In addition to our regular Thursday Three below, one of our Downunderling brothers, Kitchen Hand, has a culinary-type question regarding the distinction between herbs and spices.
Sounds like the perfect place for Dr. Possum to waddle in and be the end-all source for accurate information!
Dr. Possum, known to occasionally pretend to be an agronomist when he's not pretending to be a medical doctor, is well-versed in making up all sorts of answers, so this one should be no different.
Dr. Possum is also a loyal taxpayer, and therefore would like to direct readers to the United States National Arboretum website, which is only one of many U.S. Department of Agriculture super-dee-dooper websites, where the peoples of the world can come and take advantage of our good nature and open pocketbooks for the best information money can be wasted on to produce!
According to the revenue-suckers:
What is the difference between a spice and an herb?
Spices are flavorings, often of tropical origin, that are dried. Most spices come from plant fruits, as is the case for mace, nutmeg, black pepper, and cardamom. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a shrubby tree, and ginger comes from the underground rhizome of a plant. Herbs, in the culinary sense, are leaves of plants that can be used either fresh or dried to season food. In the botanical sense, an herb is any plant that does not have woody perennial stems like a tree or shrub.
NOW THEN, anyone else have a question that needs answering? Dr. Possum is standing by (a little too close, if you ask me) and is ready to help with anything you need to know, be it of a botanic, organic, or comic nature.
*Dr. Possum is really a doctor, if we consider "doctor" a term of art rather than one of competence in a particular field. Therefore, use caution in actually using any advice proferred by Dr. Possum, in that it could cause inflammation, irritability, or massive explosions.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at November 30, 2006 08:49 AMwho put the sham in the shama lama ding dong?
[your earlier query about spices & herbs reminds me of a graffito I saw back in the '80s: "Pot is an Herb. Reagan is a Dope."]
Posted by: skinnydan at November 30, 2006 09:04 AMA common enough question, Skinnydan. The girl I love is who did that, and not only that, she put the ooooh-mau-mau back into my smile.
And, by the way, I hope you soundly thrashed the filthy spray-can happy hippy who wrote that little bit of doggerel.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at November 30, 2006 09:23 AMWhy are there Spice Girls but not Herb Girls?
Can you name all 4 Spice Girls?
Why were they not named after spices?
Do you have a "fave" Spice Girl? 4 sure? :-)
Have you actually sat through the entire Spice Girls movie?
[I was not strong enough to sit through the entire masterpiece myself.]
There was a movie?
Posted by: Nate at November 30, 2006 09:57 AMMarc, there are no Herb Girls due to potential copyright infringement with Peaches and Herb.
The Spice Girls consist of Infantile Spice, Stupid Spice, Old Spice, Stupid Spice, Jr., and Augmentation Mammoplasty Spice.
They were not named after spices because their management team was afraid fans would attempt to drill a series of holes in their heads and pour them into flavorful soups, stews, and casseroles.
My favorite Spice Girl is the Reclusive Spice, who does not perform or lead a public life of any sort.
Spice Girls Movie? Dr. Possum disavows any knowledge of such a thing.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at November 30, 2006 10:19 AMPeaches and Herb? OK everyone, after me:
Reunited and it feels so good
Reunited 'cause we understood
There's one perfect fit
And, sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited
'Cause we're reunited, hey, hey.
[You're welcome for the earworm.]
Yes, there was too a movie: Spice World. The tenth anniversary is coming up next year, and we're all hoping for a special edition Blu-Ray DVD with extras.
Posted by: Marc V at November 30, 2006 12:01 PMThe most annoying earworm ever devised was The Fifth Dimension's "Up, Up, and Away (In My Beautiful Balloon)."
As for the Spice Girls, I dare not ask what sort of "extras" would come with a Spice Girls DVD.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at November 30, 2006 12:08 PMI do not thank you for that, Mr. Oglesby.
Posted by: Janis Gore at November 30, 2006 12:27 PMSorry, but I have nothing to do with that. That is entirely the fault of Dr. Possum. If you wish, you may contact Dr. Possum's attorney, Barrister Possum, Esq., about any possible malpractice claim(s).
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 30, 2006 12:31 PMThe Association? I thought the Fifth Dimension did Up Up And Away
Posted by: Skillzy at November 30, 2006 12:52 PMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up%2C_Up_And_Away See, we didn't win that trivia tournament based on our looks.
Fear the pen.
Posted by: Skillzy at November 30, 2006 01:01 PMYes, Fith Dimension, that's what I wrote. It probably just looked different on your monitor, Mr. Skillzy. For a small fee, I would be willing to give you a free eye examination.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at November 30, 2006 01:06 PMRevisionist!
Posted by: Skillzy at November 30, 2006 01:14 PM"Fear The Pen"?
Oh, please.
Fear the Edit button!
Anyway, as I was saying, it could be that the visual disturbance you were experiencing was the result of too many spicy chicken wings or heaving bosoms. I'd advise you to limit your intake of chicken wings.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at November 30, 2006 01:23 PMDr. P wrote: "They were not named after spices because their management team was afraid fans would attempt to drill a series of holes in their heads and pour them into flavorful soups, stews, and casseroles."
Why would anybody be afraid of drilling into an empty space? More likely is a drill into the pectoral region, which I imagine would be prime source of silicone caulk. Or perhaps contact lens solution.
And, on the subject of earworms, may I suggest for the CSN (no Y in this case) Fans out there: doo doo doo doo doo, DOO doo doo doo doo doo.
Posted by: skinnydan at November 30, 2006 01:48 PMMr. Skinnydan, I only report what I've been told by sources close to the Spices. I do have it on good authority, however, that their cranial space is not empty, but is in fact filled with silica gel packets, and is therefore not suitable for human consumption.
Speaking of CSN (with or without Y), it is a little known fact that the group originally consisted of Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Bing Crosby, who had to be replaced with David Crosby because Bing didn't like filthy hippies.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at November 30, 2006 02:10 PMI can't think about David Crosby without chuckling over him being the choice of sperm donor for the infamous Anne Heche-Ellen Degeneres test-tube lovechild. Whatever happened with that, Dr. Possum? Who got to be pregnant and who got to be the dad and pass out cigars?
Posted by: Marc V at November 30, 2006 02:41 PMDr. Possum fears he is going to have to have a Know Your Celebrity Lesbians seminar, but for the time being allow us to report that Mr. Crosby (David) was the donor of choice to the Misses Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher. He successfully produced (somehow) not one but two children for the couple using the internal workings of Miss Cypher. The elder is a girl named Bailey, the junior a boy named Beckett.
I shall now go take a shower.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at November 30, 2006 03:06 PMWrong love child as I recall. I vaguely remember it being Melissa Etheridge and her companion of choice.
The strange connection between the two Crosbys is both ended up with livers as pliable and functional as western saddles.
Posted by: skinnydan at November 30, 2006 03:07 PMThank you. I sit humbly corrected.
Think I'll pass on the KYCL seminar, and act like this never happened.
QED
Posted by: Marc V at December 1, 2006 09:29 AMThe QED seminar will be held in conjunction with the KYCL seminar.
Posted by: Dr. Possum at December 1, 2006 09:36 AM