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PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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Posted on: February 12, 2009 2:45 PM, by PZ Myers
In the past, I've tried to make my Polyphyletic Jambalaya for dinner on Darwin Day — if you make something with seafood, it's especially easy to toss in representatives of a great many phyla all at once. Alas, this year I'm busy busy busy all afternoon and evening, with no time for anything…I may be wolfing down a crust of bread and a glass of water.
You surely have better plans.
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Comments
Posted by: Newfie
|
February 12, 2009 2:53 PM
what? no wine with your stale bread?
Posted by: Sili | February 12, 2009 2:54 PM
The double-helical slide (for the kids?) is a nice touch.
Now, would someone kindly tell me where I go to get some delicious monkeymeat?
Sorry. Apemeat.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | February 12, 2009 2:58 PM
Might have to whip up some Cioppino
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
|
February 12, 2009 2:59 PM
The Redhead is planning on cook up a big pot of her potato soup. Lots of various meat products present.
Posted by: Deepsix | February 12, 2009 3:06 PM
Anyone else see the Mark and Olly episode last week where they had to eat monkey hands? Well, it was pretty gross.
I've heard of people dating their cousins, but eating them? Now that's nasty.
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Mark_and_Olly?refcd=GO60362s_mark_and_ollie
Posted by: Keenacat | February 12, 2009 3:11 PM
I would love to do a delicious interpretation of "Your inner fish", but sadly I lack the time today and have to study for pharmacology. Maybe I'll be able to put together a menue tomorrow.
Any suggestions?
I was planning to find some recipes online, but maybe somebody has anything tried and proven to recommend.
The boyfriend is not too fond of fish, but he usually eats (and mostly likes) what I put together, so there should be no problem.
Posted by: TheElkMechanic | February 12, 2009 3:11 PM
Well, between the grain and yeast in the bread and the protozoans in the water, at least it will still be polyphyletic.
Posted by: Marek | February 12, 2009 3:11 PM
That picture makes me so hungry for... evolution!
Posted by: Her Reference Ron Sullivan | February 12, 2009 3:19 PM
Damn, all this and he cooks too. My admiration grows; you're almost approaching Joe-level.
Joe's making one of my favorite scary recipes tonight, the one that starts, "First saute' the bacon in the butter." You end up with a tasty Caribbean eggplant dish that's one of the reasons we named our first imaginary child Aubergine.
And, really, it's very little bacon in very little butter. Good tho'.
Posted by: Dan! | February 12, 2009 3:20 PM
Hopefully they treat you well in Columbus today, PZ. I'll be up a bit further north, in Kent, OH. We are bringing in Pro-Science State Senator Tom Sawyer to give a talk on Science, Technology, and Education in Ohio. Happy Darwin Day everybody!
http://bioweb.biology.kent.edu/NewsAndEvents/Darwin%20Day%202009/Darwin_Day_2009/Welcome.html
Posted by: Kirk | February 12, 2009 3:20 PM
I've got some leftover jambalaya I spent a day making a couple weeks ago! Might still be good.... Maybe not.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | February 12, 2009 3:25 PM
Unless it's frozen, I'm going to put my vote in for not.
Posted by: Angel Kaida | February 12, 2009 3:27 PM
OT, but did anyone else who took that stupid poll (the one with no reasonable answers that required an email address) a few days ago get signed up for the OneNewsNow daily news brief without their knowledge? The poll is my number 1 suspect, though any of my friends might have signed me up as a joke.
And yes, I know I should have used a fake email address. I do stupid things sometimes.
Posted by: Glen Davidson | February 12, 2009 3:29 PM
"Distant relative" would be better than "genetic ancestor". The latter are all dead, unless you want to argue that bacteria, archaea, and protists have a kind of immortality.
This cartoon makes me think of the lame creationist "jokes" about eating dinosaurs (chicken) at McDonald's. They're masters of, well, nothing at all.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/6mb592
Posted by: tyaddow | February 12, 2009 3:30 PM
Not sure what I'll have for dinner, but I'll be drinking a bottle of Sokol-Blosser Evolution. Happy Darwin Day!
