A lot of rinsing later, I thought we might have got rid of the majority of the beasties but after cooking I realised that there were a lot of beans with small black bodies inside. You can't see them too much when the beans are cooked in a thick curry sauce.
I haven't been able to get photos of the ducks at work but I have seen evidence of their presence around the swimming pool. The gardener is deeply displeased by the little calling cards and the property manager has assured him that the pool man uses "duck away"
You learn something new some days, don't you? Duck away changes the water so the ducks struggle to float and fly away. Young ducks aren't so great at detecting danger and can drown in a "duck away" treated pool. The property manager remarked that dead ducks are not a good look. Even less good for the duck, I thought. Then I remembered that ducks (drakes at least) are rapey bullies and felt a tiny bit better about the potentially duck killing swimming pool.
Talking of bullies, my colleague with the canned soup making personal chef has some characteristics I associate with bullies and I'm pleased I have seen the signs. My last boss was near sociopathic. Six years on I still shudder to think of her. Then I imagine keying her car. On both sides. And pouring paint on the top. I might dream up different methods for Ms Personal Chef who let slip her great love for beetroot and fig chutney, which is so good she can eat jars of it despite the way it plays havoc with her gut. Mwahahaha!
You might remember that my daughter takes me for coffee every week. We go to the same place every time and have never been given any kind of freebie. A few weeks ago I got myself a walking stick (it's black with pink flowers on it) and the first time I went for coffee with the stick we were given a free muffin. I said to my kids "I bet it's the stick"
Yesterday they bagged up a muffin and gave it to me as I paid. My daughter reached for the bag and was smilingly reprimanded "That's for your mum!"
Yep, it's the stick. Do you think I could get free coffee if I had two sticks?
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Hooray for the stick. And finally freebies.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, drakes epitomise the sort of behaviour which started the #MeToo campaign.
I wonder whether two sticks might be over-kill. One, dark glasses and a dog might be enough...
Any excuse for another dog!
DeleteThat is a great thing to get free stuff, especially food. I have never gotten anything free for having a cane or walker.
ReplyDeleteDid you see bugs? That sounds like just the center of the beans when cooked, coming out. But, I am not there.
That seems awfully cruel to drown the ducks! Kill them but not by drowning. Besides, that would really foul the water.
I don't need the calories in a muffin but it's nice to be given something and I didn't sense even a shred of pity, just kindness.
DeleteWithout my glasses I couldn't see detail but my son confirmed that they were bugs, much smaller than the dark coloured area of the bean.
I hope no ducks drown! The ones I see around now are all adults but that could change come spring time
Good job that there is little danger of my eating at your place. Or, worse, us sharing your kitchen. I'd bloody clear out and clean the place top to bottom, checking everything before anything goes back into the cupboard.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I thought you were vegetarian (I am not) so how does that square?
I wouldn't call myself squeamish but there are limits. I remember, I must have been about three or four, when my grandparents and I had some freshly picked plums. And there it was: Tiny, white and wriggling (in a friendly sort of way), waving and winking at me. Bloody hell. That was it. Took me years to touch a plum again.
U
It was a brand new pack of beans!
DeleteI'm not vegetarian but two of my kids are. They still ate the beans but I haven't asked how they justified it.
I am squeamish about these kinds of things but I just decide not to think about it
If I ever cook for you, I promise to give you weevil free, grub free food
DeleteThanks for the laugh, Kylie.
DeleteYou've got yourself into a bind. Are you feeding me or what? Considering that (some) English call food "grub" I challenge you to nourish me on grub free food. Still, at least there won't be any grubs.
U
So in this post you have some good and some bad. I wouldn't eat the beans with the bugs. That's too bad!
ReplyDeleteThey were very tiny bugs, smaller than a pin head. Does that make it better?
DeleteTell them you found some weevils floating in your coffee while pointing your new walking stick at them and I would bet you would have free coffee any time that you pleased.
ReplyDeletehahaha I already have the mop of grey witches hair, too :)
DeleteThat is lovely to get a free muffin! There have to be SOME perks that come with age! I noticed at our local thrift store (a national name) that Tuesdays are 30% off for age 60+. You're darn right I'm shopping on Tuesdays now. They don't ask you when you check out, so you have to ask for it every time, but that doesn't bother me at all.
ReplyDeletePeople eat bugs on purpose as a meat substitute. If we really thought about our meat-eating habits (and some of us have, and those are generally the wonderful vegetarians among us), it would be just as gross as the thought of eating bugs. It's all in the mind. I love your statement in your reply to Ursula, "I am squeamish about these kinds of things but I just decide not to think about it." That's what I was trying to say but you put it better.
