Friday, November 6, 2009

Why Unsalted Butter Means My Starbucks is Going to Taste Strange

The man standing at the kitchen counter exhibited intense concentration. The task at hand: converting Thomas's English muffins into an edible food substance. He was poised over the toaster monitoring the crisping of the symmetrical biscuit, contrasting its roundness with the bumpy crannies that lay on the open faces waiting to be anointed with butter.

There was a smallish, yellow-colored, rectangular block at rest on the counter. It was just released from a wax paper prison. With one slice from the gleaming knife, a slab was ready for application on the muffin face. The tension was palpable. One might say the anticipation could be sliced like a hot knife through, yes, butter.

Pop! Up flies the evenly browned disks, crunchy on the outside ready for transformation to a delectable treat.

The man generously spreads the butter on the biscuit and takes a bite. He chews. A look of consternation crosses his brow. Then abject disgust. He walks to the sink and projectile spits his food, slamming the half-mooned reject-of-a-biscuit on the counter. The knife jumps adding a single "tink" to the cacophony.

"What the fuck is this, Wife?" The irate Husband queries.

The Wife, sitting on the couch after a long day at life, does not flinch. She does not raise her eyes to the nonsense that she hears unfolding in the kitchen.

"Uh, what in the world are you talking about Husband?" She mildly responds after the Husband has absently slammed of a few cupboard doors and opened the freezer wide to the world.

"This is unsalted butter!" He adamantly states, vehemently declaring some monumental injustice had occurred. It was as if some crime against humanity had been committed. "We don't have salted butter in this house???" It was more of a statement with a questioning tone, but there was no mistaking the rise in the husbands vocal pitch and the frenzied tone that was emerging.

"Uh...there are two kinds in the freezer. Did you open a box of the wrong kind, Husband?" The Wife asks without emotion. She knows that both unsalted and salted butter live in the freezer. She buys both regularly.

Silence deafens the room. Then a low kind of primitive growling was audible from the Husband's vicinity.

"I think you must have grabbed the wrong kind, Husband."

The spouse returns with further agitation, "What the fuck is unsalted butter doing in our house? My Mom NEVER had unsalted butter in our house when we were kids."

"I use both kinds, Dearest Spouse. Unsalted butter is for baking. Salted for eating. You do know that the salted butter is labeled 'Salted' and the unsalted is labeled 'Unsalted'? Right? They print the words right on the package. We live in modern times, Dear."

"Don't care!!! We don't need unsalted butter in this house!!" This statement, apparently acceptable in the world of men, was not taken lightly by the Wife.

"CAN YOU EVEN READ?? They have the words printed on the package. One says salted and the other says unsalted. It's in English. You can read right? Really, it could not hurt you to look at the label once in a while before running yourself into a tizzy."

"I am throwing out all of the unsalted butter right now!!" The irrational Husband continued.

"NO. I USE the unsalted butter for baking cookies."

"My mom NEVER used unsalted butter for cookies."

"How do you know? You don't even cook. And by the way, they even put the salted butter in a blue-colored four pack and the unsalted in a yellow-colored four pack. Its color coded to prevent idiots from mistaking one for the other."

"That's it. It's all going in the trash right now." The husband had no other come back than his idle threats to control the contents of the freezer. Once or twice a year the Husband was known to go through the refrigerator and throw out half of the contents, just because he did not like them, but this evening was not to be one of those events.

"Don't even do it." The Wife stated with some measurable heat.

The Husband wisely stepped out of range of the flame thrower. The unsalted butter was left in it's rightful place and a new set of English muffins were consumed sans salted butter.

Fast forward: Two days later.

"Hey, you made some cookies!" The Husband states with noticeable happiness upon arriving home from work, seeing a loaded plate on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, I baked cookies with the unsalted butter," The Wife confirms making a point to identify the food product requiring the use of the butter which caused so much trouble from the night before last.

The husband grabs a cookie and nibbles on it then puts the remainder in his mouth and eats it.

"What kind of cookies are these, Wife?" He inquires.

