Bacteria: good and ill
As a child I was frail and sickly; these days I am neither. That said, it takes but the faintest of maladies for me to revert to a state of high gothic hypochondria; I am pursued by the Reaper, his scythe teasingly probing my kidneys - the jaunty preamble to a lingering execution. Although neurotic and practically useless in this state, I become quite tolerably pleasant in my demeanour, as if determined to shake off this mortal coil on something of a high note.
At last today it seems the antibiotics are kicking in. Still, I am somewhat nervous of them – I cannot help but imagine that I might be biotic myself.
On the positive side of things I experienced a Damascene moment – an epiphany, if you will – at The Wedge, Portland’s annual cheese celebration. And despite my empirically justifiable scepticism on the matter, it would appear that savoury and piquant aged dairy products can indeed be manufactured on this side of the Atlantic. I tried an exceptional Gouda from the Williamette Valley Cheese Company, a superb blue reminiscent of Roquefort from Rogue Creamery (at $26/lb it ought to be good mind you; there’s also a two year waiting list) and – embarrassingly for the purist – the crowned “World’s Best Cheddar 2007” from California of all places. And it wasn’t half bad.
One of those culinary surprises, like those ostrich fajitas I had in Edmonds, WA. I’m afraid I don’t have as much time for cooking as I’d like these days, much like Nigella Lawson apparently. As time goes by she seems to be slowly transmogrifying into my maternal grandmother; a certain resemblance of appearance, voice and mannerism plus a preternatural affinity for Waitrose. As for the series, it seems to be a study in moneyed minimalism; I’m reminded of the recipe for tiramisu that appeared in Safeway magazine a few years back – ingredients: 1 Safeway Tiramisu.
Apparently few in the US saw the irony in Lee “who?” Bollinger, President of Columbia University, introducing his invited guest, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as a petty dictator [full transcript here]. I can’t say that I’m the greatest admirer of the Iranian premier, but he gave a good account of himself in the face of an obnoxious, pompous and self-righteous host; I only wish that when he claimed that there were no homosexuals in Iran he’d added “very much like the US Army.”
Ethan meets the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association rep at The Wedge.
At last today it seems the antibiotics are kicking in. Still, I am somewhat nervous of them – I cannot help but imagine that I might be biotic myself.
On the positive side of things I experienced a Damascene moment – an epiphany, if you will – at The Wedge, Portland’s annual cheese celebration. And despite my empirically justifiable scepticism on the matter, it would appear that savoury and piquant aged dairy products can indeed be manufactured on this side of the Atlantic. I tried an exceptional Gouda from the Williamette Valley Cheese Company, a superb blue reminiscent of Roquefort from Rogue Creamery (at $26/lb it ought to be good mind you; there’s also a two year waiting list) and – embarrassingly for the purist – the crowned “World’s Best Cheddar 2007” from California of all places. And it wasn’t half bad.
One of those culinary surprises, like those ostrich fajitas I had in Edmonds, WA. I’m afraid I don’t have as much time for cooking as I’d like these days, much like Nigella Lawson apparently. As time goes by she seems to be slowly transmogrifying into my maternal grandmother; a certain resemblance of appearance, voice and mannerism plus a preternatural affinity for Waitrose. As for the series, it seems to be a study in moneyed minimalism; I’m reminded of the recipe for tiramisu that appeared in Safeway magazine a few years back – ingredients: 1 Safeway Tiramisu.
Apparently few in the US saw the irony in Lee “who?” Bollinger, President of Columbia University, introducing his invited guest, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as a petty dictator [full transcript here]. I can’t say that I’m the greatest admirer of the Iranian premier, but he gave a good account of himself in the face of an obnoxious, pompous and self-righteous host; I only wish that when he claimed that there were no homosexuals in Iran he’d added “very much like the US Army.”
Ethan meets the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association rep at The Wedge.
posted by Richard Tammar at 9:22 PM
1 Comments:
Can I have first dibs on that picture for a future album cover?
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