Iced Tea Forever

I don’t know where this week went, but it definitely went. I kept thinking, man, I want to post such-and-such today for my faithful constituency, but something would come up and it wouldn’t get done. So it went until tonight.

I was chatting a little bit ago with Kon (on yay-hoo’s abominable instant messenger, don’t ask for my username). Here’s an enlightening and edifying excerpt from our intelligent conversation, very slightly edited for clarity.

Ok, so if you don’t know, me and Kon were part of Tap ’03 and not ’05. That may explain our comments somewhat. I was seriously bummed about missing this iteration of Tap. Really ticks me off.

Update: Here’s a screenshot of some of the yea, who? chat images we’ve used. The top is Kon’s daughter, the bottom is my avatar. It’s a replica of me in my office drinking iced tea. He’s not fat enough, but that’s as fat as I could make him.

My recent post about credit cards seems to have stirred no small amount of dismay, apprehension, disbelief, and anxiety. Perhaps I should clarify the issue further.

So finally I was being approved by the big guns. Not long after this began to take place, I acquired my first Discover card. I was excited about this, because what two words are synonymous with Discover ! Cash back!!!

Yes, the more you spend the more you make! In my quest for cash back, I freely used my Discover Platinum whenever I could. I did build up the cash back too.

Recently I acquired a Mastercard that also offers cash back. Discover occasionally has promotions where they offer up to 5% back on things like gas, education, or whatever the promotion is about. But this new Mastercard generously contributes 5% on gas and groceries all the time! I love it! I use it constantly!

So not only are we saving massive amounts by using the credit card (remember, all they want is $15 a month!), but they’re donating cold hard cash just to sweeten the deal even more!! Amazing!

Credit cards have a bad reputation (for some reason, I’m not sure why), so I can understand the hysterics. But I think if you reconsider your preconceived biases and thoughtfully contemplate what I have presented, you’ll realize that credit cards offer those of us at poverty level an opportunity to put our financial lives on the fast track to success!

I love credit cards. They are so wonderful and convenient. When I was a kid (early twenties) I had a terrible time getting my first one though, it was a mess. Everybody sent me apps, but nobody would approve me. Slackers.

Finally, some pathetic company gave me a very sad little Mastercard. It wasn’t worth much as far as credit limit, but it got me started with a credit record. And before too long I began to get approved by the big boys!

But this first little card introduced me to the wonderful benefits of buying stuff with plastic! I soon figured out that I could spend several hundred dollars in a month, and all they wanted in return was FIFTEEN DOLLARS!! Amazing! Where do you go to beat that?!

I added other, better cards to my collection. I eventually ditched my first one, it was really pathetic and they wouldn’t upgrade it much. With the smokin’ powerhouse cards I have now, the purchasing power available to me is unbelievable.

I got another new one a few months ago, and it had a sticker on it that said “Use it wisely.” Oh, I do. Trust me. I’ve given this area a lot of thought. When I go out to eat I just put the bill on my card and it’s like eating for free. I honestly can’t remember the last time I paid for gas with cash. Groceries, car insurance, I only wish my landlady took Mastercard!

I just don’t understand people who pay with cash or check. I could never afford to do that! I hate paying full price for stuff, it’s a no-brainer! Paying with plastic is like always getting an 80% discount!

Especially now that I’m married. We’ve been hit with some pretty hefty bills (with a few more right around the corner) and if it wouldn’t have been for my substantial collection of credit cards, we’d have been sunk.

Update: Additional Illumination

So, bummer, couldn’t make it to Hartville tonight to see Tap. Just too far (probably about 5 hours one way), we wouldn’t have been able to get there nearly in time. I was kept at the Den until after 3, and I figured that we would have need to leave ITF headquarters no later than 1:30 just to make it by starting time.

So there were some disappointed people here at the ITF office.

I was looking forward to critiquing the tenor section, and discussing how the bass lacked an amazing amount of charisma and charm compared to Tap ’03.

You know, I could probably still do those things just as well without hearing them!

So, I was talking with my buddy By on the phone yesterday, and I asked him about convention. I asked him about Voice of Praise singing there and stuff, you remember I talked about them just recently.

He told me they sang “Soul’s Been Anchored,” “The Lord is Coming,” and “Swing Down Chariot.”

I said, “Wow, I guess AHQ has had quite the influence on them!”

We’ve truly become a blogging family. My wife has started a blog! Being the Executive Director of ITF evidently just wasn’t enough. Take a trip over to her blog here: Mrs. Iced Tea Forever.

Given the intense passion for southern cuisine here at ITF, we are soliciting rednecks southerners to submit their favorite recipes for review and possible inclusion on our site!

We are particularly interested in your methods of preparing iced tea, catfish, chicken, soup, and cornbread. Though ITF already has an official cornbread, we’d love to review others. Your submission needn’t comply with the aforementioned categories, but they are what we’re most desperate for.

Please email your recipes to the Editor via the “Email the Editor” link in the upper left sidebar. Thanks!

P.S. Don’t bother with collards, grits, or hush puppies.

Made quite a mistake today. I’m not used to living in tourist country. Not that I mind, I love tourism, but I love it more when I get to be the tourist.

We wanted to go to Shipshewana for some stuff, so off we went. Had a gift certificate for the Blue Gate Restaurant and it was lunch time, so we went there. Eventually we found the last empty spot in the parking lot!

I didn’t know why I felt led to slip my camera in my pocket before we left, but I trusted my instincts and took it along.

Who knows what this bozo thinking when he “parked” his car. Actually, my wife referred to the car’s driver as “she!” We did manage to get in the stall, that’s my car on the right (with the blacked out license plate. Don’t want my license number plastered all over the internet now, do I). It wasn’t easy though. You can’t tell from the pic, but it’s a very narrow row, there wasn’t much room to turn in.

And that’s not all, here’s a view from the back:

Nice. I’m sure the other driver was thrilled.

So anyway, the place is just packed out with a monster waiting list. Oops. Never go to a tourist trap on a summer Saturday when there’s an antique festival in town.

So we quick got our stuff done and went home and had this for lunch instead:

Catfish!! I love catfish. It was excellent. I simply fried them in butter and seasoned with Old Bay, lemon pepper, and a little cayenne pepper (just on mine).

And tonight of course I made cornbread. That last post about cornbread nearly drove me nuts wanting some.

I owe my buddy Paul a lot. A while back he gave me this wonderful recipe for cornbread! It is now the official cornbread endorsed by Iced Tea Forever.com. I love it!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
• 2 T. sugar
• 3 level tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 small can creamed corn (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 8.5×11 (or equivalent) pan and place in oven to warm.

Mix ingredients well.

Pour into hot pan.

This is starting to get exciting!

Bake for 15 minutes, until golden (or until toothpick is clean).

Slather with lots of butter (while it’s hot) and inhale with a glass of iced tea!

This is just a fantastic-tasting cornbread, I’ve made it several times. I wish I had some right now, maybe I’ll make another batch tomorrow.

You must try it! If you don’t cook yourself, bring this page to the attention of your favorite cook and ask if there’s anything you could do to convince them to make this for you! You’ll be glad you did.

Thanks Paul. I owe you one.