Signage

Close to our house is a church with a marquee. This marquee is expectedly filled with church service times as well as announcements. But above all of that there's a message that usually aims at being catchy and clever, trying to relate to everyone's life in someway, so as to catch the attention of the the hundreds of cars that whiz by each hour. This week's message is:

God's like Coca Cola, He's the "Real Thing."

How's that for use of simile?

Peppercorns

Would it be safe to say that freshly ground pepper, from your own pepper grinder, is several times better than pre-ground pepper, the kind you find in the pepper shaker at a fast food restaurant? Of course it would be safe to say, because it's definitely true. I know a person who discovered the distinctness of freshly ground pepper after age 50. So many years with nothing but fast food pepper, what a shame. But you know, I think there are many tastes out there that I have yet to discover as well. The other day, someone at work mentioned the much-used Maryland spice, Old Bay. She said it assuming I was familiar with it. I was not. Through wikipedia I came to find out that it's a spice "named for the Chesapeake Bay area where it was developed by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in the 1940s, and where the seasoning is very popular to this day. At that time crabs were so plentiful that bars in Baltimore, MD offered them for free and seasonings like Old Bay were created to have patrons enjoy more beverages...The seasoning mix includes celery salt, bay leaf, mustard seed, both black and red pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. It is traditionally used in Mid-Atlantic States and the northern Gulf Coast to season crab and shrimp." So I guess I'd better try Old Bay. And for any of you out there reading this who do not own a pepper grinder, make a purchase soon. It's a worthy investment.