Recipe Me This

by Pa Rock
Local Shopper

Saturday morning I rushed into the grocery store for a few necessities – bread, milk, and that type of stuff.   It was cold outside and the wind was raging  - and the store was fairly empty.  It was not the kind of day when casual shoppers would be out – only the hearty and hungry would brave that awful weather!

It was so slow inside of the store that only one checkout line was open.  As I got in line, a little old man stepped in behind me.  He wasn’t buying much and he had his few items cradled in his arms.   Not having anything else to occupy my time as I waited to be rung up,  I watched as the fellow behind me set his meager items on the conveyor belt.  He had five items total:  a quart of vanilla yogurt, a prepackaged portion of hamburger that looked to be about a pound, and three tins of sardines.

I immediately thought about some of those god-awful Norwegian recipes that Garrison Keillor used to discuss on “A Prairie Home Companion,” particularly around the holidays, but I could not remember any names of those Scandinavian abominations.

Maybe the old fellow had plenty at home for his own needs, and he was buying some special treats for his cats.  I hoped that was the case because I can’t imagine any meal for human consumption that would feature both yogurt and sardines.  But we all have our dark corners - and habits and rituals that are best kept secret.

There used to be a site on the internet where you could list several ingredients –such as what happened to be in your refrigerator that particular day – and the site would kick out a recipe or a menu that would use everything on the list.  It would be interesting to see what got coughed up for vanilla yogurt, hamburger, and sardines.

Here’s hoping the fellow’s wife isn’t a school lunch lady!