Do you know the muffin man?

Do you know the muffin man?

The muffin man the muffin man.

Do you know the muffin man?

That lives in Drury Lane?

Yes I know the muffin man

The muffin man the muffin man

Yes I know the muffin man that lives in Drury lane

Victorian households had many of their fresh foods delivered; muffins would be delivered door-to-door by a muffin man.    Back in those days muffins were what we call English Muffins today, a bread made of yeasted dough and baked on a hot griddle . . . not the sweet, cakey variety we Americans usually associate with the word.

Interestingly, Drury Lane is an actual street in London that is, in fact, known for its muffins. 

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Brie, Swiss and Bacon Quiche

1 Package Deep Dish Pie Crust
4 Ounces, Brie Cheese
4 Ounces, Swiss Cheese, Diced
10 Slices Bacon, Cooked Crisp, Drained, Crumbled
6 Whole Large Eggs
½ Cups Whipping Cream
½ Cups Sour Cream
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Dash Each Nutmeg, Salt, Pepper




Crumble cheeses in the bottom of the pie.

Spread crumbled bacon on top.  Mix all remaining ingredients thoroughly and pour into the pie pan.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 45 minutes, until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly before serving.  The left overs are good served cold, as well.

Cattitude

It's nice to witness these discoveries at first hand

I was cogitating over the etymology of testimony.   Primarily because the word exhibits a striking similarity to  . . . uh . . . the doodads of the masculine form . . . you know what I’m trying to say . . . er . . .  man-sacks . . . ugh . . . testicles.  There, I said it!

Whew! 

So, what is the connection between these two words that seem to have no obvious association?  

Allow me to elucidate.  Testimony, testify, testis, and testicle  . . .  in Latin testis means “witness.  How did we get from witness to teabags? 

It is stated that under Roman law that only verifiable men were allowed to provide testimony.  A man could not testify unless his testicles were at hand as verification of his maleness . . . and I mean literally, at hand.  Way back then they didn’t have the King James Bible to swear an oath on . . . they made their vow of truthfulness on the thing (or thingies) that were most sacred to them . . . their whoop-dee-doos.  Romans placed their right hands on their testicles and swore by them before giving testimony in court.

I’m not sure if that clarifies anything, or even if it’s factual,  but it’s intriguing nonetheless.

Interestingly, to detest means “to bear witness against;” therefore, to curse, and implicitly, to hate one’s testiculi . . . i.e. ones little witnesses . . . just sayin’.

Creamy Coleslaw

1 large heads cabbage, shredded

1 large carrots, shredded

2/3 cups mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 cup white vinegar

1/5 tablespoons celery seed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

In a gallon sized zipper bag, combine the cabbage and carrots.

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour into the bag with the cabbage mixture. 

Seal and squeeze the bag to combine the ingredients.  

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Toss before serving.

I feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe

As if I haven’t already mentioned it a multitude of times before . . . my husband is awesome.  He’s a sweet, affectionate, intelligent and handy.    He’s my personal Mr. Fix-it; plumbing, electrical, mechanical . . . he’s my handy man.  He's my every man . . . he's awesome!

I drive a 1997 Honda CRV with over 160,000 miles on the odometer.  It’s a great little car that serves me well and I love it.

I recently noticed that the front end was making noise . . . specifically; when I depressed the brake pedal . . . a grinding, scraping sound.   So, I had hubby take a listen.  He checked out my brakes and rotors and determined that they needed to be replaced .  . . soon.  He admonished me that I should have had some sort of warning that the brake pads were wearing down and instead of relatively inexpensive repair I now had a fairly expensive repair. Blah!

He can change out the brake pads and rotors himself but we live in a condo with no garage; which means he’d have to do the job working on the ground in a crowded parking lot.  He was willing to pay someone $100 just so he wouldn’t have to do it himself.  So, he asked me to call around and get some estimates on what it would cost to get my brakes done.

I called around and it was going to cost me at least $350 to get new brakes and rotors put on my car.  Hubby wasn’t about to spend that kind of money to do something that he could do for way less.

So, from my observations and endless questions is my interpretation of how to change the brake pads and rotors on my car.

The first thing he did was jack the car up off the ground so that he could remove the tire.  That sounds easy enough until you take into consideration that my car is full of gardening stuff and the jack was buried in the wheel well under all that crap.  

Okay, so once the car is jacked up he put a jack stand under the car to hold it up in case the jack should happen to fail so the car wouldn't go smashing to the ground.

When he removed the tire it fully exposed the gouged out rotors beneath.

See that thingy-doodle up there?  That's the caliper.  What does it do?  It calipates, what else!  Actually, Brake calipers squeeze the brake pads against the surface of the brake rotor to slow or stop the vehicle.  That had to come off next.

After removing the bolts he gently pried the caliper loose. Then he secured it with a bungee cord in order to keep from pulling on the brake line  . . . he's so smart.  :)


The caliper mounting bracket came off next. 

