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What is SkADaMo? Check it out here.

Sometimes what is considered edible is subject to a given culture or region of the world; what someone from Nicaragua would consider “local grub” could be entirely different than what someone in Paris would eat. How many different types of meat have you experienced? Are there some types of meat you would never eat? Below are nine different types of meat, listed in The Oxford Companion to Food, that you may not have considered trying:

Camel: Still eaten in some regions, a camel’s hump is generally considered the best part of the body to eat. Its milk, a staple for desert nomads, contains more fat and slightly more protein than cow’s milk.

Beaver: A beaver’s tail and liver are considered delicacies in some countries. The tail is fatty tissue and was greatly relished by early trappers and explorers. Its liver is large and almost as tender and sweet as a chicken’s or a goose’s.

Agouti: Also spelled aguti; a rodent species that may have been described by Charles Darwin as “the very best meat I ever tasted” (though he may have been actually describing a guinea pig since he believed agouti and cavy were interchangeable names).

Armadillo: Its flesh is rich and porky, and tastes more like possum than any other game. A common method of cooking is to bake the armadillo in its own shell after removing its glands.

Capybara: The capybara was an approved food by the Pope for traditional “meatless” days, probably since it was considered semiaquatic. Its flesh, unless prepared carefully to trim off fat, tastes fishy.

Hedgehog: A traditional gypsy cooking method is to encase the hedgehog in clay and roast it, after which breaking off the baked clay would take the spines with it.

Alligator: Its meat is white and flaky, likened to chicken or, sometimes, flounder. Alligators were feared to become extinct from consumption, until they started becoming farmed.

Iguana: Iguanas were an important food to the Maya people when the Spaniards took over Central America. Its eggs were also favored, being the size of a table tennis ball, and consisted entirely of yolk.

Puma: Charles Darwin believed he was eating some kind of veal when presented with puma meat. He described it as, “very white, and remarkably like veal in taste”. One puma can provide a lot of meat, since each can weigh up to 100 kg (225 lb).

Has this list changed the way you view these animals? Would you try alligator meat but turn your nose up if presented with a hedgehog platter?

Headline Image: Street Food at Wangfujing Street. Photo by Jirka Matousek. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr

The post Nine types of meat you may have never tried appeared first on OUPblog.

        

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Ever wondered why some creatures appear to be truly ‘at one’ with themselves and their environment?   Yoga has become so popular, it has even extended to the realm of animals.  These pics show the practice of yoga to indeed be universal.

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Just a little warm up.  One leg at a time.  Of course, some creatures have more legs to warm up than others.  A spot of leaf-top leg-bend yoga has become a popular way for these fellas to kick off their mornings before a busy day doing, er… beetley things.

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A candid shot taken at a mid-morning flamingo yoga class.  Now, all together, the “tree” pose.  Hold… and breathe….  Hey, you at the back.  I said “tree” not “teapot”.

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This dragonfly is carrying out a lovely elbow balance known in human yoga as the “feathered peacock pose”.  A true yogi.  Note the focus and stillness required to successfully perform this pose.  Years of practice.  Only a master could achieve this.

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Nice to see a squirrel having a good shot at the “plough” pose  Either that or he’s trying to let loose a little trapped wind.  …. Or he’s dead.

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Yes, it is ultra-sandy.  Oh you said “ustra-sana” - my mistake.  Yes, that’s yoga-ese for “camel” pose.   Although, the camel is refusing to join in  -  he’s got the hump.  (Any other hump jokes - please keep to yourselves)

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Some animals have become so proficient at meditation, they have evolved a middle eye.  This frog now sees only with his third eye, having lost the use of the first two.

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And finally, a beautiful photo captured during  this iguana’s early evening ’sun salutation’ sequence.  Let the photo speak for itself.  Namaste.  (That means “I respect the god within you that is also within me”  or words to that effect.  Yoga people say this a lot)

For the World Water Day, here is an humoristic - ecologic illustration to sensibilize people to "share" the water.
I did it for a t-shirt contest last week. The theme was Marroco. If this illustration wins, it will be printed on t-shirt (fairtrade cotton).
If you like it, you can still vote for it during one week :
http://www.laspid.com/boutique/catalog/index.php?cPath=26

Well, I'm back from the Grampian Highlands and we had a wonderful time. My youngest claims he's staying. I've read many a book and am ready to put the June/July Forest up. However...my darn computer crashed. Can you believe it? Second time this year. This time I'm not even sure my hard drive will recover.

In any case, I expect the delivery of a trusty old laptop tomorrow or the next day. Then I'll be back to posting reviews and news. In the meantime, here's a meme courtesy of Sheila at Wands and Worlds.

1. Butterbeer or pumpkin juice?
I'll have to go with pumpkin juice, as the thought of liquid butter makes me ill.

2. What House would you most likely (or want to) be in in Hogwarts?
I'd like to be in Gryffindor, but I'm 100% positive I'd end up in Ravenclaw.

3. If you were an animagus, what animal would you turn into?
Definitely a cat. Preferably a black cat.

4. What character do you empathize with, or resemble best?
Hermione, Hermione, Hermione.

5. What position do you play at Quidditch?
I'd be banned from the Quidditch field. Maybe I could sell butter beer?

6. Which teacher is your favorite?
Dumbledore is my absolute favorite. If you all object to my choice as he's the Headmaster, then I'll go with Professor Flitwick. He has a wonderful sense of humor.

7. Any Harry Potter 7 predictions?
Trust Snape. That's my only real prediction. I do think Harry and Hermione will survive, but I'm not counting on anyone else making it through. Also, I do think Harry will have a relative (Mark Evans from Order of the Phoenix? A grandparent?)

I'm not going to tag, because I'd love to hear from as many of you as possible. Please play!!

I just relistened to The Half-Blood Prince and am ready to go.