Comments on Pens Fatales: Juliet's Appetite for Living

Karen, I think this stuff Julie's talking abou...

2009-08-16T11:28:20.016-07:00

Karen, I think this stuff Julie's talking about from Sweden is something worse than lutefisk. (One of my grandmothers was Norwegian.) I saw it on that "Bizarre Foods..." show. In Iceland, I think. The fish was fermented for an ungodly time, and it wasn't something Lutherans put on the table at Christmas time. It would clear a church in no time flat.

Julie, this is why I veered away from anthropology toward linguistics -- I was afraid of really strange food. Having lived in a few fieldwork-type settings as a kid, I knew the potential. You are a brave woman. When I taught at the tribal college on the Rosebud reservation, I had to consider the weird food dangers of various events. Dog soup. Raw buffalo liver. There weren't a lot of weird foods there, but those two were reason enough to avoid certain things.

The Swede was probably describing lutefisk, which ...

2009-08-13T12:21:18.250-07:00

The Swede was probably describing lutefisk, which is a traditional fish: it's cod soaked in lye. It has the consistency of jello or vaseline. My people have written songs about lutefisk, and everyone talks about how awful it is but it's always on the Christmas buffet table!

Don't worry...I'm not about to impose this...

2009-08-13T04:53:44.878-07:00

Don't worry...I'm not about to impose this sort of thing on innocent bystanders! And Camille, I love tomato in the grilled cheese. ;-)

Oh oh, I'm beginning to worry about traveling ...

2009-08-12T22:22:49.746-07:00

Oh oh, I'm beginning to worry about traveling together next week ... my idea of gourmet is to put a slice of tomato in the grilled cheese! I envy people who are brave enough to try "ethnic" food and actually enjoy it!

you are a braver woman than i--although my food ho...

2009-08-12T16:03:42.602-07:00

you are a braver woman than i--although my food horizons have expanded greatly i have managed to avoid seriously unique food :)

All I can say is, it's a good thing we were ...

2009-08-12T07:17:04.454-07:00

All I can say is, it's a good thing we *were* in the bar when Julie was describing all this to me, because I just kept drinking to steady my nerves and soothe my horrified stomach....she's a stronger woman than me!