Folly of Fools

Good morning to you! It’s April 1, 2020 and April Fools Day! Not a big deal for me, as I am a fool 365 (except for Leap Year) a year. Ask my poor hubby. I have never hid the fact that I am weird, like in a goofy, awkward and nerdy way. I like statistics, and looking up history and facts about why things were made or how they came about. Most of the time, I look up stuff that is pretty useless. It has been said that I have a trivia head that is stuffed with lots of useless information that would only help me on Jeopardy or the Cash Cab. Oh anyhow, it being April Fool’s Day and I started looking up Fool songs and I had found one that I had never heard aptly named April Fool. This song is amazing! According to an article in UCR

“After the breakup of the Faces, bassist Ronnie Lane approached the Who‘s Pete Townshend about working together, and the result was 1977’s Rough Mix. “April Fool” was one of Lane’s contributions, and its gentle, folk-influenced sound hearkened back to the quieter moments from his former band, like “Richmond” and “Debris,” and Eric Clapton shows up to play some bluesy slide dobro.”

Read More: Top 30 Fools Songs | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/fools-songs/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Fool Songs in No Particular Order

1. April Fool – Lane/Townsend
2. Fooled Around and Fell in Love – Elvin Bishop
3. Fools – Deep Purple
4. Ship of Fools – Robert Plant
5. Fools Gold – Thin Lizzy
6. Fool For the City – Foghat
7. Who Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who
8. Fool in the Rain – Led Zepplin
9. Fortunate Fool – Jack Johnson
10. Fools Like Me – Jerry Lee Lewis
11. Fool Heart Memory – Hank Williams
12. I Pity The Fool – Buddy Guy & BB King
13. Same Old Fool – Dolly Parton
14. Act a Fool – Ludacris
15. Taken For a Fool

There are so many other fool songs out there to listen to. I had never heard some of these so I had to take them all for a spin. Yes, I would listen to all of these. My musical tastes really are muddied. Kind of like my brain, I dunno? What would your Fool song list look like?

So, in last few weeks I unraveled a mystery that has been plaguing my life for years. I learned the secret that my Mom refused to share. The secret of how to make tortillas! First of all, if you are fortunate like me, and had a mother that cooked like a classically trained chef, although she did not graduate high school, then consider yourself fortunate. Looking back, I can understand why my Mom held on to her kitchen secrets so dearly. She had several Better Homes & Gardens cook books laying around the house. Yes, laying (scattered) around. She would just glance through the books and then make her version of the recipes and they were always wonderfully, lip smacking, second plate filling trip, good. She even fooled my “redneck” brother-in-laws when she would make lengua, which is a cow tongue stew that she used tomatoes, tomatillos, onion and garlic and her secret weapon of choice cominos – or cumin. She would also make fresh pots of beans and fresh tortillas. Her salsa is still a secret that she took with her when she died. Not one of us girls has cracked the code on that one. We all have come close, but not quite there yet. Oh and those tortillas! My Dad and I would wait patiently (butter, sliced and ready) to “test” the first ones that were hot off that old, blackened cast iron griddle. Back then, the smell of burning flour brought us all to the kitchen, eagerly waiting to get samples. I can now see that those times were my Mom’s greatest joys. She didn’t work, because she couldn’t (legally). I never asked her about her dreams or what she had wanted to be when she grew up. Maybe she didn’t want to be a wife, a mother, a grandma. Maybe she wanted to travel and explore. I found so many photos that she took and I can see that her and I have lots in common although I will hardly ever admit it. Maybe she held onto her secrets as that is all she could control and was all of what she thought was her worth. We tend to forget that children learn what they see. I have tried to break the cycle and not keep so many secrets from my kids. One day I will have to stop being so anti-social and have a cooking day so that I can pass down the “Salsa Recipe” and the “Sticky Chicken” or how I make a tamale. One thing I do is tell my kids how much I love them every time I talk to them. I longed for that and hugs when I was a kid. My parents didn’t pass out those pleasantries often and when they did it was such a gift. Anyhow, I don’t speak to them, (my kids) much. It has been hard as anytime I hear about their lives I want to give them advice or scold them but I hold back as hard as it is. I know all to well how it is to be feeling all adult like when your parent or someone else’s parents,or your sister, or whom ever are telling you how they did things and how it was the only and right way. My kids do know that I will be there if I can, to help them if they need me. Hopefully, I will have a chance to pass the magic along to them.

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  I know, tortillas should be round…

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  That rolling pin is over 50 years old and struck fear in my young eyes…

My first attempt at making tortillas.

I spent Sunday making tortillas and lemon bars. Not because I was panic baking, but because I like to cook and hubby likes sweets. There were also chocolate chip cookies but funny, I hardly ever get pics of food as I am too busy enjoying it. So, in my opinion the key to any recipe is the person making it. They alone hold all the emotions, the love, the joy, the sadness, the hope and everything in between. Those things are key to developing flavor, mainly your own cooking style and signature. Having issues with my back and Cauda Equina Syndrome, I do not bake or cook as much as I would like as I don’t want the taste of pain to bleed into my favor profiles. What I mean is this, when I am in 7+ pain, I tend to want salty, bright, spicy foods and when I am cooking everything tastes bland so I get heavy handed with the salt and spices or I could have a migraine and will make everything bland as my taste buds become hypersensitive. Anyhow, enough about that crap. I am still recovering from that joyful day and as soon as I am up to it I am going to attempt albondigas soup! That is meatball soup for you non-Spanish speakers like me… I was going to add the easy (tortilla) recipe but I won’t. Ask a trusted Auntie or Grama or Mom or Google it. They may or may not tell you to put two handfuls of flour and four fingers of manteca (lard) and just enough water (you’ll know) and don’t forget the salt, a couple shakes. (I shit you not, my Mom used to recite recipes in that fashion.) I will add, try using butter flavored Crisco instead of lard. Mind blown! OMG!!!

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The Lemon Haze Bars…If you use the right garnish, no one will ever ask you to bring the desert again.

Where ever you are today I hope you laugh and dance and sing, even if it is in your bathroom. Hugs to the ones needing it and especially to the ones that don’t.