Bashing through the snow...

  

 'Tis the season.  Let the festivities begin. I can't believe it's December already. Time for my favourite holiday, Christmas. Although, Halloween is fun too. Oh and watching kids hunt for Easter eggs is a howl. Wait, gathering for Thanksgiving is all good too. Can't forget about the May Two Four either, they'd take away my Canuck card.

     As you may have guessed, I'm a big kid at heart. I love the holidays, all of them. This year is a bit of an exception. There is nothing twinkling, spinning or sparkling. No tree. The scent of gingerbread isn't wafting from my kitchen. No paper, ribbons or bows. Poor me, right?

     Not so much. I'm moving into a new house on the 14th, probably the best present ever. I'm pretty excited, my own place. The timing might be crushing my normal Christmas routine but certainly not my festive spirit. So... my first Coffee Chat mash up, a bit of a rant and a little bit of an over all update on life here in the kitchen. One stone, a whole flock of birds. Gotta get packing after all.

     First let's bring everyone up to speed on life here in the Kitchen.
Moving, you already know that. Does that mean I have to rename the blog?
My other half has had his diagnosis confirmed, much more on that later in other posts. We're coping.
A good friend is getting married.
In Tuscany
At a medieval fortress.
By a priest from the Vatican.
On Friday the 13th
Appropriate austerity measures translate into 19 days in Tuscany this coming September. I Know.
And that pretty much brings you right up to date with life around here.

     Coffee Chat mash up. Time has been pressing so rather than try and keep up, I'm late for this week's prompt, Traditions and early for next week's Festivities, a two-fer with a bit of a rant thrown in for good measure.

     There are three holiday traditions near and dear to me. I wait, cook and gather.

     That's right, I wait. You will see no twinkling lights in my house until December. (You may still see them twinkling in March but.....) In a world of instant gratification, we seem to have forgotten the thrill of anticipation. Waiting to open presents, decorate, listen to Christmas carols, bake those once a year treats keeps it special. You all know that old saying, "familiarity breeds contempt", I agree. If I have been inundated with Christmas music since the day after Halloween, by December I feel like my ears will bleed if I hear just one more bouncy, jingling beat. Even if it is listening to Eartha Kitt purr through Santa Baby.

     I cook. Nothing says the holidays like the smell of fresh gingerbread, my slightly scorched version of Grandma Fisher's Christmas cakes or Grandma Craig's mincemeat. The tradition of hospitality has been and is alive and well in my family. My biggest regret this year is that I may not have time to get the gingerbread houses done, the hot pepper jelly my grandmother likes so much jarred and ready to take home. The new place may have to be Santa's sweat shop this year.

     We gather. The best part of any holiday. We get together over a mountain of good food and share. Lots of laughing and good cheer. Catching up on the latest, fussing over the newest, re-connecting with each other. We always have and hopefully we always will. And that my friends is what the season is all about.

     So (this is the ranty part, there may be cussing) all of you complainers stop pissing on my parade. If you are offended by my good cheer and wishing you Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa or Hanukkah, get over yourself. There is such a thing as being too politically correct and for whatever reason the holiday season brings it to absurd proportions. No I don't wish my Jewish friends Merry Christmas, I'm not an idiot and I actually know enough about my friends and colleagues to know what or if they practice a particular faith and when in doubt, Happy holidays covers my ignorance.

     I love being able to share different holiday traditions with my friends. I may never develop an appreciation for gefilte fish but I've had that silly dreidel song bouncing around in my brain for days.

     For all of you nay sayers, too commercial, we've lost the true meaning, news flash, any holiday is only what you make of it. Stores and media give us what we want. If we don't buy, they won't push.

    Too hectic, stressful? Again, only what you make of it. If you have to have the perfect meal, in the perfectly decorated house adorned with the perfect gifts, I have to wonder if it isn't more ego than effort. Relax, the best gift anyone can give is their time. That is a gift that keeps on giving.

    Take a moment, reach out to a loved one, recapture that child like wonder, believe in the magic of the season. The real gift is fellowship, religious or otherwise.

