Extremely Difficult Trivia About "The Descent" (2005)

      This one might be a bit more obscure than most of the movies I do quizzes about, but I don't care.  More people should know about this film.  And, it did get a sequel, indicating that the first movie had a decent amount of viewers.  (Alas, by all accounts the sequel was terrible.)  Anyway, let's discuss this fine offering from Neil Marshall, whose first film, "Dog Soldiers," was covered in my post on October 12, 2019.  Usual setup, questions than answers, many SPOILERS.

Questions:

1)    In the opening scenes, who are the characters in the raft, right before the terrible car accident?

2)    What is the name of Sarah's daughter?

3)    Right before the accident, Sarah askes her daughter if she should call her friend's mother.  Who is this?

4)    Beth and Sarah pass a National Park on the way to the cabin.  Which one?

5)    Which U.S. state is the mysterious cave located in?

6)    Only one character's last name is spoken in the movie.  Name them.

7)    What is the name of Sam's sort of boyfriend?

8)    Where did Holly used to live?  (She says she ran out of things to jump off of there.)

9)    Sam is still in school.  What's her field of study?

10)   What was the inspirational saying of Sarah's late husband Paul?

11)   What two characters play rock (stone), paper, scissors to see who drives to the caverns?

12)   Who drives the second vehicle?

13)   What level number of difficulty is Boreham Caverns?

14)   What is Holly's disparaging nickname for Boreham Caverns?

15)   Holly mentions free climbing a building back home.  Which one?

16)   Becca mentions two rules for caving.  Name them.

17)   Becca also mentions a litany of medical issues that can happen during caving.  Name them.

18)   Beth compares herself negatively to a famous movie and video game character.  Name them.

19)   The ladies see a dead animal near the path to the cave.  What animal is it/

20)   Beth tells Sarah a joke to distract her when she temporarily gets stuck.  What is this joke?

21)   According to Becca, how many ways in and out does Boreham have?

22)   The ladies find an old piton (a piece of climbing equipment) in the ceiling of a tunnel.  How old does Juno say it is?

23)   According to the cave painting the ladies see, how many entrances/exits are part of this cave system?

24)   What two other pieces of evidence do the ladies find to indicate that other (non-monstrous or non-mutated) humans have been in this cave system?

25)   Holly accidently falls and injures herself.  What is this injury?

26)   What did Holly mistake for sunlight, according to Juno?

27)   At the end, Sarah wounds Juno with her axe. Where on Juno's body?

28)   There's a bumper sticker on the front bumper of the 2nd vehicle, the one that Sarah uses at the end.  What does the sticker read?

29)   What characters are seen smoking marijuana early in the movie?

30)   What does Beth do for a living?

31)   Was Juno having an affair with Sarah's husband Paul?  (Conjectural)

32)   Who's the first character to get a significant injury?  (Not counting minor bumps and bruises and such).

33)   Sarah repeatedly gets a vision of her sitting with her daughter, with a birthday cake between them.  How many candles are on this cake?

34)   True or False?  Sarah and Juno are the only characters seen killing a Crawler.  (Crawlers are the name for the humanoid/bat creatures that attack the ladies.)

35)   What is the only living animal species that the ladies see in the movie?

36)   What characters do we see being eaten by a Crawler, or Crawlers?

37)   Did Sarah make her way out of the cave?  (Conjectural)

Answers:

1)    Sarah, Juno, and Beth.

2)    Jessica, who's also called Jessie.

3)    Rachel.

4)    Chatooga.  Chattooga (note the slightly different spelling) is a real river that goes through North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.  There is no National Park of this name, though.

5)    It's never said.  The movie notes that it's just in a state with Appalachian Mountains in it, which means it could one of like 10 states.  One of the vehicles does have North Carolina plates on it, but this could be Juno or Holly's personal vehicle, and not a rental.  Or it could be a rental, but they were near a border and crossed into another state to get to the cave.

6)    Sam's last name is Van Ney.  And since Becca is Sam's half sister, her surname might be different.

7)    Josh.

8)    Galway, Ireland.

9)    Medical doctor.

10)   Love Each Day.

11)   Juno and Beth.  Beth wins, but then Sarah grabs the keys and drives the vehicle herself.

