Sri Lankan Dinner

Last night the Phactors and some friends received the payoff for purchasing a Sri Lankan dinner at a charity auction. Nothing like wonderfully aromatic and spicy food on a rather cold and surprisingly snowy night. Our hosts did a fantastic job of constructing an array of dishes that were a feast for both the eyes and mouth. This is one of the benefits of having been a Peace Corps volunteer; you can really absorb and appreciate the culture, and one of our hosts had become quite enamoured with their food much to our benefit. Sri Lankan food is similar to southern Indian food as you might expect, but nonetheless distinctive. The Phactor has traveled through both Kerala and Tamil Nadu and so knows his southern Indian food, and it was interesting to compare and contrast without getting too analytical. Food is probably the most interesting and in some respects easiest part of a culture in immerse yourself in. The most interesting dish at last night's dinner was a curry of boiled eggs. Who's up for a field trip? Here's a web site that can provide you with more information about Sri Lankan food.

Legume longevity - lupines and pinto beans

A number of legumes have pretty hard, nearly impervious, seed coats, and thus the seeds may remain viable for a long time. Although perhaps questionable because it lacked a "best used before" date, a seed of an Arctic lupine supposedly germinated after being frozen in permafrost for an estimated 10,000 years. Our own bit of permafrost resides in the basement, and on the rate occasion when the Phactor ventures into the depths of our chest freezer, amazing discoveries can be made; in this case another ancient legume, a quart of BBQ pinto beans from May of 1994. A lot has happened since those pinto beans went into their cryogenic hibernation, e.g., it's a new century, we moved to a new house, albeit one only 4 blocks away, which undoubtedly played a role in their longevity. Having been cooked there can be no expectations of viability, but to our astonishment, those beans were still quite edible, in fact it was quite a good batch. Someplace there must be a record book for leftover food survival, a hall of fame of for forgotten freezer residents, survivors of power outages, occasional defrostings, and purges. So like all real ancient things, those pinto beans avoided quite a number of potential threats. Maybe someday the F1 will inherit the rest.