TheSnackHound

I was visiting my mother and while I was there, I started filling the dishwasher. Little did I know it was another situation where no good deed would go unpunished.  She abruptly bounded through the living room and dining room, and swung the kitchen door open and practically shouted: “No!  No”

I must have given her a befuddled look, as she went about pulling knives out of the dishwasher with the same fervor as if she was trying to pull out kitties that had fallen into a storm drain.  ”No.  You can’t put THOSE knives together. These knives are nice knives and these knives aren’t so if they touch, you’ll get rust spots.”  Of course, she didn’t mean I individually would get rust spots on myself, but meant the “royal you” as in “one” would experience the tragedy o getting rust spots on one’s knives.

I know sometimes when you let a brillo pad sit in a stainless steel sink all wet and runny, you may somehow ruin your sink, but I wasn’t aware of that a flatware Capulet and Montague scneario existed.  In otherwords, I wasn’t aware that beyond the questionable aesthetic of two patterns being intermingled that there was something innately “wrong” about why knives from the other side of the drawer couldn’t mix.  Apparently, the silverware with the lines and fluer de lys were the “good” silverware that were given to my parents as a wedding gift.  The ones with the roses on them were the “not as good” silverware that apparently did not have a high silver or stainless steel content.  In fact no one was sure what metal they were, but I do remember bending a spoon trying to hoist up a clump of cereal once.

This got my thinking: “Why do we even call it silverware if there is no silver in it?”

Brides and grooms received real silverware throughout the ages up until now, but with our throwaway society we just are so stuck on entertaining inferior models because they are cheap.  In fact, we don’t even store them properly anymore.  How many empty wood and velvet cutlery boxes do you see at yard sales in comparison to how many plastic drawer caddys?

Thank goodness, real sterling silver cutlery can still be obtained.  There is some gorgeous pieces that Arthur of England produces.  The Grecian style is pictured here.   It is so simple and elegant and timeless.  What’s more, they won’t bend in your cereal.   Many people may think that they shouldn’t splurge because they aren’t getting married, or have been married for years.   To me, I go with the old philosophy of buy once and buy good, and you will never have to replace it or waste money on the five sets you buy because you didn’t buy right the first time.

The site has cleaning products for caring for your pieces, too.  I can imagine myself polishing each individual piece. Polishing the silver every so once in awhile is such a meditative process that gives one time to smell the roses, or more properly the delicate scent of silver polish, rather than the rude clunk and clang of dumping things into the dishwasher.   Maybe I wouldn’t use every spoon in the house all day long and would be satisfied with caring for and washing just one.

I used to have a carafe for salad dressing.  That will give you an idea of how much dressing the Glass Salad Dressing Carafe Makers of America thought a household of two consumed in several days.  Afterall, despite if containing vinegar, it was bound to not taste so hot as time went on.

I have found the perfect solution…and it was free! Well, not really. A purchase was required. When you buy Frank’s Red Hot for your chicken wings and other recipes, don’t get the plastic jug. The per ounce price may be less, but you are missing out on a really nifty salad dressing bottle that is just the right size. In fact, you could even make two different types to have on the table or in the fridge. The black plastic drip top is perfect for dressing. Tops made by the Glass Salad Dressing Carafe Makers of America tend to have too big of an exit hole and you end up saying, “Do you want some lettuce with your dressing?”

No one will ever know that the G.S.C.M.A. missed out on a sale. The only way your guests will know is that “Frank’s. 1928″ is embossed in the glass. Well, everyone has an Uncle Frank, or their parents or grandparents did, don’t they?  What about Aunt Francis who went by “Frankie” in third grade, but few remember it. I just say I inherited mine, and then when plastic tops came about, I had one made.

Here is my simple salad dressing recipe:
1) Apple Cider Vinegar. I use organic.
2) Honey
3) McCormick’s Italian Seasoning

Place the A.C.S. in a bowl, add 1/3 as much honey as there is vinegar ratio or to taste. In truth, I never know how much I really add, as I just keep going. Just whisk the honey around with a fork until the contents mesh together a little bit, and keep tasting as you go. Add enough Italian seasoning to look nice. Actually, a few sprinkles will do. It does enhance the taste, but people just don’t trust the more translucent salad dressing that doesn’t have little bits of something in it.

I don’t think I could handle anything more complicated than that.

I have only become aware of the true purpose of Wine Charms in the past few years. When I used to be a hermit and not entertain much (before I met my husband), I just thought they were little decorative doodads that you would surely lose. On the contrary, I discovered their true purpose: germ control!

That’s right. You can’t scrawl your name on a crystal goblet or wine glass with a magic market like you can do to your styrofoam cup at a BBQ. By remembering the charm that you dangle around the stem of the glass, it unsures that you won’t be swapping spit with your brother-in-law’s friend’s girlfriend’s roommate who always seems to have walking pneumonia every time you see her.

Think you can’t remember? Choose wisely. If you go to a person’s house often enough, it is like always wanting to “be” the hat or the racecar when you play Monopoly (Don’t make me be the thumble!) and never forgetting “who you are.” FunWineGifts.com has some cute sets that aren’t just little generic stars and hearts. They have a dog themed set with paws and doggies, sports themed sets, and many others.   You can even decide if you want a silvertone or goldtone finish to match your preference.

