crimsontape

crimsontape t1_iy96ab2 wrote

Reply to comment by reddituser567853 in Listening to podcasts may help satisfy our psychological need for social connection, study finds by mossadnik

Actually, there's a great deal of evidence for human sexuality being very much tied into our social habits, and our propensity for orgasms has a lot of social utility and feedback loops. That's why it's nice to feel sexy and know it, man or woman. And, if you look at men and women, and how they select a partner and extra-partner (be it cheating or some arrangement), across the timelines of 20-30, 30-40, 40+, the sexual nature of attraction changes profoundly, as do the feedback loops. And we seem to make a big deal out of trying to find a "best of both worlds - competent, sexy, sexily competent, and competently sexy". Our propensity for an orgasm plays implicit roles in our partner selection as well as explicit roles in our ability to sustain medium to long term intimate partners. For most people, if you cut that off at "cumming for babies" well, phew, that's a bit utilitarian, and definitely not sexy. And, like I said, for some reasons obvious and not-so-obvious, we like to feel sexy.

We're not voles and not praying manti, either. Our semen doesn't turn into a cement, and females don't eat the heads of their mates. Our closest cousins, the Bonobo, has more in common with us than most are comfortable with. Look up Bonobos and tell me you don't see "Uncle Bob" somewhere in the photos; and then look for their sexual habits. Not all primates are like this - it's very unique behaviour in the grand scheme of species.

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crimsontape t1_iy94450 wrote

Reply to Listening to podcasts may help satisfy our psychological need for social connection, study finds by mossadnik

It doesn't replace people, but it does satisfy my need for higher rung discussions that don't devolve under the weight of a challenging topic, or, the reasonable and common fact that it's impossible for a given group to know better answers without satisfying a knowledge gap. The kind of talk that bears a quality of emotional control as well as some academic discipline to get us somewhere other than someone's golden tomb of an echo chamber.

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crimsontape OP t1_iue0nxm wrote

Reply to [homemade] potato, cauliflower, leek soup - topped with seasoned shredded cheese and fresh parsley by crimsontape

I made this a little off the cuff, so I hope I can recall how this rolled out haha

Recipe:

  • A whole large leek, chopped into small bits.

  • Leek Prep Technique: peel off a one or two outside layers of the leek, and chop off some of the gnarly expose green ends. Then, cut into the leek near the base (don't cut through the root-end, keep that intact, much easier for chopping) - and cut down through the whole leek; rotate and repeat. You'll have 4 dangly quarters attached to the root! This allows you to wash the interior extremities of the leek of some of the trapped soil and dirt is there 99% of the time. After a careful rinsing, shake off the excess water gently, and proceed to chop the leeks.

  • 2/3 of a head of cauliflower - keep the florets as large as possible!!

  • 3 medium-large yellow potatoes - dice them into 3/4" cubes-ish

  • Get a large soup pot up to "just-medium" heat (4/10 on a stovetop)

  • Drop in about 3 tables spoons of olive oil, let it heat up a bit but don't let it smoke.

  • Drop in the chopped leeks

  • Season the leeks as they fry - a decent pinch of salt, and some fresh ground black pepper. Note: there's no stock or broth in this recipe.

  • After 3 minutes of frying the leeks, add the diced potatoes and mix them together.

  • Within 2-3 minutes, the leeks are softening up, the potatoes are starchy and grabbing at things.

  • Add a good knob of butter and about 1/2 of cup of white dry vermouth to help things from sticking.

  • Once the alcohol has steamed off, sprinkle in about a table spoon of flour and stir actively to avoid any burning and sticking - turn down the heat if you think it's a little too hot.

  • Add in about 2/3 of a cup of milk and continue stirring actively to get the roux going.

  • Add in the cauliflower florets

  • Add in water a little at a time to thin out the roux

  • Continue adding water until the cauliflower is covered.

  • Add in a healthy pinch of thyme.

  • I added more salt here and there. I also used some raw MSG I have on hand, but you can use a variety of things to satisfy an umami dimension here. I think even Asian fish sauce could work. Otherwise, you can top the soup with fried bacon bits or crispy roasted mushroom bits to that bang. I honestly cheaped out lol.

  • Get to simmering boil, and reduce to very low heat, and let it cook off for about 10-15 minutes or so - check regularly after 10 minutes.

  • Once the cauliflower and potatoes are tender, get a hand blender, and drop it directly into the bottom of the pot. The aim is to preserve the florets and chunks of potato. We want those intact!. It should be easy enough because we kept those pieces large enough. So, the focus is to blend the leek, and only a few pieces of potato and cauliflower. So, don't blend aggressively by travelling the mixer blade into the open soup - that will just turn the soup into a indistinct mush! No bueno!

  • For the cheese, I suggest grated cheddar. I seasoned my cheese with some salt, ground pepper, smoked paprika, and some oregano.

  • Garnish with a little fresh parsley.

  • As mentioned above, you can top the soup with fried bacon bits or crispy roasted mushroom bits for that extra flavour dimension.

I think this made enough to serve roughly 4 people.

The end product is not amazingly rich. It's light, and the lack of broth or stock helps with just let the ingredients speak "simply". It's like how in Indian cooking, sometimes water helps transmit a flavour more clearly than if it's hidden in a fat or part of a stock.

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