12)   Becca.

13)   It's a Level 2 cave.  Most cavers use a 1-5 class system.  Also, there is no cave of this name in the U.S., but there is one in the U.K., in North Yorkshire.

14)   Boredom Caverns.

15)   The Galway Cathedral.

16)   #1 File a flight plan and stick to it.  #2 Don't go wandering off.

17)   Dehydration, disorientation, claustrophobia, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations, visual and aural deterioration.

18)   Tomb Raider, or more specifically, Lara Croft.

19)   An elk.  I thought this was a mistake, and elk don't live in the Eastern U.S., but apparently some do.

20)   How do you give a lemon an orgasm?  You tickle its citrus.

21)   3.  Although, as they find out, they're not in Boreham, so this info is useless.

22)   Over 100 years old.

23)   2.

24)   Sarah finds an old caving helmet, and Juno spots some painted arrows on a tunnel wall.

25)   She suffers a compound fracture of her left tibia.  (The larger of the two bones of the lower leg.)

26)   Phosphorus in the rocks.

27)   Her left knee.

28)   Rock Chic.  Probably as in Rock Chick, a lady rock climber, and it got cut off, or spelled differently, I think.

29)   Holly and Sam.

30)   She's an English teacher.

31)   All signs point to "yes."  She and Paul had a weird intimate moment as he helps her get out of the river, right before the car accident.  Later in speaking about the accident with Beth, Juno says, "We all lost somebody in that crash."  Finally, and most damningly, Juno always wears a necklace which we later learn has Paul's saying "Love Each Day" printed on it.  And, after Sarah shows the necklace to Juno, Juno doesn't deny it, or act defensive about it in any way.

32)   Becca's hand is cut quite badly from rope burn, shortly before Holly's fall.

33)   In most of the visions/hallucinations it's five, but at the very end it's six.

34)   True.  Sam stabs one, which clearly wounds it, and causes it to fall in the water.  But it attacks Juno when she jumps in later, so she has to finish it off.

35)   They see some bats flying near the cave entrance.

36)   We see Holly being consumed by several Crawlers, and the Crawler that kills Becca does so by chewing into her torso.

37)   It depends on what country you saw the movie in, and what version of it.  If you accept the sequel as canon, she did, since the Sarah character definitely made it out, and is forced back in during "The Descent Part 2."  Also, in the version of the original shown in U.S. theaters, she does escape.  In the version shown in other countries this escape is another hallucination, and eventually we see her back in the caves, surrounded by Crawlers, surely not long for this world.

     Finally, there's a fan theory that I find interesting, which is there were no Crawlers at all.  Sarah went crazy early on and killed all her friends, all the while hallucinating the monsters.  Finally finally, if you haven't seen this movie, do yourself a service and track it down--it's really fun and great.

 

   

   

    

Morbid Curiosity #11!

 

     I'm very pleased to announce that the 11th issue of Morbid Curiosity is being shipped from the printer and is ready for purchase as a pre-order.  For those that might recall my post on June 6th, 2026, the original 10 issues of Morbid Curiosity were published from 1997-2006.  Publisher/Editor Loren Rhoads then suspended the annual magazine to concentrate on other aspects of her writing career.  But now it's back, after a 20 year hiatus.  I'll start by listing all of the writers who contributed to this issue, and then at the end I'll post links to where you can learn more about the issue, and then get yourself a copy.

Let's begin with the Legacy Contributors.  These are folks who had at least one article in Morbid Curiosity's original 10 issues:

Dana Fredsti

M. Parfitt

William Selby

Me--Paul Stansfield

Brian Thomas

Then there are new contributors.  Some of these writers were also part of "Death's Garden Revisited," which was published back in October of 2022, and I covered on this blog several times that year as well.

