Monday, March 30, 2015

GARLIC IN YOUR COFFEE


Most humans over 60 have senior moments. I know I have my share but they are usually harmless and laughable.

Sometimes we just slap ourselves up side of the head but sometimes, we make actual  discoveries. That happened to me the other day.

I prepare my coffee maker at night so it will be ready to go in the AM with just a plug in.  I use to drink my coffee so heavy in sugar that it would turned to glue when spilled.  I finally weaned my self down to plain black and was happy with that for many years.

Then I got creative. I tried cinnamon in my coffee both for health reasons and for taste. Not bad, give it a try. Then I heard unsweetened cocoa was good for the brain and since mine needs all the help it can get, I started adding a little of that to my coffee basket as well as the cinnamon. Even better.

However, I keep all my everyday spices between the coffee pot and stove.  One night in a "careless moment" (that sounds better than senior moment), I picked up the wrong bottle. I tapped it on its butt three times as I normally would for the cinnamon and a light colored product came out. Yikes, garlic powder.

Being a bit cheap and also a fan of garlic, I decided to not throw out the coffee and start over but to let it ride. I did pass on the dab of cocoa though.  Garlic coffee was a stretch. Garlic chocolate was beyond imagination.

Ok, it wasn't awful. I drank it all but it may be an acquired taste. Starting my day with garlic breath was not cool.

Don't know what was wrong with me but that evening as I was preparing a turkey burger, I picked up the garlic and shook it a few times over the skillet. Out came something dark.  You guessed it, the wayward bottle of cinnamon was in my hand.  Yikes again. In my defense, they come from the same manufacturer and look roughly similar.

The good thing is that cinnamon on turkey is a tasty thing and I will definitely try that again, maybe in a bit more moderation.  It really livened up a fairly blah burger. Garlic however in coffee---not so much, though I suppose I could get use to it. Paying attention and wearing glasses when preparing food might be the simpler thing to do.

You ever make an off the beaten path but pleasant discovery by accident?

31 comments :

  1. I too am cheap...oops, I mean frugal, but still would not have even tried the garlic coffee. You da man!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cinnamon can be sweet or savory, but garlic? Right off the bat, I can't think of any discoveries, but then again, I rarely change up the food I eat, since I don't get bored with eating the same things day after day. That garlic salt would be good on popcorn. I might try it, just to branch out. I'll leave it out of my coffee, though. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reminds me of the Christmas that Mom mistakenly put green tea leaves instead of dried summer savory in the turkey stuffing. Still edible but certainly not as tasty.
    Cheers, Florence

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't think even I would have gone with the garlic coffee, even if I had just spooned the last of my coffee into the basket.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I do like the idea of cocoa and cinnamon though--lots of health benefits.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, no, the garlic coffee would have been tossed. We have a Keurig pot now, though, so one cup at a time and no chance for mistakes. I do make my share, though.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Same bottle, same McCormick label, I've done it with my oatmeal. A senior moment is when you think that is what it is supposed to taste like.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my......nope I couldn't have had the garlic coffee. You're a better man than me Gunga Din.
    Oh there are so many oops's in my daily life lately. Lack of sleep is sort of like being drunk all the time. I don't even know what I'm doing most of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cinnamon sounds yummy, garlic not so much. We're English Breakfast Tea drinkers here, so not much room for tasty creativity. I did once use way too much cayenne in something that made it completely inedible, had to toss the entire meal.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your posts are so delightful.

    Once I was making chocolate pies for Mom at her house. I didn't know the tooty-fruity flavoring looked just like vanilla...same company, same bottle. Not a good thing! Talk about a slap in your mouth!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good old senior moments. Sometime last week I lost my driver's license. I'll have to get a copy when I get back to Washington next week.

    My husband is in the hospital after a pacemaker shock yesterday. He gave me his "man purse" when I was leaving last night and said, "Please don't lose anything in it."

    ReplyDelete
  12. Uhh, I'm taking a pass on the garlic coffee. My dh puts cocoa, butter and coconut oil in his. It's called bulletproof coffee, or something like that. Pretty nasty if you ask me, but I'm sure my DDP with carcinogenic aspartame would sour his taste buds quickly, also. Cinnamon sounds delicious though.

    ReplyDelete
  13. At least garlic in your coffee will keep vampires away. I hear they also don't like garlic.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Whoa... garlic coffee? Patti, you are an adventurer to try it anyway. I'm afraid I would have thrown it away without tasting it. Then again, maybe that's how they came out with Reese's peanut butter cups. Somebody may have dropped a glob of peanut butter on a piece of chocolate. Who knows?

    I've mixed up salt and sugar a few times... and it wasn't good. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  15. You sure are brave sweet Patti, I would never have the nerve to try garlic in coffee. I do use a lot of garlic in cooking but in coffee, don't think so. I use a lot of cinnamon too but never tried it in coffee. I have put chili powder in a few things by mistake and we ate the food anyway...just thankful none of it was hot cereal. lol Hugs for you and give the sweeties nose kisses for us

    ReplyDelete
  16. Those look-alike spice bottles cause problems for all of us. I once put dill in the spaghetti sauce rather than basil. I recognized my mistake immediately and was able to take a paper towel and pick up most of it while it was still on the top of the sauce. I went a little heavier than usual on the basil, oregano, and parsley to cover up the dill. My husband loved the sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Yes recently in the supermarket I thought I picked up and bought a BLT, but when I got home I realised I'd bought a chicken and bacon sandwich, which I hated. All because I'm in denial that I need to wear glasses for viewing anything, not just books, close up.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Grannie Annie,
    Ha,ha not sure about that but I am intrigued by adventure.