"Pumpkin chocolate chip. They are Halloween cookies or Thanksgiving cookies," the Wife replies. She is aware that something is not settling right with the Husband. She knows all to well the signs of discontent. The Husband does not hide his emotions, but rather wears them like a purple mo-hawk carved across his head.

"Why can't I just have plain chocolate chip? Actually, chocolate chip with exactly three chips per cookie. Can't you just make the dough and then individually poke three chips in on the top when you put the dough on the pan?" The audacity of this question was obviously incomprehensible to the Husband. He prattled on about how he preferred his cookies while the Wife heard his complaint.

This cookie request was not a new concept for the Wife. The wife had actually laughed about this request with her sister-in-law, who was also told that she should make chocolate chip cookies in this manner.

Then with no other alternative the Wife asked, "Are you fucking Van Halen now? They used to ask for only green M&M's in their dressing room or some such nonsense in their contract. The kids may think you are a rock star, but I am well over being star struck at this point, Husband."

"Well, I think I should get the kind of cookies that I like," the Husband somewhat flippantly to the rationale provided by his Wife. "Well, maybe not the three chip per cookie thing. Just normal cookies, OK?"

This simply stated comment held little merit with the Wife. She was the one who actually made the cookies and really only to prove a point that unsalted butter was necessary in the house. Then the Wife pulled out the card of guilt, or so she thought, "Husband, I really was hoping you would like these cookies, since I made them specially for you. You tell me how much you love pumpkin pie and this seemed like the perfect merge between cookies and pumpkins."

"No. I want plain chocolate chip."

"So sorry, I guess me and the kids will enjoy eating them instead." And the Wife's colorful wording could be heard echoing around the house, "You're an ungrateful cookie hating bastard..."

Fast forward: three day later.

Husband: "You know those cookies you made a few days ago?"

Wife: "How could I forget them?"

Husband: "Well, I have a theory."

Wife: "Oh God. What now?"

Husband: "I think next time I go to Starbucks and get you a drink, I am going to order the most fucked up combination I could possibly think of and bring it back to you."

Wife: "You are so sweet and endearing. Thanks for thinking of me."

Husband: "Really, you making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies is like me ordering a drink that you would not like at Starbucks."

Wife: "There is a difference here Husband. I DID NOT INTENTIONALLY try to make cookies that you don't like. Your action is intentional, where as mine was not."

Husband: "I think you knew I would not like those cookies."

Wife: "When was the last time you got me a Starbucks??? What? Like once last year?"

Husband: "You want decaf? Forget it! Your getting a triple espresso, extra foam, soy, peppermint mocha. I swear."

Wife: "Espresso has less caffeine than regular coffee. If you really want to mess me up you should get me some coffee instead. And I like new drinks anyway."

Husband: "Just you wait."

And this is why unsalted butter means the next time my Husband brings me a Starbucks it is going to taste strange.

I just say "Whatever..."

(p.s. This is supposed to be funny or at a minimum slightly amusing. If not, I blew it. My husband is quite the sarcastic, teasing, instigating kind of spouse. But I love him anyway.)

20 comments:

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Well, dearie, I'm glad I'm the first to comment, because you're just going to have to erase this comment, most likely, because I might use the f-word myself in it a few times, and also, I probably could be arrested for urging a wife to pistol-whip and then tar and feather and then throw frozen sticks of butter at her husband's groin vicinity. And I mean throw them right at that vicinity, with an overhand throw, maybe throw PACKAGES of frozen UNSALTED and SALTED butter both at his lower area.

Julia said...

He is really a pesky, stinker now isn't he...

Anonymous said...

Hahahahaha! Husbands! Love how they resort back to "My mom....". Oy!

And only 3 chocolate chips? That isn't nearly enough for an adequate chocolate chip cookie. He is wrong. I vote Team Julia.

Doris Sturm said...

It's stories like that, that make me glad I live alone ... by the way, when I grew up in Germany a long, long time ago...we always had unsalted everything - I wasn't exposed to salted butter (or margarine) till I came to America back in '71

The next time hubby tries to interfere how you run your kitche, go over there to his work and try telling him how to do his business and see how he likes it?

