Further notes on Bok Choy debacle
Oh and I forgot to say this was inside a plastic-wrapped container from Trader Joe's. It's not like it was fresh or from the Farmer's Market or something. Then of course I would have expected bugs. Today k.b.e. and I decided to brave the Bok Choy for lunch (remember her bravado in yesterday's comments), and as she went to wash it she found a fossilized bug, something covered with a white sort of cocoon, or possibly mold. Vince, would you still really just wash it off and eat it?
The bugs suffocated. :(
ReplyDeleteHow would plastic wrap impact the # of bugs? Guess it would prevent more bok choy-loving bugs from joining the party, assuming there are bugs seeking already-harvested-bok choy.
Without seeing the white stuff I couldn't tell you what I'd do. In general I usually cut off the offending part and use the rest, unless I suspect deadly poison. Are there bug equivalents to puffer fish?
For some reason, I think of vegetarian bugs as being ok, a curiosity, and meat-loving bugs (think fly maggots) as horribly yucky.
I think I'm with Linda as far as cocooned, fossilized bugs go -- cut off the offending bit, enjoy the rest. In any case, I'm sure it won't be long before bok choy gets the Whole Foods lettuce treatment (organic, thrice washed by nuns paid a fair wage, etc.) and we can put this unpleasant incident behind us.
ReplyDeleteThat happened to me once in a pistachio--the same fossilized/cocoon/mold thing. Almost ate the bugger! Gross. But yes, most of our food came from dirt so I don't think about it too much. I also don't send back food I find hair in so you might not want to go by what I say.
ReplyDeleteKeep laughing at " Guess it would prevent more bok choy-loving bugs from joining the party, assuming there are bugs seeking already-harvested-bok choy." I suppose you're right, the plastic wrap is not relevant. The fact that I thought it should be "cleaner" because wrapped in plastic just exposes one of my many hypocrisies. I'm almost reminding myself of people who religiously purell everything (in my opinion, inviting eventual catastrophe by making their bodies so incapable of fighting off germs). Then again it's not as bad as going to get an antibiotic b/c you "have a cold that won't go away". That is not what antibiotics are for! It's just absurd too that doctors hand them out to cranky patients. Back to the Bok Choy --Linda, Vince too --there did not seem to be any part that didn't offend in the entire batch.
ReplyDeleteJen -- do you at least remove the hair?
Vince --so funny re: Whole Foods treatment. And who was that NY times reporter who said she'd sooner lick a subway pole than eat thrice-washed lettuce without washing it herself?
Oh I should add that Republicans are hoping to cut back on food safety inspections so the things that actually *are* harmful (e coli, salmonella, etc.) can pass through undetected, fossilized bugs notwithstanding.
ReplyDeleteOr I shouldn't say that's *why* they're doing it. It's not like they're bacteria rights activists. Their actual reasons are even harder to defend.
ReplyDeleteI once found John Boehner in my bok choy. He looked all orange and hypocritical and kept crying and yelling something about how the richest needed more tax breaks, how it just wasn't fair that they wealthy are not INCREDIBLY wealthy, and that the insurance companies can't drop sick kids from their coverage. Naturally, I flicked the bugger, smashed it with my nasty right toenail and discarded the bok choy, since it had been compromised by an immense moron.
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