    Djan,
    I recommend that you do leave it out. I do use garlic salt on my popcorn. Really good. Hum, might try cinnamon on my popcorn now.

    Out to Pasture,
    That sounds interesting. We do learn by error don't we? Sometimes it turns out good--others we know not to repeat.

    Olga,
    After I tasted it, I wish I had done that but there was just the chance it might be good so I had to try.

    Judy,
    I wish I had one of those. To steep for my pocketbook I fear. Good to see you in the comment section again. You must be feeling much better.

    joeh,
    Ha ha, I think you have a good point there. Guess I passed.

    Linda W,
    Yikes, with lack of sleep, I probably wouldn't have even noticed. Sure hope you are making progress on that front.

    robin,
    Cayenne needs a gentle hand. I am always afraid I will get too much. You can't undo that spice.

    Gail,
    Why thank you. Glad you think so. Yes, buying spices from the same company is not a good idea. Too similar.

    Linda M,
    Oh, I don't envy you a trip to DMV. I am sorry Art is in the hospital. Hope it is just a simple adjustment.

    Terri,
    I have heard of putting butter in coffee which is supposed to be great. Haven't heard about using the other ingredients. Hey, what ever floats your boat right?

    Stephen,
    Now that is a perk I had forgotten about. Good to know I am at least for a while, vampire safe.

    Kay,
    It was that same premise that made me drink it. It might have been wonderful and I could have started a trend. I'll keep trying.

    Maggie,
    I love the taste of garlic and use it a lot which is why it was handy. It could have been great, but it wasn't. At least I will no longer wonder. Chili power in the wrong place will wake a person up.

    NCMountainwoman,
    That is funny. Have you ever tried to recreate that sauce since it was so good or was it just luck?

    Joey,
    Don't you hate it when you have your taster all set for something and have it be totally different. Get some prescription sunglasses. You would look good in those.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hilarious! My mom had moments like this...like the time she used salt instead of sugar in the brownies. Only my dad would eat them but we think he had no taste buds left at the age of 90.

    I can't say I've had any happy accidents with spices or other foods, I tend to try something at a restaurant and attempt to recreate it at home with often mixed results.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm all for the cinnamon/chocolate coffee. Garlic? Ugh. I don't like it on anything.
    No pleasant surprises that I can think of, just inconvenient ooopsies.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hey, medical breakthroughs have happened with less!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm sure I have had a few, even at my age. But, I can't remember. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  23. With me its new directions in books. My coffee traditions are too sacred to take a chance with...:)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Quite a laugh. I can't believe you did it twice. LOL
    For the month of last September I ate a whole bulb of garlic every day (not a clove, but the whole dang bulb). That is tough to get down on an empty stomach and also tough on other people around me. I mixed it in a lot of butter and put it on toast. It still burned.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Eileen,
    Aw, your Dad was just being sweet. I had a brother in law like that. I married the wrong brother.

    Linda R
    Yes, you would have to love garlic to endure that mess. You are excused.

    Marty
    I know. I thought the same thing. Accidents can be fortuitous.

    Barry,
    Just wait. You are still a puppy yet.

    TB,
    You are not alone. Most people are really particular about that morning beverage.

    Manzi,
    Yes, and on the same day yet. One would think I had learned. Sheesh. You are amazing to have eaten a whole bulb of garlic. I love it but that would have done me in.

    ReplyDelete
  26. HA HA ----oh my---haven't we all done crazy things like that. George drinks black coffee and says that I don't drink coffee (since I doctor mine up)... I have to sweeten it with Splenda (or something other than sugar) ---and I love sugar-free French Vanilla Creamer.... YUM... That's coffee to me and I'm stickin' to it!!!!!!!! ha

    Don't think I would have tried the Garlic Coffee.... ha ha

    Happy Easter.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  27. I don't think I'd like garlic coffee, but I might try the cinnamon. lol! I haven't had any mishaps lately, that I remember. Say, do you know any good home remedies that are good for the memory? Wonder if the cinnamon would help. haha!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Garlic in coffee can 't happen since we use the fresh cloves. We do add cayenne with cocoa powder. Both are good for our health. Our senior moments include forgetting to put a lid on securely. The other day while she was visiting the jar of cinnamon slipped out of the spice cupboard lwith the lid flying through the air, the contents spilled all over daugher's hair, face and front as well as the countertop and kitchen floor. Luckily she was amused and laughed as we cleaned it together. She smelled yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Frugal is my middle name, cheap is my first,but I don't think I would have tried the garlic coffee, ugh!
    I did something like that recently, so recent in fact I have forgotten what it was... now let me see...

    ReplyDelete
  30. What brought me here was the fact that I love garlic so much that I brought my garlic powder along for the trip and sprinkled it in my coffee lol Reading your blog and hearing that you can get used to it made me feel better about adding it to my cup of joe. Blessings to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete

Comments moderated. No spam will be published nor comments with links