Food for thought.

[songbird_slayer]

Sender: Madhuri Qalli
To: Everyone
Subject: Language is strange!


I was writing up menu ideas for next month and a thought occurred:

Should I list hot dogs under 'sandwiches', and a bowl of cereal under 'soup'?

Comments

[seemagicshit]

Well funny story about that, I'm ethnically from one culture, but grew up in another where we do have miso for breakfast sometimes.

BUT FUCKING CEREAL I WILL FIGHT YOU.

[songbird_slayer]

So passionate! That's what I like about you. Why isn't cereal with milk a soup?

[seemagicshit]

The kneejerk reaction? It's fuckin' nasty!

The actual reason? A soup has a broth of some kind, be it vegetable or meat based. Milk isn't a broth so it doesn't count.

[songbird_slayer]

What about cream-based soups?

[seemagicshit]

While I respect that certain soups do call for eggs and cream and even a little milk and shit like that, that's different from cereal, because that's ALL milk.

Plus, you lean too hard into the cream and your broth, then it thickens up and then suddenly you've got stew. Which also isn't soup.

[songbird_slayer]

What makes a stew a stew as opposed to soup?

[Love you, Zhao.]

[seemagicshit]

There probably is a hyper technical reason.

For me, if your broth thickens up enough and you've got massive pieces of steak and potatoes and shit and it's got a certain heartiness? Congrats, you evolved to stew.

[songbird_slayer]

There's always a hyper technical reason. Like how things brown as you cook them. There's a word for it, but I can't truly be bothered to know what it is and what egghead coined and patented the phrase.

Ohooo, I see, I see. Food evolution, that's a good way of putting it. I recall a time I tried to make a chicken and wild rice soup, but wound up with risotto instead. I suppose the rice was extra thirsty.

[seemagicshit]

And there you go, you made a happy accident with food.

Usually the only accidents I've made with food are overcooking and that's just a sad waste.

And we haven't even touched on your other question. I don't eat a lot of hot dogs or sandwiches so I'm not as invested in that one.

[songbird_slayer]

No real steak in it, that's fine. That's fair.

What's something you'd eat every day, then, while you pass by all those hot dogs and sandwiches in your life?

[seemagicshit]

Rice. Not even a question.

Also kimchi but I haven't found that anywhere since I got here. So right now, just rice.

[songbird_slayer]

I've heard of kimchi before...

Wait. I have an idea. Do you think you can dream of it and recall the taste of it?

[seemagicshit]

There's different ways it's prepared, but I can probably dream about it easily since I haven't had it in so long.

Are you saying I can dream kimchi into existence?

[songbird_slayer]

You could if you're able to conjure with dreamotion! But I'm also thinking- if I can taste it- I could possibly try to identify the different ingredients and try to make similar once I wake.

[seemagicshit]

Really? Like I said, there's different kinds, but if I thought pretty hard, I probably could give it a whirl.

A fun goal to achieve anyway.