What's in a Name?

The name “Julie” isn’t really very common in America. It’s so uncommon, I see it spelled on receipts by boneheaded young people as “July” and “Julle.” (Seriously, Jason, Justin, Joshua? Seriously, Brooklyn, Kennedy, and Madison?)

Now, Susan has a name that comes up ALL THE TIME. Often, in cringeworthy ways. Because of this, Sue hates being called “Susie.” There’s only two people in the whole world with permission to call her Susie, and one of them (her mother) is dead. And I am not the other one.

But I’m not used to seeing my name appear in jingles, ads, and product names. In recent years though, I found my little name popping up in odd places. Behold!

Naturally, I had to try these products. What kind of stuff is my name connected to? And what kind of personality is my name being associated with?

First, there’s this company in Malaysia that makes biscuit sandwiches (cracker sandwiches) as well as wafers, waffles, cookies, and more. I kind of like the ones with cheesy filling, but they make a lot of products. I found these at the international store in Kirkwood. Check it out! Julie’s Cheese Sandwich crackers!

Their logo shows a blond girl with overalls. Is that what a Julie looks like? That could kinda be me, though I wore pigtails. The company’s been around since 1985. They recently updated their logo. Here’s what their website says:

It took us quite awhile to get to where we are today; 39 years in fact. We started sharing our love through our delicious and delightful biscuits since 1985. We’ve always been known as the biscuit brand with the humble and kind girl as its logo.

And now it’s time for a change and a makeover. Over the last 37 years, while we have retained much of humble disposition, we have also grown more open, braver, and funnily more human. Open because we have grown to share our love to over 80 different countries. Braver because we want to be better and inject more fun and playfulness in biscuit makers. More human because we have learned that biscuits are more than just a culinary delight; biscuits are about people. They are about making connections, breaking barriers, and building bridges.

Following this perspective, we have revamped our entire brand look, feel and experience. Julie, our trademark icon, now looks confidently up, into the future and towards her next aspirational adventure. The colourful rays that emanate from her marks the brand’s incredible zest for life. We ask you to join her. Look up, smile, put on your best energy, grab a pack of your favourite Julie’s Biscuits, and join her in her amazing adventure.

One small biscuit can bridge the big, big world

Julie’s, bridging the world with biscuits

Julie’s, share a bite, bridge the world.

Life isn’t only about the big defining moments. It is lived in the small, everyday ones.

What happens in these moments shapes the course of our lives and eventually defines the world we live in.

Imagine what the world would be like if, in these moments, we were ever-so-slightly more open. More open to family member, more open to a neighbor and even to a stranger who wasn’t one of us. We’d learn new things about them and about ourselves. And perhaps most importantly, we’d learn that we have more in common than we thought.

At Julie’s, we want to help people open their hearts and minds to each other. For us, each biscuit is a small yet exciting opportunity to share a bite and to share a moment. A moment that bridges worlds, one small step; one shared smile; one biscuit at a time.

Julie’s. Bridge the world.

So, what do you think? If you had to have your name applied as a kind of “type,” this ain’t too bad, is it!

Exhibit 2 is a bit closer to home: Julie’s Spinach Dip from Schnuck’s. I’m not sure they invented it, because there are a lot of “Julie’s spinach dips” out there on the Internet. Of course, I had to try it.

And yes, two thumbs up. In addition to being used as a dip, it’s also a nice spread on sandwiches, a real upgrade from mayo.

Not the healthiest thing on the planet, but if it gets you eating veggies, then it’s better than not eating veggies at all.

In this case, there’s no logo of a “Julie” for me to ponder. It’s not like if your name was Jemima or Betty Crocker.

Do you occasionally find your name on a product? Does your name stereotype you in some way? What do you think of it?

Jar of Goodness 2.27.25: Lidocaine

. . . The weekly virtual “gratitude jar.”

This week, I’m expressing thanks for lidocaine.

. . . Or whatever local anesthetic Dr. Powell used on Tuesday to turn the left side of my mouth into concrete while she did her thing on my lowermost left molar. Because I got a crown. (And not the “good” kind.)

This explains why I’m late for my Sunday-goal post. I spent the weekend getting wigged out.

This was a big deal for me, because I’ve been lucky enough to have had very little dental work in my entire life. One tiny cavity a long time ago, then a replacement of the filling for that cavity. I had braces in fourth or fifth grade, but I didn’t need any teeth pulled for that. Indeed, I think the braces helped set me up for decades of good dental health. In college, I had my wisdom teeth removed—but that was done at an oral surgeon’s office, and I was knocked out for that grimness. I know I’m being a big baby about it, but then I don’t have a lot of experience with these kinds of things. So cut me a break.

