for some foods. otherwise, perhaps sipping on some warm water may be soothing.

i hope whatever is bothering you passes soon!

[tCook]

Could a FKAS (formerly known ...) be called a "shake?" Fruit and veggie shake?

[maverick]

thank you all!

we've been talking about updating our blender. i've heard good things about the vitamix as well as the blendtec. i think both do a great job with blended drinks.

i think smoothie might make sense as a name if we were using a smoother. but we're not - we're using a blender. so can we call it a blendie?

by the way, i changed the thread name to "passionate about food." i hope that's alright.

[maverick]

Could a FKAS (formerly known ...) be called a "shake?" Fruit and veggie shake?

i "liked" this post, but i just wanted to say that i like the term shake!

[jannilee]

I have a high-powered immersion blender that is great for making fkas and is also very convenient for smoothing out (snicker) soups and sauces. Ilove ginger squash soup but seldom made itcuz of the pain of pureeing in batches. My current food passion is skyr - an Icelandic cross between cheese and yogurt made from skim milk and sometimes fruit flavored. It is very creamy and rich tasting but unfortunately not available in Canada. It uses both rennet ( the cheesy aspect) and bacteria used in Greek yogurt (the yogurty part). I ate it for breakfast every day in Iceland, usually with a banana and milk. I have managed to find both the rennet and bacterial culture online from a cheese making supplier, after trying gazillions of places locally. Hope it works!R