A Breath of fresh air

[Peter]

I am on holiday at the moment (in Lago di Garda, Italy, and have only just managed to hack into an unsecured WiFi site*) and am, consequently, unable to join in this frenzy of backslapping self-congratulation. Had I not been on holiday, I would have said that I find this forum to be one of the most irritating platforms ever to engage my intellectual efforts, and shall be leaving it forthwith once I have achieved ... (continues for another 94 pages of meandering vitriol)

Lucky you - I was in Riva del garda, 1994 - beautiful - I don't expect you to stick to comfort zone of pasta, so I've concocted a menu specially for you, but I don't know how avaialble it would be in that region!

"Budino di Seppie" - cuttlefish pudding

"Grifi in umido" - stewed pig's nose

"Formaggio marcio" - cheese with live maggots

[Megan]

Lucky you - I was in Riva del garda, 1994 - beautiful - I don't expect you to stick to comfort zone of pasta, so I've concocted a menu specially for you, but I don't know how avaialble it would be in that region!

"Budino di Seppie" - cuttlefish pudding

"Grifi in umido" - stewed pig's nose

"Formaggio marcio" - cheese with live maggots

Ye gods! What about food hygiene-health regulations?

[Sorrano]

Lucky you - I was in Riva del garda, 1994 - beautiful - I don't expect you to stick to comfort zone of pasta, so I've concocted a menu specially for you, but I don't know how avaialble it would be in that region!

"Budino di Seppie" - cuttlefish pudding

"Grifi in umido" - stewed pig's nose

"Formaggio marcio" - cheese with live maggots

That goes so well with the topic description!

[Megan]

That goes so well with the topic description!

And I think it would be your last breath of fresh air if you consumed that lot!

[Peter]

And I think it would be your last breath of fresh air if you consumed that lot!

Perfectly standard in some parts of Italy and I'm led to believe very tasty indeed! Have to say though I am more of a pasta man myself, having just cooked a delicious penne with sun dried tomatoes, courgette, onions, garlic, parmesan and a nice glass of red wine - yum!

[Quijote]

Lucky you - I was in Riva del garda, 1994 - beautiful - I don't expect you to stick to comfort zone of pasta, so I've concocted a menu specially for you, but I don't know how avaialble it would be in that region!
"Budino di Seppie" - cuttlefish pudding / "Grifi in umido" - stewed pig's nose /
"Formaggio marcio" - cheese with live maggots

Do I detect an Englishman turning up his nose? If I am right, it would be foolish, as cuttlefish and pigs' noses are quite delicious (and not unknown in Strasbourg). Cheese with live maggots, though, I have never tried. Perhaps you will prepare that for me if ever I visit you. I did once eat a rather large maggot in the jungle of Ecuador some years ago; I won't say it was delicious, but at least I gave it a go; better were the tree ants that tasted of bitter lemon.
I have a nice menu for you, Headmaster, in light of recent riotous events in your "civilized" England (and not Wales or Scotland) :
Antipasti : baked Nike soles with stolen Malibu;
First dish : crushed Hundayi wide-screen TVs in Molatov white spirit sauce;
Main dish : taggliatelli à la BlackBerry, served with a julienne of crisp Nokia;
Dessert : Sorbet "pomposo" with a dash of Murdoch counterfeit Vodka.
Enjoy.

[Quijote]

Ye gods! What about food hygiene-health regulations?

I know this is off-topic, but in Venice the only national pavilion showcasing its country's artistic (plastic arts ...) talent that had a bloody queue was ... guess who? Yes, the UK; because of "Health and Safety Regulations". With a hostess (in Venice, Italy, welcoming tourists from all over the world) who only spoke English. Not only am I ashamed of the recent riots in my birthplace, I am also ashamed of the monolingual arrogance of my so-called compatriots. I cannot tell you how glad I am to be half Spanish.

