I took a look at my cousin's blog and found this very interesting meme which came from The Omnivore's Hundred (which originates at Very Good Taste).

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

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 (stable for breakfast still today)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (apple, strawberry, gooseberry)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries (strawberries literally in a field in Newfoundland)
23. Foie gras (thanks to my sister)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
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 (mango not salted alas)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Med school graduation party)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (eaten in Bangkok and paid for this later that night)
43. Phaal (also paid for this later)
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth US$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 (absolutely not....not sure if I would even if I was dying of hunger)
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

I have eaten/drank 71 of the items which is not really surprising as I am food obsessed, willing to try anything once (except Roadkill), grew up on two continents and love to travel. The best thing is I have another 28 items to try!

Lucky number 8

Michael Phelps has now won eight gold medals at this year's Olympic games. 8 is a lucky number in Chinese as it is a homonym for prosperity. The Beijing Olympics commenced at 8am on the 8th day of the 8th month of 2008. At Milton Hospital, there was a new record set in 2008: 8 deliveries in a 24 hours period. Not bad for a hospital who average is 3 per day and has only 11 postpartum beds. Unfortunately, unlike Phelps, there won't be a million dollar pay cheque for Milton.

The night the lights went out....

Our first time at Supperworks was a lot more fun than I anticipated. Red and I were somewhat apprehensive but after "assembling" a few meals, we both relaxed and got into the swing of it. Her choice of the Kid's Mac and Cheese dish was however the most challenging to assemble as it required use of a microwave to heat the milk and cheeses followed by some serious blending!

The Pulled Chicken was the easiest to assemble by far (and I did two full meals). The best smelling pre-cooked dish was the Korean Orange Spice Flatiron steaks. As a wicked thunderstorm raged outside, we sipped on our glasses of wine and snacked on shrimp dip as we put together our meals. Then, the inevitable happened, the lights went out and did not come back on.
This led to measuring ingredients by flashlight before the staff of Supperworks lit the towers of candles which I suspect had been use primarily for decoration until this night.
Checking to see if the ground beef was properly mixed as the greatest challenge even by candlelight. Of course, the proof of the meal quality is in the eating which I'll be checking out (and reporting on) in the next few weeks.