Posted by: Prillotashekta | February 12, 2009 3:31 PM
Heh heh.
When teaching his "evolution of the vertebrates" class, my adviser provides recipes incorporating the major clades discussed on the handouts throughout the lecture, which means I've got some recipes for most of Chordata around here somewhere.
Posted by: Newfie
|
February 12, 2009 3:34 PM
It's something you never hear a paleontologist say. "Likely tasted of ostrich or crocodile."
Posted by: arekksu | February 12, 2009 3:34 PM
i had primordial soup.
Posted by: Daniel Pope | February 12, 2009 3:44 PM
The double-helical slide is left-handed. FAIL ;)
Posted by: ice9 | February 12, 2009 3:45 PM
Primordial soup. But you should never eat anything you don't know where it came from.
ice
Posted by: Greg Laden | February 12, 2009 3:50 PM
I make mine with trilo-bites.
Posted by: Mike Caton | February 12, 2009 3:55 PM
I've often said that I like the cuisine of both New Orleans and Southern China, because they're about the only places where you can eat by phylum.
http://luckyatheist.blogspot.com
Posted by: jonathan | February 12, 2009 3:56 PM
What's the point of being a militant atheist if you don't even have underlings to do things like polish your boots and make you dinner. Where are all these foot soldiers I keep hearing about... and where do I apply... there doesn't seem to be a recruiter at the mall.
Posted by: Sven DIMilo | February 12, 2009 3:57 PM
A "great many phyla"??? Really? What do you eat?
Chordata (fish, maybe a little chorizo)
Mollusca (mussels, clams, squid, snails)
Arthropoda (shrimp, crab, lobster)
um...what else?
Posted by: JD | February 12, 2009 3:57 PM
Creotard and moron burgers sold here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdn1S3vbcuo&feature=pyv&ad=2532174446&gclid=CPb6v4_u15gCFQS7sgodBi0seA
Posted by: Moth Eyes | February 12, 2009 4:02 PM
Personally, I'm going to be blogging about The Voyage of the Beagle over the next few weeks, and, from what I've heard, many... interesting... culinary tips await within. Darwin was something of a gastronomical adventurer, or so I've heard.
Posted by: Righteous Bubba | February 12, 2009 4:11 PM
Take note of these exceedingly strange facts about Darwin.
Posted by: cpsmith | February 12, 2009 4:13 PM
Tonight I shall dine upon perogie, in honour of my single celled ancestors. From such humble beginings comes great tastiness.
Posted by: Tim H | February 12, 2009 4:16 PM
Ok, that's genus Triricum, right? What phylum is wheat from? And how many more phyla can you cover with an assortmenyt of veggies? I'm woefully ignorant of plant taxonomy.
Posted by: Tim H | February 12, 2009 4:19 PM
Damn it. Triticum. Get the blockquote right, get the italics right, misspell the word. Sorry.
Posted by: azqaz | February 12, 2009 4:27 PM
@sven dimilo
Echinoderm
Posted by: Desert Son | February 12, 2009 4:29 PM
Not much of a cook, so whatever I have on tap for this evening will be markedly uninspired
BUT
I will be pouring myself an absolutely spectacular glass of 25 year Macallan in honor of the day.
Slainte! Happy Darwin Day! Happy Lincoln's Birthday! Happy Monkey!
No kings,
Robert
Posted by: Chris Davis | February 12, 2009 4:33 PM
[Splutter] Hey - intellectual property theft! This idea is clearly ripped off from my own work:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fcj50lwzZyvyD6xebyK3RA?feat=directlink
I'll forthwith send a letter to Ben Goldacre. He knows how to deal with 'em.
Posted by: bastian | February 12, 2009 4:38 PM
When you get down to it, any jambalaya that isn't vegan should be polyphyletic.
