Left Afters

Left Afters - What's left after you've eaten the left overs.

I trust that you turkeys had a nice day. I mean, I trust you had a nice turkey day.
....I must admit to a little plagiarism for the opening line of this post. The term "left afters" was featured in Johnny Hart's comic strip B.C., in a segment where the main character reads from Wiley's Dictionary. I have been inspired several times by that strip, to incorporate them in some way into my posts.

It is apropos to talk about the left overs. Thanksgiving more than likely, generates more uneaten food than any other holiday. I base this is on a scientific study which was performed only this morning when I opened my refrigerator door. The identical experiment no doubt was acted out in countless kitchens from Sheboygan to Alberquerque and everywhere between.

As the cattle above and their conversation suggests, I know I am by no means the first or the only blogger to mention left over Thanksgiving food today. That's okay, because that is not the theme of this blog. That subject was used as an attention-getter along with the picture of the bantering bovines to lure some readers.

The left afters of which I am choosing to write are those articles in newspapers that are used to fill in the blank spots on a page of newsprint that are left after everything else has been type set. These fillers usually deal with bizarre events from around the world that are otherwise deemed un-newsworthy at most of the desks of reputable editors.

Garbage Gourmets

This story could herein be titled "Speaking of Left Overs." If you have just eaten, or if you are about to eat, you may not want to read this until later. If you have a weak stomach or are squeamish, you may not want to read this at all! From an Associated Press release, this article is written about some New York City residents who have devised a way to eat healthy and for free.

....A group of friends at a well-appointed Greenwich Village apartment shared a dinner featuring eggplant Parmesan with a salad of mixed greens and avocado dressing. The guests had already snacked on on hors d'oeurves of smoked mozzarella and crackers. Not bad, considering the diners find their food by digging through garbage. The group call themselves "freegans," a play on the words "vegan" - vegetarians who avoid all animal products, including dairy - and "free." In their rejection of consumer waste, they only eat food that has been discarded. In New York City, at least, they never go hungry.

...."We find more food than we could ever possibly eat," said Adam Weissman. Just 24 hours before the dinner party, he found a healthy stash outside a Manhattan gourmet supermarket: bags of salad nearing the sell-by date, dozens of sandwiches, boxes of Ritz crackers and some nice-looking squash.

....A 10-year study by the University of Arizona, concluded that this country wastes 40 to 50 percent of its food. A 1997 U.S. Department of Agriculture study put the loss at 27 percent of the total U.S. food production, or 96 billion pounds of food.

....Could it be that the freegans are on to something? I, for one, am wondering what they may be catching.

Sodasgusting

Avery Beverages in New Britain, Conn., has bottled some disgusting new soda. That's the point of the three new flavors - Swamp Juice, Toxic Slime and Dog Drool. The labels say they are "Sodasgusting."

....From their red-hued barn, Avery has been bottling pop for the past 101 years. They launched the gross flavors in July to rave reviews from its target audience: 10-year-old children. Truth be told, it was the little tykes who invented the new brews.

During tours of the old-fashioned soda factory, kids get the chance to use six of the more traditional soda flavors - strawberry, lemon, pineapple, orange, blue raspberry and kiwi - to create their own carbonated concoctions.

....When one small visitor mixed all six flavors together, it produced an inky-green drink that an adult in the group suggested should be called Swamp Juice. "The name stuck, and people kept telling us that we should market the drink," said Rob Metz, manager of the soda factory. It wasn't long before the factory was rolling out 'Dog Drool," a whitish pink-hued drink made from orange and lemon, and "Toxic Slime," a light-blue soda combining blue raspberry and lemon.

....The company has sold more than 400 cases since July.

I'm thinking already. What concoctions could we come up if we added a jigger of .......

There you have it, a few left afters for you to mull over.

No.441