Category: yoso-silly

I promised Clare from Eat Stuff that I’d go ahead and attempt to eat Vegemite. After her Vegemite-for-non-Aussies post, I’d pretty much committed myself to actually trying some Vegemite from this little bottle brought back by a friend from Australia. So I figured today, with the bright sunny sky shining and nice breezes would be as good a day as any to die…….

But someone had already tried some of the Vegemite. A few days ago I got a phone call from the Missus:

She: "I think there’s something wrong with the Vegemite"
Me: "Ummm, okay, what’s wrong?
She: "Well, I tasted some…."
Me: "You Tasted Some!"
She: "Yeah I tasted some, and it tastes like it’s rotten or spoiled or something!"
Me: "Can’t be, I’ve been told it lasts forever!"
She: "Nothing lasts forever…"
Me: "Maybe Vegemite does, it might be the perfect food."
pause….
She: "So you’ve never tasted this Vegemite stuff…."
Me: "No, I, um.."
She: "So it could be spoiled and you wouldn’t even know it!"
Me: "From what I understand, this stuff tastes so terrible, it really wouldn’t matter if it was spoiled or not!"
click….

On a follow-up phone call, a detailed description of the taste and texture of the Vegemite was passed on to me, to be kept forever in the "bowels" of my mind. In case you want a little history of Vegemite it can be found here.

So this morning I set out to make me some Vegemite toast. For some reason a song kept popping up in my head – "Goodbye Papa its hard to die….. ".

I decided to use wheat toast. I mean, Vegemite is "healthy", right? So I figured wheat toast is the way to go. I spread some butter on the toast, and got a little spoon of Vegemite. At first glance, Vegemite is black and tar-like, with a distinct yeasty smell. I moved the spoon toward Sammy who ran and hid in the bathroom. Not a good sign!

"When all the birds are singing in the sky…."

So I spread the Vegemite on the toast best I could:

I actually tried to make a "smiley face", which failed horribly, so my extreme lack of artistic talent is clearly visible to the entire world. See any apparition on the toast that could possibly make me some cash on Ebay? I then thought, "any black food that I like", "caviar", "yeah, that’s the ticket, caviar is black, caviaaarrrr…", "aaah, who am I kidding, this is about as far from caviar as I can get!"

So I took a bite, than another for good measure. The taste? Well after having my stomach pumped in the ER – just kidding Clare! It’s very salty, and a bit on the bitter-astringent side. I didn’t enjoy the after taste it left, but overall not a bad experience. Not something I’ll ever crave, but I’d eat it if I had to. Thanks Clare, this was fun. That Vegemite would just have continued being a paperweight at work, if not for your encouragement.

Another song just popped into my head:

We are happy little Vegemites as bright as bright can be,
We all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea,
Our mummy says we’re growing stronger every single week,
Because we love our Vegemite,
We all adore our Vegemite,
It puts a rose in every cheek!

I was having dinner with a group of Ex-Pat Hawaii people a few nights ago, and during the conversation, we were talking about some of the traits that people from Hawaii have; and I blurted out "brand loyalty". Most people who grew up in Hawaii have pretty much developed a strong brand loyalty to either one specific brand of a product, or to one of a few "local" brands of a specific product, mostly through some kind of indoctrination, and almost all with some kind of cautionary anecdotal tale. So I started naming some products and we got into a lively discussion……

What kine Mayonnaise?

Everyone said Best Foods. This brand is so ingrained, that if someone put a jar of Hellman’s in front of me, I wouldn’t buy it. It could have the same label and be essentially the same product, but I still wouldn’t buy it. Why? Because it’s not Best Foods. As one of the guys said; "have to be Best Foods, have to be….."

What Kine Shoyu (soy sauce)? Immediate answer – Aloha Shoyu!

Aloha Shoyu has been around since 1946, you can read a brief bio here. This one runs deep, really deep, there are recipes that specify Aloha Shoyu. In my household if I brought home the wrong shoyu, I’d die an ugly death. I know Yamasa tastes about the same, and honestly I don’t think I could tell the two apart in a blind test. But I’ll still drive to LA for my Aloha Shoyu if necessary. We still use Kikkoman, but mostly for sashimi and sushi.