Angela Yuriko Smith                 Denise N. Tapscott                 E.M. Markoff

Emerian Rich                             Francesca Maria                    H.E. Roulo

John Palisano                             L.S. Johnson                          Lisa Morton

Marc L. Abbott                          Rena Mason                           Selah Janel

Ally Ngyuen                              Carole Tyrrell                         Carrie Sessarego

David Fitzgerald                        E.S. Magill                             Halcyon Daze

Jessie Kwak                               Josh Wilson                            L.A. Holtzer

Mariah Southworth                    Maureen Zogg                        T. Thorn Coyle

     Additionally, several artists' drawings are featured in this issue.  These artists are:

Dorian Katz

Erik Quarry

Kimberlee Traub

Cassian Luce

Kelly Dwyer

Samantha Orth

     Finally, two folks took the photographs for the front and back cover:

R. Samuel Klatchko and William Selby

     Here is the home page for Morbid Curiosity #11:

       https://lorenrhoads.com/editing/morbid-curiosity-magazine/

     And here is the link to pick up your copy.  I believe it will also be available on Amazon at some later date.

: https://lorenrhoads.com/product/morbid-curiosity-11-magazine-autographed-1st-edition/

Extremely Difficult Trivia About "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991)

   It's the most wonderful month of the year again!  At least for horror fans such as myself.  I'd like to start off October by doing a trivia quiz on the classic "The Silence of the Lambs."  Some may say that this film is a "thriller," and not horror, but I disagree.  Kidnappings, cannibals, brutal violence and murders--this movie is psychological horror if ever there was one.  Also, this is the rare year when the Academy got it right--"The Silence of the Lambs" was richly rewarded with a slew of Oscars.  Anyway, let's get to it.  The usual format, questions followed by the answers, many SPOILERS ahead.

Questions:

1)    As Clarice Starling makes her way around the outdoor exercise course at the FBI, we see some signs on trees with single words on them.  What do they read?

2)    In Jack Crawford's office, the audience sees a written article hanging on the wall with the headline, "Bill Skins Fifth."  What periodical is this article from?

3)    What university did Starling graduate from?

4)    Crawford notes that during a seminar with Clarice, she grilled him hard about something.  What?

5)    What grade did Starling receive in this seminar taught by Crawford?

6)    What institution did Clarice serve a summer internship at?

7)    What is the name of the facility where Dr. Hannibal Lecter is incarcerated?

8)    According to Dr. Chilton, how long has it been since Dr. Lecter has even seen a woman?

9)    What are the six rules that Chilton tells Clarice to remember while dealing with Dr. Lecter?

10)   On what date did Dr. Lecter attack the nurse in the facility?

11)   While he was eating the nurse's tongue, what number did Dr. Lecter's pulse not exceed?

12)   What is the nickname for Miggs, who is incarcerated in the cell next to Dr. Lecter?

13)   According to Dr. Lecter, what kind of skin cream does Starling use, and what perfume?

14)   What drawing of Dr. Lecter's does Clarice mention and admire?

15)   What city's homicide section gave Buffalo Bill his nickname?

16)   According to a newspaper article, Dr. Lecter killed people and served them to dinner party guests, making them inadvertent cannibals.  What city council member was one of these guests?

17)   What is the name of the storage facility where Starling discovers the head of Benjamin Raspail?

18)   What is "Miss Hester Mofet" an anagram for?

19)   According to Dr. Lecter, what was Raspail's diagnosis?

20)   How does Dr. Chilton punish Dr. Lecter for killing Miggs?

21)   What city does Buffalo Bill kidnap Catherine Martin from?

22)   What clothing size does Catherine wear?  (Bill checks her clothing label.)

23)   What word does Buffalo Bill have tattooed on his left hand?  (Not counting a symbol.)

24)   What county in West Virginia is the latest Buffalo Bill victim found in?

25)   And what river was the victim found in?

26)   What is the name of funeral home where Starling, Crawford, and others examine the victim?

27)   What FBI agent accompanies Starling and Crawford on this trip?

28)   What is the name of the funeral director at this funeral home?

29)   What two features does Starling use to conclude that the latest Bill victim was not local, but from a bigger town?

30)   What are the names of the two insect experts that Starling uses to identify the pupa that was found in the victim's throat?

31)   What is the scientific name for the Death's Head Moth?

32)   How old is Catherin Martin?

33)   Catherine Martin's mother, Ruth, is an important politician.  What is Ruth's political position, and what political party does she belong to?

34)   Starling and Crawford offer Dr. Lecter a deal if he helps them find Buffalo Bill. (later it's proven to be fake).  What are the particulars of this deal?

35)   How old was Starling when her father was killed?

