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A version of this post originally appeared in 2012.

If I have to experience 50 shades, let's do these, please

Yeah, I'm old enough to get a daily dose of AARP emails. The fact that I no longer mind admitting that should also tell you something about my age. So I'm giving the daily email a quick once-over and slam on the eye brakes at an article about book recommendations. I love to read. Since my escape from the mass produced, over-hyped tree pulp spoon-fed by the Doubleday Book Club, I freely roam all forms of media looking for my next favorite book. And here's how the AARP article started:

AARP's antireview of 50 Shades:

. . . know what's in store for you: paper-thin characters spouting middle-school dialogue during mechanistic scenes of sex, bondage, sex, punishment, sex, spankings and yet more sex in a "playroom of pain." But if, instead, you're a fan of gripping, well-crafted tales about complex relationships . . .


. . . and on it went to talk about other books. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. So, they apparently hate the book, but they lead their summer reading review mentioning it? Do they want us to read it or not?

Seriously, I get it. They want to cash in on the hype, but they don't want anyone to think they actually approve of it ,or (heaven forbid) might have even read the thing.

Man, someone's SEO geek is really earning her salary. I appreciate the cleverness, but their shameless bid for youthful relevance ticked me off. And I am totally ripping off the concept for future blog posts. Here are a few ideas in draft mode. Let's see if they benefit from this new strategy.

As per Branding 101, I am planning several blog entries about evergreen topics, including the Olympics. How's this for a cruelly misdirected lead?

The wonders of network broadcasting technology provide us with nearly limitless opportunities to watch athletic competition. But they are not without their pitfalls. An innocent search for tennis programming may land you in Kardashianville. Beware the segment featuring the gals and their mom taking to the tennis court for a little R&R. If you were looking for an environment of etiquette and courtesy, look again. After approximately the fourth minute of pedestrian on-court hacking, trowel-applied makeup and disrespectful adolescent mockery, you will be desperate for something less soul-killing - like the Olympics!

See what I did there? I casually name-dropped a hugely popular trend (whose appeal completely escapes me) that had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH MY PREFERRED TOPIC, and used it to shill for said preferred topic.

Genius! Let's try another one!

Maybe I should re-think the intro to a previous blog entry featuring a recipe for chicken salad:

Found here

Have a hankering for some chicken, but tired of standing in line for hours behind a bunch of intolerant ignoramuses? Consider dishing up this homemade wonder that will have your family cheering for more (and spare you the overpowering compulsion to shower as soon you leave the Chick-Fil-A parking lot). 


I think the trick is to find the broad generality one loves, like books or chicken or tennis, and pinpoint the inevitable handful of unbelievably annoying fringe elements who have tainted it with their 15 minutes of fame. Quick! Glom onto their media-bloated coattails before the trend passes like black beans at a vegan potluck.

It just wouldn't be a proper blog post published in the spring of 2020 without a nod to the 800 pound gorilla of news topics, now would it? I'll wrap this up with a shameless attempt at some SEO traction:

Welcome to Day Whatever of the Covid-19 shelter-at-home order. What initially appeared to be a blessing in disguise (no work commute! loads of quality time with loved ones!) has quickly morphed into a real-life version of a prison apocalypse movie. Ready to escape? Check out my latest book. It's set in the 19th century Texas frontier, so social distancing is a piece of cake. The only people wearing masks are the ones holding up your stage coach. And there are no toilet paper shortages, because it hasn't been invented yet.

No kidding. You can actually buy my book here.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar).

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Well here we are, barely into 2020 (I mean, we only just turned the clocks forward, for crying out loud!) and we have a pandemic to deal with. Just lovely.

Cheddar Broccoli Salad. Photo from the original recipe I clipped from Taste of Home magazine, long before I replaced that subscription with internet and Pinterest.

In order to 'flatten the curve' on the progress of the Covid-19 virus, the powers that be are encouraging those of us who can, who are not essential or emergency workers, to 'self-isolate'. We introverts call this 'a regular day'.

While we're holed up waiting for the all-clear, seems like lots of folks are dusting off the to-do lists. Closets are getting cleaned (along with everything else). Gardens are getting tended. And at our house, old recipes are getting culled.

