Speaking Of Sandwiches - PUNCH

SPEAKING OF SANDWICHES 

“Are you all hungry?”  said a dad standing in the middle of the food court at the local county fair.  

“Elephant Ears $3.00” read the sign near him.   There was the Christian Church booth selling sloppy Joes and brewed tea, the New Heights 4-H club selling Walking Tacos, Whiz Kids hawking corn on the cob, and the Baptist Church advertising funnel cakes and deep fried Oreos.  

In this instance, just outside the Producer’s Tent, the dad was asking his wife and four daughters of stair-step ages, “Are you all hungry?”  It was a resounding chorus of unanimous agreement, “Yes!” “Yes!”  “Yes!”

Then the dad, looking at the a-frame menu sign of various meat sandwiches asked, “Do you want lamb burgers?”  And I had to laugh out loud as I heard every single female in his family with the very same tenor of unanimous accord declare, “No!” “No!” “No!”

“How do you make sloppy Joes?”  Spencer asked when I answered the phone.  This single son lives 20 miles away in his own home and enjoys learning to cook for himself.

“Do you have the ground beef?  How much?”  I asked.

“Yes, one pound.”

“Fry it in minced onion with a bit of salt.  Do you have some Worcestershire sauce, around a couple tablespoons?  How about some mustard, a good squirt, and brown sugar, a nice sized sprinkle?”

“Yes.  How much did you say?”

“I’m sorry Spencer, I don’t measure.  You’ll just have to taste it periodically as you’re adding ingredients and spices.  Don’t forget the ketchup.”

Next night, “How were the sloppy Joes, Spencer?” I asked while on the cell phone with him.  

He replied, “It was good.  I tasted it and it tasted just like “mom’s sloppy Joes”. 

“Good, I’m glad it turned out well.”  

Then he revealed the kicker, “Yah, it was really good.  I added some hot Louisiana sauce and it had punch!”

And there ya have it -- the bad, "no, no, no", the good "just like mom's" and the punch --  NOT fruit drink Hawaiian but...Louisiana Hot Sauce!