A Few Good Men Blog
Posted on October 26, 2015 by Jackie DeKnock No comments
GOURMET LOVE
“Spreading love, one recipe at a time!”
The back-story that inspired the menu that inspired the recipes! Foodie and Love stories combining love, romance, and adventure (remember this is all fiction my friends)! Let me take my paintbrush, paint the scene and the mood to take you there…
Inspired Quote to love by:“Here’s to those who inspire you and don’t even know it.” ~ Unknown
Love DATELINE: Now Seeking Good Men
Where: Anywhere
When: Anytime
Mood: Always open to possibilities
Emotion: Hopeful
Now Recruiting.
Do you remember one of the most famous posters of all times? It’s the ‘Uncle Sam’ poster that was used to recruit soldiers for WW1 and WW2. Uncle Sam (initials U.S.) points at ‘you’ with the words “I Want You for U.S. Army” printed underneath. It’s very memorable to me. What we (ladies) now need is a similar ‘wanted’ posted stating something like this: “We Want You. Good men are hard to find.” I don’t know who would replace Uncle Sam though…I’ll have to get back to you on that one…
Rare Real Man Sighting.
They still do exist, however, they are being forced to leave (in this case Canada)! Here’s a true story of what happened to me right around the time that I was looking for inspiration for this menu. My friend and I were out for a rare night on the town. High heels, lipstick and dresses. We walked downtown for a short time to get the ‘lay of the land’ until we found our final destination. I know high heels look great and I also know their impractical downside (sometimes fashion trumps practicality though when you strap on your lovely heels). The more I walked, the more my feet hurt – ouch – OK now I remember the downside. By the time we arrived, I was limping (not exactly lady-like in high heels, nope)…what one will do to look good in heels (this explains why nights out painting the town red are rare for me)! As I walked (or should I say limped) into our little pub, a perfect stranger immediately dashed over with a bar stool in hand so that I could sit down. Where did this Prince of a man come from? “How sweet is that,” I thought, I couldn’t believe it? What a gentleman. Fortuitously for me, the bar tender (a fellow gentleman) had a supply of band-aids on hand which I quickly applied…jackpot, ahhh, that felt better. OK, I was now ready to dance, problem solved! I didn’t think anything more of it, thanking him profusely as I made my way to the dance floor. The night wore on. I danced, forgot all about my foot (a few sips from the fountain will always help with that) and voila, out of the blue, the gentleman who hand-delivered the stool came over, said hello and asked me how my foot was. I couldn’t believe that either? He, I’ll call him Sir Lancelot, explained that he realized that I was in pain when I limped in and was now checking in on me. Wow, I was so impressed and touched. I told him that he was such a gentleman and NEVER, and I mean NEVER change. He surely was a knight from the Round Table (in this case Pub Table).
Meet Sir Lancelot.
Then Sir Lancelot went on to tell me his story…he was being deported from Canada the next day. What? Was Canada really deporting a ‘real men,’ a real gentlemen? Do the immigration authorities not realize that they are virtually extinct? That it’s a crisis situation! Never deport a real men, we need them all here, that’s just NOT RIGHT. Deport the cowards, the weak men, not the ‘real’ true-to-life gentlemen. Sir Lancelot is from Denmark, he’d lived in Canada for 6 years, had a good job, was just about to start a company and had been a fine upstanding citizen and gentleman, paid taxes and was married. Did I say gentleman. That’s sadly where his story went sour – bad marriage, wrong person which brought him to today – being deported, as he had sadly over-stayed his welcome. I couldn’t believer my ears – a real man – in such short supply being shipped away. I felt so sorry him, I felt sorry for me…what are we to do ladies? It was his farewell party and yet he took the time out from his party to come and see how I was doing. Amazing. This re-instilled my faith and confidence in men once again. There are real men out there. Hallelujah! Was it raining men (as the song goes)? Shame that they’re being shipped off coast, maybe I’ll have to zip over to Denmark or somewhere else on the planet to find them?! Sir Lancelot, I hope that you are doing well back in your home country, back at your Round Table. I hope that you have started your business and it’s a smashing success…you deserve it! Keep on being a gentleman and showing your breed how it’s done. Thank you for your kindness, compassion and caring from myself and the women of the world, so good to know that you exist! You give us hope.
PS He also went on to tell me that his mother would expect no less from him and he always wanted to make her proud. Now, he is an amazing son to be proud of! Thank you to all of those mothers who teach their sons how to treat others with respect, kindness and compassion. You make the world a better place. I do my very best as well to instill the same positive values in my son, my knight.
Keep the Faith.
Your noble knight is out there somewhere in his kingdom. And when you meet him, he will do anything and everything for you (even hold doors open and carry you across puddles of water). He’ll swim across the widest oceans, climb the highest frozen mountain tops, ride across the widest of desserts just to be with you and protect you from any harm. He will just do that for you and you will live happily ever after knowing that you are safe on his horse as you ride off into the sunset. You just might have to travel to Denmark to find him first though! Good luck finding your real man in shining armour, he is out there. Find love, be love and follow your heart to ‘your’ knight.
XO
PS Love your food, what comes from the heart touches the heart! Craving isn’t a ‘Bad Word,’ food IS sexy!
PSS I came up with this handy wallet-sized ‘Manly Ranking Scale’ – pull it out when you need it! It’s similar to the Richter Magnitude Scale that measures earthquakes (the idea came to me as I survived a major earthquake in Vegas years ago). I’ll grade each man of my life at the time of my Love Dateline story! Feel free to grade the man of your life, If he’s a +10 (and I hope he is), I’d say go for it!:
Sir Lancelot would have no doubt been a ‘keeper’ – if only he wasn’t being shipped away to a foreign country…oh well, there’s always a next time to meet another Sir Lancelot.
Check out the complete “A Few Good Men” menu
FOODIE DATELINE: Manly Menu
Where: Backyard Toronto
When: Summer 2008
Mood: Hungry for more
Mexican Flank Steak Tacos.
This Taco dish is what inspired this ‘A Few Good Men’ Menu! The first time that I ever tasted authentic Flank Steak Tacos was (shame, no, not in Mexico), it was at an ex-friend’s (yes ex-friend…long story) backyard BBQ party. She had just met the man of her dreams. He had just arrived in Canada from non other than Mexico (I’m thinking that they must have met at the airport)! He was so excited to meet all of her friends and with that, decided to whip up a delicious Mexican BBQ Feast. This was my delicious introduction to this authentic dish that I share with you. I watched his every move as he marinated and grilled the beef, followed by the spring onions. I scribbled down notes so that I could replicate this authentic recipe again…and voila, here it is for you to make for your ‘real man’! As your Gourmet Coach, I’ve always ‘got your back’ so that I can share recipes with you! They did end up getting married (interestingly enough I was her witness) and he did end up being a ‘real man’ through and though. Interesting how life works sometimes isn’t it! I hope that your real manly man enjoys this menu!
Wish you were here!
XO