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Geek Food: A Cookbook for the Technologically Inclined
thaen writes: "Might want to check out the latest offering from arstechnica.com. Somebody has compiled a 51-page book of recipes written by geeks, for geeks, and originally posted in the arstechnica 'Lounge' forum. Mmmm...the omelette..." I seriously hope that the macaroni and cheese recipe really needs "tabasco sauce", rather than "tobacco sauce", because I can't even imagine... no. Not going to think about it.
I seriously hope that the macaroni and cheese recipe really needs "tabasco sauce", rather than "tobacco sauce", because I can't even imagine... no. Not going to think about it.
Dear Lord. A Slashdot editor griping about Spelling.
Did I get off on the wrong planet?
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Truth is contagious; Infect-truth.
DISCLAIMER:This parody is in no way associated with Infect-truth or truth.com. Had this been a really infect-truth commercial, it would have been much less logical.
BTW, the magazines are much better than the books that they also publish... The books mostly contain only the final recipe, not the experimental log book that led to it.
The best "general" cookbook I've found is How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Each chapter starts up with several pages of "how to" and "How to do this right" information (such as how to dice tomatoes without making a mushy mess,) then follows up with tons of recipes.
No pictures but lots of drawings of techniques such as which part of the cow that steak came from... (IIRC, there's also some info on butchering that steak yourself.)
Quotes from that episode:
"Now Iron Chef Geek appears to be marinating the Mishima beef in some sort of brown mixture..is that soy sauce? Now he's coating it in what looks like flour..."
"Fukui-san!"
"Go ahead, Ohta-san."
"The Iron Chef Geek is soaking the beef in Jolt cola, then coating it in crushed penguin mints."
"Now that's just disgusting."
Don't most slashdot readers just eat whatever mom puts on the table?
I've heard it before. "but aren't you woried about salmonella?" I'm not - salmonella, et all, are largely a product of industrial-style meat manufacturing. Real meat is not manufactured. I buy my meat from the local organic food store. It's raised naturally, without antibiotics and hormones, etc. I eat my meat on an empty stomac, so all there aren't any obstacles between the stomac acid and any "bad" bacteria that might happen to be present.
So you're assuming the local organic food store isn't lying to you about where the meat came from, and their distributors aren't lying to the store where the meat came from, and the individual farmers aren't lying to the distributors about where the meat came from. But that's besides the point. Raw meat is dangerous, no matter where it comes from.
There are many, many parasites and bacteria that it can contain beyond e. coli. I like steak tartar, but I don't eat it--it's just too dangerous (and raw chicken just sounds disgusting).
Raw vegetables can be very healthy, of course, as long as you stick to to ones that can be consumed raw. A lot of them (such as potatos) are toxic when uncooked, however.
Read the superhealth report (link in my first post). It explains why we (I'm not the only one who eats raw meat) don't worry about salmonella or e coli or whatever the food-borne-illness of the month happens to be.
I went to this site, and found it to be of dubious accuracy, and some of the proposals to be dangerous if followed. For example:
It's now conceivable to me that most aging stems from mind-programming - cultural brainwashing. If you're interested in health, life-extension, stopping and reversing aging, and physical immortality, you must study his book.
This is not a place I would go to for health advice.
And remember, salmonella and e. coli and all the rest of those microorganisms weren't created by industry; they evolved in the natural world, and while industrial meat-processing can contribute to their spread, organically grown beef and poultry is not immune to them.
Usually I don't really care when people believe in strange things, but when they start giving dangerous advice to others based on them, I feel compelled to speak.
Kentucky Bourbon Deviled Crab
Bacon-Burger-Fried Okra
Potato Candy
Turmeric Potatoes
Hot Sweet Pickled Durian
Chocolate Steak
Sausage and Muenster Couscous
Chicken-Bacon-Banana Kebobs with Garlic Rice
Survival Biscuit Casserole
Rockcastle County Vampire Tonic
Bubblegum Sauce
Baked Calpis Soda Ham
Marzipan Milkshake
Appalachian Voodoo Beer Cheese
Sweet Potatoes Baked in Hazelnut Oil
Pocky-Paraffin Edible Architecture
Squambo
Something to terrify just about anyone. Some how I think some of these are weird enough to be japanese or geek recipes (thinking of the japanese mint beer)
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
This observation, together with the more dubious recipes to be found in the collection, surprises me.
Many of my friends and acquaintances fall into the possibly geeky category. I say this because they are involved in or are interested in traditionally geeky things, like computing, mathematics, and academic arcana, and a good portion of them even having traditionally geeky hobbies like juggling or role-playing games, or SCA participation. Yet of all of them, I know of only one who doesn't give good food and cooking any real consideration. If I were to extrapolate from these people to geeky people generally, I would have thought that geeks typically took cooking and food quality very seriously!
I'm located in a city where there is a wide range of food available which is both cheap and of good quality --- this applies to both ingredients and to restaurants! It's possible that may explain some of the discrepancy.
Cooking though I think can appeal in many of the same ways that coding, or nutting out a new proof to a maths problem, or playing a musical instrument can. It's an opportunity to be both analytical and creative.
Given how quickly one can prepare a stir fry or pasta with fresh ingredients (25 minutes or less including washing up), there is not a lot of time to be gained by eating out save at the fastest of fast food places. Cooking for oneself can be practical in time and money savings, healthier than eating out, and intrinsically fun and interesting! If you the reader haven't before now, I'd recommend you give it a shot and do some experimentation!
And to the guy who down below who says potatoes are toxic when uncooked, please, get your facts straight, as well. Potatoes are NOT hazardous when uncooked, no more than fresh corn or green beans. Take it from someone who loves a good red potato raw. The last person I heard who still believed spuds were poisonous was my great grandmother, and she no longer bought into that crap, either.
sheesh, some people's facts....
"See, we plan ahead! That way, we never have to do anything now."