There were no posts on Saturday or Sunday because I wanted the Postcard Project to be the front page, allowing more people to participate. The Project is now closed, but fear not, there will be more. One of my lurkers cleverly used the time zone to do the limbo under the bar. And yes!!! She made it just in time.
I was very pleased by the fact that some lurkers did indeed lower the force field temporarily in order to participate. I was also happy to see that some international readers signed up. I'll be sending cards to Australia and Germany in addition to Maine, California and points in between.
Can you imagine Pioneer Woman, with 5 million readers a month, doing a postcard project. That woman would have some serious writer's cramp!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The food. Yeah, the food is one of the most important elements of a staff meeting. Otherwise, who would get excited about attending? One of my Postcard Project respondents mentioned that she loved the food photos on Monday morning. Well, you're going to be a little surprised this morning because I've decided to serve corn on the cob.
Yes, corn on the cob for breakfast. Why? Because I made this for dinner last night and it was so good that I decided the meat and potatoes were superfluous. I should have just served corn. You know how when something is really great you want to share it? Well, that's the case with this corn.
It's really, really, really good. We've roasted corn on the grill here since time began. But this corn is different in a way that elevates it to a higher level. Come back tomorrow because I'm going to show you how to make it for yourself. There's a VERY surprising secret ingredient.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The weather has been hot, hot, hot, but not as hot as the scorching temperatures on the east coast. Gosh, I hate heat. I'd rather deal with 20 below than a stinking volcanic heat wave. Several years ago there was a deadly storm of heat in northern Illinois. Many elderly people died in Chicago as a result.
One of the most important things during the hot summer is to stay hydrated. I'm going to confess that I don't like water. For some reason I just don't like to drink water. Perhaps this is because no water can compare to the wonderful water of my childhood. In the summer we would travel to the Florida panhandle to visit my father's relatives. My aunt lived in a very rural and very basic cottage with a hand pump and a well. There was a metal pan to catch the water and a metal dipper for scooping and drinking the ice cold water. That water, that dipper, that moment is as difficult to recapture as a unicorn.
Now I'm going to launch into a mini-rant here because if someone had told me when I was a kid that we'd be PAYING to drink water (other than our water bill) I'd have laughed myself silly. Several other people in this household, who shall remain unnamed, drink bottled water. I'm appalled when I look in the pantry and see 36 bottles lined up, knowing that next week they'll be gone and off to the landfill. Those aluminum water bottles are available at the store but we can't seem to keep track of the travel coffee mugs so how does a water bottle have a chance?
Anyway, I noticed that the water has a note on the label that says, "Small cap size - less plastic in the landfill" - something like that. To which I mentally respond, "How about NO cap, NO bottle, NO plastic in the landfill".
My rehydration beverage of choice is this:
Arizona Diet Green Tea. This is one of the most light and refreshing things I've ever consumed. I drink it by the gallon and have not been able to recreate any kind of iced green tea at home that holds a candle to it.
No Arizona Tea doesn't pay me to say this but I'd love to be their spokesperson. We could think up some clever advertising campaign and hire Karen Allen to play me. She's my actress of choice to play me in any "Farmer's Wife" productions that might arise. Again, I'll invoke the name of Pioneer Woman - Hollywood's got Reese Witherspoon to play her in an upcoming moive. Well, that's swell but Karen's got more depth and she's kind of a sassy smart aleck, just like me.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Speaking of beverages, a company has come out with a new flavored Vodka. Sit down for this one. Bacon flavored vodka.
No. Way.
OK, we live in the middle of pork producing country but even I would admit that this is a terrible idea. The don't actually use bacon in the process, because bacon fat molecules congeal (or something like that) at low temperatures. Yuck. Anyway, they hired a company to recreate the flavor of bacon using the miracles of modern science. The vodka is infused with this fake flavor and voila - Bacon Vodka.
They say it makes a wonderful Bloody Mary but I'm pretty sure that even the people at Cracker Barrel would think this is a bad idea.
On the other side of the scale, Schnitzel and the Trout put me on to a pear flavored Cognac that sounds heavenly. It's called Belle de Brillet. I just need to find a liquor store that carries it and some hard cash (this stuff is pricey). Schnitzel (Susan) and her husband discovered this stuff on a recent trip to Europe. Anything pear flavored is high on my list of desirable things.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The city of San Francisco is considering a law prohibiting the sale of pets.
Really.
ANTI-HAMSTER MOVEMENT
It seems there's a large hamster problem. Really. That's what the news article said.