     Yes, I do think we need a day to commemorate the best in us. No, it doesn't mean it shouldn't last all year, shouldn't be every day but we're not that clever sometimes. We need the reminder.

     I think that's enough ranting.

     Here's a quick and easy recipe for some holiday cheer.

1 1/2 oz honey bourbon
1/2 oz Amaretto
4-6 oz white cranberry juice
Splash of ginger ale, so it sparkles
Over ice in an old fashioned glass ( or Mason jar)
Garnish with some fresh cranberries

Guaranteed to put the jingle in you bells.

     Now if you're still scowling all I can say is lock your doors and stay in well into January. There's Ukrainian Christmas to get through and you know I'll be celebrating.

Be a Man

     Today is International Women's Day. Why a post titled, Be a Man? As a society, we send out a lot of mixed messages. No where do those messages get more confused than in our treatment of women. This has been building since the Grammys so, time for a little bitchin'. I'm warning you ahead of time there will be cussing, lots of cussing.

     I can't express how disappointed I was that Chris Brown appeared not once but twice this year on the Grammys. Who was the idiot who dreamed that up? Then there were the tweets, "I'd let him beat me". Then there were his tweets about how he felt vindicated, he had an award. blah blah blah. Finally a bit later I ran across this article.
http://www.dramarama.ca/2012/03/rihanna-tells-miranda-lambert-to-pipe-down-about-chris-brown.html
Sure it's a bit of celeb gossip, how much is true?

     Well, Miranda Lambert has actually been quite vocal about how she feels about Mr Brown. Good for her, seriously , good for her.

    There has been so much, "We should all forgive and forget", bullshit floating around lately. Is our collective memory really so short? What exactly am I forgiving him for, other than being a complete waste of skin?

     Three years ago he beat his girlfriend into a hospital visit. Immediately hired a damage management team. Got a ridiculous sentence. Threw an adolescent temper tantrum after an interview and has generally just acted like a complete douche bag.  How could I not forgive you?

     I'm sure you're sorry your career took a hit. I'm sure you're sorry people are holding you up to scrutiny. What I haven't seen is the littlest bit of remorse, growth or contrition. I don't care what your Mom says, or your pastor, or that you come from a broken home or that there was abuse from your mother's boyfriend. You own your actions. Lots of people come from bad situations that never do what you did.

     Angry that after three whole years people still remember? Sorry, this is with you for life. It was a colossally stupid thing to do. You showed us your true colours. Ri forgave you, why can't I?

     She wouldn't be the first woman to forgive and go back to an abuser. She also has a career and reputation to protect. Being a victim doesn't really jive with her "good girl gone bad, don't fuck with me" image. No one is saying she can't make choices just as bad as yours. Like a moth to a flame.

     But hey, you're not alone. The list of high profile bastards who give men a bad name is a long one. Hell, maybe some day you will even approach, Roman Polanski status and get your own documentary made about you.

     Another one that completely mystifies me. Yes Roman, I feel your pain. I'm sure that 13 year old temptress overwhelmed your poor naive 43 year old self. Then of course you had the courage to flee the country. Who cares that for over 30 years this person has had no real closure? You couldn't come to get your Oscar. To all the people who think we should just let it go, by all means send in your 13 year old daughter as a party favour.

     Unfuckingbelieveable.  It kills me to hear people go on about, but he's such a ..... like some how talent erases what a complete piece of shit these guys are.  That some how the rules are different, or they just don't apply. I'm not denying they have talent, sure they do. Does that give them license to act like spoiled children? Taking what they want, regardless of consequences? Oh but wait, there are no real consequences. We embrace them then tell them how they are just so misunderstood.

     I find it ironic, Chris Brown's latest film project is, Think Like a Man. Everybody makes mistakes. How we deal with them is what defines us. Not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. Accepting responsibility, facing the consequences, trying to be better. Guys, for all our sakes, the best gift we can give women the world over on this day, stop acting like tantrum throwing adolescents. Grow a pair, be a man.

The Perils of Paul, Episode 3 - The Invasion

     You've read about the Cliffhanger, heard of my battles with the Evil Empire. It is inevitable that The Invasion should follow, the continuing saga of me.

