Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Food and drink

417 Responses

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  • giovanni tiso,

    It would be a dysfunctional marriage of mutual inconvenience for the ages.

    On the plus side: the theme from The Odd Couple would have to be our campaign song and it's worth its weight in votes. Damn catchy.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    Oh dear, there is a lot of self-righteous smuggery around cooking things the hard way, isn't there?

    I consider myself a good cook, but in my current situation (single, in my own apartment with an active social life) I just don't see the point. On the rare occasions that I'm home at dinner time, I don't really see the point of faffing around when there are perfectly tasty pre-made meals available. They don't require planning your meals in advance or buying a lot of ingredients that would be too much for one person and then go to waste.

    If I'm too tired to go out, then I'm too tired to cook. I have no problem paying a mere $12 for a ready-meal rather than $5 or so for the basic ingredients: to me, that's $7 well spent.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Danyl Mclauchlan,

    Oh dear, there is a lot of self-righteous smuggery around cooking things the hard way, isn't there?

    In my experience part of being 'a good cook' is learning when you can cut corners and when you can't. I now know that when I'm making pasta sauce using a can of whole peeled tomatoes is much cheaper and easier than peeling a bunch of fresh ones and the result is superior; I know I can use dried oregano but have to use fresh basil. I've found that the hummus you get at the supermarket is indistinguishable from the fresh made stuff and considerably cheaper unless you consume industrial quantities of the stuff, and so on.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 927 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Bell,

    Sir GP comes across OK on the [http://www.youtube.com/lawcommission | Law Commission's Youtube channel].

    Just reading through the Law Commission report. It looksl like it is trying to be all things to all people, but most of all not spook the liquor industry.

    The best thing about the liquor review is that is does cover a lot of ground and that it's not simply proposing 1 or 2 silver bullets. So while [http://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/alcohol-review-Oct07 | I've previously bitched and moaned about timid politicians and half-arsed solutions], the Commission's review offers up some fairly practical and palatable options - just so long as you're not among the [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0907/S00386.htm | "extremists and zealots at both ends of the spectrum who have been too strident and dominant for too long"].

    Wellington, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Bell,

    (Let's try that again...)
    Sir GP comes across OK on the Law Commission's Youtube channel.

    Just reading through the Law Commission report. It looksl like it is trying to be all things to all people, but most of all not spook the liquor industry.

    The best thing about the liquor review is that is does cover a lot of ground and that it's not simply proposing 1 or 2 silver bullets. So while I've previously bitched and moaned about timid politicians and half-arsed solutions, the Commission's review offers up some fairly practical and palatable options - just so long as you're not among the "extremists and zealots at both ends of the spectrum who have been too strident and dominant for too long".

    Wellington, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 175 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand,

    Nadia Glavish was a real hoot!

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    I am an excellent cook. (I really am. It's one of my few talents.) But anyone giving me shit for my Hubbards Golden Sunrise porridge sachets? Can bite me. Like I need to wake up 15 minutes earlier to add linseeds and slivered almonds to my rolled oats, and then leave a grotty pot waiting for me at the end of the day. More time in bed is my priority, so the sachets win. I imagine most people are able to decide for themselves where the tradeoff line is drawn without being told they're in thrall to the global food industry.

    New Zealand: I'm blowing it right now.

    I think we should use this as the slogan for any number of products.

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    This is the part where I confess that for quite some time I thought that Bluff oysters weren't real oysters.

    You should probably stay away from mock turtle soup, too.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • 3410,

    and mountain oysters.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2007 • 2618 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks,

    It depends on the type of pulses that one uses. Even if does take as much as an hour, you can have that on while you do other things in the evening and have it ready for the next day.

    Ah, this is what you meant by cooking it "from scratch" in ten minutes, then.

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Raymond A Francis,

    Have to say I have always thought the split age for buying/drinking a good idea
    But Craig has it right when he calls for the present laws to be upheld anything else is a waste of time

    I too wondered about "fresh" whitebait, Islander and I take these lttle fish seriously

    Must go and check how much I have left, frozen smartly after catching and it last for quite sometime

    45' South • Since Nov 2006 • 578 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Pshaw, Fore shore and Tubby shore...

