The Omnivore’s Hundred

I stumbled upon this interesting little survey first through one of my fave sites I Want – I Got and then again through Chocolate & Zucchini and decided that it would be a fun little exercise. C&Z has the background on where this came from, essentially it’s a list of 100 foods that omnivore’s should try in life (well, according to this British blogger). I’m pretty open minded but there were a few things that I wouldn’t eat… everything else is fair game.

Bolded items are things I’ve eaten. Crossed out items are things I would never eat. 58 out of a 100 for me. NOT bad. Give it a try!

1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4. Optional extra: post a comment on Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese YUCK!
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Coconut Macaroon Pancakes

So I went underground for a bit while I kicked up my GMAT studying. That meant very little cooking, no blogging and lots of studying. All of my summertime hibernation paid off with a great score which means I’m back amongst the living!

I have a fondness for all things coconut. In fact my love for all things coconut rivals my love for all things pumpkin. So when I saw this recipe on 101 Cookbooks (Heidi Swanson’s site) I knew I had to go for it.

I’m not quite sure what happened but they didn’t turn out right at all. Check out the link below to see a picture of how Heidi’s turned out. Mine were a lot chunkier and not smooth at all. I found the finished product way too dense and chewy. By the end of third pancake I started to feel a little ill from all that coconut! There also wasn’t enough sweetness at all. The batter has a bit of honey/agave and while the pancakes are cooking you sprinkle some sugar on top. It just wasn’t enough. It may come down to the quality of the ingredients that I used — I may have needed to use better quality coconut.

I really like the idea of a coconut macaroon pancake so I’m not quite ready to give up on this recipe. Next time I give this a try I’d probably use more sugar/sweetener in the batter and replace some of the eggs with egg whites to lighten the whole thing up. I’d also reduce the amount of coconut and up the amount of flour. Maybe what I’m really after is a coconut flavoured pancake. With blueberries. Or lemon. Yum…

Coconut Macaroon Pancakes

1 14-ounce can of coconut milk
2 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar)
1 /4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose or regular pastry flour)
3 cups unsweetened dried shredded coconut
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs. whisked in a medium bowl
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a small saucepan heat the coconut milk and honey, bring barely to a simmer.

In a separate large bowl combine the flour, coconut, salt and baking powder. Stir the coconut milk into the flour mixture.

Whisk about 1/3 cup of the coconut mixture into the eggs. Now quickly mix the eggs back into the large bowl of coconut batter. Stir until well combined. You can do this the night before if you like.

Heat your favorite non-stick (or very well-seasoned) skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Drop a heaping tablespoon into the skillet, sprinkle the top with a bit of brown sugar. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Makes dozens of silver dollar sized pancakes, or a dozen or so larger ones.

(Via 101cookbooks.com)