Assuming, of course, that you are willing to use "phylum" and "division" somewhat interchangeably.
Posted by: Keanus | February 12, 2009 4:39 PM
Off the immediate topic, Lauri Lebo has a lovely article about her sojourn talking with the Brits about the American division between the rational and irrational with some especially poignant comments on evolution and creationism. You can read it here.
Posted by: Funnyguts | February 12, 2009 4:41 PM
Me? I'll be begging for food money. But if I had the money and time available? An Ecuadorian vegetable plate. (Or I would if there were Ecuadorian vegetable dishes on the Internets.)
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | February 12, 2009 4:43 PM
The only echinoderms I've ever eaten were sea-urchin eggs in (outrageously expensive) sushi. I understand they eat sea cucumbers in Japan. Neither is likely to be a part of an American's seafood stew, though.Posted by: maddogdelta | February 12, 2009 4:49 PM
Where is Bubba Blue when you need him...
Posted by: lectric lady | February 12, 2009 4:52 PM
"....But I don't understand what kind of event where a cake in the shape of an octopus would be appropriate."
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/
Posted by: blf | February 12, 2009 4:53 PM
You surely have better plans.
Plans? No, not really. But I had a shiteload of shite documents to crap all over (as a key technical reviewer/editor), so decided to do the crapping (figuratively speaking!) whilst eating dinner: Off to a nearby restaurant! This is southern France, so had a seafood/terrior (local produce) salad, then a four-cheeses pizza (admittedly a dangerous proposition in S. France), all washed down with a local red wine. Then some of that wonderful Italian ice cream, and a caffè espresso. And completely, I'm afraid, forget about it being Abe Lincoln's birthday…
I'm about to expl—BAMB!…
…
…
Posted by: PZ Myers
|
February 12, 2009 4:55 PM
Sea cucumber is delicious! Not much meat on them, but what there is reminds me of mollusc, with the flaky texture of firm whitefish.
And really, it's easy to get biodiversity in the pot just by going through your local Asian grocery (which, in my case is 150 miles away).
Posted by: llewelly | February 12, 2009 5:08 PM
I had a beer.
Posted by: Carlie | February 12, 2009 5:37 PM
You could make trilobite cookies.
Me, I have a cold, so I'm making chicken. Tastes like chicken.
Posted by: Carlie | February 12, 2009 5:40 PM
Oops, bad link. trilobite cookies.
Posted by: Porco Dio
|
February 12, 2009 5:47 PM
McLumpFish for me prease.... double up on the Fruit
Flies.
happy monkey Chuck
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | February 12, 2009 5:48 PM
Oh, I think I once ate jellyfish at a place in NY Chinatown. That's another phylum in the pot. But still only 5. If you want to include botanical divisions, one herb shoots the whole Chlorophyta, and your trip to the Asian grocery might get you a brown and a red alga. Fungi, maybe 2 or 3 divisions max. Still not a "great many" to me, but then I'm a taxonomic pedant.
Posted by: Quotidian Torture | February 12, 2009 6:06 PM
Sushi!
Too bad it's the cheap stuff, but it's better than dorm food!
Posted by: Aquaria | February 12, 2009 7:18 PM
I'm not doing anything. I'm still stuffed from the bento I had yesterday that I couldn't finish. The unagi sushi my husband had was really good, too.
Right down the street from that restaurant are not one but two Asian supermarkets, among the many in town. I can't imagine living someplace without ethnic markets.
Posted by: E.V. | February 12, 2009 7:22 PM
Isn't that relative?; )Posted by: Sharon | February 12, 2009 7:23 PM
My daughter and I made a Darwin birthday cake. It looks a bit rough but tasted great.
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
|
February 12, 2009 7:27 PM
OT, Rev. BDC, I finally got around to trying the Arrogant Bastard Ale. The beer was very smooth, with a lingering bitter aftertaste (the hoppiness I presume). The Redhead tried one and seems to think it was too hoppy for her taste. We each had with some food, but this weekend I hope to try it on its own.
