Friend John Hale gives great advice in regards to dessert inventory: Always be three-deep in your fridge or pantry. If you only have one sweet, you’re living on the edge. What happens if somebody mows through your last two chocolate chip cookies without telling you or something goes stale or melts?
If you love sweets, that’s too much of a high-wire act. I’m five-deep right now, including the institutional dessert foundation already intact: Halloween M&M’s and dark chocolate-covered almonds tossed in sea salt.
This is what I suggest: Buy a jar of Sander’s dark chocolate sea salt caramels. They're also offered in milk chocolate, and although there is nothing wrong with milk chocolate, it doesn’t have the gravitas that dark chocolate has.
Never be without a bag of chocolate chips (I was the other day and I remedied that deficiency by buying a 2-pound bag). Chocolate chips are baseline and if you have nothing else, a handful of those delicious morsels can hit the spot.
Stauffer's Lemon Snaps from Smart & Final are a must (the ginger snaps are quite pleasing too). The lemon snaps can be like fruit — lemon fruit — and will satisfy your fruit quotient for the day.
When I was at the checkout counter at Smart & Final recently, the checker recommended Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle Brownie Crisps. They turn out to be a sleeper and I put them in the backup category.
You are not thinking clearly if you don’t have a bag (I recommend 5 pounds) of orange candy fruit slices (more fruit, don’t you feel better?). The orange slices are an after-nap must. Lastly, when your coffee is begging for company, it’s hard to beat Crepe Biscuits with Belgian Chocolate (Costco).
The column on the joys of Venmo, the app that allows you to pay or get paid via about three key strokes elicited this response from Elden Miller:
“Greetings Herb,
“It’s only been eight years since I have overcome my fear of the evil smartphones and their devilish minions, the apps. Now, like everyone else, I have become their slave, my life doesn’t work without them.
“I was terrified when a friend of mine, who lives out of state, bought something for me and asked me to repay with something called a Cash app. I was sure my money would be electronically pilfered by a teenage hacker in his mom’s basement but it worked!
“Let me get to the point. You know how we used to have address books back in the olden days? I now have a little red book full of usernames and passwords that sits in my left desk drawer. Give it a try, Herb. It will give you some peace of mind in this crazy electronic world in which we live.”
Paper? A little red book? How refreshing is that?
Is there anybody in the world sweeter than Rita Loken? If so, please introduce me. Rita wrote in regards to the column about taking one’s granddaughter to the dump.
“You hit the jackpot with your story on going to the dump! That was practically a rite of passage for our girls!
“Thanks for the day brightener – I’m sure that’s true for a lot of people. Wonderful memories! Rita”
In a lifetime search for a cure for toenail fungus, I recently ordered some oregano essential oil to be applied nightly, on the recommendation of a reader. If it doesn’t work, I’ll have a toe up on opening an Italian restaurant.
The column recently about the best first lines of songs garnered this response from Bibi Alexander. Her favorite first lines are from “Whiskey Lullaby” by Allison Krauss:
“She put him out
“Like the burning end of a midnight cigarette.”
Music recommendation of the week. A few weeks ago I wanted you to hear “In the Blood” by John Mayer (a fabulous suggestion by my friend Paul) but my son Herbie sent me another version of the song by Home Free. What a knockout. What voices. What harmony. It will make you glad once again you didn’t die when you were a puppy.
November 17, 2020 at 01:12AM
https://ift.tt/32QZrQy
HERB BENHAM: Sweets are always in the blood - The Bakersfield Californian
https://ift.tt/3eCf9lu
Herb
No comments:
Post a Comment