Japanese Peanuts

Every so often, I pick up something new at the grocery store for us to try. A few weeks ago it was Japanese peanuts. They are just peanuts with a crunchy coating. They are incredibly addictive. The texture is the addicting part, I think- reminiscent of a peanut M&M in texture, but without the sweetness. So, I looked them up last week, to see how they are made. That's when I found out they are from Mexico (whaaa?), not Japan. I'm probably the last Texan to know that.

Here is a fantastic article about them: Mexico: Land of the Japanese Peanut. I learned about Japanese immigration to Mexico during WWII and everything! Very interesting.

Their real name is cacahuates japonés.

Me: So peanuts are cacahuates in Spanish?
Lauren: Yes.
Me: Sounds more like poopnuts.

Right?!

*rimshot*

Today, Saturday 9 is using a song from Chess, a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, and lyrics by the great Tim Rice. We saw it a few years ago. Here's one of my favorite songs from Chess, with a fabulous big Broadway finish---



*wild applause*


Saturday 9: One Night in Bangkok (1984)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is from the play Chess. It's been said that the most successful players are fluid in their thinking. Do you consider yourself flexible or set in your ways?
Very flexible.

2) Nigel Short, a real-life chess grandmaster, used to wear a t-shirt that said, "He who cares, wins." Do you always play to win? Or do you play board/card games or sports for the fun of it?
For the fun of it. I do my best to win, but if I don't win, it doesn't bother me.

3) The singer is in Bangkok for an important tournament. He maintains that he doesn't mind missing the sights and dismisses Bangkok is just another "crowded, polluted stinking town." Do you find big cities exciting? Or do you think of them as noisy and dirty?
Big cities are exciting! I just stay out of the dirty areas.

4) Air pollution has reached serious levels Bangkok. Do you suffer from allergies, asthma or another condition that could be aggravated by pollution?
I have seasonal allergies, mostly to molds.

5) To reduce traffic, commuters travel through Bangkok on ferries that make regularly scheduled trips up and down the Chao Phraya River. When was your last boat ride?
We had a work party on a boat on Lake Austin about a year ago.

6) Round trip airfare between ATL and BKK is $1750. If we gave you a travel voucher for that dollar amount, how would you spend it?
I would go to Puerto Rico for a week, then head to Rome for a couple of weeks. Round trip AUS to SJU to FCO.

7) The Holiday Inn Express in Bangkok has a McDonald's onsite. When you go somewhere new, do you find it comforting to be surrounded by what's familiar? Or would you prefer to try new things?
I prefer to try new things, although on about Day 6 in a foreign country, it can be fun to have a meal at a McDonald's. You can try the local specialty (in Germany they had banana shakes) or stick with your favorite menu item from home.

8) One of Bangkok's most popular restaurants is DID, which stands for Dine in Dark. The dining room at DID is 100% light free -- cell phones must be stored in the lobby to avoid distracting from the experience -- so customers eat their four course meal without seeing it. This heightens the diner's sense of taste and smell. When you prepare a meal, do you put a great deal of care into its presentation?
Nope. Sometimes I get everything on the plate and realize... it's Yellow Food Night! I do care about plating, but not to the extent that I add carved radish garnishes, or artistically distribute sauce from a squirt bottle.

9) Random question: Think about your last professionally prepared meal. Did you dine in, carry out, or have it delivered?
Dine in- I made ham and cheese quiche and served with watermelon cubes.