     My house is an old semi detached. That means a limestone foundation and a shared wall. It also means lots of little nooks and crannies. Perfect for...., you guessed, Mickey and all his friends. That's right, mice, not a mouse, mice. I'm pretty sure he (or she) come from an extended family at least as large as mine.

    
     These aren't just any mice. These are the Cirque du Soliel, gravity defying, acrobatic mice. They preform death defying feats of climbing to get to the top of my fridges, occasionally stroll out to enjoy some television with us in the living room and have inspired some truly Mariah Carey worthy shrieks.(and I live in a house of guys) No one has ever mistaken them for a ladybug. ( I love that story Esther)

     Of course it is up to me to rid the house of these guests. Unfortunately, that isn't as easy as it sounds. Mice come where the food is. My housemates are varying degrees of pigs. That equals a never ending all you can eat mouse buffet. If you feed them they will come. Of course I have mentioned this but apparently they don't believe me. Obviously cleaning up after yourself is far more effort than dealing with a few mice. Especially since it will be me dealing with them.

     Sometimes it is no fun being king.



  

The Perils of Paul, Episode II: Battling the Evil Food Network

     As promised, the second episode in the continuing series, The Perils of Paul. This week, battling the evil empire, The Food Network. What? The Food Network, evil?? Sad but true. With tongue firmly in cheek, I prepare for combat.

     Personally, I don't watch. No explosions, zombies, car chases, pretty much too tame to keep me interested. Yes I have seen an episode or two of various shows but they don't really capture my attention, I'll explain later. I'm not the only person in my house and there are five televisions. Plenty of opportunity for the insidious evil to creep in.

Specialty flour

The latest of the designer salts

Duck fat

     Recognise these, your house hold may be in danger as well. Mine is littered with little (and not so little) packages of exotic salts, designer flour, I even have duck fat in my freezer. That's right, duck fat. Why? Well for duck fat confit of course. It has been taking up space for three years.

     I place the fault squarely at the feet of Iron Chef, Jamie Oliver, Nigella and all the others. Inevitably, these ingredients creep into my house after debuting on one show or another. To cook, one must have these rather exotic and might I add expensive ingredients.

    I don't care one way or the other, not my money. Here's the thing, they end up taking up valuable kitchen real estate, cupboard space. They never end up getting used. The Swan's Down flour incident did provide a laugh though.

     I use all purpose flour, for everything. I was told in no uncertain terms, by he who shall remain nameless,  Swan's Down was the sh*t when it came to cake flour. A must have. I believe Nigella boosted it, but it's not important who. The cake was made but unfortunately, didn't come with instructions about how to assemble the spring form pan the cake was to be baked in. Bottom goes in upside down, cake leaks all over the oven, Swan's Down flour never used since. "Cause of course, it's the flour's fault.

     Along with the ingredients come "authentic" preparation methods. That's how this came into my house.

A cooking implement or accident waiting to happen?

     Don't recognise a traditional coconut grating stool direct from the Philippines? How sad for you. Every household needs one, to be used once, then gather dust. "It's really hard to use", No sh*t Sherlock.

     Every meal becomes an ordeal. Each ingredient in it's own dish or container, every chopping board and mixing bowl pressed into service. Because there is that team of thousands behind the scenes, waiting to swoop in, clean up and set everything right before the next scene. Not so much, remember. Cooking bacon or sausage for breakfast now takes hours, because that's how-insert name here-does it. It brings out the flavour. Really??

     As much as I enjoy sampling different flavours and cuisines, I see no need to incorporate pig's blood, squid ink, parti coloured salt or civet crap coffee into my repertoire. I like bacon as bacon, I don't need it candied, in cookies or in cupcakes. Panini is just a grilled cheese, with an expensive panini press. You can call it charcouterie but it still makes a Ploughman's Lunch. It's all just spin.

     I miss the days of cooking with Julia Child or the Galloping Gourmet. It seemed simpler somehow. No extolling the virtues of the latest ingredient, no line of cookware to promote, no prepared line of gourmet treats. If I wanted to watch spoiled chefs behave badly, I'd go to work. I've seen a few. They are not like the majority of ones I have worked with.