36)   After her father's death, Starling was sent to live with a cousin of her deceased mother, who ran a sheep and horse ranch.  In what state was this ranch located?

37)   According to Dr. Lecter, what are the three major (American) centers for transsexual surgery?

38)   For Ruth Martin's real deal, if Dr. Lecter helps them find Catherine alive, what facility will he be transferred to?

39)   In talking to Ruth Martin and her people, Dr. Lecter recalls several things about Buffalo Bill, including a physical description.  Name them.

40)   During his dealing with Ruth Martin, where is Dr. Lecter housed?

41)   According to Starling, what is the name that Dr. Lecter gave for Buffalo Bill, Louis Friend, an anagram for?

42)   After her futile attempt to save a lamb at her relative's ranch, where was Clarice sent to live?

43)   We see a periodical in Dr. Lecter's temporary cell in Tennessee.  What is it?

44)   What city and state was Frederica Bimmel (Bill's first victim) from?

45)   Most of the FBI head to one of Jame Gumb's previous homes.  In what city and state is this home?

46)   We hear two aliases that Jame Gumb uses.  Name them.

47)   Whose house, in Frederica Bimmel's home town, did Buffalo Bill/Jame Gumb purchase to use as a home base?

48)   We see two FBI seals, one in cake form.  What three words are on it, as mottoes?

49)   What classical song does Dr. Lecter listen to as he kills the guards and escapes from his temporary home in Tennessee?

50)   What kind of gun does Starling carry and use?

51)   What kind of gun do we see Buffalo Bill use?

52)   Was first victim Frederica Bimmel in a romantic relationship with Jame Gumb/Buffalo Bill?  (Conjectural)

53)   Famous horror director George Romero has a small cameo in this movie.  What role does he play?

Answers:

1)    Hurt, Agony, Pain, Love - it.

2)    The National Inquisitor.  Which is fictitious, and seems to be heavily modeled after the real National Inquirer tabloid.

3)    The University of Virginia.

4)    The FBI's civil rights record during the Hoover years.

5)    Crawford says he gave her an "A," but Clarice corrects him by saying it was an "A-".

6)    The Reitzinger Clinic, which is a fictional psychiatric facility.

7)    The Baltimore State Forensic Hospital.

8)    8 years.

9)    1)  Do not touch the glass. 2)  Do not approach the glass. 3)  You pass him nothing but soft paper.  4)  No pencils or pens.  5)  No staples or paper clips on his paper.  6)  Use the sliding food carrier.  With no exceptions.

10)   July 8th, 1981.

11)   85.

12)   Multiple Miggs.  Maybe this is a reference to how many people he killed?

13)   She uses Evyan skin cream, and sometimes wears L' Air du Temps perfume.  But not today, for the latter.

14)   It's of the Duomo as seen from the Belvedere, in Florence, Italy.

15)   Kansas City.  They don't clarify if it was the one in Missouri, or the one across the border in Kansas.

16)   Michael Ronboz.

17)   Your Self Storage.

18)   "Miss the rest of me."

19)   He was a garden variety manic-depressive.  Reportedly a tedious one.

20)   They took away his drawings, and force him to listen to/view a television showing religious gospel programs.

21)   Memphis, Tennessee.

22)   14.

23)   Ironically, it's "love."

24)   Clay County.

25)   The Elk River.  Which may also be the name of the town they visit--it's unclear.

'26)   Grieg.

27)   Special Agent Ray Terry.

28)   Lamar.

29)   Her ears are pierced three times, and she's wearing glitter nail polish.

30)   Roden and Pilcher.

31)   Acherontia styx.

32)   25.

33)   She's a  U.S. Senator for Tennessee, the junior one, and she's a Republican.

34)   He'll be transferred to the VA hospital in Oneida Park, NY, and his cell will have a view of the woods.  One week every year he'll be taken to the beach at Plum Island, on Long Island, NY, and be allowed to walk on the beach, or even swim in the ocean, under supervision, obviously.

35)   10 years old.

36)   Montana.

37)   Johns Hopkins, the University of Minnesota, and Columbia Medical Center.

38)   Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee.