Wow, what a story...

Have a nice day and stick to your guns (or unsalted butter) YOU are the boss in your own kitchen!

Melodie said...

I think I would have to tell him where,if he didn't can it,I was going to stick his 3 chocolate chips!And maybe the whole batter bowl too!
This was very funny!I think only people who have this kind of pick at each other relationship will understand it as humor,those who don't get it must have boring lives with no one to aggravate!

Doris Sturm said...

p.s. the next time he starts comparing you with his mother, remind him that if he thinks you're his mama, you get to sleep in your own bedroom...(he, he, he)

Apron Senorita said...

Hi Julia, has be brought your Starbuck's coffee yet?? That was funny. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall. I've been a single parent for over 4 years, but I do remember having a husband at one time. "Men...gotta love them."

Have a great weekend darlin'
Yoli :)

Unknown said...

You know, just yesterday while channel surfing I came across "Prince of Tides". It was the scene where the father throws a raging fit at the dinner table because the mother made shrimp etouffe (sp?). He wants regular, American food. Mom says she has some leftover hash she'll warm up. Quickly goes to the kitchen and before her startled kids eyes, whips up "hash" using onions, potatoes, spices and canned DOG FOOD. Yep, dad loves it! Oh, and there was unsalted butter!!

Suzi said...

Humor? Comical? Absolutely! I laughed the whole way through reading. I can hear it now, playing in my head like a movie. I relived the "Starbucks" conversation I had with him on the phone. He he he....

Lesley Speller said...

OMG! I'd kill him! It was hysterically funny, but I'd still kill him! I don't know how you managed not to! And could you share that pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe cause I want to make some SOOO BAD Now! I could care less if my husband hates him!

Also if my husband threw away perfectly good food, I'd kick him. HARD!

brokenteepee said...

I actually prefer my chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips...heh heh
So when I bake I make a few naked ones for myself.

As for your Himself I suggest you hand him the KitchenAid and let him bake his own damn cookies.

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Aren't they cute? Well, you and the kids can eat all those cookies while he watches and enjoy them extra muchly!

Liz Mays said...

Oh, smack him or throw a cookie or a pat of butter at him for me!

Melynda said...

Sounds like everyone needs to make their own cookies...

The Silver Age Sara said...

Wow, Julia, you are so patient. I don't think I'd be. All we have in the house is unsalted butter. Mountain Man had never had it before he met me, he tried it and now he's a convert.
Anyway, you deserve a sainthood award.

Sara said...

I love men like our men. Sounds like he and Jon would hit it off. I laughed the whole way through. Jon asks for no-chocolate-chip chocolate chip cookies, since he hates chocolate. I've yet to do that for him. Last night it was b****ing about the new puppy. She's a submissive pee-er and Jon just roars at her so she pees more. Finally I told him if he was going to continue to get pissy about the puppy to take her to the pound cause I wasn't fighting with him over my pets. Puppy is still here. Hopefully, he finds more patience in training the new puppy. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go to plan B.

Rick (Ratty) said...

This was hilarious. Husband was extremely lucky that wife didn't do worse to him, or even try. I've seen it done before. There is so much room for creative revenge when you're the one in charge of making cookies. You wrote a very good funny story here.

theUngourmet said...

I am fairly certain that I need to come over there and kick your husband's ass! :D

I think your next move should be to accidentally use salt in place of sugar in your next unsalted butter cooking baking.

Thanks for the laughs!!

Elizabeth Leigh said...

Julia the post was funny and amusing LOL... and something very similar could have happened at my house last week! we argue about food stuff a LOT - and husband just nit picks yet i do all the cooking and baking! what gives?!?

he is the same with the # of chocolate chips... every freaking time i make cookies with any kind of chips, his review is something like this... "They're good! I mean, too many chips in each cookie, but good." shoot me. who doesn't want their cookies loaded up with chips?!?! HELLO!

Vixen said...

ooo mmmm geee, that is hysterical. I am going to find all kinds of strange cookie recipes for you to make for him. bwahahahaha

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