Somehow I just can't imagine San Francisco overrun by hamsters. The article says that this is an effort to force people to use shelters, BUT the big problem is that shelters don't accept hamsters!
I'm not kidding.
You cannot make this stuff up.
How about a public awareness campaign instead of legislation. Or a hamster spay/neuter clinic. Sheesh.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OK, that's enough for today. The meeting is now in your hands. What would you like to talk about?
18 comments:
Bottled water. Many members of my family work for one of the big ones. I love bottled water. Love it. The new bottles are better for the environment and here all bottles are recycled. I would not drink our tap water for anything. It tastes like, well I won't say what it tastes like. :D Sometimes the bottled water industry is held to a higher standard than others. I'm not sure why except that some think that drinking tap water should be good enough. Again, my tap water tastes like...oh, said that already.
That corn looks seriously delicious. I love Arizona iced tea. If I were to drink vodka, I'd want a minty one. Do they have that?
Guess that about covers the bases for today. You stay cool, too!
MY BF always carries a thermos filled with ice and water. He's been doing it for years and I got used to it. One day we were waiting at a red light and a man selling bottled water on the street corner came walking by our car and showed my BF a bottle of ice cold water. My BF took out his big, red thermos and showed it to the man. The smiled and laughed, then he kept walking.
I heart corn on the cob, and roasted....divine.
I absolutely refuse to purchase bottled water. It is just so unnecessary.
My great-grandpa had a hand pump well with a tin dipper on it. I have never tasted water as sweet or inviting as that. Never.
Mmm, corn on the cob - one of my favourite things about summer!
I do not like the heat, and my father-in-law likes heat even less. He just spent a month over in Oman for work, and he never wants to go back! Even at night, in the city, it didn't cool off to less than 40 degrees (that would be Celsius! I don't know exactly what the Fahrenheit is but over 100, I think).
I agree with you on the bottled water. It pains me to buy bottled water, but I prefer water over anything else, and sometimes need to buy one. We have a spring to supply our water here at home, and it is such good drinking water, and I'm trying to make sure my children are good water drinkers too. Their options are milk (fresh milk too!) or water. No juice or pop. Or at least, very rarely.
If you love pear flavoured alcohol, come over to my place. I've got a pear flavoured vodka in my fridge that I can't stand :)
We all carry metal water bottles (no bpa for me please). At first, I forgot it all the time...now its everywhere I go. We definitely drink a ton more water with the bottles than in a glass!
If you're ever in the mood for a little trip, try heading to Winslow (just north of Lena). They have a fresh artesian well where you can fill up water containers. It pretty neat--water just bubbles right out of a hillside.
I just blogged about how to make the perfect iced tea - maybe this will help?
http://livingthedslife.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/how-to-make-the-perfect-iced-tea/
Sorry - it's geared toward WLS post-ops, but the how to make the ice tea is the same for anyone.
I'm with you - the only time I like to drink water is typically right after I've been really, really sick - then it's the only thing I like. I always know I'm getting better when my need for tea kicks back into high gear! I seriously drink about a gallon of it a day. I gave up a pretty serious addiction to Coke with the aid of iced tea - so I will never apologize for it!
I'm with you on the whole plastic bottle thing, too. We go through quite a few of them during the school year - 2 out of 3 of the kids typically take their lunch, and it's either take a bottle from home (for pennies a bottle) or buy one from school - for over a buck! UGH! Don't get me started on school lunches! Anyway - we have some really fabulous "water bottles" that I use every single day - and adore. Life as we know it would come to a screetching halt if they ever went away!
And I won't complain about the heat... it reached 100 degrees here at our place in the beautiful PNW - but this after MONTHS of unseasonably cool and wet weather - honestly, our garden may never recover. So I just sat on the front porch and enjoyed the heat. Takes some perspective to try and right my attitude sometimes! LOL!
How about smoked salmon vodka? It's from Wasilla, AK and sounds AWFUL!! There was an article about it in my paper yesterday. I don't want to drink bacon vodka either.
Love corn on the cob though. Tasty.
I was just thinking today that this summer hasn't been all that hot. I mean, yes, we did a hot streak a few weeks back. But its been pretty nice since then. I just watched a show about the heat wave in Chicago. I vaguely remember. Either I was much, much younger or I had moved away from Sycamore.
I like my stainless bottle but they don't keep the water very cold for long. I suppose I could knit a cozy for it. I love water and drink it all the time. My husband is like you and has to have some sort of flavor. He drank pop for years. I finally switched him to diet a couple years ago. Just recently he was switched to sports drinks. He will drink water if he has to. The rest of us just like water.