      I get it, sell, sell, sell. We are a nation of consumers, they're giving us what we want. I find a lot of what I have seen to be more flash than substance, but, I'm not a regular viewer. Where are the canning shows? Where are the basics of cooking, you know, using what you have in your kitchen to make interesting, affordable meals. Showing you what the rules are before showing you, you can break them. Those are shows I'd watch. Ordinary cooks actually coping with day to day meals, on a budget. That should be the next Iron Chef challenge, a week of meals for under X amount of dollars. I'd be in front of the screen for that one.

     What's your favourite cooking show or what would you like to see on television? (Keep it cooking related LOL)

(disclaimer-Just in case you missed the "tongue firmly in cheek' reference earlier, I do not really think The Food Network is evil)    

    

The Perils of Paul, Episode I, The Cliffhanger

     Does anyone remember the old serial, " The Perils of Pauline". And before you ask, no I'm not old enough to remember the original airing. Produced in the '30's starring Evelyn Knapp, it followed the adventures, or misadventures of the heroine, Pauline. It always ended with a cliffhanger.

     Here is my cliffhanger.

The peril, navigating the kitchen.

 

     WTF, I kid you not, I cleaned the kitchen 2 days ago. It was immaculate. I have no idea why putting dishes away is such an effort. I guess it is more fun to try and pull the bottom ones out of the dish rack a la Jenga or Kerplunk. Shutting a cupboard door is apparently a crime, as is wiping a counter, taking out the recycling or closing the door on the dishwasher.(I had to close it to get into the kitchen, it was blocking the doorway from the basement) An empty surface just cries out to be loaded down with crap.

     Why the angst? None of these dishes or mess are mine. I hate cooking in a dirty, messy space. Every time I go to use the kitchen it is the same story. It drives me into a rage every single time. What really gets me, my room is directly under the kitchen so I hear every crash as someone tries to grab the bottom dishes, hear every, "Where is the ..., I can't find it?". It is right where ever you left it last time you used it and didn't bother to put it back.

     I've tried leading by example, screaming, yelling, being reasonable and nothing sticks. It leads to The Invasion and Why I Hate the Food Network, the serials to my perils.

    I mentioned for an extra $25 a month a maid could come in once a week, turned down flat. The main villain in the piece, "I'm not paying extra for something I can do myself". Then do it, far more often.

     I share my house with four tenants. They have changed over the years but the mess remains the same. Four other adults and my house looks like I'm chasing after kids to pick up their toys. I swear. A lot.

     Any helpful suggestions? Any perils in your house?

One of those days

     Have you ever had one of those days....? Those "Why me?", "What did I do to deserve this?", kind of days. I've had a couple in a row, made worse by the fact I had such a great time home last weekend with my family. They will be the source of the next couple of posts, after I clear my aura, release this negative energy out in to the universe and find my happy spot again.

     First, I arrived back in Toronto on Tuesday with a cold. Not really all that surprising seeing as how I spent half the weekend outside. It's that time of year, you can never really dress just right. No big deal, I'm a big boy I'll survive.

     My cable still isn't working. I am now on my fourth digital box in the last ten days. Rogers has been great about trying to solve the problem, but still it persists. I missed the second tech home visit because the technician called the house line rather than the number I gave the operator when I booked the appointment. I was home but I can't hear the house line from my room, or the door bell. Maybe the third time will be the charm. Again, no big deal, just kind of annoying. I'm vegging in front of a blank screen instead of bad television.

     Wednesday, I got a notice to pick up a registered letter and it was garbage night.

     Thursday, I'm off to work. It's dark when I leave. After work, I go get the registered letter. It's from the City of Toronto??? Curious, I open it and give it a quick read on the walk home. It is a notice of violation of city code. Huh?? I have failed to maintain my property free of graffiti. WTF

The offending portion of my fence

     What you can't see is the fact this is actually the third time my property has been vandalised. At the top of the fence in the left corner of the picture you can just see the graffiti that was sprayed on the brick wall before the fence went up. The graffiti on the fence has actually been done twice. I guess they weren't satisfied with the results the first time.