    Bluff oysters weren't real oysters.

    sure they are,
    they grow on sham rocks!
    next to the faux pauas : )

    yrs shellfishly
    Al Turner-Tiff Oister
    My those are Stiff
    Little (Fish) Fingers...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    I've found that the hummus you get at the supermarket is indistinguishable from the fresh made stuff and considerably cheaper unless you consume industrial quantities of the stuff

    Hommos/hummus, along with felafel, would have to be some kind of benchmark for labour intensive. Which is possibly why it's claimed that God hates hommos, but loves tabbouleh.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    God hates hommos

    You're not telling me we got all this grief because of a misspelling, are you?

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    My standard dahl recipe includes an injunction to simmer over a low heat for about an hour. I wouldn't have thought the lentils would cook through enough in 20 minutes.

    Red lentils that aren't hopelessly old should cook in 20-25. Ditto mung dahl, those little green puy ones and the little black Beluga ones. I never ever touch the big coarse green brown ones -- they taste and feel like cardboard.

    I suspect the real secret to a lot of tasty prepared sauces is glutamates, if not as MSG then as the mysterious "hydrolysed vegetable protein." It's umamilicious. I keep meaning to buy some MSG from the local Chinese supermarket, and forgetting.

    sure they are,
    they grow on sham rocks!
    next to the faux pauas : )

    I'm awestruck. Oar-struck, even (it's the next step after gob-smacking).

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    Raymond, I had a bad season last year, and have only 3 250g containers left...each is enough to make a couple of decent fritters for special guests. I also take 'baiting seriously, and know that 'bait have been running in dribs & drabs for the past 2 months...which is why the comment made my ears prick: it isnt unknown for fishers to jump the gun-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Stewart,

    You mean you don't ferment your own soy?

    Philistine.

    Te Ika A Maui - Whakatane… • Since Oct 2008 • 577 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    I'm awestruck. Oar-struck, even (it's the next step after gob-smacking).

    If somebody poached Lyndon, Danyl, Robyn and Ian they could drive The Onion out of business inside of six months.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Ian MacKay,

    I agree with David Slack in having respect for Sir Geoffrey.
    Is it possible that those who decry his efforts need some protection for their own drinking habits? If you shoot the messenger who represents a great deal of research into a perceived NZ drinking problem, how can any progress even begin? I think some will be calling "Nanny State. Nobody's business but mine how I drink. I'm not doin' nuffing to nobody, and I bash any b..... who says otherwise!

    Bleheim • Since Nov 2006 • 498 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    Is it possible that those who decry his efforts need some protection for their own drinking habits?

    I think this may be an apposite time to quote Baudelaire (though when is it not?):

    "There are wicked drunkards; they are people who are naturally wicked. The wicked man becomes abominable, just as the good man becomes truly excellent."

    - On Wine & Hashish (p15)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    You mean you don't ferment your own soy?

    Considering I have gone so far in recent times as to bake my own bread, smoke my own beef, roast my own coffee, ferment my own pickles and make my own yogurt, I'm afraid that is more a tempting thought than a zingy putdown...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    My next project is making yeast, but purely for the interest in how it works, I wouldn't dare being prescriptive about the lengths that people must go to in order to stay away from the processed stuff. That said, I don't buy too many ready made things (apart from biscuits, I guess). I'd rather cook something simple instead, or opt for takeaways and cut out the middle man. It could simply be an upbringing thing as my mother I don't think ever bought a single ready-made sauce or dish.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    ferment my own pickles

    That Stephen Judd, you know he "ferments his own pickles".

    If you know what I mean </hubris>

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • uroskin,

    Bluff oysters

    Remind me of Cadbury chocolate.

    Re. drinking licences. Yes, licence drinkers instead of venues (btw - why is it you don't need a licence to sell cigarettes, which kill more people than alcohol)
    I would be in favour of being able to choose between a drinking licence and a driving licence, but you shouldn't be able to hold both simultaneously. You could switch between them but not on the same night.

    Also, there is actually no drinking age in law, only a legal alcohol purchasing age. So there should be venues for 16 to 25 years olds (where all other age groups are banned from, like we have in continental Europe) where young people can drink under supervision

    Waiheke Island • Since Feb 2007 • 178 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    Bluff oysters

    Remind me of Cadbury chocolate.

    They do??

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

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