For John, BLUF: Not everything called a rose smells as sweet. Nothing to see here; just move along.
Here I am, sitting in the Parking Lot of the Hanscom Air Force Base Base Exchange, eating a plain bagel with cream cheese. I realize that the Dunkin Donut version of Cream Cheese does not taste like Philly, and isn't as good.
I wonder why that is?
Regards — Cliff
You know that neither are actually cream cheese at all, right?
ReplyDeleteHere's the list of ingredients for cream cheese:
Raw Milk.
That's it. Let it go a couple days past sour, strain off the whey with a cheese cloth, and you're done. It could not be simpler, and you get over a quart of cream cheese from a gallon of milk--so not expensive, either.
So here's Kraft's version (plain--the flavored versions are littered with additional carcinogens):
Pasteurized Nonfat Milk and Milkfat, Cheese Culture, Whey Protein Concentrate, Salt, Carob Bean Gum, Guar Gum.
All processed food.
No thank you.
My wife and I were invited to attend a family celebration of Scottish New Year in Aberdeen. We arrived at a seedy waterfront bar that resembled a stage set from an Ellery Queen novel. Inside was assembled a family of about 70 people, presided over by a 98 year old matriarch named Mary. Being honored guests, we were seated next to her for the evening. It became immediately apparent that Mary had a passion for unfiltered Pall Mall cigarettes and rum in a 6 oz water glass....no ice thank you. As the night wore on (or rather...to be accurate...."simply faded into periods of nothingness"...Mary began to cough a bit more enthusiastically. This after she'd worn out every able bodied male at the long table dragging them around the dance floor. My wife leaned over at some point and said, "You know Mary, if you'd stop smoking and cut back on the rum, you'd probably stop coughing so much and would not only live longer...but most likely better."
ReplyDeleteWith all the sweetness and love a 98 year old Scottish grandmother can muster, Mary fixed my wife with her eyes and replied, "Honey, I'm going to die if do and I'm going to die if I don't."
I thought that was and remains an important life lesson.
Put another way, given the modern world and impact of technology, if one chooses to avoid that which is unhealthful, one must resort to a subsistence of sticks and berries fortified with fresh air miles from civilization replete with endless aerobic exercise. At some point that person will begin to wear out in some way......and they will end up lying in a hospital bed.....dying of nothing.
Cream cheese (or whatever it is) and a bagel are a small price to pay for gastronomic pleasure.
And...by the way.....if you don't like bacon...you are just wrong!!!!
I'd put it this way--in Cliff's story, Mary would be smoking Mavericks, drinking RonRico, and dancing with a bunch of tax accountants. She'll be just as dead, of course, but she could have had much, much better on her way out.
ReplyDeletePeople who have never tasted real dairy absolutely don't know what they're missing. The comment about processed food should have included two additional points:
1. Natural/real dairy tastes better.
2. When you aren't overpaying for the processed junk, you can afford more rum and cigarettes.