How Much to Cook a Veggie burger, Initial Impressions

A friend of mine who is vegetarian was speaking glowingly of the Boca burger. Not soon after I bought a box of them. I've had 3 so far. I just got the regular ones, I later learned I should have gotten the cheese ones. The first one I had with land o'lakes american, raw onion, jalapeno, and a slice of thick bacon, on a toasted english muffin with mayo on the bottom and ketchup on the top. I cooked the burger in the bacon fat in the cast iron skillet. Once I put the cheese on it I put the skillet in the oven to melt the cheese as is my way. I thought it had a nice meat-like texture. I don't know what possessed me to get veggie burgers, it was spur of the moment. I'm really not against the idea and they're pretty convenient. I was hoping they'd taste something like a felafel, which I like. I don't think it did, but it was OK nevertheless. I'm not really sure what it tasted like, but it was definitely decent. I did think it was a little dry though.

The next time I had the same fixins' but I put it on whole wheat toast. This one I didn't like. Initially I thought it was the bread, which I had just bought and wasn't familiar with this particular loaf. Though I was surprised that the bread could have such a dramatic effect. I also didn't cook it as much because I thought I may have overcooked the last one. Perhaps it wasn't as dry, and maybe it wasn't cooked enough. For some reason it tasted a lot like horseradish. I'm a fan of horseradish, but this flavor just wasn't good. I found the experience quite unsatisfying. I later tested the bread, making a kind of cheese sandwich with it, and it passed with flying colors. I can't see how it could be the bread. I told my friend about my experiences and asked if it was possible that it wasn't cooked enough. She said something like she couldn't imagine what they would be like if they were under-cooked, I forget the exact words. I'm not saying it was cold or frozen in the middle by the way.

The next time I had it on an english muffin with no bacon. I cooked the patty in olive oil, and I cooked it a lot, I thought it was good, just like the other time. If you like a kind of hockey puck type burger, it's not bad. And I admit I can enjoy a hockey puck burger. I guess the Boca burger should not be served medium rare. I also felt a bit better after I had one than I might expect to after a regular burger. I thought it still did taste a little of horseradish, but not in a bad way. My impression is then that it would be hard to cook it too much, and it's perfectly fine. And I'm glad that the bread I bought wasn't some crazy kind of super whole wheat bread that's inedible, though I think I'll stick to english muffins if I can. I know that the real test would be to cook it a lot and use the toasted bread, but we have to live in the real world. I also found myself thinking about putting tomato and lettuce on it, which is rare for a me.

The Parlour

I grew up in a house with a living room. I thought it was odd that the living room was like a museum. It had all the good furniture, and spending time in it was highly discouraged. That was for the family room. I guess I should feel fortunate that the furniture didn't have plastic slipcovers.

The only times we really used the living room were when guests came over. They would be entertained there.  OK, we did at times play some kind of game in there which involved a pillow because it was the largest space in the house. But it was highly discouraged, and I can't say I blame my parents for that.

I've joked about the name all my life. Apparently never tiring of the joke that the living room was for anything but living. Thanks to Bourdain I believe, I've recently become aware, though I may have known and forgotten previously, that such a room is more properly called a parlour. I imagine this comes from the french verb, parler, to speak, and it makes perfect sense. It's for welcoming and entertaining guests. To the modern ear that name sounds rather Victorian and old-fashioned, but it's accurate so why not use it? Why an ice cream parlour isn't called an ice cream living room I don't know.

Supermarket Options

I've never been to an Earthfare supermarket but I know it's not for me. I like a supermarket where you can get food from other planets.  And I also like a supermarket where you can get food chopped up, that's why I don't understand why people think Whole Foods is so great. At Key Foods, which is right across the street, there are no such restrictions.

I recently got a bottle of Gold's Hot horseradish there, and for all I know it's from Mercury. It looked pretty fresh though. But it could be, and I like that kind of uncertainty when I'm buying food. I had some in a bloody Mary. Now I bought some V-8 there for the bloody Marys too, and it's a liquid so I wonder how Whole Foods deals with that. I mean, the store's not big enough to sell Water (with a capital W). Now chickens and such, they're at least plausible, but I don't want the head or the feathers, or the intestines for that matter. I know it's better that way, but I live in an apartment and it's just not practical.

I wonder why they call it Key foods? The guy's name isn't Key, it's Dan, Dan's Key Foods they call it. I guess it has the foods that are Key. The shallots there didn't look very good last time, I bought onions instead. I'm starting to become a more savvy shopper. The onions were pretty fresh, they had juice coming out after you slice them. I would say they are pretty key, except they don't have bobolis and I don't understand why. It's a good product. The C-town with the identity crisis down the street has them. It's called Vitellio's now, and they give you your purchases in key food plastic bags. Another thing that's odd about that store is that the eggs are by the produce, not in the dairy section. Now, an egg, that's a good example of a whole food, I guess I wouldn't mind getting them at Whole Foods but I don't think it's worth a special trip.

Some Reasons for Developing the Moon

Ralph thought it was important for Alice to go to the moon, maybe he knew what he was talking about.  People think of the moon as a barren wasteland, but I can think of a few reasons why developing the moon might be a good idea. First, people are getting older. I think the elderly, and physically handicapped, would find life in 1/6 gravity a lot easier. It might prolong their lives too, and who knows by how much. This is potentially a practical solution to the problems associated with aging. And let's not forget about physical therapy.

Also, it would be interesting to do farming in 1/6 gravity. I wonder how plants and animals would grow. This could be a new frontier in gourmet and artisanal foods. Imagine for example marketing Swiss cheese made on the moon from milk from lunar dairy farms. You think Kobe beef cattle have an easy time of it now, imagine how tender they'd be if they were raised in low gravity. You could breed cattle, and other animals on the moon. The moon breeds would probably be much larger. How plants would respond to the low gravity and month long days would also be interesting.

With it's low gravity and spectacular views it would also be a great place to go on vacation.  Anyone who isn't that great at rock or mountain climbing, but would like to try it, could go there. People with a sensitivity to light could live on the dark side.