I made two trips to Wal-Mart this weekend… once to get toilet paper and king size bed linens… the next time was to get king size bed linens that I had paid for and forgotten… and I blame it on a group of teenage boys…
(the farmer and I are currently raising two teenage boys so I’m an expert on teenagers)…
my daughter and I were in line with toilet paper, a set of king size sheets and shampoo and conditioner… the usual...
while in line, this group of five high school boys were standing behind us and had a big day planned apparently… three movies to watch…
they were so loud and obnoxious… talking about how fantastic they were and how every girl should want to date them… using words that my daughter and I should not have had to listen to whilst buying our toilet paper and bed linens…
and it was like a competition to see who could say the stupidest story the loudest…
there was a beautiful young girl working the till… and this group of boys started making comments about her… she heard them, probably because they were not trying to be quiet, and I could see it was making her uncomfortable…
everything in me wanted to turn to them and ask them to tone it down a notch and stop embarrassing themselves by speaking… I was planning on saying ‘if you just stand there silently, none of us will know exactly how stupid you really are’…
I was angry that when a group of boys or men get together they feel like they can objectify women like we love it that they are noticing us and making us feel uncomfortable…
I should have said something but I didn’t… I need to be more brave… for my daughter, for the young girl actually working on a Saturday instead of watching 3 movies and acting like an idiot… really for every woman out there that has had to endure degrading comments said by cocky, ignorant young men…
I also like to think there are certain rules when standing in line… and these boys obviously had never been told them…
first rule… don’t judge what kind of night I had that I need to be buying toilet paper and bed sheets… just look away and mind your own business…
second rule… do not crowd the person in line in front of you… give them some space and use the stick to separate your purchases from theirs…
third rule… do not talk… if you must talk, speak in hushed tones… the people around you do not want to hear your phone conversation or really anything you have to say…
fourth rule… if you are a teenage boy, really do not talk... during this time in your life, you should only speak when you are surrounded by other teenage boys and you are out of earshot of anyone else… this is the only way for you to not look like a fool…
when I returned home, I found that my daughter must have grabbed the shampoo and conditioner, I grabbed the toilet paper and no one grabbed the sheets…
I had the receipt but was prepared for them to not believe me when I went back the next day to tell them that I bought them but did not leave with them…
I went to the customer service desk and started to plead my case… how the boys had angered and distracted me and I forgot to take the sheets with me… oh, and I’m a trustworthy person…
the lady at the desk looked around and came back with a set of king size sheets…
and she asked me if these were the sheets… I read the note, almost teared up I was so happy to see the description of me in my mid-20’s… and claimed the sheets…
getting to the vehicle, with a ridiculous grin on my face, I showed the note to my middle-son and daughter…
and then was immediately brought back down to earth when he commented… ‘I wonder if it’s cuz you dress too young for your age, or your tattoos, or that zit on your face and your new braces’…
this was when I got to teach him the lesson those teenage boys the day before needed to know… don’t speak…
so to all the teenage boys out there… silence is always a good option… you’ll appear mysterious, intelligent and intriguing… at least until you open your mouth…
meal to the field was cauliflower taco salad, beef enchiladas and cardamom lemon ricotta bundt cake…
cauliflower taco salad
Cauliflower Taco Salad
Ingredients:
- 3 heads Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
- 2 green peppers, small dice
- 2 cups mayo
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into small portions
- 6 green onions, diced
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
- 1 bag Doritos
Directions:
- in either a large bowl or in individual containers, place lettuce and green peppers
- mix the mayo and sugar and spoon and smooth over the lettuce and green peppers
- add cauliflower, green onions and cheddar cheese
- chill for at least 2 hours
- when ready to serve add crushed Doritos on the top
- if serving in a large bowl, mix ingredients together before serving
- if putting in containers to take to the field, leave unmixed
for the beef enchiladas, I made a enchilada sauce… not quite as good as the canned one I had bought before but I have been unable to find it in grocery stores and was sick of looking for it…
beef enchiladas with homemade sauce
Ingredients:
- for the sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- ground pepper
- for the enchiladas
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 red peppers, chopped
- 3 green peppers, chopped
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 2 cans (4 oz) diced green chiles (optional)
- 6 lbs ground beef
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ground pepper
- 6-8 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 24 whole wheat tortillas
Directions:
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- spray three 9×13 pans with cooking spray
- to make the sauce, whisk olive oil and flour until it browns slightly
- add the other ingredients and cook on warm for 10-15 minutes
- in a large skillet, cook the red peppers, green peppers, onions and chiles until soft
- brown the meat, straining off the excess fat, and add spices to meat
- in a large bowl, combine the peppers, meat, 2 cups sauce and 3 cups cheese and mix well
- put a heaping 2/3 cup of the meat/pepper mixture in the centre of each tortilla and wrap up
- spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of each pan
- place 8 filled and rolled tortillas in each pan
- pour 1/2 cup sauce over the tortillas evenly and then sprinkle around 1 cup cheese over them
- bake for 30 minutes and serve
on to the cake… I was very excited to make… because I love to try new ingredients and the spice Cardamom sounded exotic and interesting to me… so I made a zucchini, lemon, ricotta and cardamom bundt cake…
side note… cardamom cost me $16… so come borrow mine… I’ll give it to you for $4 per teaspoon…
cardamom lemon bundt cake
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup ricotta, room temperature
- 1 cup grated yellow zucchini
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- pinch of ground cardamom
Directions:
- preheat oven to 325 degrees
- butter and lightly flour pan and cool in fridge
- in a standing mixer, combine sugar and butter until smooth
- add lemon zest, lemon juice and eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl as needed
- in a separate bowl, combine flour, cardamom, salt, baking soda and baking powder
- add flour to butter mixture and combine
- add ricotta and zucchini
- take pan out of fridge and pour cake batter into the pan
- bake for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean
- cook cake in pan for 1 hour
- transfer to a plate and cool completely
- whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice and cardamom together and drizzle over cake and serve
in defence of the the boys… there was one boy that was slightly humorous… perhaps realizing that his group of friends was being annoying and disrespectful…
when they were discussing what type of girl they like to go for, he mentioned ‘I like to consider myself as a 7, but I always go for an 11… get it? 7-11’…
this was the only intelligent thing said… so well done to him… but still a better idea is not to speak in a Wal-Mart line in your teenage years…
i feed a farmer 
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