     So I guess being the victim of a crime isn't quite enough, I can face a fine, inspection fees and paying for the city to remove the offending material. I can not even begin to describe how pleased I am that my tax dollars are paying for an inspector to go around the city checking for these things. Rather than focusing on catching the offenders and having them make restitution, I'm on the hook for this one. Thanks.

     I'm not alone on this either. This particular graffiti is all over the neighbourhood.

     I continue on home and now I'm not pleased. Here is what greeted me as I approached the house.

A little further down the fence

      That's right, one of my beloved neighbours has once again dumped their garbage along the side of my house. I guess I should be happy they didn't block my driveway like they did the last two times. Seriously,  where was that inspector when the illegal dumping was going on. Yet another call to the city garbage collection, another complaint and a chance to try some new and colourful language and a few old favourites.

    Now it's Friday. Work is finished. I got out my sander and did my best to remove the offending material.

Doesn't that just look so much better?

I can feel property values rising even as I write this

A clean slate just waiting to be redrawn

     It didn't take all that long but the fact I had to spend a minute on it just burns me. It was on the list of things to do around the house but so far down as to be non existent. Why, because it will be re done probably before the inspector is by to see it was ever removed.

     So that's how my week shaped up. Going forward, I still have my cold, my television still isn't working, the garbage is still along side my house but that graffiti is gone. At least for now.

     Are you having one of those days, weeks, months? Feel free to share, misery loves company.

Agreeing to Disagree, Bitchin' in the kitchen, again

     It's Tuesday again, time for Coffee Chat over at Time out for Mom. This week's topic is a bit more controversial and I'm curious to see the dialogue that comes out of it. Read on at your peril, you've been warned. Some of the language may be objectionable or offensive. It's meant to be and hopefully I've done my job and put it in context.

     Normally, I wouldn't bother with something like this. Quite honestly, I'm not sure it deserves to get any more attention than it already has, but sometimes..............I stumble across things on the web that just make me wonder. Do we really not use our heads for more than keeping our ears apart? A sharp rap on the top of the head for all involved.

     I saw this on my Sympatico home page when I logged in a while back. Not my normal reading fare but...
I read the article, followed the link to the offending ad, read the Wiki entry and browsed through the comments. All of it just made me disappointed, in journalist integrity, in our tolerance, in our intelligence.

    It touches on religion, politics, the role of media, education, tolerance and children. All things it is far to easy to get all worked up about. Sorry, I'm not going to rehash the ad or the article you'll have to look at the links because it would end up being an even longer post if I do. I'll touch on some of it and leave you to make your own conclusions. Where to start? At the beginning I suppose, with the ad itself.

     Should the National Post have run the ad in the first place? Is it their job to censor what we read? I'm going to have to come down on the side of no, the ad should never have run. I have no problem with Institute for Canadian Values publishing their views, they have that right protected under law. Whether I'm for, against or indifferent to what they stand for is irrelevant. To be published in a national paper lending credence to their point of view, not so much. Not unless we are going to allow every group who can afford it to publish their own opinions regardless of the message they send. We don't.


     Let's face it, the only thing the newspaper is really concerned with is ad revenue and readership. At approximately $85,000 dollars for the ad and a whole lot of exposure because of it, how does the paper lose? They don't.


     The agenda for the Institute seems pretty clear, get our message out. What is that message exactly? That is a little harder to tease out.

     Why? At first glance, it actually looks like one of the " Because I am a girl " ads. It isn't.

      Reading the copy, it seems like its a criticism of our public school system and the sex education program. It isn't that either. There is no mention of the content of the curriculum being age inappropriate, incorrect, inaccurate, teachers poorly trained/prepared or the subject better suited to discussions between parent and child, dealt with in the home. What it does do is target a specific kind of information relating to a specific group of people.

    Now we're getting closer to the truth.

     What is the offending material? Anything related to the target group, the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-gendered) community with the Intersexed community thrown in for good measure. Wait, but what about Two Spirited? I don't see the word homosexual at all, what are you talking about? It was actually a clever move on the Institute's part. Two Spirited is a term currently used to identify the GLBT community within the aboriginal or First Nations community. Putting in the word homosexual would have guaranteed the ad would never have run.
     
