posted
I've never seen a live hummingbird other than on TV. I would love to. I know they're around in GA but despite 4 years of surveying I've yet to see one.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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quote: Toussaint This cheese is sharper and more complex in flavor. Try it with Merlot or Shiraz.
Ouray Similar to Toussaint in texture, this cheese has a buttery fresh flavor that is best eaten without crackers or bread. Enjoy it with a glass of Vouvray.
Barat This cheese is drier and cheddar-like in texture. The flavor of this young handmade cheese will deepen over several days at room temperature. Sharp and firm, it is excellent with white wines, light ales, mead and cider.
All three of these cheeses might be mistaken for brie in appearance, as they all have a rind. But they are all considerably firmer, have considerably different flavor, and only the Ouray comes close to being creamy like brie.
I'm pretty sure the Barat won a national cheese prize, but they don't list it on the website.
They are all a very different experience than any other cheese I've tasted in the U.S.
posted
Tante - I haven't noticed any actual humming, but then, I'm partially deaf, so they could be and I wouldn't know. But they do chirp, and energetically so!
It helps that we also have a tree in the front that has yellow, bell shaped flowers with nectar in them that the hummingbirds eat. There are dozens of hummingbirds in that tree every day, happily chirping along.
Then there are the bright green parrots that swarm around here - I've seen eight at a time, but I've been told there are 50 or so right around here.
And then there are a whole lot of other birds, all happily contributing their songs, and dancing as they hop from tree to tree.
See, we live far enough out from Colombo, the big city, that we've got jungle around us. One lot beside us is nothing but jungle (we need to get it trimmed to keep the mosquitoes down), and since we've been going through monsoon lately, everything grows really really fast. Some plants, vines, for example, will grown two or three feet in one day in the right conditions.
But hey, anyone who wants to come here and see the hummingbirds for themselves is more than welcome. Remember, LankaCon 2006!
Probably not 2006. Full time employment after graduation and all that. But you are definately scheduled as a stop in our around the world trip (when we make it).
I'm also jealous of your curry leaf trees. I want fresh curry leaves!
posted
I wonder if it would work to mail you some so you could sprout and grow your own? Or would a nursery in your area have them?
You know, as I think about it, there are a large number of Sri Lankans who've settled in Australia. It ought to be possible to find such. Do you need info on genus/species?
And have you ever had them or used them before? As in, do you know what you're missing, or is it your imagination going full tilt? Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
They are called hummingbirds because their wings flap so fast that it makes a soft humming sound.
Sort of like the buzz of an insect's wings but is more of a drone like humming sound with a deep pitch. Neat little guys. Very small too. It is easy to mistake them for large insects if you're not watching closely. I think they're considered some of the smallest birds in the world.
According to the above sight there are two species of hummingbirds on the north Atlantic coast although I haven't seen any since I moved out here.(Maryland) I used to see them all the time in Utah.
Posts: 527 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I've used dried curry leaves but never fresh. I have seen fresh ones used and the results looked so much better than using dried ones.
So, imagination going wild mostly.
I haven't seen any in a nursery - but if you tell me the name and all I can probably do a bit of research. I know where to get dried, but I'm pretty sure they're imported from Malaysia.
If I can work it out, all I need then is a bay tree and I will be a Very Happy Girl.
(Already have the kaffir lime. )
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
My parents say that hummingbirds hum...however I'm also in the partially deaf camp, so while I've seen them quite a lot, I've never heard one.
Posts: 1158 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Murraya Koenigi is the curry leaf tree that's used in Sri Lankan and Indian cooking. You don't want the curry plant (Helichrysum italicum or Helichrysum angustifolium) as that is inedible and is called the curry plant only because it smells vaguely of curry powder.
I have many - at least a dozen - curry leaf plants growing in the back. I'm probably going to pull up the oldest and straggliest, and otherwise thin the herd so I have room to plant other things.
Dried curry leaves taste pathetically and nothing at all like the fresh. You've probably already guessed that. Sorry! But if you come here, you could always smuggle one home. . .
Kaffir lime. I want one. Does it grow limes as well? Or do you just use the leaves? Or what?
Steev, thanks for the info on hummingbirds. It also explains why I don't hear the hum - we have the fan running all the time in whatever room I'm in, so that would drown out anything like that. The ones we've had dancing about our trees are about an inch or possibly two at the tallest. I wouldn't have known what they are, except that Fahim gives me names. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Kaffir lime does grow limes but they're little hard misshaped things. Not good for eating (I have a tahitian lime for the fruit ).
You just use the leaves - I think traditionally it's Thai dishes mostly. But I use them instead of lime zest for lots of dishes and it works beautifully.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Huh. Good to know. I've been reading about kaffir lime trees and have been wanting to get me one. I think I still do.
We have what I think might be a lime bush in a pot in the back, but I haven't verified by actually, you know, looking for pictures of a lime tree on the internet. Haven't been bothered enough to do that. One of these days. But then, there are quite a few mystery plants that are obviously not weeds that I need to figure out what they are.
And our amburella (really, no idea if this spelling is even close or not, but then, considering it's a Sinhalese word, I actually doubt there is an English word for it yet) tree is fruiting, and when they're ripe, the amburella's get made into a curry, somewhat similar in taste to a sour mango curry. Yum! (Fahim's not fond of it, so, well, all the more for me. Just like pumpking curry. )
MyrddinFyre - what, just cuz we wander so much?
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Myr is a big cheese fan. I suspect that may have something to do with her appreciation of this thread.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Well... as long as it's not cottage cheese, I'll love it. As far as conventional cheeses go, I'm a big sucker for Muenster and provolone. And brie baked and covered in pecans is DIVINE Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
I tried imogen's suggestion of lightly dusting the haloumi cheese with flour, except I modified it, of course, to be flour mixed with some paprika, then tossed the cheese in it, and deep fried it.
Definitely even better than just frying it.
Recommendation: eat cheese immediately or as close to immediately as possible. Definitely best while it's still warm.
Excellent recommendation! Thanks, imogen!
Edit to add: I forgot to mention! I used it instead of feta in the (modified for local ingredients) Greek salad. It's wonderful! And very nice for a variation on the theme. Yum!
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
*bump* because I'm going back again next week. (For the record, the store is more than an hour away, which is why I think of this as a big deal.)
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Have you ever eaten Mascarpone? It's like cream cheese, if cream cheese were made by sweet angels. It's used to make tiramisu, but if you were to spread some on a toasty English muffin, I don't think you'd be disappointed.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Last mounth, i eat a very famous cheese : le Mont d'or. In my town of Levallois, there is a wonderful market. Here, there are little productors of many part of France, and especially from Franche-Comté. They have a very famous comté of 20 mounths so tasty ! And they have this Mont d'or. It's a Cheese very creamy presented in a wood box. And in a good bread (of course french !) It was very delicious !!
And now, I'm going to eat a piece of comté...
Posts: 1189 | Registered: Dec 2004
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