We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.

Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.

I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
If I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth, and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

If the singular is this and the plural is these,
Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be named kese?

Then one may be that, and three may be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose;

We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.

The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!

So our English, I think, you all will agree,
Is the craziest language you ever did see.

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?

Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through?

Well done! And now you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.

And dead; it's said like bed, not bead;
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!

Watch out for meat and great and threat;
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.

A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.

And here is not a match for there,
Or dear and fear for bear and pear.

And then there's dose and rose and lose,
Just look them up, and goose and choose.

And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword.

And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I've hardly made a start.

A dreadful language? Why, man alive,
I'd learned to talk it when I was five,
And yet to write it, the more I tried,
I hadn't learned it at fifty-five!

It is a yeast extract that is not dissimilar in taste to demiglaze stock off the bottom of a pan (ie. stock boiled down to the consistency of, well, vegemite...)

Aka, incredibly concentrated.

With melted butter on toast, you apply would be lovingly described as a smear. You mix it with the melted butter to form a savoury topping rather than a "good old US PB&J thickness coating".

As an aside, a single teaspoon of vegemite makes a reasonably strong broth in a mug that is great for sore throats.

But please America, keep on spreading it on like cake frosting, we love the videos... =D

I like to make my own stock from my veggie peelings and trimmings, I simmer them with a bay leaf and it ends up working pretty well.

Other times I use Massel veggie stock in a tin - http://www.massel.com.au/products/stock_powder.shtml - it's hard to find ones which don't have either MSG (I don't like the chemically after taste of MSG) or palm oil or trans fats (from Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil for instance) but that one is pretty good.

Another nice soup is spring vegetable soup, like this one:
http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com.au/recipe.php?title=spring-vegetable-bean-soup

Or for the left over split red lentils, these koftesi have almost the same ingredients as the soup but make a quite different meal:
http://vegweb.com/recipes/kirmizi-mercimek-koftesi-red-lentil-burgers

Finally, a hearty soup for carnivores is Scotch broth:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/lamb-recipes/scotch-broth-with-winter-root-veg

It's interesting you mention Tamari, my Dad uses gravy powder in his veggie soup Strangely, the gravy powder I have is vegan... not sure how that works, but it tastes spot on.

MMmmmmm... a few things to consider adding to a basic water/oil/savories type stock for anyone not wanting to use meat or chicken:

Tamari, Bragg's All-Purpose Seasoning, or there's this really good brand of vegetarian boullion Better Than Boullion, comes in about 5 varieties, including lobster and shrimp-You might also try some Traditional Molé, the Mexican paste used for tamales and other dishes...

This is a great basic procedural for most broth based, hearty soups-Nice one, oritteropo

Mmmmmm, loves me some Split Pea Soup now that I'm thinking about it....

netrunner is right about the cause of the increase in foodstamp recipients

but... i also agree with bobknight - your last paragraph has a bit of hyperbole... he's not whitewashing - if anything, newt's words dig him a deeper hole with the left, and even some on the right... but there is a resonance of truth for many - putting things bluntly can be labeled 'racist' but it doesn't necessarily need to be so

imagine a hypothetical scenario wherein herman cain gives a stump speech to a predominately white crowd in a west virginia coal-mining community... he tells them to "stay in school" and stresses the importance of education in bettering one's station in life -- racist?

gingrich's broth of reasoning lacks a necessary dash of empathy to make the recipe for recovery more popularly favorful... that, imho, is why he won't get the nomination

>> ^lucky760:

Toss a little soy sauce in there and you have lunch. Crunchy and salty. Yum!


Throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you've got a stew going!

I've had sharkfin soup several times, and he's right there isn't much flavor in the fin by itself if you get the expensive one.

the cheaper ones have more fishy type flavor...

the same idea is similar to bird's nest soup. The cheaper ones have a funky gamey little bitter flavor while the more expensive ones are sorta neutral taking on the flavor of the broth and surroundings.


I've only had cheap bird's nest soup cause that is one dish that can reach thousands of dollars in different areas.


The best sharkfin soup I've had was actually in Iceland, but I've also ate Puffins in Iceland also which are a delicacy.

Those are really the only 3 "controversial" items I've ate, but being from south I eat many things people would frown upon.