Male ducks ARE rapey bullies, and although they can't help how they are programmed (unlike men, who have a brain and CAN help it), I hate to think of the female ducks who drown because of it. I was so shocked the first time I read about that.
I love your pragmatic approach to life, kylie :)
30% off is a great saving! yay for seniors tuesday!
DeleteI know grasshoppers and cockroaches are eaten as meat substitutes but I couldn't eat them, too big and recognisable. And crunchy! but you are right, our meat industries are not very nice. I am loathe to give up meat entirely but i recently read that a pig at slaughter has the intellect of a three year old and I haven't eaten pork since.
I was shocked at the duck drowning, it's unnecessarily cruel. I do get that the gardener isn't happy with cleaning up after them. It might solve the problem if the pool was covered for winter
Oh, dear, I think I gave the impression I am a vegetarian (and a "wonderful" one at that); unfortunately, while I have reduced my consumption I haven't been able to cut it out. I have so much respect for the vegans and vegetarians out there. But I keep telling myself that every effort helps a little.
DeleteI do know that in food processing plants there is a legal limit of parts per whatever the designated number is for bug bits and pieces. I imagine we have all eaten bugs before in various packed foods, but just did not know we were eating the "below the accepted amount of" bug parts.
ReplyDeleteI found weevils in a new bag of rice once just shortly before a dinner party. I did not have time to go to the store and buy more, so I had to rinse it well, start cooking and spoon out any remaining little buggers. Now anything I buy like that lives in the freezer for 2 weeks before I open and decant it into jars. They may come into the house but I am going to freeze those suckers first!
I didn't know there was an acceptable limit for bug parts but it makes sense. We kid ourselves if we expect to live in a sterile bubble.
DeleteI have had a lot of moth in rice over the years. It floats out quite effectively and straining it off is therapeutic. I have cried over things like walnuts and dried fruit, though. One day I'll be systematic about freezing dried goods.....
There's no way I would eat beans with weevils inside, Jenny even less so. She won't even eat a bit of fruit with a suspicious black mark on it!
ReplyDeleteInteresting that your stick got you a free muffin. I must try this ruse at the local Caffè Nero....
I found some maggots in a packet of dried figs once. It was years before I could bring myself to eat dried figs again!
It was a huge batch of beans, I curried some and the rest went off in the fridge in double quick time. I am so sick of cooking.
DeleteNobody would believe you need a stick so it would look like a fashion accessory :)
Lucky you. I have been using a walking stick since 1981 and in all these years have never been given a freebee because of that!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have had some other kind of concessions!
DeleteIf you carry a bell and put a sign round your neck saying "Leper" you should be able to clear the coffee shop and have whatever you want for free. Yelling "Unclean! Unclean!" as you ring your bell will also help.
ReplyDeleteNah, I'll pay, thanks :)
DeleteI saw a mango being cut open and a large creature inside. I've never eaten mango since.
ReplyDeleteUgh! I couldn't miss out on mango!
DeleteI struggled for ages with pantry moths, cleared everything out and pitched what needed to be pitched but still they came back. Then I discovered that the little buggers were actually making their nests in the drill holes - you know, the indents where we had put the screws in to put the shelves up. I cleaned them all out and put tape over each one and "ta da", no trouble since. I wouldn't have eaten your black beans though - you can't unsee that stuff. Oh and we had an absolute psychopath of a director a few years ago, and I don't use that word lightly. I had never seen one in action and have since become absolutely fascinated reading up on narcs, psychopaths and so on. It is really eye-opening when you have such a prime example to compare. This woman was fired from the last 4 jobs she had before us, she "left us" from one afternoon to the next, and then was fired from the next job. She's now working in Melbourne so stay safe - and watch out for the blond on a broomstick!
ReplyDeleteI must brandish my stick more and hope to get those freebies :) And yuck on those weevils in the beans. I guest more protein if you're driven to eat them (sorry!). My granddaughter had to eat insects in SE Asia and I was amazed that this super fussy eater of yore (can't eat anything that looks likes an animal!)managed that!
ReplyDeleteLove the pics of you with the dog and the kids!
XO
WWW
I haven't had a freebie sonce! although a man as old as my father took m y shopping trolley to put away for me last week. ugh.
DeleteI love the picture, too. It's a lovely memory