Amazing Astonishesty.

The following is a true story.
It is astonishing and so full of honesty it will possibly make your rotating world change direction.
Here we go.
It was a dark and stormy night....

Just kidding.

It was a sunny afternoon and I was driving, with my perfect grandson in the car, when I saw the sign below.


Squash Sign

I was instantly lured by the sign like a river trout to a well made bait fly, because my daughter, who birthed aforementioned perfect grandson and amazingly trusts me to return him to her, lives in the country and that is where the big gardens are and I totally LOVE homegrown anything!
The sign was right next to the driveway of a lovely country home that had a table out front full of buckets, baskets, cans, jars and produce.
The lure worked.
I was hooked.
So in I pull and out I get.

.
Roadside Vegetable Stand.


Nobody around.
Nobody comes out.
Doors and windows are closed.
What is this all about?


On the table, a rock holds down the 'instructions' and tells the reader how this farmer does business.


Vegetable Buying Instructions.

"3.00 Per Bucket
1.00 Per Bound
Put Money in Jar.
Thaks."

Isn't that just too much astonishesty*?
It was.
Isn't it just too much adorbesty**?
It truly was.
A self check-out right at the farm.

After my dropped jaw was pushed back into place and I resumed breathing normally, I noticed that
there were lots of one dollar bills in the payment jar (which was behind the blue bag), not only from other paying guests I am assuming, but, I am also naively assuming, that the extra money was there so you you could make change as well.
So much astonishesty and adorbesty has now been laid before me that my brain hurts and my world has stopped turning as it begins to change and rotate in the opposite direction.
(I wish I had taken more pictures, but I think I was in a mild state of shock. There was sort of an Alice in Wonderland feel to the situation)

But there is still no sign of anyone.
They totally trust whoever pulls into their yard?
They believe that people are good and trustworthy?
Who are these people?
What planet are they from?
Is there a shotgun pointed at me from the corner of the house making sure I 'act right'?
Are the squash poisoned?
Am I in some crazy scientific experiment?
Was it a trap?
Why am I so skeptical?
Is everything in my world suspect?
I haven't experienced this kind of trust (and subsequent despair) since I believed that both of my parents personally knew the tooth fairy or when I believed I could stop drinking coffee anytime I wanted to.

It was so scarily innocent that I took a chance.
I had to try this squash.
I put my money in the jar, came home, cooked the delicious squash and lived to blog about it.

Faith in humanity restored.
World now rotating smoothly in new direction.

I would love to say: "Because in the south, that's just the way we do things".
But what I have to say is: "These people have never been to the city" or "These people are strangers in a strange land and I love them" or "These people must not watch the news".

Thanks for being here.
Have an honest day.

p.s. Don't judge them because their 'spell-check' was not working. I would much rather deal with folks hoo kant spel gud and R awnest than with folks that kan spel gud and R dissawnest.


*Astonishesty: honesty that is so amazing, incredible and unusual that it is astonishing.
**Adorbesty: Honesty that is just plain cute and adorable.

Marinated and Grilled Fish Bugs

If you know me well, you will know through conversation and daily schedules that I LOVE food and all things that have to do with food.
If you don't know me and saw me around town you would see that I love food.
Not because I have crumbs on my chin or last nights hollandaise on my shirt either, if you know what I mean.
I make no apologies.
Love comes in ALL sizes!
That said, I want to share a new recipe I came up with last night.
We are trying to cut out all red meat at my house and Friday night used to be 'steak on the grill' night. (We wanted to celebrate the fact that we survived another week)
So we wanted to try shrimp on the grill.
My family has appropriately called them 'fish bugs' since the beginning of talking and we have no problem keeping down the bug population.
Yes, they are crustaceans, but thats just scientific mumbo jumbo for 'bugs that live in the water'.
And with 200,000,000 insects per human on the land alone, we have to do our part.


Marinated and Grilled Fish Bugs - Shrimp

So here goes:

Quick Marinade for Grilled Shrimp aka Fish Bugs

1 tablespoon chopped fine garlic (heaping, if you love garlic)
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vinegar (wanted red wine vinegar, but used rice vinegar 'cause thats all I had)
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
some chopped parsley, to taste, if you got it
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 scant tablespoon of lemon juice
2 pounds of raw shrimp

Mix marinade ingredients all together. It kinda gets thick and nice.
After soaking your raw shrimp in baking soda water for ten minutes(2 Tblsp. of soda per 1/2 gallon of soaking water. Keeps the shrimp tender), rinse and drain them, then toss them gently in the marinade till they are all covered. Cover and let soak in the marinade for 15-20 minutes, mixing every few minutes till grill time.
Place on hot grill 3 minutes for the first side and 2 minutes on the other side.
So tasty, delicious and tender I had to share it with you.


Happy Grill Man

And you thought only 'other countries' ate bugs.
We love them at our house!
Tell me what you think.
Enjoy!

Thanks for being here.


UPDATE 10-3-14:
I was super tired after work today but still wanted my marinated fish bugs. Chopping basil and parsley was NOT gonna happen so I prepared dinner while engaged in my 'Lazy Gear' and put all the ingredients in my little food processor and buzzed it till it was smooth and.....OMGsh !!! The marinade was thick and fragrant and coated the shrimp like a smooth glaze. I will definitely do this again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again!!

Ponder This.

My ponderer is broke.
Not broken even.
Thats too polite, and too grammatically correct.
It's just broke.
Broke down.
Broke up.
Broke sidewards.

I must first offer my gratitude to those faithful readers who keep checking my blog and wondering when my next 'saga' will post.
I must next offer the excuse that lately my brain has been going for about 4 or 5 sentences and then stops on a dime.
It will then refuse to ponder the who's, what's, where's, why's, and when's of basically any information that enters its little gray cells.
And I am a curious person.
But not lately.

Now, I'm no Doctor, but these symptoms surely point to a broke ponderer.
But I can't even care that its broke.
I've got it that bad.
I should probably quarantine myself.
I shouldn't even be blogging right now.
But sitting down to write is kinda like swallowing a spoonful of bad tasting medicine.
Sort of like daring my ponderer to engage.
But I think I can actually feel it working a bit because this post is up to 20 sentences!
Maybe my ponderer is on the mend!
I am quite surprised actually.
I have tried this writing therapy daily but to no avail, till today

But I love to blog.
The posts come to me and I can not NOT write them down.
But when your ponderer is broke, the only thing that comes to you is...................................

nothing.

So I will post this printed ponderless proclamation purposefully to see if my ponderer perks up.



Love that quote.

Thanks for being here.
I mean that profoundly.