The Man Behind the Face

Starting a blog has given me some self knowledge. In case it wasn't apparent, I'm very interested in my food, because that seems to be the thing I look up the most.... or maybe I'm lazy and learning about food is just easier than other things. [Side Note: As my fiance is in med school there are a lot of interesting medical and biological things I'm learning, some of them graphic and shocking, and once I figure out how to expand on one of his tidbits I swear I'll write things on "med school learning."]

He was smiling... That's right. You know, that, that Luke smile of his. He had it on his face right to the very end. Hell, if they didn't know it 'fore, they could tell right then that they weren't a-gonna beat him. That old Luke smile. Oh, Luke. He was some boy. Cool Hand Luke. Hell, he's a natural-born world-shaker. - Dragline, "Cool Hand Luke"

 Paul Newman was one sexy beast!

One thing is correct, Paul L. Newman was a world-shaker. If there is one thing I love as much as food culture, it's nonprofit-social-entrepreneurship-greater-good things! Here's innovation for you: Newman's Own. A for-profit food company that gives 100% of after-taxes profits to charities. But the greatness doesn't stop there. Newman's Own has products that are good tasting. Generally their pasta sauces are the lowest in sodium on the shelf, and I would know because we just ate pasta with some Newman's Own Tomato & Basil Bombolina sauce.

You might be wondering, isn't using celebrity status to promote a product a little chintzy. No, because the majority of Americans probably don't recognize Newman. His last pop culture movie was in "Cars," paling in comparisons to roles such as in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The company started like a lot of good ideas do- demand surpassed supply. The Wiki page on Newman's Own notes it started with salad dressings to friends as gifts, and the company has grown ever since 1982. Plus, one has to love how Newman's Own was a family friendly business with daughter Nell Newman launching Newman's Own Organic.

Even as a poor 20-something I never second guess buying Newman's Own products. There, that's my plug. Less guilty shopping, on any budget, for products you know are serving more than one purpose and good.

And, in other food learning [I don't intentionally do it!], I won another bet. Last night I ordered a Chocolate Amaretto Torte from a local gourmet cafe and bakery. IT IS SO YUMMY. My fiance ordered a Pumpkin Cheesecake, also yummy. His interest was in the citrus flavor present in the torte, which I said I thought (90% certain) might be his perception since Amaretto isn't a citrus liqueur. To lay all doubts to rest that I was correct I looked up Amaretto. The liqueur is made from apricot kernels, generally described with an almond flavor that is slightly bitter. After looking around on the interwebz, I decided I liked what About's Home Cooking section said about it. Birth of the drink is disputed, anywhere from the late 18th century to mid-16th century in Italy. Either way, I say cheers and enjoy!

Nabisco and Nascar, is it a "nah" thing?

Trying to be fairly healthy people, we don't have much junk food in the house. The extent of our junk food is a bag of dried cherries and a bag of lightly salted Kettle Chips. Some days a girl just needs a cookie fix. I've been needing a carbohydrate filled cookie fix for at least a week. Spur of the moment last night, appealing to his weaknesses, I asked if I should go buy some Nutter Butters... duh, yes.

While chowing through a good portion of them we both reflected that Nutter Butters always showcase something about Nascar. Why? Do Nascar drivers only eat Nutter Butters? And it's been happening for some time, I can recollect at least three years worth of Nascar plastered Nutter Butter bags.

It turns out the relationship is much older, dating back to 2003, when Nabisco and innovative, Michigan born supermarket chain Meijer teamed up to sponsor the June 2003 Nascar Busch Series race. What's not to love about sponsorships? I guess Dale Earnhardt Jr. won four races in a row at Daytona, and that is great advertising people.

An Amazingly Patriotic Guy

Currently, doing some "homework" on an organization I will soon be sending a cover letter and resume, when I learned something that really made me chuckle- in an appreciative way.

Arguably, the most famous of our Founding Fathers besides good ol' George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, is Thomas Jefferson. (Honestly, I think the degree of fame is dependent on which coast you grew up on. Regionally, we all just have our personal favorites.) He was our third president, and I'll be opinionated in saying I think he was a pretty good one at that. The man's thinking still influences us today.

So how much more patriotic can you get than dying on July 4th?! Yea, that is correct, TJ tied at his dear Monticello on the Fourth of July on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration. Personally, I'm just impressed. Apparently, and no hard feeling for President Adams, he also died that day. What a strong sense of will it must have taken TJ to hold on until July 4th.