[Preston]

Do I detect an Englishman turning up his nose? If I am right, it would be foolish, as cuttlefish and pigs' noses are quite delicious (and not unknown in Strasbourg). Cheese with live maggots, though, I have never tried. Perhaps you will prepare that for me if ever I visit you. I did once eat a rather large maggot in the jungle of Ecuador some years ago; I won't say it was delicious, but at least I gave it a go; better were the tree ants that tasted of bitter lemon.
I have a nice menu for you, Headmaster, in light of recent riotous events in your "civilized" England (and not Wales or Scotland) :
Antipasti : baked Nike soles with stolen Malibu;
First dish : crushed Hundayi wide-screen TVs in Molatov white spirit sauce;
Main dish : taggliatelli à la BlackBerry, served with a julienne of crisp Nokia;
Dessert : Sorbet "pomposo" with a dash of Murdoch counterfeit Vodka.
Enjoy.

Though I do eat it and regularly, imo, flesh is a very sickening food substance. I believe it is a sin to eat flesh. What do you think?

[Quijote]

Though I do eat it and regularly, imo, flesh is a very sickening food substance. I believe it is a sin to eat flesh. What do you think?

I believe it is not a sin to eat flesh, so long as it is not human (though there may be exceptional conditions where one could be obliged to).

[Sorrano]

Though I do eat it and regularly, imo, flesh is a very sickening food substance. I believe it is a sin to eat flesh. What do you think?

If you disbelieve in eating meat, then it must be sinful...to you.

[Preston]

If you disbelieve in eating meat, then it must be sinful...to you.

Well it is, I am a sinner, if you will. I would eventually like to lose my craving for flesh/meat. Though it remains.

I guess my main point is that, no I do not consider the eating of flesh to be a pure thing. That is all.

[Sorrano]

Well it is, I am a sinner, if you will. I would eventually like to lose my craving for flesh/meat. Though it remains.

I guess my main point is that, no I do not consider the eating of flesh to be a pure thing. That is all.

Mostly, I was just being a little light-minded with my response. Do not take me too seriously! However, what is pure to one may not be pure to another. My own personal belief is that meat is an important part of the diet, but it should be eaten sparingly. We know, today, of the dangers of cholesterol and such things, so we should simply adjust our diet according to our needs. I am a great lover of various meats, but because of my own personal health issues I do not eat it as much as I used to.

[Preston]

Mostly, I was just being a little light-minded with my response. Do not take me too seriously! However, what is pure to one may not be pure to another. My own personal belief is that meat is an important part of the diet, but it should be eaten sparingly. We know, today, of the dangers of cholesterol and such things, so we should simply adjust our diet according to our needs. I am a great lover of various meats, but because of my own personal health issues I do not eat it as much as I used to.

Sorry if I took things too seriously. I take things to the extreme far too often, and that is not something I think is a good thing, !

[Quijote]

Anyway, to bring us back on topic : a breath of fresh air and the BRS. I had a nice horse steak yesterday, it was absolutely delicious. I know many Anglo Saxons will be appalled, but it is really a nice meat. My question is this : Did Beethoven eat horse meat? I'm sure in Vienna they did, if not in Austria more generally. Do any forum members know if Beethoven ate horse meat? And if so, how was it served? And with what sort of wine? I read in the literature that Beethoven once owned a horse but it seems to have disappeared. Did he eat it? Did Beethoven ever compose a canon (or other trifling work) celebrating the joys of equine flesh? It also occurs to me that one of the themes in Beethoven's Eroica symphony (1st movement) has a sort of giddy-up, giddy-up sort of rhythm. Whilst I do like horse (as meat), I do think it is better to ride them in the fresh air.

[Peter]

Though I do eat it and regularly, imo, flesh is a very sickening food substance. I believe it is a sin to eat flesh. What do you think?

I wouldn't use the word 'sin' but I would say it is morally questionable, not least the appalling way we treat animals. However in saying this, I recognise my own hypocrisy as I do eat meat, but I do try and buy free range chickens for example and keep red meat to a minimum.