From the Archives

Because it has been so long since I posted I decided this should be a double header. I actually started this entry over a year ago but never posted it as I was afraid it was too "preachy". After reviewing it I just think it is funny. Let me know what you think...

Unless I am having a meltdown because of jet lag or the inevitable destruction of man brought on by Mother Nature, I have not swayed from the subject matter at hand- i.e. the recipes. So you will excuse me, I hope, that I wish to gush about what I found at a garage sale today. Fear not, it all starts out with the insane wastefulness of the milk industry.

This morning when I arrived at my job I found that the backroom fridge was open and all the milk had entered what is known in the restaurant industry as "The Danger Zone". As much as this title conjures up images of curdled milk and various shades of green let me assure you that it is only alluding to the temperature range in which bacteria multiply rapidly. Having said this let me assure you that I in no way feel that "The Danger Zone" is something to ignore. It is very real! And here I was half asleep at 4'0clock in the morning dealing with 30 gallons of milk with varying degrees of fat content that had been cast into the zone. There was nothing I could do. The zone is not a sort of milk purgatory from which enough prayer and refrigeration can save a once greater than 41 degrees F dairy product from eternal damnation, or in this case simply being dumped down the sink. Thirty gallons milk is a lot to dump down a sink. Thirty gallons of milk that were meant to feed a baby cow are now in a sewage treatment facility. I was now faced with replacing thirty gallons of wasted wastefulness so I drove to a grocery store. In retelling the above part of my story I have just fully grasped how sad it is and can now assure you that what I found at the garage sale I passed on the way back to work does not in any way make up for this tragedy. Cow's milk is meant for baby cows and was not predestined to be put into baked goods or, no matter how billowy or perfect the foam, the world's most perfect cappuccino. This having been said, I found the most awesome cooking tools at said garage sale!!!

For 2 dollars, count 'em, 2 dollars I got three beautiful stainless steel Oxo-good grips kitchen utensils. I found a perfect and elegant potato masher. Neighboring this beauty was the sharpest and fattest potato peeler. And oh let me tell you about the micro plane I found! The girl selling the items was my age. In an effort not to look too excited I grabbed my new friends and coolly asked, "How much for these things?" Failure, her face said it all. It was silently screaming, "You know very well those aren't things! They are fabulous brand name kitchen tools worthy of hanging on your walls!" "Even so," my eyebrows silently countered, "they are going to be mine!" Sensing her second guessing herself I pulled 2 dollars from my pocket and simply said, "Here." She looked insulted. I don't blame her, but she took my money and I ran back to work before she could change her mind and my milk could fall into the danger zone.