So I was dismayed my last checkup. “Hey, my molar’s hurting when I bite on it a certain way, or have tortilla chips.” I had thought it was the upper molar, but they determined it was the lower one. She could see the crack, and biting down on a perfectly positioned wicked little plastic pointed device helped demonstrate the precise location. Yeow!

So Tuesday was a new “adventure” for me. I won’t go into the details, but fortunately Sue prepared me for most of it. The worst and best parts were, of course, the injection. I wasn’t prepared for the sensation, or reality, of my lower lip having uncontrollable spasms as she stuck in the anesthetic. Of course, I was grateful to be numb for what followed. The fifteen minutes spent drilling away the exterior of the cracked tooth was an eternity, and then more was needed as they checked and rechecked the shape, drilled again and again, to get it just so.

I wasn’t expecting it, but I was also grateful for a gadget they wedged into the right side of my mouth (the side they weren’t working on) that I could just let my teeth close on, so I didn’t have to hold my mouth open the entire time. I could relax, well, sort of. It also had a suction tube attached, so I didn’t have to swallow. It wasn’t as good as not visiting the dentist at all, but it made the procedure easier to cope with.

As she drilled, and I caught the scent of tooth dust, it struck me as weirdly disturbing to be able, in essence, to smell the dust of my very own bones. Ashes to ashes. Usually such mortifying sensations are limited to battlefields and violent accidents. But hey, I paid money for this little lesson in mortality. (I know they drilled pilot holes in my bones to fix my foot and ankle fractures, but I wasn’t awake for that, hallelujah.)

As one comedian pointed out, “I recently read that a majority of household dust is composed of our own dead skin cells. Hey, I knew we turned into dust, but I didn’t realize it was an ongoing process!”

To keep me from overthinking during my dentist visit, I had an earbud playing Tim Clark’s Blue Bamboo, music that I often play in earbuds as I mow the lawn. It is melodic, rhythmic, and intriguing enough that it makes time pass very quickly. So I’m grateful for that music, too.

At this point, I’m living with my temporary crown, I haven’t made it fall off yet, and I’ll go back in a few weeks to get the permanent crown.

Today’s lunch was a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich, and I’m grateful for that, too!

Aloo Palak Tacos

Rejoice! Today, I present to you: the Aloo Palak Taco!

It’s a tasty, hearty, Indian-inspired vegetarian sandwich.

In the process, I’m also giving you a straight-up recipe for making aloo palak, a north Indian/Punjabi “dry curry” vegetable dish (sabji) of potatoes and spinach, which you can have on its own as part of an Indian-inspired meal, with, say, rice (chawal) plus a sauced/wet curry dish (ones with a lot of sauce or gravy, such as butter chicken or anything-korma), or with a dal (bean/legume dish).

(Here, I serve my aloo palak taco along with a basic masoor dal and white rice. Delicious!)

Not counting the sections for appetizers, salads, and breads/rice, my recipe file of Indian dishes has separate sections for dals (the bean dishes, which are typically a little soupy); “wet curries” (whether with meat or vegetables, these have a kind of “gravy”); and “dry curries” (sabji/sabzi, “dry vegetables”).

Dry curries, or sabji, are vegetable dishes lacking a gravy, though they are usually spiced up really thoroughly. You typically make a masala (say, with oil, onions, ginger, garlic, plus your spices), then add your main ingredient, and cook (carefully, usually at a relatively lower temperature), sprinkling water in the pan only to keep the ingredients from sticking, but not so much as to make the dish “wet.” The masala flavors permeate the main ingredient. You might be familiar with aloo jeera (cumin-flavored potatoes), bhindi masala (okra fried with onions and spices), aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), or bund gobi and mater (cabbage with peas).

If you are not interested in learning how to make your own Indian food, you can simply order a dry curry/sabji from your local Indian restaurant, and use the leftovers from that.

Well, I like to play around with these vegetable dishes, since recipes usually make plenty for leftovers, and they’re already nicely flavored. They make delicious vegetarian sandwiches, burritos, and tacos. They’re good in omelets, too. For big burritos, you can add some leftover rice. For burritos and tacos, I usually add some neutral-flavored cheese, such as mozzarella, Monterey jack, or provolone (sliced or shredded). Having a layer of melty cheese against the burrito or taco tortilla helps give it some structural integrity. Which is so important for hand-held foods.

Which brings us to aloo palak tacos.

Making the tacos is straightforward, if you know how to treat flour tortillas nicely. Whether for burritos or tacos, you need to heat your flour tortillas so they will bend and not break. I use a big, heavy skillet. You might have a griddle or tava. You might need to very lightly oil the surface to make sure the tortilla doesn’t stick. Heat on one side, turn it over, add a layer of cheese, let it get warmed up. Don’t heat the tortilla until crispy, only until pliable. Then add your filling—in this case, a few spoonfuls of reheated leftover aloo palak. Bonus points for garnishing with some chopped fresh tomatoes. Ta-da!