In fact, I foresee home cooking making a powerful comeback after this virus thing winds down. Even for people like me, who aren't exactly in love with spending time in the kitchen. When your favorite restaurants have shut down, and you're too spooked by watching Contagion and Outbreak to hit up the curbside or drive-through, your only option is cooking for yourself.

I should clarify that I use the term 'cooking' lightly. It's more of an assembly project. Throw a bunch of stuff together, maybe heat it; call it a day.

So i thought I would share this recipe with you in case you are also looking for something easy and relatively healthy to feed the hordes while you're cooped up together.

Notice I've improvised many of the instructions in this recipe because either I didn't have them on hand (hello, Covid Panic Shoppers), or I just don't like them and don't want them in my salad.

Cheddar Broccoli Salad

6 cups fresh broccoli florets
*IDK about 6 cups. I just had about one and a half crowns on hand and snipped off the good bits on the top. I kept the stems, though. They're good for other stuff like soups.

1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
*I love me some cheese, don't get me wrong. But for some reason today I just wasn't feelin' the cheese in this salad. I grated a carrot instead. Looks like grated cheese, but way fewer calories. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of naughty calories in the dressing.

1/3 cup chopped onion
*I didn't measure the onion. I just eyeballed it and cut a little chunk off a red onion, Any kind of onion is fine. I happened to have an overabundance of red onion on hand because last time I was HEB, they only had 3 lb. bags on offer and I couldn't buy any individually, like I usually do. So for a while, we will have red onion in everything we eat.

12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
*I skipped the bacon. We had some already cooked , thanks to my hubs who likes to grill up a bunch of man meat every now and then, and did so recently, even though he got interrupted when he ran out of propane and we had to wait until a trip to Lowe's (while practicing our newly developed Social Distancing skills) before he could finish cooking. But I have cut waaaaay back on eating pork after watching (and ugly crying at the end of) Okja. So, no bacon for me. But if you want some, go ahead!

Not called for in the original recipe, but I threw some in anyway:
1 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut in half lengthwise (they were about to go bad)
A few chunks of raw cauliflower (they were about to go bad)

The Dressing

And here's where we get to the naughty part.

I love this stuff

1-1/2 cups mayo
*We don't usually eat a lot of mayo, but lately I have had some on hand because I went through a self-proscribed deviled egg challenge a few months back. I was determined to learn how to make them properly. I love eating them and can make a pretty good filling, but the peeling of the eggs part was just a nightmare. More on that some other time. So I had plenty of mayo, but 1-1/2 cups? Yikes, that's a lot. Then I remembered I had a little leftover Ranch dip that I made using a packet of their dry dressing mix and some plain Greek yogurt. It was really good btw - highly recommend making your own! So I used the rest of that, which was about a half cup. I filled out this mayo requirement with another half cup of plain Greek yogurt, and the final half cup of mayo.

3/4 cup sugar
*Excuse me? 3/4 cup? I don't think so! Makes my teeth ache just thinking about it. Must be a typo. I used 1/4 cup instead.

3 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar
*Little known fact: 3 TBSP = 1/4 cup. I had a little apple cider vinegar on hand, but I use than in my smoothies and am about out and chose to hoard that for now. I did have a nearly empty bottle of rice vinegar, so I used that instead. I didn't measure, but it was probably about 1/4 cup. I don't think it matters much what kind of vinegar you use here. Maybe not balsamic, unless you substitute some feta for the cheddar . . .

That's it for the dressing. Just whisk together those three ingredients (mayo, sugar, vinegar).

The dressing recipe makes A LOT of dressing. I only used about half the dressing and it was more than enough to saturate the vegetables. Food porn note: that picture of this salad up there at the beginning of this post was clearly taken BEFORE they added the dressing. The dressing is a milky white and your salad will not look like that picture after you add it. It's not ugly or unappetizing, just different. Kinda like poppyseed dressing.

I did have a test taste of the dressing since I had made so many changes to it. It was AWESOME, if I don't say so myself. I will be keeping my improvised dressing recipe handy to use on other things.

The original recipe's assembly instructions are pretty simple: combine the veggies in a large bowl. Make the dressing; toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. If you are using the bacon, add it just before serving. Makes 8 servings.

My best to all during these troubling Covid-19 times. Here's to staying healthy and making the best of a bad situation - and of whatever random stuff is in the fridge/pantry. Stay well!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar).