MountainMornings

On this cold and rainy Tuesday, let’s talk about food shall we? Now I’m not a big sushi lover, not like Bob and the kids. Raw fish should be called bait imho, so I always order something cooked on the menu. But last week in LA, over a most deliciously fresh dinner of lobster rolls and salmon sashimi, the Rocker rolled out his new App; something for us old folks to help with choosing ethical, sustainable products, https://buycott.com  …oh and btw,

it also tells you what political party the company or the company president is donating to – HOLLER!!

I know, holler is so last year, but my point is you will find out if some product has GMOs or not, and you can also tell if something is related to Mr T as well! For instance, “Kitchen Aid is the named sponsor of the PGA Senior Golf Championship. Donald Trump spent many years lobbying for a major golf tournament and was awarded the 2017 Kitchen Aid PGA Senior Golf Championship. Trump is very proud of this. Kitchen Aid should not allow for Donald Trump’s dangerous bigoted bullying to be rewarded. Accordingly, they should push to move the tournament to another location (as many less prestigious golf events have already done).” https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/how-buycott-intends-to-put-bad-brands-on-blast?utm_term=.cuBKePYJJV#.twe5gWO44m

I never really wanted one of those huge Kitchen Aid mixers on my kitchen counter top anyway. And I’ve never owned a toaster oven for that matter, just a toaster. In fact, we just recently upgraded to a 4 slicer!

But just how conscientious are we when it comes to holiday consumption? Tis the season and I’m growing more in love with Amazon for its convenience every year, though I admit it was not an easy road to climb since I also strongly believe in small, local businesses. But I have always been a brand buyer, not the fancy Gucci wear my initials all over you “luxury brand buyer,” but I like what I like. Like my washing machine detergent is Tide.

Still, when I found out a Koch brothers’ company owned Northern toilet paper, I figured it’s time to put my money where my bum is, literally. I switched to a Proctor and Gamble company, even though I’d been traumatized for years by their weird Mr Whipple ad campaign. “1964 — The Mr. Whipple (aka “George the Grocer”) character was created to promote Charmin’s “squeezable softness.” Mr. Whipple appeared for more than 20 years in Charmin television, radio, and print advertising.”

But I digress. When I heard about that gun-toting maniac who believed some Mr T induced conspiracy theory about trafficking at a pizza parlor in DC, well it just made me want to crawl right back under the covers. After all, who in their right mind would dare to denounce pizza? That most glorious of all foods! That is, until I heard about Kellogg pulling their advertising dollars from Breitbart aka FAKE news. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/30/breitbart-news-kelloggs-advertising-boycott-alt-right

And I have a wee bit of a connection to this beloved cereal chain. My brother Mike, who was the President and GM of the Vikings at the time, and his family lived on the same spit of land in MN that bordered Lake Minnetonka with old Mrs Kellogg. In fact, the Flapper once told us a story of how Mrs K herself, who was older than my Mother at the time, came out in the middle of a snowstorm in her snowshoes to check on her! Yes, people in MN are that kind, that good, just like Garrison Keillor says they are!

Mrs Kellogg brought the Flapper some food since she knew the rest of the family was away on some trip. They sat down to tea. And knowing my Mother, I’m sure they had an interesting discussion. I wish I could ask them now what they think about all this boycotting stuff. They would most likely remind me that this act of civic disobedience has been around for ages and in fact started in our ancestral home, County Mayo, Ireland! I KNEW it!

The word boycott entered the English language during the Irish “Land War” and derives eponymously from Captain Charles Boycott, the land agent of an absentee landlord, Lord Erne, who lived in Lough Mask House, near Ballinrobe in County Mayo, Ireland, who was subject to social ostracism organized by the Irish Land League in 1880. As harvests had been poor that year, Lord Erne offered his tenants a ten percent reduction in their rents. In September of that year, protesting tenants demanded a twenty five percent reduction, which Lord Erne refused. Boycott then attempted to evict eleven tenants from the land.

Tonight we’ll be having leftovers. Good old fashioned comfort food with a side of ravioli. Tomorrow we will order a pizza, to go with our Rice Krispie treats. https://www.ricekrispies.com/en_US/recipes.html