I wonder:  What if you buy two of the same set because you want everything to match, and then you have enough guests where you have to use the same charm twice.  What do you do then?   Well, you don’t have to just get the same set twice.   I saw over 30+ charms and you could just order two different sets in the same color and no one would know.   You could just buy the travel charms with airplanes and stuff and buy the Hawaii ones that have beach chaits and Aloha shirts.

I think I would demand to “be” the lemon out of this seat.  I just think its the cutest one.  I imagine that I would fight someone over it:

“Heh, Heh, Heh…Candygram!”

Okay, you might have to have something like this…

Standing mixers come in a variety of colors these days. Recently, there was even one that was pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. Colors? Shmolors! I just saw what they are doing over at FlameKA.com and you won’t be so proud of yourself for having a purple or pink mixer when you see you can have one with flames or made up like a bomber plane. I even saw some cow spots! You use your regular ol’ KitchenAid and buy special decals that can get you over the tragedy that KitchenAid does not offer this in its regular line.

I have been using stubbornly using a regular old handmixer for years, and this kind of craziness just may put me over the edge.  Kind of like how I made due with other dolls, and didn’t ask for a Barbie until they came out with her horse, Dallas. I guess I am a bit of an accessory person…

Check out more crazy ways to trick out a mixer HERE

I stumbled across a new travel mug on ecogeekliving.com.

At first, I was really perplexed at why anyone would need a heated travel mug that plugs into your dashboard.   Regular insulated travel mugs do a pretty good job of keeping the hot stuff hot and the cold stuff cold.   Afterall, you aren’t supposed to be nursing that chocolate milk all day long.

Then, it hit me.

You can set your ideal temperature, and the cup lets you know when the optimum temperature is reached.  In otherwords, you can not only keep your preexisting beverage maintain the right tepidity, but you can actually cook on the road!   You can make tea and the newer instant coffees that come in a tea bag like delivery.    I was just thinking that you could easily make hot chocolate, powdered soup mixes (they have instant miso soup), and you could even get more creative with travel cup recipes from scratch.

I think I would drive around with some boil in the bag rice, go to the store, get some veggies, and then when I got home, I could walk in and say “here you go.”   Rice takes so much longer to cook, so as soon as the veggies cooked on the skillet, I would dump the rice out of my travel mug and no one would have to wait for that pokey slow cook rice!

Not sure about you folks, but my life will never be the same.

Thinking about turning your passion into a business?

You have several choices.  You can open up a restaurant or catering business, but for people that have that one or two specialty sauces, cookies, or drinks, did you ever dream about marketing them?  Did you know that Ken’s SteakHouse Dressing started with one man going door to door to local restaurants in the Framingham, Massachusetts area?  Yes, it is true. 

There is a website at labelworldusa.com where even the “little guys” can order very official looking Warning Labels, bar coded inventory labels, and even labels that can withstand food contact.  

My great-grandmother made the best cookies.  It was from an old German recipe that was handed down from mother to daughter.  Far and wide, many people thought they were better than anything else out there.  All the ingredients were weighed, not measured, and the most important thing…you cannot write it down so it remains secret.   I guess that recipe wouldn’t be ripe for mass marketing!  Instead of a nutrition label, this one would definitely have a warning label:

Warning:
Those who steal the ingredient list will be hurt.
Love,
Grandma Edna

There was the haunted walking stick, and tupperware container of Hurrican Charley Wind, but no ebay auction caught America’s attention like when the gavel dropped down on the World’s Most Famous Grilled Cheese Sandwich. The thrifty lunchtime staple that was said to have held an image of the Virgin Mary it kicked off a frenzy. People started searching for gold in the back of their fridge. Surely, there would be an opportunity for them to make thousands as well.

I bet that person is now kicking themselves for having not thought of all of the merchandising they could have cashed in on - T shirts, documentaries, and more. What I bet is a real big “wish I thought of that,” was creating a negative mold of the images to create an official Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich Toaster. Sure, it may have cast a doubt on the original Sandwich, but that person might have been able to be quite the philanthropist with the money that would have been raked in. Alas, the time from invention to market on a small kitchen appliance is a much longer process than, let’s say doodling something on a shirt and selling it on Zazzle.

Geek Mom Mashup informed us that there is now a Battlestar Gallactica Toaster where you can make toast with a Cyclon on it.  If you want one just like this, you are out of luck.   The only way you can get one now is to go to the San Francisco Comic-Con, where they will be selling them.

I suspect that only a small percentage of the ebaying community will be in attendance, or will have a relative in attendance.  No offense to the Comic-Con, but only a finite number of people can physically fit in the place where it is being held.   That being said, there will be many people with no knowledge of this scientific breakthrough.    Could it possibly happen that esomeone fires one up at the hotel, stuffing hotdog buns or doughy white bread from 7-11 in it, and then posts the magical toast on ebay that very night?   Maybe they will do it as a one day auction so by the time people find out, it will be over.

With the way things spread on the internet, someone will probably figure it out.    At least until I come up with the Clint Eastwood shaped potato maker that I secretly make in my garage.