...in case you were hold your breath, fretting about the results of my ginger beer experiment, you can rest easy. It worked, sort of. I thought it tasted terrible, like a yeasty, ginger-y carbonated lemonade. But everyone said it was nice. I think they were just being polite. Half the bottle was left over and it's been sitting in the fridge for a week. I'm going to throw it out.
But everyone did seem to enjoy my hot pumpkin (bread) I served with it. Pumpkins are everywhere here, even the little supermarkettes next to gas stations and liquor stores usually have them. This recipe from my beloved Alton Brown inspired me to buy one. (No it didn't- I wanted an excuse to use the above clip in a post. Please watch it, please! It has two of my favorite Boosh jokes in the span of a minute. And Noel Fielding looks so beautiful...)
Unlike American pumpkins, the skin is pale green and hard-as to cut through, as evidenced by this picture. But once you cross that physical boundary, they're wonderfully fragrant- almost like cantaloupe.
Update!
I decided to give my ginger beer another try before I chucked it in tha bin. Hooya, am I glad I did. It's way better than I remember. I'd even say it's yum. Maybe it improves with age or maybe all the yeast and ginger bits stuck to the side of the bottle mellowed the flavor. Whatever the reason, I'm absolutely making it when I get home and insisting y'a ll try it. So get your AA sponsor to sign a note if you're not interested because this party animal won't take "I have blood sugar problem" for an answer.
Oh Rachel, you and your Boosh clips. You're like an old drinking buddy who knew you when, but you've distanced yourself until he suddenly reappears one day.
ReplyDeleteYou: Carolyn! Carolyn Thomas! Oh my god, it's been ages!
Me: Oh wow....Rachel.
(awkward silence)
You: Hey, remember when we used to sit on your couch late at night with the laptop between us and watch episode after episode of The Boosh.
Me: That was a long time ago, I don't do that kind of stuff anymore.
You: Oh the times we had!
Me: Like I said, that was in the past. I'm a grownup now, I do grownup things.
You: Oh come on! Let's watch one clip! One clip won't hurt.
Me: Well I really shouldn't....oh what the hell! Maybe just a thirty second one for old times sake.
(Cut to me two days later, rocking back in forth in a ditch singing calmallamadown).
Here's a two of my favorite Boosh jokes within the span of a minute that somehow didn't make the edit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff42QT9teVM
And since I'm doing this, I might as well have it large. Here's a really good interview I found the other day with Simon Amstell (who many people seem to detest, but I kind like).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5a4drG02C8
Gingerbeer sounds really good, but the idea of making something carbonated really grosses me out. Maybe it has to do with that one time in biology when we made root beer. The whole room smelled like a smothered fart when everyone opened their bottle. HMMP Good times good times! (read the last sentence in a Jerry Blank voice.)
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, I know you graduated with an English degree, but I still think I'll be most likely to end up living in a ditch, singing to myself given my craziness. Speaking of, I've been really good about not talking to myself/compulsively reciting Boosh lines but I involuntarily started reciting calm-a-llama-down when I read your comment. I got halfway through the crimp when I realized my flatmate who has the room next to me was home. I can't imagine what that must have sounded like to her. And thanks for the clip- I watched it about twenty times while I was writing my essay on the sexualization of girls.It was hard to stay focused.
ReplyDeleteMolly, making your own carbonated beverages is very rewarding! Don't let high school biology put you off forever. You can't unfry things but you can scrape off the burnt bits and gently saute.