From baby deer, to gators in the deep south, we'd eat just about anything or at least try it once

http://idioms.yourdictionary.com/too-many-cooks-spoil-the-broth

What's the punchline for the broth? I don't get it.

Where I come from, we call meat water "broth".

What'd they do, pour beef broth all over him?

"A cup of..." "...Chicken broth"

Wait, what??????

LOL made me do a double take on that one LOL

It got cold here again, but no snow. Best thing for the flu is take some pain relievers, turn the thermostat up, and FLOOD yourself with hot fluids.. tea, soup, broth, veggie juice. Just ridiculous amounts. And hole up w/ a Planet of the Apes marathon.. Anything Heston will do though. Omega Man, Soylent Green. You get the idea.

Feel better

After watching more videos on tasting menus I have come to appreciate what they are. I guess I more rail against the restaurants that serve up tiny dishes as THE meal... no large number of courses.

I would have been there in a flash if I were anywhere near Vancouver!

I've discovered a highly regarded restaurant which does tasting menus a couple of hours from me... one day I shalst go.

Good luck, hope it goes well.

In reply to this comment by djsunkid:
Mheh- too bad you're missing out on this:
http://www.videosift.com/talk/Sift-Up-in-Vancouver-Whos-Coming#comment-526180

No dandelion petal unfortunately, but each course will only be a few bites.

Then again, it is 12 courses, not just 3 or 4

In reply to this comment by spoco2:
>> ^djsunkid:
Sorry, have to downvote. It was a reflex reaction when they showed mcdonalds with fine dining over it. Want to see american fine dining? Try Alinea or MOTO or The French Laundry, or WD-50, or any of a hundred different places. America actually does have a cuisine. STFU. Fucking big mac. Argh.

I just watched the Alinea video, and while I'm sure the food is delicious, I HATE that form of cuisine...
"Here is your main meal sir"
"Where?"
"There sir, on the plate"
"I can see a flower petal on a stick"
"Yes sir, that is your meal, a dandelion petal infused with Yak butter broth, perched delicately atop a reduction of baby seal flipper, drizzled with aioli and ground camel hoof."
"Well, that sounds great, but I think I'll eat that in, erm, one, maybe two mouthfuls"
"Ahh, but of course, you just need to order another 18 courses sir"
"This one cost me $45 on its own!"
"Is sir a cheapskate?"
"No, but I do need to pay the bills"
"I scoff at you sir... scoff"

Really, a complete wank... I enjoy good food, I enjoy food with great presentation, but I can NEVER come at food where the portion sizes are so insanely small that even after a 3 or 4 course meal you're left empty. I don't suggest just going to a steakhouse and getting the largest damn slab o' meat you can, but come on, I go out to EAT not to sample.

Mheh- too bad you're missing out on this:
http://www.videosift.com/talk/Sift-Up-in-Vancouver-Whos-Coming#comment-526180

No dandelion petal unfortunately, but each course will only be a few bites.

Then again, it is 12 courses, not just 3 or 4

In reply to this comment by spoco2:
>> ^djsunkid:
Sorry, have to downvote. It was a reflex reaction when they showed mcdonalds with fine dining over it. Want to see american fine dining? Try Alinea or MOTO or The French Laundry, or WD-50, or any of a hundred different places. America actually does have a cuisine. STFU. Fucking big mac. Argh.

I just watched the Alinea video, and while I'm sure the food is delicious, I HATE that form of cuisine...
"Here is your main meal sir"
"Where?"
"There sir, on the plate"
"I can see a flower petal on a stick"
"Yes sir, that is your meal, a dandelion petal infused with Yak butter broth, perched delicately atop a reduction of baby seal flipper, drizzled with aioli and ground camel hoof."
"Well, that sounds great, but I think I'll eat that in, erm, one, maybe two mouthfuls"
"Ahh, but of course, you just need to order another 18 courses sir"
"This one cost me $45 on its own!"
"Is sir a cheapskate?"
"No, but I do need to pay the bills"
"I scoff at you sir... scoff"

Really, a complete wank... I enjoy good food, I enjoy food with great presentation, but I can NEVER come at food where the portion sizes are so insanely small that even after a 3 or 4 course meal you're left empty. I don't suggest just going to a steakhouse and getting the largest damn slab o' meat you can, but come on, I go out to EAT not to sample.