39)   His name was Louis Friend, and he was referred to Dr. Lector in April or May of 1980 by Raspail, his lover.  Louis murdered a transient, and....did things with the skin.  He was about 5 foot 10 inches tall, strongly built, about 180 pounds, with blonde hair and pale blue eyes.  He'd be about 35 now, and said he lived in Philadelphia, although that might have been a lie.

40)   Shelby County Courthouse.

41)   Iron sulfide, or fool's gold.

42)   The Lutheran orphanage in Bozeman, Montana.

43)   Bon Appetit, which is a real magazine, and still published currently.

44)   Belvedere, Ohio.

45)   Calumet City, Illinois, on the edge of Chicago.

46)   John Grant, and then he tells Starling his name is Jack Gordon, so he evidently likes to keep his initials consistent with his real name.

47)   Mrs. Lippman.

48)   Fidelity, bravery, and integrity.

49)   Johann Sebastian Bach's "Goldberg Variations," first published in 1741.

50)   A Smith & Wesson Model 13, which is a .357 Magnum, although it can fire heavier loads like a .38 special.

51)   A Colt Python.  Like Starling's weapon, this is a .357 Magnum that can also fire .38 special rounds, among other loads.

52)   Possibly.  The movie makes a point to show us photos of Frederica posing for someone in her underwear hidden in her jewelry box.  Also, we learn from her dad that the last day he saw her she was going to Chicago for a job interview, which she attended, but she never made it home again.  Maybe when she got back to Belvedere from the interview she visited Jame Gumb first, and he then threw her down the well and imprisoned her.  It would appear that he also did sewing work for Mrs. Lippman, as did Frederica, and he may have met her there.  He then tricked her into thinking that they were in a romantic relationship so he could gain her trust and eventually kill her.  Since he was apparently into men sexually this would require some more faking on his part.  But maybe he strung her along, and didn't actually have sex with her.  Poor Frederica, with her complete lack of experience with dating and sex, would probably be easy to manipulate.  True, Frederica's friend Stacy said if Frederica had a boyfriend Stacy would have known it, but maybe Frederica successfully hid it from her.  Maybe because Jame Gumb was so much older, etc.  All of this, if true, makes Frederica's murder even more tragic and sad.

53)   Romero plays a character that's part of the group with Dr. Chilton that interrupt and remove Starling from her final conversation with Dr. Lecter.  I believe he even has a line--someone says "We found her," and it seems to be said by his character.

  

  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Vietnamese/American Mushroom

      This one was a happy accident.  While shopping for canned mushrooms recently, I saw a different kind--straw mushrooms.  They were the same price as the regular mushrooms, so I bought a can.  Later I happened to look more closely at the label, and saw that they were grown in Vietnam.  So score!  I love when stuff like that happens.  The brand of the can I got was Roland.

     I've reported on a few Roland wares before, such as a post about Chinese mussels on May 6, 2023, and another about Turkish stuffed grape leaves on June 25, 2022.  The latter article had a detailed history of the Roland company.  Therefore, I won't repeat myself too much--those interested in the company's background and history now know where to find it.

     I've also had straw mushrooms before.  I checked through my entire post history, and finally discovered exactly when--it was way back on November 28, 2013.  (In that post I also discussed some other, more obscure mushroom I've tried, such as chanterelles, morels, and namekos.)  Unfortunately, I didn't mention what brand provided the canned straw mushrooms I sampled.  I don't think it was Roland, but I'm not 100% sure.  So it's probably not a repeat, but I wouldn't testify to this in court or anything.  As for the mushroom type itself, it appears that the name is derived from what they're cultivated on in Asia, rice straw.  They're very popular in Asian cuisine.  So much so that they're reportedly the 3rd most consumed mushroom in the world.  Alas, during certain stages of the straw mushroom lifecycle they resemble a poisonous variety, the death cap.  Some Asian immigrants have accidently poisoned themselves by mistaking the death cap for the straw while wild collecting in California and Australia.  Additionally, straw mushrooms are sometimes added to soy sauce, both as a flavor enhancer, and to darken the color.

