Cloudy with low chance of meatballs

[vilakins]

9. Do you like meatballs? What is your favourite dish with meatballs? If you've made them, care to share your recipe?
No, because pork. I've found some recipes online using lentils or chickpeas which sound delicious, but have yet to try them.

10. Hector Guimard, French Art Nouveau architect and designer. was born in 1867. Do you prefer Art Nouveau or Art Deco?
I love both, but Art Deco is a little ahead. I just love the optimism of the era. Since I have an Art Deco Servie icon, I've deployed it.

11. National Napping Day - do you like to nap? Can you power nap?
Not really. If I doze off over a book, I don't feel refreshed afterwards.

13. In 1998, Thailand declared the 13th National Elephant Day, a day dedicated to the conservation of its elephants. Do you own anything made of elephant ivory? Would you feel uncomfortable owning an ivory item?
No, and I definitely would. I'm not sure whether the piano I played as a child and teenager had ivory keys; that's all I can think of. I'm glad they no longer do that - I assume.

14. It's US National Pi Day! Will you eat a pie to celebrate? Have you ever entered a pie-eating contest?
Our dates are in a logical sequence and don't work like that. Actually I'm making a vegetarian lentil-based cottage pie tonight, but I suspect it doesn't count, not having pastry.

Comments

[zoefruitcake]

Our dates are in a logical sequence and don't work like that

YES
Ha!

[gwendraith]

Mmmm, meatballs. I like mine with spaghetti sauce and pasta. Ikea sells them in 1000g frozen packs; beef and pork, chicken or plant based. Absolutely delicious.

I nap all the time and never really feel refreshed either.

[kerravonsen]

Funny, when I think of meatballs, I think of beef meatballs. It had not occurred to me that commercially-made meatballs would have pork in them -- but I suppose they're like sausages, which are just as likely to be a mix of beef and pork as they are to be pure beef or pure pork.

Indeed, I got taken by surprise when in the UK for a convention, that when I grabbed the hot breakfast option at the hotel, the sausages were all 100% pork. This was an unpleasant surprise. I do not like pork -- and of course you have even stronger reasons to avoid pork.

So far as I can tell, in Australia, the "default sausage" is either beef, or a mix of beef and pork. Pork sausages are NOT the default here.

[vilakins]

I think they usually have some pork in them here. I've had beef ones in the past but I'm just not keen on sausages and prefer to buy vegetarian ones, which are actually very tasty, if I go to a BBQ. When we were in the UK, I used to not get any sausages or bacon at breakfast; the eggs, baked beans, toast, and often tomato, set me up well for the day.

It's seriously hard here to buy savoury items from a cafe that don't have ham or bacon in them, and even harder to find vegetarian. Americans are nuts about bacon, but one who stayed with a friend here said he's never seen as much ham and bacon in his life. :( I'm just glad there's one cafe in town which has a nice variety.

[vilakins]

We don't have Ikea here. :( But I'd try the vege ones.

[kerravonsen]

Ham and bacon are delicious (yes, I am strange, liking them but not liking pork) but treating them as the only savoury option is very sad and limiting. Haven't they heard of mushrooms? Eggs? Cheese? Olives? Onions?

I'm also surprised how much focus is on pigs and not sheep. Isn't New Zealand supposed to be 500% sheep? ;-)

[vilakins]

Mutton is fairly popular down here, but I think beef is still the main meat. Pork doesn't seem common, but ham and bacon get into so many things I always have to look and ask if I don't see it: salads, macaroni cheese, sandwiches... I think cows took over from sheep because they pay better, which is a huge shame as they pollute our water.

[imhilien]

I love meatballs.

I like both Art Nouveau and Art Deco. I was glad that Napier (the Art Deco town!) was able to have its AD festival this year.

[vilakins]

Did you go? I've always wanted to, but I'm wary of crowds these days.

[imhilien]

I've never been, and I'm wary of crowds too these days. But it's a nice dream to someday go to it looking like someone from 'Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'.

[vilakins]

There are fun dress-up festivals here: Jazz and Blues (on currently, people can be as eccentric as they like), Steampunk, and Victorian, and I'm right here so don't have to worry about ferries and accommodation. You'd look great in Art Deco costume! Me, not so much, though I have the French bob. :)

[imhilien]

Thanks for that. :) I admire Oamaru for all it's fun dress-up festivals. Here I only see people dress up at the Armageddon conventions.

[vilakins]

That's very cool though! There don't seem to be any SF&F fans here.