Thursday, December 15, 2005
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Monday, December 12, 2005
Product: Wasabi Peanuts
Pack Size: Sold by weight
Fat per pack: Unknown
Calories per pack: Unknown
Price per pack: Unknown
Manufacturer's description: Snacks from Paradise
Warning: May contain nuts
Jane's brought me a paper bag-full of wasabi peanuts back from London (a store called Cranberry). Wasabi? I had no idea what it was. A quick Wikipedia explains that it will burn my sinus cavities. Now THAT's the kind of snack I'm after. I also liked this phrase from the Wikipedia, "Wasabi paste bears a superficial resemblance to Mexican guacamole, a popular staple of Tex-Mex dishes, which catches some North American diners off-guard". So it's a hot snack AND it makes fools of the Yanks, this just gets better.
The thing about these wasabi peanuts is that they look like big, old, crusty bogeys. There's no way of getting away from it, they just do. You need to get over this.
Aroma: well, I can't get anywhere close to the descriptive vocabulary of the label-guys at Lagavulin (see earlier post), the best I can do is to say that these smell of horseradish. Strong horseradish, perhaps with a subtle undercurrent of NitroMors and a delicate flowery finish.
Taste: Well it's a bit of an odd experience. Inhaling as the wasabi peanut approaches your mouth is to be avoided if these are new to you - the shock may well make your eyes water. Popping one in your mouth releases the full fury of the wasabi. It will make your tongue tingle in a most peculiar way. Crunching then releases the peanut inside to soften the bloodthirsty assault the wasabi is executing on your tongue. Choosing not to crunch can leave a part of the tongue feeling like it's been burnt. Finish: either another wasabi peanut, or, as in the case of several of my colleagues, water. I was particularly impressed by Pallen, who became the person I've seen "gipp" the most without actually vomiting when he tasted one of these. Perhaps he has a nut allergy? Maybe I should have checked? Hey-ho.
You're then left a little shocked and with the question of trying another one or not. Most of my colleagues graciously insisted that I keep the rest of the bag to myself (they're very 'giving' people) and so, acclimatised, I kept on munching.
Points: 9/10 Kiss them sinuses goodbye! Would have been 10/10 but they seem to lose a bit too much edge if not kept in airtight pack. Best to buy small amounts at a time. Would go well with a cold, very fizzy lager e.g. Budweiser.
Jane says: "I thought you'd like these"
Plans for Christmas at home are well underway, the tree is up, my two-foot tall novelty snowman and Santa balloons are annoying Jane and we have a Christmas pudding in the fridge.
This year the plan is a mostly family-free festive period. Last year I think taught us that our house gets a little crowded when even just the close relatives pay a visit. And we don't wish to be doing the 450-mile round trip down south this year. We just fancy a quiet one, and will be making up family-time later in the year (Motherboard is even threatening to pay a visit "topside"). And we can go out in Sheffield on Christmas Eve and have a couple of beers at non-South prices - as long as we head home before 20:00 when the Supertram will be shutting for the night (no, I don't know why either).
To get to the point of this post, I've been trying to decide what drink to consume over Christmas. Chris and Nick finally converted me to whisky earlier this year, and so I made the decision that this Christmas I would buy a nice single malt to see me through. The only problem was which one?
A visit to the Dram Shop only confused matters. After a bit of dilly-dallying I plumped for this one:
Lagavulin 12 year old cask strength (57.8% abv) own-bottling 3rd release (2003). The description on the box is quite intriguing:
"From Islay's most famous distillery, this vigorous 12 year old Lagavulin's smoky aromas soon become sweet and toffee-like, with some fruit and nuts. Adding water, you may see a slight cloudiness and catch a whiff of Arbroath smokies, the renowned Scottish smoked haddock dish. Tasting, a malty sweetness strikes you, accompanied by herbal notes and a touch of seaweed. Longer flavours are of pine-resin, dry, with plenty of fragrant smoke. The finish is pure Lagavulin - long-lasting, all ship's tar, ropes and polish. This is a powerful new member of the family, that reveals all the complexity of the 16 year old in an appealing, less rich style"
Or put differently: "This smells and tastes of fish, polish, rope, fruit, smoke and tar". I think I prefer their way of phrasing it.
I shall let you know how it tastes when it is opened on Christmas Eve.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
That has torn it.
Well i am sat at guildford station, it's been a mixed, emotional day to say the least. To typify my down south experdsience i am pleased to say that the train from woking to guildford (Although brand new) lacked enough seats to satisfy demand (It was well before rush hour) and i missed my return train by maybe four seconds. God i hate the south. Only jane's ipod with charlotte church is saving me. I hate dropped the phone and broken the keyboarde so sorry for spelling. It also doesn't help that i paid a visit to jon croxford's bar and he stocks laphroaig and bowmore. My lovely phone is tervery broken. Oh dear. My train will be here soon. Glad i am due to be at work in Sheffield in seven hours. Still, shit happens. have just looked at clock and my train is late quel suprise.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Yes, that's right - buy an electric screwdriver, get a free radio controlled car. Do these guys know their market or what!
I already have a screwdriver and a similar radio controlled car, but I cannot tell you how close I came to buying this. If Jane weren't with me, I would have!
Friday, December 02, 2005
Here's fun: Orange Calling Tunes.
Callers to my mobile are no longer presented with the decades-old, dull, boring 'ring-ring'. Instead they get to listen to 'Eye Of The Tiger' by Survivor until I deem it appropriate to answer their call. Brilliant!
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. It's been a bit of a busy time, but I haven't managed to do anything exciting. Except a bit of Christmas shopping that nearly ended with a picture of me on the front page of the Sun underneath the caption 'War in Woolies', first paragraph: 'A disgruntled Christmas shopper whose winter coat made him too hot in the Hillsborough branch of Woolworth's finally lost his temper when a second old lady buying just a newspaper pushed in front of him in the checkout queue. An enraged Phillip Kingston (29) was heard to shout, "That's it! I've had enough of this b*llocks!" before grabbing a He-Man sword from the nearby display and rampaging through the store, injuring 23 and causing several thousand pounds worth of damage.
"Shelia Wilkins, the only checkout operator on duty at the time said "I know we were busy and he had been kept waiting for quite a while - all the other staff were closing the doors and lighting stoves to ensure the store was as hot as possible, but it was frightening to see someone go berserk like that. He just kept shouting "By the power of Greyskull I will finish my Christmas shopping today" and started breaking things".
I can dream...