Norwegian sushi....

Today I was sitting outside the cage (our little coffee joint at Olaf), and I noticed a sign...at first i didn't actually believe it but the closer I got ....hmmm...yup St. Olaf is now serving sushi to it's student population. Oh boy oh boy. Nothing like a plate of raw fish to get a person going. Now maybe if this was authentic sushi made proper I would be somewhat interested. However being that it is St. Olaf, land of the Norwegian sweaters belonging to a middle-class yuppies who desperately want to grasp on to any shred of international culture so people think they are truly connected with the world at large, .....I had my doubts. On closer inspection I found yes indeedy...this so called "sushi" was made from imitation crab. You know what I am talking about. That really wierd looking white and Neon red sticks, that are slightly rubbery, naturally fat free, and worth a $1.89 at you nearest food store. My first thought is gross....my next one is What the hell is imitation crab anyway....

Imitation crab....What is that exactly. I think this topic is worthy enough to explore on a blog. (this is for all you people out there who have commented on how worthless and pointless my blog is. Well bite me..., I have read your blogs and personally, I hardly see how going on and on about how wholly pathetic your love life is, or how much you miss your boyfriend are better topics for discussion. Get laid and shut up.....).....

So imitation crab, It sure as hell isn't sushi. I had my doubts that it was even made out of fish. My vote was on some wierd mixture of plants...Well this made me curious enough to want to know ( i was trying to avoid reading my psych homework and it was a great mode of procrastination) So on a hunt for truth, justice, and the pursuit of worthless knowledge that i will probably forget in a matter of minutes, I went to the fountain and source of all knowledge....thats right folks...Wikipedia ...

apparently it's actually name is Surimi (???, lit. "ground meat" in Japanese) : a product made from white-fleshed fish (such as pollock or hake) or lean meat that has been pulverized to a paste and attains a rubbery texture when cooked. Surimi is a much-enjoyed food product in many Asian cultures and is available in many shapes, forms, and textures. The most common surimi product in the western market is imitation or artificial crab legs

In the west, surimi products are usually imitation seafood products, such as crab, abalone, shrimp and scallop, however several companies do produce surimi sausages, lunchmeats, hams, and burgers. A couple of examples include: Salmolux salmon burgers, Seapack surimi ham, SeaPack surimi salami, and Seapack surimi rolls. A patent was issued for the process of making even higher quality proteins from fish such as in the making of imitation steak from surimi. So it actually is fish... I stand corrected .... thank you wikipedia.

Oscars and Ice Cream......

So I am slowly building to a new exciting series of rants centering around the Oscars which I know are going to screwup once again, as most of the flims/ actors/ actresses, nominated make me want to vomit. I have been working on this series for quite some time so be prepared for a constant stream of update...More to come on that. Moving on. Time for an update I think.....Ready for this ...

I am still in college.

satisfied....I think that about sums up my life at the moment.

On to bigger and better things....Like ice cream. Well first, I don't think I post enough positive blogs. Second last week a group of my friends and I went up to the mall of america...not only did i get a really cute skirt (I kid you not) and shirt I had the best ice cream I had ever eaten, and personally I do consider myself a conoisseur of sorts. Thus I give you ice cream. What is this manna sent from the Heavens? Why divulge in its creamy goodness......Being as I am from Milwaukee and love ice cream so much.

( oh Fyi, most of the following story I have found from various sources including wikipedia and "The History of Ice Cream", written by the International Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers (IAICM), Washington DC, 1978. So when you become skeptical and overly critical about my personal rendition of the history of ice cream ...you can do several things...first take a very large bluggening tool such as a bat or sledge hammer, and then raising your preferred tool of choice high above your head beat yourself with it, second you can then shove your foot up you prostieror, and then finally die a horrible miserable death)

The History of Ice Cream
by
susan

Once upon a time, centuries ago in a country ravaged by an epidemic of bad teeth, a rather weak ruler named Charles I of England hosted a sumptous state banquet for many of his friends who would later stab him in the back not unlike julius caesar and equally weak-willed family members. The meal, consisting of many delicacies of the day, had been pretty desent and all but something was missing...it needed that little zing.... After much preparation, the King's steriotypical french chef with a bad accent had concocted an apparently new dish which in reality was stolen from the chinese by Marco Polo who saw ice creams being made during his trip to China, who then on his return, introduced them to Italy and Catherine De Medici, stupidly passed it along to the chef of Charles the I instead of cashing in on an untapped market. It was cold and resembled fresh- fallen snow but was much creamier and sweeter than any other after- dinner dessert. The guests were delighted, as was Charles, who summoned the cook and asked him not to divulge the recipe for his frozen cream. The King wanted the delicacy to be served only at the Royal table and offered the cook 500 pounds a year to keep it that way. But then as we all know sometime later, however, Charlie royally pissed off parliment and got his head removed in 1649 by a slightly smarter individual named Oliver Cromwell. The recipe went underground for awhile until 1774, when an even smarter individual, a caterer named Phillip Lenzi, realized he was sitting on a goldmine, and not suprising went to America and announced in a New York newspaper that he had just arrived from London and would be offering for sale various confections, including ice cream. Then it took america by storm, becoming a delicacy for the elite. For example Dolley Madison, wife of U.S. President James Madison, served ice cream at her husband's Inaugural Ball in 1813. The first improvement in the manufacture of ice cream (from the handmade way in a large bowl) was given to us by a New Jersey woman, Nancy johnson, who in 1846 invented the hand-cranked freezer. By turning the freezer handle, they agitated a container of ice cream mix in a bed of salt and ice until the mix was frozen. Because Nancy Johnson, that wench, lacked the foresight to have her invention patented, she didn't get to have her name plastered on the patent records and did not get to rack in some serious cash. A similar type of freezer was, however, patented on May 30, 1848, by a Mr. Young, a youn man who apparently wanted to get in Nancy's pants...by calling it the "Johnson Patent Ice Cream Freezer". What a guy....Commercial production was begun in North America in Baltimore, Maryland, 1851, by Mr. Jacob Fussell, the smartest individual of all, now known as the father of the American ice cream industry.


and that my dears is what i am talking about. Oh and by the way check out the cool pic. I kind of DJ'd a 1920's speak easy party. Note very cool hat I bought from Ragstock for the low low price of $6.50 hell yeah