Well, this is a new one!!

I'm always reluctant to order anything with crushed potatoes, as it seems so cruel to the poor wee things. Once I've eaten them they're pretty well crushed anyway, so why not let them look nice and whole on the plate? I know that mashed potatoes (or mash, as we now have to call it, apparently), is even more of a disaster for the vegetables in question, but they do seem to be fully dead, like the cooked meat beside them, rather than just wounded like the crushed ones.

(Wanders away, mumbling more rubbish...)

I have in my mind a picture of ' exhausted' Vanilla bean pieces lying flat out in some exotic Madagascan location having fulfilled their task.

Twice cooked - you mean well done - like all my cooking

What a great thread! Thanks for making me smile. Gummybears, I have visions of your agricultural serving up method involving pitchforks, wheelbarrows and buckets!

Dare I mention the new trend for Cauliflower Rice which isn’t rice at all, and Courgette Spaghetti which isn’t pasta related in any way. Why not just say it’s ground up Cauliflower or shredded Courgettes?

They could have gone with 'rescued' vanilla bean pieces.

Oh ladies you have made me laugh. Thank You

Some very funny posts. Just what I needed.

Oh Gummybears I love your description of your serving technique. I too have similar, my beautiful creations always fail presentation wise at the last moment particularly anything with a biscuit base.

To be honest once I have applied my somewhat agricultural serving technique to whatever dish I’ve cooked, it always looks pretty deconstructed

What about "oven baked"? I wasn't aware of any other way.

I’ve often wondered that HelenTracy. Ridiculous isn’t it! Does the extra word make the dish sound more sophisticated? I detest all those superfluous words but I suppose they are meant to make the dish sound more appealing. I see less of “on a bed of” now though.

I'm always puzzled when reading a menu and they say 'pan fried' What other way do you fry anything other than in a bloody pan??

Jane's comment, featured in the email, made me apprehensive about reading this thread...

Come to think of it I could be called 'previously loved' lets leave it there!

I like the term 'previously loved' for various bits of tat in second hand shops.

I make a "creamy blended vegetable compote" but I usually call it soup.

Nina

I bet you didn’t charge £20 for it though!

squiffy I make a very tasty "deconstructed" cottage pie.
Our family call it mince 'n' tatties.

Glad I started this thread, you’ve made me laugh!

I love terminology that’s used these days, especially in restaurants. ‘Deconstructed Cheesecake’ = a pile of crumbs, a dollop of filling (that’s now not filling anything) next to it and a swirl of cream next to that. Artistically finished off with a sprig of something green! Oh, and not forgetting the jus ..... The whole lot not being enough to fill a teaspoon!

Groan if you like

I suppose it wouldn't do to call them 'Used Vanilla Bean Pieces' as you may then ask 'Where have they bean been?'

Oh the poor things. Hope you let them recover a bit before you ate them!!

I just had to google that. Apparently the pods are first used to provide vanilla extract - and then used for your ice cream.

I dread to think what it would be like if it had lively vanilla bean pieces in it! Would they act like popping candy?