Pluggers by Rick McKee for December 21, 2021

Little town of 400 in the middle of fertile farmland so of course there was a mom and pop restaurant. Stopped in every Friday morning for breakfast as they opened at 6am. One Friday morning one of the regulars was there after a hospital stay so greetings all around. However, after his plate was set in front of him he reached for the salt shaker and just as he managed a couple of shakes the proprietess snatched the salt shaker out of his hand a shrieked, “What do you think you’re doing? You just had open heart surgery and you don’t have any business putting salt in your food!” And off she went back to the kitchen with the offending salt shaker. From across the restaurant her husband just nodded his head in aprroval. Smiles and chuckles all around when the diner remarked, “You sound just like my wife.” True story.

Interesting.

And what are you when you are passing gas without being asked?

Pluggers look after each other.

People will say they’re in love.

Taste food first ….. Then salt if needed ;-)

Terry Pratchett (author of the Discworld series) coined the term “autocondimentor.” Someone who seasons food without tasting it first. That pretty much describes me, but some things you just know aren’t going to be salty enough…

I hope that is the ‘no-salt’ salt he is passing(being ‘Pluggers’) ! ! ! ! !

My Jr High teacher told the class this years ago: The author O. Henry, (William Sydney Porter, (9/11/1862 – 6/5/1910)), who when interviewing for a new secretary would have them to lunch. If they salted their soup before tasting, he wouldn’t hire them. For those youngsters here, at that time a secretary, usually a man, would write everything out by hand correcting any grammatical mistakes the speaker would make.

O. Henry wrote the story, The Gift of the Magi, appropriate for this season. ;-)

Also the pepper and Tabasco sauce.

Two things I have learned about salt. First, if a recipe calls for adding salt during cooking, it should be added then, not at the table. Less salt is used at that point to provide the same flavor and the salt is sometimes needed not just for taste but to make the cooking process work correctly. Second, over time our taste buds tend to need more and more salt to get the same salty taste. This can be reversed by just not using salt for a month — avoid salty foods, don’t add salt to recipes, etc. Your taste buds will then be satisfied with a lot less salt.

Also, if you salt without tasting.

Aren’t most pluggers on a low Sodium diet though?

If you’re sitting at the counter in a diner there’s a 99% chance you’re a Plugger.

And then you say in unison, “Not too much, gotta watch the ol’ blood pressure.”