Froo Froo Food

If you look on the right side of the display screen on your computer device, you'll see a new blog listed: Pretentious Salad. It's published by my sister, Karen, and her husband, Sean, and they'll be writing about what they're eating and drinking. They love talking about food almost as much as preparing and eating it. Most of our phone conversations now are pretty much devoted to that theme. And they know what they're talking about; they've been responsible in one way or another for several of the best meals Watoosa and I have had.

The phrase "pretentious salad" is one Karen has thrown around the past few years to refer to a salad that meets her high standards for both taste and creativity. Beth thought it would work well as a blog title, and they went with it. I originally suggested "Vino-n-Vittles," and was promptly ignored.

I had another suggestion that met the same reception that paid homage to Karen's legendary...uh, "creativity" with the English language. When she gets excited or irritated, her word choice transcend the realm of mere cognitive meaning and takes on an expressionist quality that somehow manages to communicate her point even as she resorts to quasi-absurdity. For instance, she once expressed her irritation with me by calling me a "piece of slab." On a different occasion, the high pitched sound I make when I yawn pushed her past the breaking point, and she lashed out with this gem: "CHRIS! YOU'RE PIERCING THE SKULLS OF BATS!"

Anyway, when she was visiting us in Santa Barbara, she was describing a dish to us, and she was getting so caught up in the moment that she said, "I wolfed it down like a shark." If you've ever seen a shark wolf something down, or even if you've seen a wolf sharking something down, you know exactly what she means. It's one of my favorite Karenisms. So I thought Wolf This Down Like a Shark would be a a fitting blog title. Again, my suggestion fell on deaf ears. Alas.

Since blog writing tends to get more editorial filtering than conversational speech, we might not see too many phrases like "piercing the skulls of bats." But you should check out their blog, anyway. And if you end up making one of the dishes they write about, I give you my personal guarantee* you won't be disappointed.

*Guarantee may not be legally binding in your state. Consult your lawyer.