i bought a bag a few years ago and they were quite remarkable. For me lemons were sweet, malt vinegar became sweet like balsamic and most striking of all it mellowed guinness out to be a very smooth drink.

Just the balsamic and olive oil is easier yet and considerably better in my opinion. The trick is to buy very good vinegar and oil. It's okay to get the expensive stuff because it lasts forever. I'm still on the same pint of balsamic vinegar I brought back from Italy almost five years ago.

Coment from the original YouTube poster:
"Actually that tree probably took closer to a thousand years to grow! It has probably been dying for a hundred years. Did you know that it takes around 80 years for a fungus to grow on the outside of white wood softwoods (balsam, hemlock, etc...) once the tree has been infected? Maybe you should google bark beetle kill photos and see what we are trying to prevent. Whole mountain ranges of forests dead within a few years far as the eye can see"

from http://www.agelesslove.com/boards/showthread.php?t=10717

Twas early in the spring when I decide to go,
For to work up in the woods in North Ontario;
And the unemployment office said they'd see me through
To the Little Abitibi with the survey crew.

Chorus:
The blackflies, the little blackflies
Always the blackfly no matter where you go
I'll die with the blackfly a-pickin' on my bones
In North On-tar-eye-o, eye-o, in North On-tar-eye-o!

Now the man Black Toby was the captain of the crew,
And he said "I'm gonna tell you boys what we're gonna do;
The want to build a power dam and we must find a way
For to make the little Ab flow around the other way."

chorus

So we survey to the east and we survey to the west,
And we couldn't make our minds up how to do it best.
Little Ab, Little Ab, what shall I do?
For I'm all but goin' crazy on the survey crew.

chorus

It was blackfly, blackfly, blackfly, everywhere,
A-crawlin' in your whiskers, a- crawlin' in your hair;
A-swimmin' in the soup and a-swimmin' in the tea
Oh the Devil take the blackfly and leave me be.

chorus

Black Toby fell to swearin' cuz the work went slow,
And the state of our morale was a-gettin' mighty low,
And the flies swarmed heavy; it was hard to catch a breath,
As you staggered up and down the trail, talkin' to yourself.

chorus

Now the bull cook's name was Blind River Joe;
If it hadn't been for him, we'd've never pulled through.
For he bound up our bruises and he kidded us for fun,
And he lathered us with bacon grease and balsam gum.

chorus

At last the job was over; Black Toby said "We're through
With the Little Abitibi and the survey crew."
T'was a wonderful experience and this I know,
I'll never go again to North Ontario.

Ingredients

4 tbsp Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 large garlicky Sausages
200g wild boar bacon or pancetta, diced
1/2 fennel bulb, finely chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 tsp Thyme, chopped
1 tsp redcurrant jelly
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
450ml chicken stock
410g tinned green lentils
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp crème fraiche


Method

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions and garlic. Fry gently over a medium heat.

2. While the onions and garlic are cooking, heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages for 5-10 minutes, until browned on all sides. Cut into bite-sized chunks and pile into a casserole dish. Set aside.

3. Add the pancetta, fennel, carrot, and celery into the saucepan with the onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the thyme, then add to the casserole with the sausages.

4. Stir the redcurrant jelly and balsamic vinegar into the chicken stock and pour into the casserole with the sausages. Bring to the boil and then add the lentils. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the lentils are tender.

5. Mix the crème fraîche and wholegrain mustard together in a small bowl.

6. To serve, spoon the casserole into a large serving dish and drizzle over the mustard crème fraîche.

Good tips for boiling potatoes. Over boiling and over mashing is so common.

Another tip- add sauteed onions or shallots and a teaspoon or two of balsamic or red wine vinegar. Sounds weird, but is really good. You'll need less salt if you put in something sour. Much healthier with less salt!

LOL! You didn't by any chance stumble onto one of these? That might scare a lot of people off. There's quite a bit of variation in that playlist, though, so you may perhaps find something you like as well.

In reply to this comment by legacy0100:
I tried listening to your 'ear balsam' playlist. I made it through 30 seconds of one of your videos and closed the window.

Apparently we greately differ when it comes to musical taste

I tried listening to your 'ear balsam' playlist. I made it through 30 seconds of one of your videos and closed the window.

Apparently we greately differ when it comes to musical taste

Goodbye, Mr. Newman. You gave us many wonderful portrayals, such as the uncredited fight spectator in The Joe Palooka Story, and Billy the Kid in The Philco-Television Playhouse.

Thank you for not showing your exposed genitals while exiting a car.

This one is for my homies. *pours balsamic vinaigrette on the ground*

..runs to the fridge in search of Macerated Okanagan Sorbet Truffles Wrapped in Spicy Roasted Halibut with Maple-Tamarind Soup and Balsamic Matsutake Mushroom Potato Rosti..but finds a metaphorical fishbone instead..

oh, how I wish I was there then..damn Ocean;)
Great job!:)

Totally psyched. I've got some great ideas working. I can't 100% commit that this will be exactly as you guys see it tomorrow night, but this is the plan so far:
VideoSift Tasting Menu 2008

Thai Coconut Soup
With Sunflower Sprout Tempura

Smoked Duck Salad Roll
Spicy Mango-Soy Dip

Pan Roasted Halibut
Stir fry of Wild Chanterelles

Seared Quebec Foie Gras
Tomato “Brioche”, Salad of Green Olive, Almond, Mandarin Orange, Cherry Tomato and Frozen Grape

Salad of Heirloom Tomatoes
Balsamic Reduction, Fresh Mozzarella “Crouton”, Thai Basil, Black Volcanic Salt

“Scallop Wrapped Bacon”
Grilled BC Matsutake mushroom, oven cured Butternut Squash Chip

Grilled Baby Romaine
Spicy Eggplant and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano

Sorbet
Grapefruit and Sambuca

Seared Lamb
Maple-Tamarind Jus, Fiddlehead Tart

Grilled Beef Tenderloin
Potato basket, roasted Baby Beets

Chocolate Sour Cherry Bread Pudding
Macerated Okanogan Strawberries

Lavender Chocolate Truffles


I got a bunch of prep ready for it today, so it'll be awesome whatever happens. Bring yer appetites, folks!