(no subject)

Today was the last day of the big fall used book sale at my local library branch. To my chagrin, it was "fill a box for $10" day, which means I ended up with something like 18 books, including some information systems and user interface design textbooks, for $10. The box was far from full, but a combination of the tables being really picked over by this point and already having something close to 70 books tagged "unread" in LibraryThing meant that I wasn't in a big hurry to go fetch any more. Anyway, one of the things I picked up mostly for amusement value was The New York Times International Cookbook, copyright date 1971. The second ingredient listed for "Swedish Christmas Ham" is 1 tablespoon saltpeter. o_O Most of the recipe, in fact, is how to cure your own ham. Needless to say, a large percentage of the book is taken up by the sections on France and Italy, but I was pleasantly surprised to find at least small sections for recipes from places like Haiti, Fiji, Peru, and Benin (at the time of publication, it was still Dahomey). If anyone's interested in the recipe for Danish Fish Pudding, let me know. ;)

(no subject)

A cook? Nah, my Mamaw did her own cooking. I've been trying to replicate her buttermilk biscuits for ages, without much luck.

Your Score: Dixie Royal

You are 91% true Southern!

You are pure belle or gentleman! You know your Jones Soda, Nehi and RC colas, your Moon Pies and sweet potato pie; you'd absolutely die without air conditioners in the summer, and you've seen Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes (or read the book!). Your grandmother lives in an antebellum home and has a cook who makes the best fried chicken and asparagus casserole and summer squash and everything else in the world. And you know the taste of honeysuckle and the feel of grass between your toes.
You are blessed.

Link: The Southern-ness Test written by gwennykate on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test