so you need a grapefruit spoon..............

if you don't have a grapefruit spoon....you know the ones with serated edges ..you can make your own...drop any spoon down in the disposal and pulse it once or twice...it will work! Trust me.

Gulfport's most wanted....

Things I wish I knew

Why does just a six volt flashlight battery cost more than a flashlight with a six volt battery at Home Depot?

so I am strolling around the mart of K-ness yesterday....

I turn the aisle near the pots and pans....and much to my delight I see an endcap display with the exquisite GT101 Xpress Redi-Set-Go "as seen on TV"....a product I have coveted for some time...(it acutally was up there with my desire for the "Magic Bullet" also as seen on TV.) The GT101 is marked down to $26.49 and sitting there big as life...no ordering..no shipping...no handling..no waiting. I run and get plou out of the return line and make her come back and see it. She is kinda luke warm and not as excited as I am about the prospect of owning the Xpress unit. Just about that time, Plou hears the announcement "for the next 20 mins.........40% off on all cookwear". She is sold at this point........We grab the GT101 and dash to the check out counter. The woman is kinda on the fence about the GT101 qualifying for the discount. Plou had asked a worker bee and the bee had said "Yes it qualifies". She mentions this to the cashier..... The check out lady, still hesitant, got another associate to come and ring it up.....40% OFF!!!!!! We pay and sprint to the car before they can change their mind.

I could hardly sleep last night anticipating making some of the "101 GT101 Recipes" that came with the unit. I bounced up, and made an egg omlette with cheese, turkey bacon, onions, bell pepper, and spices...added that to my grits and toast and had a very satisfying breakfast!!

As a celebrity, I don't usually endorse products

and as a well known celebrity, I make it a practice to never endorse anything I don't believe in..regardless of the money...........But these two things are really exceptional :

The Tillamook cheese is like the best cheese ever. Valencia and Stephany told me about it a while back...they both enjoy it and have visited the mother ship factory somewhere up in Oregon I think.......I tried it......and now I am hooked on their extra sharp cheddar cheese. ($8 for 2 lbs ) It is great on saltine crackers, thrown in the micorwave and melted for about 12 seconds. Also tastes fine when melted in your grits for breakfast. Can be eaten and enjoyed with a glass ( or two ) of merlot in the evenings, afternoon, or late morning. Check it out at King Soopers, Walmart, and other fine food establishments.

The bar keeper's friend is the best stuff in the world for cleaning stainless steel cook wear. I have used it on anything that you would normally use BAB-O on:f cookwear, showers, sinks, counter tops, etc. Check it out. You will not be disappointed.

Circadian..did you say Circadian????

I have heard the words Circadian rhythm about three times in my life.....including twice today..once on NPR and once on the phone tonight with Steph. Funny how that happens.

Yaba Daba Do!

This morning I learned some new lyrics that got stuck in my head for the day - so time to let them out. On my drive into work, I was scanning my FM dial until I finally found a hip-hop station. (Often, my students are surprised when they learn that it was this older white woman who first "discovered" hip-hop back in the day. In fact, Sir Mixalot stole one of my best songs, but I digress...) Anyway, the recurring stanza of lyrics in today's song was "Call me Mr. Flintstone. I'm gonna make your Bed rock."

hey lady, wanna banana for your monkey?

I read about a banana diet that was big in Japan in the newspaper the other day. I was in the king sooper and snagged a fl yer on the diet, put out by Dole the banana people. The part that caught my eye was the 'why it works section: Bananas contain resistant starch which ferments in your large intestines, creating by-products (butyrates) that block conversion of some carbohydrates into fuel"'

So I am guessing if we eat Styrofoam and block our intestines we would get the same benefits? Just wondering.

PS I hope polvo will look up 'butyrates' and share the meaning.

Covered egg dish for fun and taste

while we were down in Florida Valencia's husband told me a new way to cook eggs. I usually cook an over easy egg by cooking in butter and flipping. V's H suggested putting a plate over the egg and it would sorta steam the egg and I wouldn't have to flip it. I checked it out and it works! I think with a little practice I can make them come out perfect. I think next time I will use a glass pot lid I have to cover the egg...might be able to watch it as it cooks. As you can see by the pictures..the eggs came out pretty good...and were great with grits and toast!