Posted by: Eyeoffaith | February 12, 2009 7:57 PM
Add some Lingula stems to the mix and you can add Brachiopoda to the list of phyla
Posted by: eyeoffaith | February 12, 2009 8:01 PM
Add some Lingula stems (should be able to get them in asian markets) to the mix and you can add Brachiopoda to you list of phyla
Posted by: may | February 12, 2009 8:05 PM
something for the octopus lovers:
five days on the lam in New Zealand.
reported on
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/13/2490473.htm
Posted by: Nell | February 12, 2009 8:12 PM
My mum (back in the UK) cooked her dinner guests this birthday dinner:
Primordial Soup
Fungi: Garlic mushrooms in breadcrumbs
Early Plants: Actually asparagus, but it looks a bit Carboniferous
Invertebrata: Smoked mussels
Fish: Whitebait
Birds: Eggs Florentine
Mammals: Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (with roasties and baby carrots)
Pud: a birthday cake with 20 candles, a multiplication sign in grapes and oat cakes, and a whole Binham blue with 10 candles
The controversy: "Rhubarb, rhubarb!" and cream
I sure wish I was near enough to pop home for dinner sometimes.
Posted by: Johannes | February 12, 2009 8:56 PM
Here in Denmark some of my fellow biochemistry students and I gathered for a cake party with coffee and cognac. One was a layered cake with the words 'Chucky-D 200 years' written on top, the other was an apple pie with the 'March of Man' drawn on it with chocolate icing.
Quotes were read from 'The Origin' now and then, and the evening was ended with Darwin's concluding remarks on the "endless forms most beautiful"
Posted by: Jafafa Hots | February 12, 2009 9:01 PM
"I make mine with trilo-bites. "
Ohhh. I just imagined trilo-shaped gummy candies. They would go over really well on the trilo-listserv.
Yes, I am subscribed to a trilobite listserv. Geek points.
Posted by: Holbach | February 12, 2009 9:07 PM
Dinosaur eggs parboiled at Yellowstone's cauldron.
Posted by: Diego | February 12, 2009 9:22 PM
That's uncanny-- I've had a similar experience to your polyphyletic jambalaya. As a beginning grad student I went to my first scientific meeting with my adviser and a lab mate. The meeting was in Louisiana and we stopped at a great Cajun place and started to count up the number of phyla represented on the menu. The food was great and had high diversity and disparity scores!
Happy Darwin Day, PZ.
Posted by: Godfrey | February 12, 2009 10:01 PM
@51- try Double Bastard Ale sometime, if you like Arrogant Bastard. It's something like 11% alcohol so it's like drinking a bottle of wine, and will give a big hangover if you aren't careful. Tasty, though. I celebrated Darwin's b-day by getting (way) back to my fungus roots- I had a Sam Adams...or two. Yeast, where would we be without it?
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | February 12, 2009 10:09 PM
The local specialty beer store just got a double dry hopped barley wine in from Stone.
I'm heading down there to fill my my growler tomorrow.
Posted by: mikecbraun | February 12, 2009 10:20 PM
I ate a creationist. Tasted like bullshit.
Posted by: cyan | February 12, 2009 10:28 PM
Whenever I show organisms, whether in context of phyla or systems etc, I get so damned hungry!
So: am hungry most of my work time.
And share this personal visceral reaction with students, (AFTER asking them their own gut perceptions).
Many, if not most or all, are also viscerally stunned with an initial perception of deliciocity.
- cyan
P.S.
Darwin Day today: began each class with the podcast from Nature (nature.com) regarding Darwin's evolving views of pigeon breeding
- halfway through the podcast, I began showing photos of fancy pigeons from this site:
http://members.tripod.com/pigeon00/fancy_pigeon_gallery.htm
OMG! what a great conversation between students, initiated by students, about what they saw from actual photos of artificially bred pigeons and the info from the Nature podcast info.