     The rest of the ad goes on to talk about how students can't be pulled from the class, leaving parents no choice. Teachers have to teach the subject regardless of moral or religious grounds etc, etc. Again it sounds like genuine concern, but it isn't. Here's why.

     Parents have the choice to have their children absent during the days the offending material is taught, change schools, petition the school boards for curriculum to be changed, home school, private school etc.

     Children have the right to attend but not participate, ie not doing dissections in biology class. Put on an iPod, close your eyes, don't pay attention.

     These are not easy choices but standing up for what you believe isn't always easy. That is a lesson worth learning all on its own.

     Teachers teach. They are paid to relay information, not moral judgements, not their religious dogma. Don't like it, don't do it. Does a mechanic refuse to work on foreign cars because they are patriotic? Does a doctor have the right to refuse care for people of a different faith than their own? Of course not, the idea is ridiculous.

     My sympathies are for the teachers. They are in a tough spot. Teaching about sex, sexuality, orientation and sexual stereotypes is an incredibly tall order. These are challenging subjects for adults. I had to look up a couple of terms and I consider myself pretty well informed, let alone trying to teach these concepts to children.The only reason it's in the classroom at all is because we put it there. We don't, can't, won't , are uncomfortable talking about it so let someone else do it. Let's be fair, if even the majority of parents were talking to their children about these things it wouldn't be part of the curriculum. It isn't exactly a class like science, history or math.

    To my dismay the article and resulting comments about the ad weren't a whole lot better. Again, at first, it seemed like a rebuttal but turned out to be no more tolerant than the ad, only the target was different, the religious, painting everyone with the same brush.

    One comment that stuck with me went something like this- If we can't have prayer in school don't expect us to accept teaching about homosexuality. What? that's comparing apples to elephants.

     We don't have prayer in school because not everyone believes in the same God. Personally, I think kids would be better off if a moment of silence for worship were allowed then followed by discussion of all the different religions and beliefs but that is another post.

    Our sexuality, homo, hetero, bi or a is who we are, like skin colour or height. We aren't all the same and as far as a choice, do we tell or do we lie. Does anyone really believe we control who our bodies respond to sexually? We have the choice to act on that response or not, but that is about it.

     Why does all of this bother me? There are a few different reasons.

     The biggest one is are we still this hung up on sex, talking about it, understanding it. What happens between two consenting adults isn't anyone's business but their own. How is it an attack on someone else's beliefs? Why does this topic still raise every one's hackles?

     The next is are we really the age of stupid? What happened to intelligent news reporting rather than sensationalism and the 15 second sound bite. Is the ability to look at an issue logically, rationally and impartially lost? To the National Post and the writer of the article, if I can work it through, you can too.

    Are we really so intolerant? Notice I said intolerant, not unaccepting. The world is a big place with lots of different people, races and creeds.The beauty of living here, in a democracy, is the right to be as you are so long as you aren't hurting or endangering anyone else. The only thing we have to accept is that we are all different. You can agree, disagree or not care what someone else believes in, there is space enough for all. We all carry our own truth.

     To the Institute for Canadian Values, change your name. I'm Canadian, proud to be, you don't represent what I believe in or my values. Say what you mean, don't dress it up, don't hide behind political correctness or clever media savvy ploys. If your message is "We hate fags", have the courage of your convictions to say it loud. I don't agree but I can at least respect your right to your opinion and then give you and your organization the consideration it deserves, none.

     We live in a world where Matthew Shepard was beaten, tied to a fence and left to die. Because he was different, and he's not alone. We are good a using words like; fag, nigger, kike, slut, dyke, towelhead. Hiding them behind politically correct terms doesn't change the intent.  It is far too easy to marginalize, differentiate and segregate everything that isn't "us". The only problem is we all fall into a category for someone else.

     The question is this, do we teach our children to be strong in their own beliefs while respecting others and the right to theirs, or do we teach them to fear, mis-trust and hate. Sometimes we just have to agree that we disagree.




