sometimes i have strange thoughts when i’m cooking:
1) why do you have to toast the bread before it swims in french onion soup?
2) how do bell peppers get air in them? and the seed-pockets of apples? how did the air get INSIDE ‘em?
3) why are there umpteen forms of pasta, but its all made with the same ingredients? elbow, ziti, angel hair, bow tie, etc etc etc ad nauseam. (rotini is a personal favorite, but i don’t know why because i don’t understand the differences)
4) why does cumin smell like BO??
5) why do i like cumin so much even though it smells like BO?
6) since cumin smells like BO, does BO taste like cumin? (ok- i’ll stop here)
do you think strange thoughts while cooking?
better yet, does ANYONE know the answers to these questions that plague me with every meal preparation?
25 responses so far ↓
Jen Griffin // June 12, 2008 at 9:10 am
I had to google cumin now…just for you! Here is something funny…..Love the first one.
Superstition during the Middle Ages cited that cumin kept chickens and lovers from wandering. It was also believed that a happy life awaited the bride and groom who carried cumin seed throughout the wedding ceremony. Cumin is also said to help in treatment of the common cold, when added to hot milk and consumed. Cumin tea is also believed to help induce labor in a woman who has gone post-dates with her pregnancy.
And then I found the reason it smells like BO…..Cumin’s distinctive flavour and strong, warm aroma is due to its essential oil content. See it’s warm….that makes you sweat everytime!
FYI- I find you to be very funny!!!
Jeff M. Miller // June 12, 2008 at 9:19 am
My 2-bit answers:
1. Toasted bread absorbs liquids much more slowly than un-toasted, thereby allowing it to float for a limited period of time. Kind of like Cheerios. They’ll eventually get all soggy and sink.
2. Osmosis.
3. Search me.
4-6. Who’s Bo?
BuddyO // June 12, 2008 at 9:43 am
You’re a hoot…
1) To drive the moisture from the bread so it can be re-hydrated and infused witht the flavor of the soup.
2) Good question… Wikipedia here I come…
3) Allows the sauce to cling differently. Then there’s gnocchi, the God of all pasta, made with entirely different ingredients.
4) You mean my son Bo or Body Odor? I guess it’s the same thing…
5) Umami
6) I don’t think so… If I lick the inside of my sneaker does it taste like Parmigiano-Reggiano?
@ngie // June 12, 2008 at 9:47 am
Strange thoughts while cooking…
How can the yucky tastes mix together and be yummy? i.e. flour (yuck) + shortening (yuck) + baking powder (yuck) + sugar (by itself yuck) + milk (ok - that one is yummy) = biscuits to die for (YUMMY!!!)
The air in the bell pepper question, good one. My mom would say, “That is something you are going to have to ask God about when you get to heaven.” As if I will care about bell peppers in eternal bliss!?!?
Heather // June 12, 2008 at 9:54 am
Good thought provoking questions.
And who is Bo? And why would you want to taste him?
Brandy // June 12, 2008 at 9:59 am
what do I think of when I’m cooking?
Why does it take so long to prepare a good nutritious meal only to have it devoured in less than 10 minutes? I mean, really.
The STRANGEST thing I have thought while cooking: Maybe Jake will clean up the dinner mess??
Cindy Beall // June 12, 2008 at 10:06 am
I was thinking the same thing as Heather. Who is Bo?
Anyway, Cumin is DIVINE.
And please tell me who Bo is and why he smells SO GOOD!
cathi stegall // June 12, 2008 at 10:55 am
scene: cathi’s in the kitchen, spatula in hand
cue angela lansbury innner-voice: “mandy’s a good cook. she thinks random thoughts when cooking. So, does that mean when I try cooking, I should think random thoughts too? YES! I’m sure it does…maybe that’s what I’ve been missing all along!!!”
Thanks mandy! Just so I do it right, this recipe calls for bell peppers, apples, pasta and BO…
asnipofgoodness // June 12, 2008 at 11:04 am
Why is some cheese actually made from mold, and yet we must throw it out when it gets moldy?
Natalie Witcher // June 12, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Uh, I don’t cook. Okay, I do, so I tend to think. “Why do I have to cook?”
Becca // June 12, 2008 at 12:37 pm
You’re hilarious.
mandythompson // June 12, 2008 at 12:39 pm
LOL!
please tell me y’all know i’m talking about body odor when i say BO? i should’ve clarified.
buddy-o: parmigiano-reggiano OMG!
jen: cumin in milk? that’s disgusting!
jeff: i don’t know how to search you. i tried.
mandythompson // June 12, 2008 at 12:40 pm
asnipofgoodness: welcome to the party! stay awhile!!!
Heidi // June 12, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Why do we eat curdled milk (cottage cheese) but throw the bad milk out?
Why does JELLO wiggle?
Kristiapplesauce // June 12, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I am so freaking hungry right now.
brent(inWorship) // June 12, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I have no answers for your questions.
Can I just stick with calling you crazy
mandythompson // June 12, 2008 at 5:01 pm
B: yes - anytime!
Corrie // June 12, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I have this theory..
that there’s no air inside the peppers until you cut them open. There’s just an empty pocket with nothing (I mean nothing, not even air - whoa) in it instead of mushy stuff all around the seeds like other fruits/veggies. Who knows what goes on inside those peppers before we cut them open..
I know, it’s a terrible theory. So basically, I have no answer. BUT, I asked my husband what he thought and he did a demo for me of pepper cells dividing with pennies to show me how it could grow with a space inside it. It makes me laugh just thinking about it because he was so darn serious.
There’s something else I need to say.. I’ve been a blog stalker. I am coming forward to fess up. Phew.. what a load off.
Corrie // June 12, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I forgot to mention.. Your blog is the first place I ever saw the bug eyed guy..
Sometimes, I scan through all the comments just to find that face before I read anything else. It’s only the second little face that has ever made me laugh out loud so many times. I mean seriously, that thing is funny
mandythompson // June 12, 2008 at 6:58 pm
corrie:
mandythompson // June 12, 2008 at 7:00 pm
in all seriousness, corrie, you have NO idea how excited i am to meet you!!! i always wonder who the nameless/avatarless readers are that keep coming back to this blog. there’s a whole slew of you. you just made me smile REAL big.
like this:
thank you for “fessing up” today! yay!!!
alece // June 12, 2008 at 10:50 pm
there’s so much love for the bug-eyed guy.
did you know that africans like to drink rotten milk? you can even buy it like that in the grocery store.
mmmmm….
Cheryl // June 12, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Why does sour cream have an best before date???
brainteaser // June 16, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Hehehehhe!
Funny thoughts while cooking!
Don’t have them coz I don’t cook.
brainteaser // June 16, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Ok. I boil water. Does that count?