Here’s an interesting one. All the younger guys didn’t even think about it. But to this day the only canned tuna I can eat is Coral. I’ve been brainwashed to associate all other tunas to "cat food", and believe me this belief is so strong that I’ll get nauseated at the thought of actually buying any other brand of canned tuna. I realize that Bumble Bee Seafoods produces Coral along with a myriad of other brands, but the only canned tuna that will touch my lips is Coral.

The Missus loves this packaged curry with tuna from Trader Joe’s, but I can’t bring myself to eat it, because I know the tuna’s not Coral. Yes, I know, I need major help…….

And what about the infamous:

I wouldn’t be caught dead opening a can of Treet, that would be sacrilege! I know I’ve eaten Treet many times, especially in plates from lunchwagons. But still you gotta have standards! A guy I once knew told me, "I don’t eat meat that rhymes with feet!". "But meat rhymes with feet." "Eh, dis’ is my rules, ok? Dat don’t count!" Same guy used to eat peanut butter and kimchee sandwiches, but well, at least he has standards, you know? Oh, and I love the little "classic" under the SPAM on the can, or as Reid would state – Spam®. Makes me think of Coke and Classic Coke.

I’m sure there are existing Marketing studies and books, but I’ve yet to see anything on brand loyalty in Hawaii. If you know of an article please let me know. For now I’ll just be Brand Loyal Me. I’m sure everyone has some product that they are loyal to, beyond all logic and reason, I’d love to hear what you all have to say! Coming up is Part2 – There was a time I believed that Corned Beef only came in cans…..

Well, gotta scoot, Pepper & I are on our way to Mountain View, CA as you read this. I’m stopping in LA on the way back. I’m hoping to have a few "postable" items on my return. We’ll miss you Pepper!

It was a very tiring day, feeling mentally drained (doesn't take much actually), I didn't want to think too much….even "what's for dinner". The weather's been hot lately, and a bit more humid than usual. I wanted something spicy, but not hot in the temperature sense. So I headed to Zion Market, and picked up some Kim Chee. And had just Kim Chee and rice, and it was soooo good!

So I had, and I hope Sarah fromThe Delicious Life will correct me, if I'm wrong or inaccurate. Oi Sobaegi – stuffed cucumber Kimchee, stuffed with chives, and with the distinct taste of garlic, this is my current favorite. Napa Cabbage Kimchee (Baechu Kimchee), the strange thing about this was that there was a very strong fishy scent, I had heard that fish paste, or fermented fish was used, but I had never really noticed until today – but it wasn't fishy in the least bit. Good, not great. And lastly Namul, too mild, and just ok. But all perfect with a hot bowl of rice. Delici-yoso!!!

I thought this was really funny. A series of comments on Reid’s great blog:Onokinegrindz regarding a long standing pizza place back home in Honolulu (Magoo’s), started taking us on a looooong trip down memory lane. There were discussion about various (now long-gone) pizza joints, an ice cream parlor, eventually leading us to Appian Way pizza. If no remembers the Appian Way Pizza Kit, it was sort of like the Macaroni and Cheese kit for pizza, a package of dough mix and a can of sauce – just add water!!!

Now this is the regular crust kit, but funny thing is I don’t remember any other variation on this.

To make this even funnier, Appian Way Pizza is available through Amazon; Appian Way Pizza Kit. I love the "Features" where it says "Create your own pizzaria style pizza at home"!!!! Now last time I remember pizzaria is spelled pizzeria…. What made me depressed is the "Just like Dad used to make!", I guess that really starts to date us……so if you remember making this….well fill in the blanks. Also, it costs $33, but it seems to be for a case of 12, so if you buy this you can make your authentic pizzeria style pizza in your own home!

BTW, I don’t recall the pizza made with this stuff as being really that bad. But I thought, I’d give everyone a couple of laughs!