Food & Drink

A Suburban Sign Of Spring

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

• • •

“So let it be written. So let it be done.”

~ Yul Brynner Rameses, The Ten Commandments

• • •

As I was driving back into our subdivision late Saturday afternoon, I came upon a traffic jam.  This is unusual because unlike some subdivisions, we have different ways in and out of this area.

As I sat there, not moving, I wondered what the hold-up was all about.

Then I saw the sign.  It was a handwritten sign, propped up against some large blue + white Coleman coolers.  The sign explained it all.  It said:

LEMONADE

Around this sign + coolers were three adorable, yelling, jumping entrepreneurs who had set up their lemonade stand in such a way as to get business from the traffic coming toward them in three directions.  

These were clever girls.  With oodles of energy– and the persuasive powers of a pharaoh.

So, like all the other dutiful suburbanites in the cars ahead of me, I bought some lemonade– which turned out to be red fruit punch.  And being of a kind nature, I purchased a large cup for 75¢– which was a half-filled 16 oz plastic cup.  And then, because service with a smile is so rare these days, I tipped the young entrepreneurs 33%.

Some people may believe that Spring arrives when nature says it is the right time, but for me it’s officially Spring when I spot my first lemonade stand and get suckered into buying a cup.

• • •

Happy Spring, everyone!  It is finally here.

• • •

Bad Coffee On A Monday Morning

/ Ally Bean / 41 Comments

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Let’s just say, for purposes of discussion, that this morning I made a pot of coffee that was so weak, so bad, so disappointing that I could only drink about half a mug of it.

And then let’s say that upon discovering how bad the coffee tasted, I threw out the rest of the pot.  Which was wasteful.  Something we do not like here at Chez Bean.

~ • ~

Further, let’s say that thinking back I realized that ye olde coffee maker has made some rather dodgy, hissy, dragon-y sounds every morning for the last few months as it works at heating the water.

And even then, the water has not been as hot as it should be to brew a pot of coffee.  Or at least a pot of coffee that I would consider worth drinking.  Which, I think we can agree, is the prime directive of any coffee maker that sits on my kitchen counter.

~ • ~

All of which brings me to the crux of our discussion.  To the real reason that I’m taking the time to write this post even though my brain is foggy from lack of caffeine and my morning appears to be shot to heck.  Here is what I want to ask you, my gentle readers:

If you had to buy a new electric coffee maker, which one would you get?  And why?

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I Cleaned Out Our Spice Cabinet For The First Time In Years

/ Ally Bean / 27 Comments

Here is an easy quiz for you.

DSCN3948

Q1:  What percentage of our herbs, spices & seeds did I throw away because they had expired?

  • 15%
  • 45%
  • 63%
  • 80%

Q2:  How many containers did I throw away? 

  • 11
  • 23
  • 29
  • 36

Q3:  How much money did I toss out when I cleaned out our spice cupboard? 

  • $18.00
  • $72.00
  • $97.42
  • $150.00, more or less

Q4:  Were any of the herbs, spices & seeds never opened before being tossed out?

  • Yes
  • No

 Q5:  Were any of the containers duplicates?

  • No
  • Yes

Q6:  The following is a list of dates. Which date do you believe accurately describes the oldest container in the cupboard?

  • June 14, 2003
  • October 5, 2002
  • November 25, 2000
  • so old there is no date on the container

Q7:  Are all the above dates real dates that I found on the containers that I threw out?

  • No
  • Yes

Q8:  The following is a list of herbs, spices & seeds.  Which is the oldest one that I found?  

  • Celery Seed
  • Basil
  • Leaf Marjoram
  • Dill Weed

Q9:  Of the following herb/spice blends, which one am I saddest to see go?

  • Poultry Seasoning
  • Lemon Pepper
  • French Seafood Seasoning
  • Pizza Seasoning

Bonus Question for Extra Credit:  Of the following three extracts which was the only one that we opened and used?

  • Pistachio Extract
  • Almond Extract
  • Vanilla Extract

DSCN3938

Answers are in bold.  🙂

The Tale Of The Lonely Beet

/ Ally Bean / 22 Comments

DSCN3608Once upon a time the Lady of the House went to the grocery where she purchased some beets.  She was going to roast them and serve them as a side dish with some ham for dinner.

:: The Lady of the House had good intentions.

However, when the Lady of the House came home from the grocery, she put the beets in a stainless steel bowl which she put in the frig.  Then, she forgot about their existence.

Because the beets were well-mannered, they did not call attention to themselves in the frig.  No, they just sat in the bowl and slowly allowed mold to cover them.  Perhaps they were cold and considered the mold to be like a sweater.  Perhaps they were content and enjoyed connecting with the mold.

:: We will never know for sure.

All we know is that the next time the Lady of the House looked at the beets she saw six moldy, dried out vegetables that were way past their prime.  Upon seeing what had happened, the Lady of the House said a few words that will not be repeated on these pages.

But the Lady of the House had another idea for the beets.  You see, the Lady of the House’s mother had a saying which she said to the Lady of the House when the Lady of the House was a girl.

:: And this saying was: waste not, want not.

Remembering what her mother had told her to do, the Lady of the House decided to toss the beets into the wooded ravine behind her house.  The Lady of the House thought that some of the deer or raccoons that live back there might like to feast on said beets.

:: However, she was wrong about this assumption.

A few days later when the Lady of the House chanced to look outside upon her backyard realm, she noticed that all the beets were still there.  And that one beet in particular, that had the misfortune of landing on top of a concrete wall instead of on the ground, was positioned in such a way as to create a perfect photo-op.

So, the Lady of the House, who also happened to be a blogger extraordinaire, grabbed her camera.  Then she went outside and took one of the best artsy-farsty photos she has ever taken.  Not wanting to let this photo go to waste, the Lady of the House figured she could put this photo on her blog, tell her readers how this beet came to be so alone, and call it a blog post.

:: And that is exactly what she did.  The end.