And now, here’s my recipe for aloo palak (potatoes and spinach). It’s based on a recipe I received from Aman and Gurcharan Aulakh, a mother-daughter duo who, in March 2009, taught a series of “Punjabi Home Cooking” classes at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The ingredients are the same, but I’ve tweaked the method a bit from what they told us. (The biggest difference is that they precook the potatoes in a casserole dish in the oven, covered with sliced lemons to prevent browning, while I simply steam the potatoes.)

Aloo Palak

Prepare the two main ingredients:

• 4 c. peeled and diced potatoes (approx. 1-inch-long rectangles): steam until just done, not mushy, but completely done, and set aside
• 2 c. frozen chopped spinach: thaw and squeeze out moisture (I thaw in water, then squeeze out in a wire sieve); set aside

Make the masala; note that at any time the ingredients start to stick, sprinkle some water, but not so much water that you make a sauce:

• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 t. minced garlic
• 1 T. minced ginger

In a wide, heavy-bottom skillet, cook the above until the onions are translucent. Then add the masala spices all at once; lower the heat to prevent burning; sprinkle water as necessary:

• 1 t. turmeric
• 1 t. cumin seeds
• 1 t. black pepper
• ½ to 1 t. red chili powder (ground) (I use Kashmiri red chili powder, but use whatever ground red chilis you want, or none at all; it’s to your taste)
• 1⅓ T. ground coriander seed (yes, it’s a lot, but you’ll be glad because this is really good)
• 1½ t. salt (or to taste; I usually use 1 t., then taste at the end)

After the masala has cooked enough (about five minutes) (you’ll know when, because the oil kind of starts separating out, and it looks and smells like the spices, oils, and onion are all melded), stir in the spinach. Again, you’ll need to sprinkle water to keep it moist. Then add the potatoes and stir gently. Again, sprinkle water if necessary. The potatoes should absorb the flavors of the masala.

Finally, add:

• 1 T. kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves, which you can buy at an international store) (I rub the dried leaves in my hands to break them up a little)

Stir and heat through. Taste for salt.

Jar of Goodness 2.16.25: Papaya and Lime

. . . The weekly virtual “gratitude jar.”

This week, I’m expressing thanks for papaya and lime.

Because we’re getting more snow, and it’s gonna be impressively cold this week. Super cold. Frigid, freezing, frickin’ fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh COLD.

And tropical fruits are a lovely antidote. And yes, we recently had The Cold that’s been going around. We’re recovering nicely. And again, tropical fruits help.

If you’re not used to enjoying papaya, get you some, and try it. Wait until the rind is getting yellow and a little spotted. Cut it up like you would a cantaloupe. Discard the seeds.

And don’t forget to anoint it with fresh lime juice; it makes all the difference.

So delicious. Yum!

Jar of Goodness 2.9.25: OTC Cold Meds

. . . The weekly virtual “gratitude jar.”

This week, I’m expressing thanks for over-the-counter cold remedies.

The reason for this should be obvious, so there’s not much to say. But also, thanks for functioning immune systems.

Naturally, we didn’t go anywhere to watch the big football game, and since we don’t pay for any TV services, we’re not watching it. It’s not like we’re big fans of sportsball, anyway. So, pffft.

I’m trying to keep my cooties to myself. Hopefully, Sue won’t get this.

Jar of Goodness 2.2.25: Sportsball?

. . . The weekly virtual “gratitude jar.”

This week, I think I’m expressing thanks for sportsball. Sort of. Read on.

I never thought I’d ever mention football on my blog. It’s seriously nowhere near close to my favorite things.

But when the weather’s rough, the ground’s sloppy, and you have plenty of other things to be unhappy about, it’s kind of nice that the closest NFL team has been on the ups in recent years. When your team wins, you feel like a winner, too.

So, with the “big game” next week, people around here are pretty excited. Gives us something to hoot about.

By the way . . . (spoiler alert: this is what I’m really grateful for this week) . . . this winter, one of our favorite locally owned restaurants, the Dandy Lion on Main, has been hosting watch parties for the local team, and they’ll be having one of these parties next Sunday, too. In case you want to support your friendly little local diversity-welcoming place.

You might decide to pick up some homemade bakery goods to have tomorrow for breakfast. Next time you are hosting a dinner, have them make your favorite kind of pie. Or maybe you’ll see that they’re doing lots of fun special events there—movie nights, game nights, live entertainment, crafting, etc. As well as drag brunches. They are “a space for caffeination, creation, and connection.”

You might even want to follow them on Facebook in order to be in the know about their upcoming fun events.

So, whether or not the closest gigantic, billionaire-owned, mega-sports-franchise breaks some kind of record and wins “big” for a third year in a row, is kind of beside the point.

We’re basically looking forward to an excuse to hang out at the Dandy Lion for a few hours.

“Go team!”