The corn is finally coming on here. Things are delayed because of all the rain we had that you didn't. I haven't had any yet. Peach season is upon us so that is my task for the day. I have about 25lbs to do something with!
Anxious to hear how you prepare this corn!! Looks great. I do hope you find the pear liqueur. It is so wonderful and just a sip is enough. You can make it last a long time. You might even be able to have a liquor store order it for you.
Okay, I can't wait to find out what the secret ingredient is for roasted corn! I too believe sometimes we should eat the corn on cob and nothing else. Call each ear a different course and let the feasting begin!D
We had fabulous water in the small town I grew up in and nothing can compare to it. I refuse to buy plastic bottled water so I have a Britta pitcher parked in my fridge; it greatly improves the flavor and I love my H2O cold.
Bacon flavored vodka sounds horrible, but pear flavored vodka sounds yummy!
Yum - love fresh corn on the cob. We usually roast with garlic butter or my husband's family likes mayo!
We have delicious water from our well here - but I do buy the plastic bottles at times because we refill and re-use them. No-one can seem to remember to re-use a steel bottle for some reason. We have a great recycle program here as well so all the bottles go there and not into the trash.
Hate hate hate the heat - supposed to be 100 again this week - blah...thank goodness for iced tea! I like unsweetened with lots of lemon and ice :)
Stay cool!
Shelly is right about the artesian well in winslow. And there is a wonderful state park in Lena. It has a swimming beach, shelter house, canoe rentals lots of places to relax and watch the world go by. We have our family reunion there every July.
We had our first sweet corn last night.. YUM When we were in Peru i discovered Pisco sours. I am regretting not buying any Pisco on the trip
Glad you had a good turnout for the postcards, as usual I was a little late to the party:(
Bottled water- WTH, that's what I think. There are great alternatives as far as bottles, we have several:( Our new fridge has a built in PUR filter and we never buy bottled. Add this to the list of paying for rocks and dirt, our ancestors are doing The Twist in their graves!
Vodka, oh I have memories....
Saw in yesterdays paper that Alaska has come up with a smoked salmon flavor :(
My husband also drinks Arizona by the gallon, he prefers the fully sugared, luckily it's not overly sweet, and a good thirst quencher. As for me, good old water works.
Have a lovely day and I'll be back tomorrow for that corn recipe!
I must weigh in on the San Fran Ban. I am involved in animal rescue, and it is just pitiful to see how many poor little creatures are put to death. I have never seen a spay/neuter program for hamsters however! I think it is a good idea to encourage people to go to shelters for pets...but a ban seems extreme.
MMMMM-mm Corn! I will make it tomorrow after you give us the secret. I am also an iced tea addict, but cannot get the iced green tea right either. My secret for delicious iced tea is to use Tetley's Earl Grey, with a little pineapple mint from my garden.
Sigh,,,, I miss well water. I had that in my first house and it was the most awesome tasting water. I try not to drink bottles water but the other choice is tap water with all the junk the cities put in it. Is there anywhere thats got a good tasting safe water to drink?
I love Lipton Citrus Green tea that what quenches my thirst when water wont. But I dont like drinking sugary drinks much so I only have one glass a day. Otherwise I just drink tap water. I do put a glass container with the water in the fridge tho in the summer.
SF? I just moved from No. Ca. Frankly they are all nuts there. If your not nuts please consider moving too cuz its not gonna get better out there. I have to wonder just what is int THAT water. Of course these days, anything that is about love.....is being treated like a crime.
I'll just keep drinking my own well water! I hate the taste of chlorine in city water. I will try the green tea for sure! Concerning Vodka, Ill stick to Grey Goose for my martini!!!
Now, I DO love my precious summertime, heat & all--but especially summer produce! I'll be checking back tomorrow about that corn!
Bacon Flavoured Vodka? Ew, ew, ew!!
Bottled water went through a mega phase in Melbourne until word got out that Melbourne tap water is so good they bottle it to send overseas! We are in a drought, but buying bottled water still seems ridiculous! I like mine straight from the tap and warm. I am jealous of those saying they have their own wells though!
Trombonists where do they come from? what do they want? * Brahms - Tragic Overture 1463-Mantua, Italy: The arrival of Margaret of Bavaria is announced by an enormous musical ensemble, including a procession of 107 trumpets, shawms, and trombones (trombi, pifari, tromboni) (Kurtzman, Trombe; Atlas, Music 99). Montagu, Jeremy (1981). The World of Romantic & Modern Musical Instruments. London: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7994-1.
Post a Comment