And then the brake pads came off . . . the very worn out brake pads.

And then off with the rotor; which was a fairly difficult job since I don't think the rotors have been changed in the car's 15 years on the road.  The bolts holding the rotor in place were pretty well rusted on.  So he used a cool tool called an impact driver.  An impact driver delivers a strong, sudden rotational and downward force.  It is used to loosen larger screws (bolts) and nuts that are corrosively "frozen" or over-torqued.  It's pretty spiffy.

Then it was time to install the shiny new rotors.  They are packaged with lubrication to keep them from rusting on the shelf.  So, he sprayed them with Brakleen . . . brake parts cleaner . . . to remove the oily coating.  Slick brakes aren't a good thing.

He also coated the bolts with caliper brake grease, which is a high temperature  grease that is used to prevent corrosion.


Then the caliper mounting bracket went back on and the brake pads were prepped for installation.

He prepped them by smearing on Disc Brake Quiet.  Disc Brake Quiet stops brake squeal by dampening vibration at caliper/brake pad interface. It also proveds a tighter fit and protects against corrosion.

Old pad on the left . . . new pad on the right

Then the new "cushy" brake pads went on.  

The caliper goes back on next.  But before that can be done it needs to be compressed.   But, some of the brake fluid should be suctioned out of the master cylinder first.  Otherwise brake fluid will spill out all over the place when the caliper is compressed. 

Then using one of the old brake pads to protect the caliper and a C-clamp, he compressed the caliper.


Once the caliper was compressed, it was ready to be installed.

Then, finally, the tire went back on and  . . . 

. . . .tada . . . new brake pads and rotors.  

But, he wasn't done quite yet.  He checked the brake fluid to make sure the levels were good and then a quick test drive to make sure the brakes were functioning properly.

Yay!  New brakes . . . for $100 he did what an auto shop would have charged over $350 dollars for.

Job well done, my sweet and awesome hubby!  Smoochers!

Firewater Friday - Most nights I end up wearing a wife beater T-shirt and boxers.

Are you this guy?  Are you even close to being all buff and stuff like this guy?  No?  Then tank tops are NOT for you.

Generally speaking, I hate the way men look in tank tops.  They look sloppy, but it's even worse if they are ripped, torn, stained and nasty looking.  Add to that - Hairy armpits . . . ew!  Beer bellies . . . not attractive.  Man pelt . . . uhm, yuck.

Usually, men who wear them  look like someone you would see drinking and belching and smacking his wife on Cops.


I don't care who you are . . . the whole wife beater look . . . I'm sure it's not working for you . . . even if you are a wife beater.  They are undershirts . . . they're called that for a reason.  Just sayin'.

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Dirty Drunken Olive Martini


The olives are soaked in vermouth and marinated for at least a week.  The brine from the olive jar is reserved to make the cocktail.

6 Fluid Ounces Vodka Or Gin

1 4 Drunken Olives

1 Fluid Ounce Brine From Olive Jar

In a mixing glass, combine vodka/gin, brine and olives. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Love is like an hourglass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties

Is French Toast really and truly French?  Although France has their own version of this nom-dilly-ish-ous breakfast treat it doesn't originate there.  Prior to World War I, the dish was commonly known as German toast in America, but that the name was changed due to anti-German sentiment. 

There is a different version of “French Toast” in many cultures . . . back in medieval times, when food was often scarce; every bit of food was used including what we would typically chuck in the garbage bin without a second thought.  Old stale bread was no exception; the bread would be soaked in egg to add moisture and protein and then fried in hot fat.  Even the wealthy enjoyed the egg dipped bread . . . except they would use the most expensive breads, indulgently remove the crusts and douse the toast in honey.

In fact, recipes for "French toast" can be traced to ancient Roman times.  The original French name is pain a la Romaine', or Roman bread.

French toast is so simple and inexpensive, it's no wonder it's been around so long.  Yummers!

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Strawberry-Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

• One 1- To 1 1/4-Pound Loaf Of White Bread 
• 8 Ounces Cream Cheese, Softened
• 2 Tablespoon Strawberry Preserves
• 1/2 Cup Whole Milk
• 4 Large Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Gran Marnier         
• Pinch Salt
• Unsalted Butter
• Real Maple Syrup, Warmed

Mash the cream cheese with the preserves.  The mixture should be thick and chunky.  You can smooth it out in a food processor, if you prefer (I did).

In a shallow dish or bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, Gran Marnier, and vanilla.

Dunk the stuffed bread slices into the egg mixture and turn to coat evenly, until saturated but short of falling apart.

Warm 1 tablespoon butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Briefly cook the French toast in batches until golden brown and lightly crisp, turning once.

Place the first slices on a plate and top with a dollop of cream cheese.  

Top with a second slice and another dollop of cream cheese.  

Garnish with a sliced strawberry and drizzle with syrup.