Monday, 17 May 2010

Spam

Andrew Denny posted recently on Granny Buttons that he spent nearly fifteen minutes trying to post a comment from his iPhone on Sarah's Chertsey blog. Andrew writes about the problems he had negotiating her anti-spam devices, and repeats that his own blog is "open" for comments, saying that he gets only two or three spam comments per week.


I commented that the only spam I've had is what I've eaten; and here I am, striking a silly pose for David's camera on the Ashby Canal five years ago (original blog post here).

It's true: I don't suffer from spam comments on my blog, despite it being open, with no word verification or waiting for approval needed. Actually, I don't suffer from many comments, full stop! (No offence intended to my regular commenters!)

According to Wikipedia there have been various suggestions as to the origin of the name, including SPiced hAM; Shoulder of Pork and hAM; Specially Processed American Meats.

The Wikipedia article goes on to say: Many jocular backronyms have been devised, such as "Something Posing As Meat", "Specially Processed Artificial Meat", "Stuff, Pork and Ham", "Spare Parts Animal Meat" and "Special Product of Austin Minnesota".

I'm impressed that the official spam.com website acknowledges the famous Monty Python sketch in its history timeline.

I think the last time I ate any Spam was that occasion on the Ashby, back in 2005!

9 comments:

Andy Tidy said...

Spam, Spam, Spam,Spam,
Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam,
Spaaaaaaam..... wonderful Spam.

Sorry, couldn't resist it!

Anonymous said...

Hello Halfie,
Since Spam was your topic AND you mentioned a potato field I thought I would share my favorite Spam recipe.

Spam and Cheese stuffed Baked Potatoes
4 large baking potatoes
7 T. Butter (set 1 T. aside to grease potatoes)
1/8 C. grated or finely diced onion
1/4 tsp pepper
2 eggs
1 1/2 C. shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 lg. can of Spam cut into 1/2 inch chunks
preheat oven 375 F.

Grease the skin of each potato and prick them with a fork to the middle so they cook evenly. Bake for an hour or until done. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inside, leaving a thin shell. In a large bowl beat the potatoes one minute. Add butter, onion, pepper, and eggs. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Fold in one cup of shredded cheese and the Spam chunks. Stuff each potato half generously. Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 375 F. for 15 minutes or until potatoes are heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly. These may be prepared in a batch, wrapped individually and frozen, and then reheated in a microwave if you've an appetite for homemade fast food.
Cheers!
Jaqueline USA

Halfie said...

Thanks Jaqueline. This sounds like an ideal lunch for a cold day on the cut!

I can see that "C" stands for cup; but what's "T"? Not as much as an ounce, surely?

Anonymous said...

Oops-sorry--that's American speak for Tablespoon. :)
Jaqueline USA

Anonymous said...

Oops--sorry! That's American speak for Tablespoon. :)
Jaqueline USA

Halfie said...

Jaqueline, thanks. That seems like a lot of butter! Just a thought: wouldn't it be easier to measure it out by weight? It seems to me - and I certainly wouldn't describe myself as a cook - that it would be a bit of a faff digging out a tablespoon of butter, presumably smoothing it level, and repeating seven times!

But, as I say, I'm no cook.

Jan said...

You're good at omlettes!

Anonymous said...

Oh sorry about posting the same thing twice! It was a very long day at the office.

Butter wrappers here in the U.S. have Tablespoon measurements printed on them. I just open a stick of butter but leave the side of the wrapping paper with the measures attached, take a knife and cut through the butter stick at the appropriate T. mark and Viola! one has the exact number of Tablespoons needed. There are 8 Tablespoons in one stick of butter. It probably does sound like a lot but figure you have four large baking spuds which which when cut in half will actually provide 8 generous servings. So that is less than 1T. per serving. I'll be curious to know how they turn out for you and if you like them.
:) Jaqueline Almdale USA

Anonymous said...

What baffles me about Andrews write up is that we all respect the reasons for word verification even if it is a pain in the bum at times we still use it to communicate with each other socially...

So it sounds to me more like an excuse not to be bothered than a reason...

H