Sleeping in Sweatpants

+




I learnt that if you go to sleep with sweatpants on......and get up half awake at 3:00 AM........and walk into the dark guest bathroom (cause you don't want to use the closest bathroom and wake up your sleeping spouse)....... to pee in the middle of the night..and the bathroom door has this funky 'wave shaped' door lever handle that snags your back pocket as you go by...you will think some mean spirited ghost, night animal, space being, asshole from the past like back 9th grade jr. high, or wild ass monster has jumped out and grabbed you..and you will .....jump rather quickly and hit the wall and the towel holder hard as a bitch...just before you piss your pants and scream like a teenage girl. I'm jest sayin'

How to save bacon grease

You know how you are always wondering how to keep bacon grease stored till you need it to make chicken livers, cornbread, or green beans? Well I found this in my cooks illustrated magazine today...I never thought of putting it in ice trays!!! Is america great or what?

Black Garlic

Read in the gazette the other day about black garlic. which I have never heard of before...... supposed to taste sweet and savory at the same time...looks like it’s very nearly rotten....developed in South Korea, where whole heads of garlic are aged for a month in a high-heat fermentation process....cloves turn a deep, dark black.

Supposedly the black garlic doesn’t taste like garlic at all....its flavor can be compared to molasses, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or even licorice. Some say it has the flavor characteristics of “Umami” (something for Polvo to google)

said to have twice the antioxidants of regular garlic....doesn’t cause offensive garlic breath. It’s showing up at gourmet restaurants and food markets, and on the Food Channel.

Have any of yall heard of it or tried it?

Chillaxin' No Mo

...so I'm reading the Sunday paper, watching the bunnies in the backyard, drinking my coffee, you know, just chillin' - when I come across this year's list of tired, banned words and expressions. The word "chillaxin'" tops the list! I have never heard or used this word, and now it's banned??? Ribhard and I have made a pact to overuse it for a little while before we drop it. I was glad to see that "apps" is on the list because I am SO over that one - even though a few months ago I didn't know what an app was.
So here is their reasoning on these 2 words:
CHILLAXIN'
Nominated for several years. We couldn't chill about it anymore.
"Heard everywhere from MTV to ESPN to CNN. A bothersome term that seeks to combine chillin' with relaxin' makes me want to be 'axin' this word." – Tammy, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
"A made-up word used by annoying Gen-Yers." – Chris Jensen, Fond du Lac, Wisc.
"Horrifying overuse, even in face-to-face conversation… It should receive bonus points for its ability to exhort the opposite reaction from the receiver." – Bret Bledsoe, Cincinnati, Ohio.
APP
"Must we b sbjct to yt another abrv? Why does the English language have to fit on a two-inch screen? I hate the sound of it. I think I'll listen to a symph on the rad." -- Edward R. Bolt, Grand Rapids, Mich.
"Is there an 'app' for making this annoying word go away? Why can't we just call them 'programs' again?" – Kuahmel Allah, Los Angeles, Calif.

Our friends at Lake Superior State University have been compiling these lists for years. You can see the banned list for 2010 and also click on several past years by visiting www.lssu.edu/banished.

Did yall eat your black eyed peas yesterday????

I learned that Cracker Barrell gives free black eyed peas on newyears day. Was I lucky or what.....We just got back and went out to eat while the house warmed up. I had black eyed peas, fried chicken livers, turnip greens, cornbread, and sweet tea...and get this.... the waitress automatically brought vinegar and pepper sauce...I only had to ask for Tabasco!!! And as everyone knows, you have to eat black eyed peas and ham hocks on new years day to have good luck all year.

(PS I also learned that Southwest gives everyone a free alcohol drink on any flight on new years day!!)

I learned about new gas crap

we got back to colorado..stopped at a Shell gas station...while pumping gas and picking my nose I glanced at the pump sign and learned that Shell gasoline now has NITROGEN in it. how much more crap can they keep adding to petro and why?
This post should be filed under is america great or what?

In case you were wondering what a "valencia" was ....