   

Bitchin' in the Kitchen

     It has been a while since I posted anything, too much too keep on top of at the end of summer. A family reunion, lots of fun, over way too fast and did I get pictures, well yes, two actually LOL. Canning apples, crabapples, tomatoes and all the variations of. It has been a little hectic.

     This was originally supposed to be a post about something I make at the end of summer, a bit different, something you might not think of. I decided to do a little checking around first to make sure the information I had was current and safe, big booster of food safety for the home preserver. I'd say canner but it wasn't a canning recipe per se. I was referred to a forum that came highly recommended because there were master canners on it who had lots of experience and knowledge to share. Sounds good, right?

     My experience on this forum is now the topic of this post, a less angry one because I have had some time to cool off. Here it is, my first, and probably not last bitchin' in the kitchen.

     I'm not going to name names or identify the forum, it doesn't really serve any purpose. My goal is not to discredit them or the people involved, only to maybe make people think a little before they type or speak for that matter.

     I was quite excited about this forum, from what I had read they were as concerned about food safety as I was and had offered decent advice on other topics I had read. In perusing other threads, I came across something which ran counter to what I thought I knew about a particular subject so I posed a question of my own. Big mistake.

    Rather than the information I was looking for I got referred to the threads I previously mentioned, which I had mentioned in my question looking for clarity and questioning why I would possibly want to do one of the things I had asked about. Thinking perhaps I hadn't been clear, I re submitted the question adding in what I knew about the topic. Now to be fair to all involved, my original query did mention I had been planning to gift what I was preparing, that's why I wanted the clarification.

     The next round of responses weren't quite as nice as the first. One basically called me irresponsible for wanting to gift something which was unsafe, another basically called me thick for being confused, while linking me to a pamphlet online which actually backed up what I thought I knew and ran counter to what they were saying. A quip "maybe a microbiologist could explain it better'  really got my blood boiling. At no point did anyone say "Oh, your understanding is flawed in this respect" and actually respond to the information I had posted.

     Another person asked a related question and got a "no responsible adult" response. Is it just me or is this becoming a little preachy and self righteous.

     Undaunted, maybe I really am a little thick, still thinking I'm just not being clear enough. I resubmit again, cutting and pasting information from the previously referred to articles that don't agree.

     Now I'm taking things out of context  and in other areas the information agrees. That's great, but I wasn't making the other things and I had no question about the other things. I had a specific question about a specific preparation and still two differing opinions.

    By this point, I'm now greatly annoyed and a little tired of being treated like an idiot. Rather than just dropping it like I should have, I copied and pasted the recipe, pointed out the differences and identified it as the continuing source of my confusion/concern.

     The final round of responses before I just abandoned the site entirely were just outright ridiculous. More implying I was irresponsible, the links had been provided for further information not recommendations etc etc etc all done in those annoying inappropriate capitals to emphasize a point. Hard to take very seriously and a big disappointment for me all around.

     After I had cooled down, I got to thinking about the whole rather negative experience and these are my conclusions.

     These people have no idea who I am, whether I'm concerned about safety or not, what level of cook I am, nothing. In an attempt to share what they considered a little wisdom or experience perhaps they were a little overzealous although I suspect I'm being kind.

     Perhaps the forum was not the right one to have posted my question. I really was looking for the microbiologist answer. I wanted the science and the why not just to have recommendations handed back to me that I had stated I already knew. My understanding of the science allows me to evaluate other recipes and preparations I find. It got me thinking, I could have asked my grandmother all about baking bread, she made thousands of loaves but if I had asked about the specific conditions required to optimise the growth of yeast, maybe not so much help. I finally did ask a microbiologist.

     My final thought on the subject, read the damn question before you answer. Make sure you understand the question before you submit an answer. If I'm providing specific information, that is what I want a response on, not your experience or your opinion and never your judgement. If you are providing additional information, make sure it agrees. What is the point of adding confusion?

     At some point we are all "newbies" and Internet forums can be a great place to find information. Is it really asking so much to be treated with some respect and to play nice? I will probably never visit the site again which is a shame. I'm sure there is lots I could learn and/or share but the whole experience has just left a bad taste in my mouth.

     And that's me bitchin'