Since I got a lot of people’s hopes up with the “wet T-shirt” come-on, I should probably put that excitement to rest immediately. Sorry to disappoint you, but there will be no nipples to the wind on this site. When I went inside Tuesday after lunch to pay our bill at Los Niños del Flor, I noticed one of the regular staff was out of his usual uniform, wearing an English-language T-shirt instead. I ribbed him about it and he said in Spanish that he had just spilled sauce all over his shirt. I hadn’t gotten a clear view of the shirt, so asked if I could read it. Since neither he nor anyone else on staff had any idea what it said, he told me he would be grateful for a translation.
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| “WEATHER FORECAST… ALL NIGTH LONG… WET” (LUCKY FOR HIM, THAT’S ALL IT SAID.) |
Fortunately, I was able to translate the T-shirt (and the typo). It seems a bit risky to me to wear a shirt in another language without knowing what it says. Then again, people in the States do it all the time. I’ve even heard of people getting Asian characters prominently tattooed on their bodies only to discover the characters don’t mean what they thought they meant. The staff person pictured is originally from Paraguay. He (along with everyone else at Los Niños del Flor) makes us feel like one of the family every time we’re there. He always greets us (and sees us off) with every bit of his English repertoire. “Hello! Very good! Very nice!” He once tried to teach me to say something in the language of his native people, I could barely wrap my mouth around the words and, after practicing for a half hour, I promptly forgot it. I think it meant, “Hello. Very good. Very nice.”
The Gourmand and the Gourmet
Tuesday night before dinner San Geraldo taught me, and I improved on, a gourmet hors d’oeuvre recipe that he’s apparently known for years. We were about to have stew for dinner. While the stew was heating, San Geraldo brought out the crackers and butter to go with it. He opened the crackers and started snacking in advance of the stew. He then left and returned from the kitchen with a container of raisins. He buttered a cracker, took a handful of raisins and popped them in his mouth, and then took a bite of cracker.
We’ve been together 31 years. I’m sure I must have seen San Geraldo do this before. I had to have seen him do it before. But, it never registered. It actually looked kind of appealing (unlike bread & milk or lutefisk). But his way was a little too gauche for my tastes (I am after all the son of The Dowager Duchess). I spread butter on a cracker and then carefully placed raisins so they stuck to the butter. Much more elegant.
Oh, it was delicious. I ate an entire package of crackers with butter and raisins and barely had room for the stew.
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| WHO SAYS I DON’T COOK? (OH, THAT’S RIGHT, I DO.) |
Oh Mitch, you are so helpful! Lost in translation.
Now to the crackers….good idea. I never thought of this combo and it would work with figs or apricots too I bet.
Jim:
Figs and apricots sound so elegant. If you've ever had Norwegian lefse (especially the version popularly served for Christmas), you'd find this to be very similar.
Just looked this up….great possibilities with this flatbread variety…..and made with potatoes.
I love raisins but they have always puzzled me. How do they get the legs and heads off the bluebottle flies while keeping the bodies so juicy and unscathed?
Have you tried a similar snack (minus the cow-squeezings) with capers?
Owl Wood:
Oh great! Now I'll probably never be able to eat a raisin again.
When I was very little, my sister and I were taken to a petting zoo. I asked her what all the little round things were spread all over the ground. She told me "blueberries." Fortunately, I didn't try to taste any (they weren't washed). But when I learned years later that they were sheep and goat turds, I was put off blueberries for years!
I like raisins but never thought of eating them this way. Must give it a try.
Stephen:
I mentioned in an earlier comment that it reminded me of Norwegian Christmas lefse. And THAT'S really good!
Cooking? You? Boiling over, YES! When you're fanatic about something!
Peter:
I cook for the cats daily now. Just a short time ago, I opened a new bag of dry food and scooped out a 1/4-cup for each of them. They never complain about my cooking.
Raisins and butter on a cracker sounds wonderful. I will have to try it! I used to go on a site called Engrish which featured T-shirt and signs badly translated into English in Asian countries. Some of them were funny and others inscrutable!
Ms. Sparrow:
Many of the souvenir T-shirts sold here are from Asian countries. Sometimes it's like me trying to write a T-shirt in Chinese!
Craxkers(typo)….crackers with anything…just love to snack with anything spreadable and stackable…..Jim taught me about jam and cheese…simple and so good for you , now I'll add raisins….excuse me ~~~~~~!
Ron:
Never a big fan of jam and cheese… Jam and CREAM cheese on the other hand!
Jerry loves conveyance foods like bread and crackers. Anything that can carry something that tastes better.
I know what you mean, because at first I couldn't imagine this combo…I tried it and haven't looked back and I keep changing the cheeses and jams to various honeys and so on…I get Jerry's conveyances needs totally!
Hmm. Not sure about this snack 🙂 Good job making it, though!
Judeet:
Trust me, it's delicioso. I might even open a restaurant.
The French are also good for wearing t-shirts in English, or rather what they think is English. Some of them are funny, but most times you just scratch your head.
That snack does sound good. Maybe with a little cream cheese instead of butter, too!
Walt the Fourth:
Cream cheese and raisins! That sounds really good.
wcs, you beat me to it, I was going to suggest cream cheese instead of butter. Maybe you could try it, Mitch, and report back.
Hello Mitch:
No 'wet' tee shirts? Now we are disappointed. We will take your word for it about crackers, butter and raisins and, sadly, most likely pass on them.
Jane and Lance:
The next time I do laundry. I'll take a picture of my T-shirts before I hang them on the line.
I'm disappointed you won't try my recipe.
I must have "read" that tee shirt a dozen times before finally going on down to your read on it (including the typo)… couldn't figure it out. WAY too literal! As for the snack, I believe I'll just have the raisins.
Odd Essay:
Not an adventurous eater, are you? Trust me. It's good. It tastes just like chicken.
ooooh
what let down!
we want a wet T-shirt!!!
Spo:
You mean a T-shirt that simply says WET is not enough?
Now that's an intriguing snack! FUnny how sometimes we notice new things about our partners after many, many years. I guess it's good to take a fresh look at your beloved every once in a while! 🙂
Knatolee:
Sometimes a fresh look is not so good. Today he tried to make me look at ear wax. What happened to the romance?!?
That actually sounds good to me. Bing tries to sneak raisins into everything to keep all of us…um….regular. I'll pass this on to her….
Maria:
I was shocked when I realized I had never registered this little snacking habit. One of the few good ones I've witnessed. I'm a very regular guy, by the way.