Roland broken straw mushrooms:  These slightly chopped up mushrooms were a light brown color, with a darker brown color around the perimeter of the cap.  Their texture was wet, and chewy.  I had some plain, some with just ketchup on them, and some mixed in with spaghetti and meatballs.  Their taste was a lot like regular mushrooms.  Maybe a tad lighter and airier.  I don't know if I could have told the difference between these and regular mushrooms in a blind taste test.  Which is still a compliment, as I enjoy regular mushrooms.  But these weren't dramatically better or worse.  So if you like typical mushrooms, you'll probably like these too.  I'd recommend them to anyone, unless you're a person who doesn't like mushrooms.

     While researching this post, I got interested in dangerous mushrooms.  Which can be pretty scary.  There are at least a dozen kinds, some quite common, that if eaten can result in a hospital stay, an organ transplant, or even death.  Some have a delayed reaction, too, so someone might think the mushrooms they ate were safe, and then days or even a couple of weeks later the symptoms appear and they might die.  There have been a few famous people who might have died of mushroom poisoning, whether accidental or intentional.  The Roman Emperor Claudius is thought by some historians to have been assassinated via mushrooms in A.D. 54.  Although some historians dispute this.  Pope Clement VII's death in 1534 may also have been from (accidental) mushroom poisoning.  And Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI is alleged to have died this way in 1740.  Obviously, all of these deaths were before the days of thorough and competent autopsies and lab testing, so it's not known for sure.  If you're curious, the death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) is reportedly the cause for 90% of human deaths from mushrooms.  Also very dangerous is Conocybe filaris, the webcaps (Cortinarius rubellus and Cortinarius orellanus), and the autumn skullcap (Galerina marginata).  Finally, there are several varieties of destroying angel mushrooms (in the Amanita genus) that can end your days as well.  So, as a public service announcement, I would have to strongly advise against picking and eating wild mushrooms unless you're an expert mycologist (fungi and mushroom specialist).  Mushrooms are quite tasty, but they're not worth dying over.  Especially since you can easily get safe ones in pretty much every supermarket or grocery store.

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Jordanian Spreads

      Several years ago my local main grocery store, Shop-Rite, went through extensive renovations.  Which ended up taking a long time in total--perhaps even over a year?  (If it wasn't that long, it sure seemed like it.)  That period of time was very irritating.  It seemed like every time I shopped, some foods and/or drinks had been moved to another aisle.  I'm very much a creature of habit, so when something wasn't where I expected it to be, I was annoyed.  Anyway, eventually it was over.  For the past couple of years things have stayed in their usual, predictable spots, right where I expect them to reside.  And, I'm forced to admit that some of the permanent changes were positive.  One of these weas the addition of a specialty spread section.  Which is mostly things like hummus, dips, and such, often from around the globe.  That's where I got today's topics:  I tried two of Mezete's offerings--their classic hummus, and something called muhammara.

     The roots of Mezete are decently old--they just celebrated their centennial this year.  Back in 1926 a man named Hajj Raslan Kasih founded a company which he named, creatively, Raslan Kasih and Sons.  This Amman, Jordan-based business made halvah and tahini.  In 1996 one of Kasih's sons, Hajj Muhammad Adnan Kasih founded the Kasih Factories Group.  Apparently this was just a renaming, or reshuffling of the original company, as this business also primarily sold halvah and tahini.  Other products under the Kasih brand name include olives, beans, mushrooms, chickpeas, tomatoes, and hummus.  At some unspecified point Kasih introduced their Mezete brand.  Its products include dips like baba ghanouj, muhammara, and hummus, sauces like various flavors of tahini sauce, a couple of soups, a few stews, and some more portable "to go" versions of the previous products, some which come with breadsticks.  The current CEO of Kasih is Khaled Kasih, who is Raslan's grandson.  Most or all of Kasih's products undergo a process called ultra heat treatment (UHT), which enables their wares to have long shelf lives without using preservatives.  Kasih/Mezete products are exported to over 40 countries around the world.

     Hummus has become quite common in the past few decades, I think, so I assume most or all readers are familiar with it.  But, some may not know what muhammara is.  (I didn't.)  Muhammara is another kind of dip, which was developed in the Syrian city of Aleppo.  The origin date is a bit vague, but I saw a date of 1981 as the latest possible birthdate.  This dip is made with walnuts, red bell peppers, pomegranate molasses, bread crumbs, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, tahini, and/or spices.  Aside from being a dip, muhammara is sometimes also used as a topping for a savory pastry called manakish, or as a sauce for kebabs.  A Turkish version is called acuka.

