I was wondering about that too, though I thought it was bad CGI.

Oh hey, right now I’m cooking a pound of tofu with 1 Tbsp soy sauce for umami, 1 Tbsp ground mustard seed, and 1/2 Tbsp smoked salt. I swear it tastes a lot like meat, I’m not sure what kind, but it’s definitely meaty. Ooooh, MOMMY!

I’m a white guy, and have been told firmly but politely that I can be trusted to provide Dr. Pepper but not much else, so that needs to be my job. It seems like a fair arrangement.

“I sat her down with a slab of roasted and pan-seared pork belly. No frills, just a cured belly that was slow roasted, sliced, then seared in a cast iron skillet.”

It’s totally a phrase I heard a lot growing up, as a “clean” alternative to swearing. At some point in my teen years it dawned on me where the phrase must have come from, and it was a “holy fuck* that’s depressing” moment.

Perhap ask your friend for tips on how to make really good turkey and etc? That way you can take the curse off the whole affair: “you do such a great job, I’d at least like to be competitive”.

I’m all about the pork too, though I am willing to try vegetarian if I can get enough protein out of it. But holy hell yes, ground pork plus a few spices makes absolutely incredible sausage, and if I ever give up pork it will be with regrets.

Oh! OH! Maybe you’re the person to ask, since you have seen failed attempts at vegan meat and you know your way around the kitchen. Now, I know that there’s no way to make tofu actually taste like meat, but how does one get as close as it gets? I haven’t tried it yet, but I am guessing the trick is to use some soy…

Commendable social judo, sir or madam!

My mother tried to make Toll House cookies once — ONCE. She didn’t understand the teaspoon / tablespoon either.

A lot of the time there is a kind way to criticize the other person’s cooking, by saying “personally I like it with less salt, but everyone’s taste is different” or whatever. But it’s true that people just don’t want to hear it a lot of the time.

“But also, white people can be a bit too experimental with their food sometimes. I guess this happens because “just living life” doesn’t give them the same thrills and scares and dangers that it provides for us, so they have to find their excitement elsewhere.”

Hmmm, that would explain a lot — what is arguably “privilege” in the social sphere is more like “the basic rights that should be assumed for any person” in the political sphere.

Well the most likely argument is, if I wanted potato salad, I could simply get some at the gas station, so why would I go to the trouble of making my own?

No. I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I fell in love with early 80s “Power Man and Iron Fist”, and every other take on Luke Cage and Danny Rand just makes me miss the Jim Oswley / M. D. Bright days. I even miss Jo Duffy’s writing; she was no Jim Oswley, but she was no slouch.

My potato salad is moist because I use hotdog water.

“Ninja”

That’s a good point, Netflix tends to only show complete seasons. For example, seasons 1 and 2 of “Supergirl” are there but no episodes of the current season (season 3).

Off topic, but why are we not watching “Black Lightning”? Or if we are, why are we not talking about it in rapturous delight? Damn fine television, and I worry I’m the only one who’s catching it ... and I probably have less useful to say about it than anyone.