The joy of the day

[gerisullivan]

Saturday morning's virtue involved getting up and gathering up garbage and recyclables to take to the transfer station. The recyclables involved breaking down a few dozen boxes stacked up in my garage and flattening them into an ever-growing pile in the back seat of my t/a/r/d/i/s/ car.

I kept separating out packing materials and flattening cardboard until 30 minutes before the transfer station closed. I might have made it through half of the boxes; all I really know is that the site lines in the garage are a foot or two lower than they were when I started.

At the transfer station, the worker helping me empty the car noticed the Penzey's magnet, "Love people. Cook them tasty food."

"Where's my tasty food? You can't have a bumper sticker like that without also having tasty food."

I quite agreed with him and grinned my way through an apology for not having any tasty food in the car. As we continued unloading cardboard, he told me about how happy he is to have finally found the missing ingredient -- red rice wine vinegar -- for the hot'n'sour soup he wants to make. He found it at an Asian grocery in Amherst. "That one on Hwy 9?" I asked. Yep.

As I was leaving, he reminded me to bring tasty food next time, and made another comment about his hot'n'sour soup, which of course prompted me to say how much I'd love some of it.

Then I came home. It was 18 minutes before noon, when the transfer station closed.

To the kitchen! Time was short.

I melted some butter in a frying pan, tossed a flour tortilla in, flipped it for a light coating on each side, and sprinkled McCormick Bush Spices and garlic on the surface. Then came the shredded 6-cheese Italian blend and some crumbled bacon on the theory that everything goes better with bacon. Then I added more cheese.

(The bacon was a first. I've made these tortilla wedges before, occasionally with deli-sliced meat though usually just with cheese and spice.)

I folded the tortilla in half and quickly pulled together another box of recyclables, including the paper from the full shredder bin while the cheese melted and the tortilla browned. Hey, if I was going back to the transfer station anyway....

I flipped the cheesy-bacony-spicy tortilla, browned the other side, pulled out a paper plate with hearts all over it (to cover the "Love people" part of the slogan), and was pleased to see the whole thing easily fit into a gallon ZipLoc bag for easy, clean, heat-retaining transport.

Out of the pan and to the cutting board for the sandwich. Five of the six wedges fit on the plate without stacking. I ate the sixth. Quality assurance, don'cha know?

A bit too cheesy; a bit too subtle on the bacon though it added to the smokiness of the bush spice blend Aussie Fan David Russell sent my way.

Then I was off to the transfer station. The guy was a few inches away from having the gates closed, even though my car clock said 11:56. I pulled up assertively: "I brought the tasty food!"

Another one of the guys called out, "well, you tried" as another car pulled in behind me. He told me what a miserable morning it had been, and how after hours in the cold and rain, "you develop an attitude." They didn't care that they were closing early; they just wanted the hell out of there.

He took my recycling as I went up to the gates with the sandwich, and to help close them again. The latches weren't inclined to seat securely in the icy ground, and the guy's bare fingers were getting the worst of it from the frozen metal.

As soon as he had the gates closed, I handed him the warm plate. ~"Oh my gosh. What is it?"~

"An international grilled cheese sandwich," I said, explaining the ingredients. He was quick to agree that everything goes better with bacon and wants to know more about the Australian Bush Spices.

I turned to head back down to my car.

~"Wait, I can't let you leave without seeing me have a piece."~

His verdict was swift and clear: "This is tasty food!"

He was reaching for the second wedge as I reached my car. But first, he held out his hand in thanks. It was chilled through and through. "Tasty food makes everything better," he said. "I don't know what bush spices are, but they sure taste good on this." I told him it's a blend and that I'd bring the specifics* next time.

We exchanged first names. As I drove off, it looked like Bill might be going to share his tasty food with his two co-workers. Or maybe he was just going to gloat. :-)

I find the joy of the day in all sorts of things. Even my local equivalent of taking out the garbage. Big fun, and now I'm filled with good cheer. Onward!

* Salt, rice flour, sugar, onion, garlic, pepper, paprika, celery, nutmeg, oregano, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, soy bean oil, bell pepper, colour, lemon myrtle, mountain pepper, lemon aspen.

Edited to correct a few typos.

Comments

[starstraf.livejournal.com]

We have that bumper sticker on our car