Mezete classic hummus:  Had an off-white color, and a slight, chickpea-ish odor.  The texture was smooth.  The taste was like regular plain hummus, creamy, smooth, and very good.  Not spicy, but I got the classic, non-spiced version.  So this was a very respectable example of the style.  I had some plain, and most of it on chips.

Mezete muhammara:  This one had a brownish-red color, and a slightly spicy odor.  Its appearance was not as smooth as the hummus, as I could see some chunks of pepper and such.  The flavor was very nice.  It was kind of sweet and spicy at the same time.  I had a little plain, and most of it on chips.  I was impressed either way.  As tasty as the hummus was, I preferred this one a bit more.  Therefore, my first experience with muhammara was a very positive one.  All in all, then, I would recommend both of these enthusiastically.  I'll also have to try Mezete's other products.

     Additionally, I learned that a "Hajj" before the other words in a personal name signifies that they have made the sacred Muslim journey to the city of Mecca.  The trip itself is called a "hajj."  So it's an honorific title, based on a religious accomplishment.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Some Ecuadorian/American Plantain Chips, and Some Obscure Slang Trivia

      A while ago, in my local grocery, I saw what can only be described as a small plastic drum of plantain chips.  Since it was an unfamiliar brand/company name, and the plantains were grown in Ecuador, I quickly decided to buy one.  For the record, this was a container of the garlic flavored plantain chips from the El Sol company, out of Florida.

     I've complained umpteen times about companies that provide little to no information about their history, founders, and such.  And I'm going to do it again today.  Apparently, the owner of El Sol is either hiding from the Mob, or is a bigger Luddite than even myself.  The official company website just basically had product lists, recipes, and the like.  El Sol. which means "the sun" in English, sells Latin American and Caribbean fruits, vegetables, and a few prepared/processed fruit and vegetable items.  Some of these include tamarind, tomatillos, sugar cane, long beans (I didn't know exactly what these were--after some checking they're a relative of the cowpea, originally grown in parts of China and Southeast Asia.  These beans are also known as asparagus beans, Chinese long beans, snake beans, bodi, borboti, bora, long-podded cowpeas, and yardlong beans), chili peppers, yuca, breadfruit, bananas, avocados, coconut milk, and squash.  Some of the countries that grow their wares are the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Honduras.  And that's about all I could get.   Business-related websites did indicate that the owner and current CEO of El Sol is Carl (aka Chris) DelPrete, and that the company started over 20 years ago.  Alas, Googling that name mainly showcases another man named Carl DelPrete, who co-founded and runs the Uncle Giuseppe's Marketplace, a New York-based Italian supermarket.  And, in previous posts I've already reported on fun facts about Ecuador, and some famous people with Ecuadorian heritage.  Furthermore, I've previously gone into some detail about plantains in posts about plantain and banana products.  So I'm kind of stuck--sorry.  Therefore, the final paragraph will be some unrelated information about an obscure bit of slang that I used in the first sentence of this paragraph.

El Sol Brands, Inc., plantain chips, garlic (or in Spanish ajo) flavor:  These chips were yellow circular discs, about 1.5 inches (about 3.5 cm.) in diameter.  The texture was dry and crunchy.  The flavor was kind of bland.  The garlic flavoring wasn't that strong.  They grew on me a little as I ate them, but they were still not one of the better plantain chips I've sampled.  I also tried some with ranch dressing on them, and this improved things.  Therefore, in conclusion, I would recommend these only slightly--if you're looking for an alternative to regular potato chips, these are okay, especially if you dip them in something.  But there are definitely better plantain chips out there.

     On to the expression.  For starters, "umpteen," or "umpteenth," refers to large but unspecified position in a sequence.  So in my sentence earlier, I'm using it as an exaggeration, to indicate that I've discussed companies that provide little to no information about their founders, and company history, many, many times.  I've been using this expression for years, but I didn't know the origins.  Which, as I discovered, are not conclusive.  The term "umpty" seems to date back to around the year 1905, as a slang term for the dash in Morse Code.  Telegraph operators would sometimes start a long story with a string of dashes as placeholders, so this became synonymous for an indefinite number.  Then, in the era of World War I (1914-18), soldiers took the "umpty" and substituted a "teen" for the ending "ty" of umpty, or "umpteen."  This was used to indicate an unspecified amount of something.  The Oxford English Dictionary notes a 1918 writing by pilot J.T.B. McCudden as the first appearance in a published work.  However, this is disputed.  The Canadians were allegedly earlier, as there are supposedly published account using the word from 1908 or even 1902, although the word was used in a different way.  Moving on, folks in the opposite side of the globe may have used the term even earlier than this.  A New Zealand article reportedly used the expression, in the modern definition, back in 1878.  And the Australians were supposedly using it throughout the late 1800's as well.  So, it would appear that I've been using a late 19th century New Zealand/Australian slang term, which was also popularized in North America during World War I.  Maybe independently, or perhaps borrowed from our friends Down Under.  Ultimately the most important thing is that I use a slang word that is probably only understood by folks over the age of 60 or more.

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Chinese/American Ginger

      A while ago I saw some jarred sushi ginger (which is sliced strips of pickled ginger), and it brought back memories.  As I've probably mentioned previously, I've had a ton of sushi in my life--surely hundreds of pounds of it, or more.  On some of my archaeological projects on the road I literally ate sushi 4-5 times a week.  (Looking back, it's a wonder that I didn't die from mercury poisoning.)  Anyway, sushi ginger is a very common garnish on sushi servings, kind of like a type of solid, warm sorbet.  Meaning I've also eaten quite a lot of sushi ginger in my time on Earth as well.  Which I've liked so much that I've also consumed containers of sushi ginger without the sushi, all by itself.  All of this is to try to explain some of my culinary obsessions.  The jar I'll discuss today is from The Ginger People brand, made by the Ginger People Group out of California.

     Regular readers with astounding memories may recognize the company and brand name, since I covered another Ginger People Group product in my post on April 16th, 2017, about "gin gins," their ginger based candy.  So this is admittedly a repeat of sorts.  However, the gins gins were made with ginger that was cultivated in Fiji, and the sushi ginger I'll talk about in this post was grown in China.  So I think that's different enough, at least technically.  With all that in mind, I'll try not to repeat myself too much.  The Ginger People Group founders were Abbie and Bruce Leeson, and their company is nearing its 40th anniversary, meaning it started in the mid to late 1980's.  The Leesons are major fans of ginger, to the point that they think it has "healing powers" and such.  Aside from China and Fiji, the business also imports ginger from Australia, Indonesia, and Peru.  And aside from the gin gins and sushi ginger, other Ginger People products include tablets and lozenges, health shots (which are drinks), juices, beverages, cooking and baking products, sauces, and specialty deli items.  All, clearly are ginger-based.  Somewhat surprisingly, for a company that prides itself on being organic and health-based, there is a risk of allergens in Ginger People's products, as the facility they're made in also process peanuts and soy.  So keep that in mind if you're allergic to these things.

The Ginger People, organic sushi ginger:  The ginger strips were the typical sushi ginger size and shape--very thin pieces, roughly rectangular, and ranging between 1-3 inches (or 2.5 to 7.5 cm.) in length and about half an inch to a inch (or about 1.25 cm to 2.5 cm.) in width.  The color and odor were regular too--dull yellow and a slightly spicy, respectively.  And the texture was slightly chewy and wet (they were suspended in a liquid).  The taste was fairly typical too--maybe a tad sweeter than most at first, but it ended with the usual gingery spice bite.  So, all in all, this was a good example of the style.  I would recommend this ginger, definitely.  I did have my ginger plain, since I'm not a sushi chef.  But I'm sure it would pair nicely with sushi as pickled ginger usually does.

     I often note, and sometimes make fun of company mascots and advertising logos.  But in this case, it did what it was designed to do, and stuck in my brain.  I had forgotten The Ginger People brand and company name, but the mascot struck a chord when I saw it again on the official website.  This character, Mr. Knobs, is basically an anthropomorphic ginger man, with a head, and separate arms and legs, all made out of ginger.  Who might be a cannibal--see my post on April 16th, 2017 for more about that.  Actually, when I reread that earlier post, it also mentioned real, human eating human cannibalism, too.  So if that intrigues you, give it a read.