I could have left the classroom and the same eureka moments would have been reached. Enforces belief in result of battle of ideas.
tee hee hee: bit of example that evidence & logic trump dogma (if only for one class period time cognizance)
Posted by: Cuttlefish, OM | February 12, 2009 11:07 PM
Evolution: it's what's for dinner!
http://www.evolutionwine.com/
(ok, technically, it's what washed down dinner, but I very much recommend it!)
Posted by: Her Reference Ron Sullivan | February 12, 2009 11:38 PM
Aside from dinner (and weeding the irises in the curbstrip) Joe published an unusually personal column here.
Posted by: Keeley | February 12, 2009 11:56 PM
I have a toddler, so I simplified our theme dinner a lot. We had:
"Four Legged" Fish (Salmon Steaks with carrot legs and caper eyes)
"Galapagos Greens" (A simple salad)
"Monkey's Uncle" Banana Bread
I didn't want to get to intellectual on him. He hasn't, yet, begun to ask origins questions.
Posted by: Tielserrath | February 13, 2009 2:51 AM
At work we had a (very) large strawberry cheesecake emblazoned with 'Happy Birthday Charles!' and a heap of redfruits (the advantage of it being summer in February). Unfortunately just as I cut it four ambulances arrived and unloaded their patients on our doorstep.
So we wished them Happy Monkey and they looked rather alarmed...
Posted by: Confused | February 13, 2009 6:16 AM
I read that as "Prophylactic Jambalaya". I'm not sure I even want to imagine what that would be like.
Darwin day I was up until midnight
manufacturing tiny abominations against god and natureelectroporating chicken embryos.Posted by: Monado | February 13, 2009 6:53 AM
Heck, have a bacon, lettuce, & tomato sandwich. That's polyphyletic. Crackers & hummus? That's polyphyletic. Toast & peanut butter? That's polyphyletic. You've just been focusing too much on the animals.
Posted by: Pat Silver | February 13, 2009 7:32 AM
Throw in some freshly collected seaweed and you almost certainly have a large number of small organisms from several different phyla living on it.
Posted by: Lana | February 13, 2009 8:36 AM
Both my husband and I ended up working late so we just picked up Chinese carryout. But we shared a bottle of Monkey Bay wine.
We've both been working a lot since we became empty nesters.
Posted by: FrodoSaves | February 13, 2009 9:58 AM
Scallops, mussels, clams and squid - you've got one phylum right there. And then there was some chorizo, and as a type of sausage, I figure that's got to be worth two or three phyla in itself. Can't argue with tapas!
Posted by: Rebecca C. | February 13, 2009 10:05 AM
I'm a vegan and I didn't have any mushrooms on the menu last night, so my Darwin Day Party menu consisted of only one kingdom (namely our good friends the plants), unless you count the bacteria that undoubtedly hijacked their ways into our tummies.
Oh! I take it back. I had a cider. Mmmm ... yeast. Fungi got their invitation after all!
Posted by: marilove | February 13, 2009 11:01 AM
I've been sick :( I went to Denny's last night because I was too tired and icky feeling to cook. I had a superbird. Om nom nom. Oh and a chocolate milk shake. Haha.
Posted by: tubi
|
February 13, 2009 11:20 AM
You're really a closet Bokononist, aren't you?
Posted by: catgirl | February 13, 2009 11:21 AM
"Distant relative" would be better than "genetic ancestor"
Aww, you beat me to it. I was going to point out that it's more like eating cousins than ancestors, unless you can find some really old mummified things.
Posted by: Berlo | February 13, 2009 1:41 PM
Is this a rhetorical dish? Or is there a recipe? We want the recipe!
Posted by: Medusa | February 14, 2009 11:03 AM
I must have "devolved." I'm a vegetarian, so the ancestors I eat are very far removed from me.
Posted by: Settor81 | October 22, 2009 3:17 PM
Her teacher was certain the student knew more than her written answers conveyed, so the teacher asked the student if she could explain what she knew in other ways. ,