Driving in Columbus after Jack Frost has delivered his first crushing storm of the year is a lot like granola. If you take out the fruits and nuts on the road, all you have left are the flakes. I was reminded of this after running a few errands today on well plowed roads. There were flakes everywhere and snow too. While watching the cars spin out and noticing the dirty slush splashing into the air, I began to think of the good things about winter in Ohio. Sure, everybody has got their favorite season and mine definitely isn’t winter, but there are a few aspects that I like. Snowmen, snowball fights, my fireplace and the occasional snow day are at the top of my chart. When we get a lot of the fluffy stuff we even have to dig ourselves out which leads me to next point. There isn’t anything that can send Ohioans into a state of panic and cause as many disruptions as a good “white out”. Sometimes these inconveniences can turn out to be a good thing. For instance, shoveling the snow for an hour or so is not so easy. But, it can be fun and rewarding, especially for kids with an entrepreneurial spirit, a scarf and a shovel. What ever happened to those kids anyhow? Getting a snow blower recently reminded me that I might miss the physicality of the process, but only for a minute or two. I can’t get that feeling any other time of the year. I can throw dirt from a garden shovel in the spring, but it’s just not the same. Yes, raking leaves is a close second but when you have a shovel full of snow; you’ve actually got something there. Five or ten pounds of weather, right there to throw, build or toss. You really can’t say that about a few crunchy old leaves. I suppose you can jump in a leaf pile, but you can do that in snow too, not to mention making snow angels which are near the top of the list also; unless you get the snow it in your collar or down an unprotected boot. Who doesn’t like warm weather right? I think that would even get boring after a while. I know that some of you may think that’s just crazy but imagine having grown up in southern California (my apologies to my wife). She’s a transplant you see, so she has experienced the joy of building and igloo with our kids. She has even thrown a few well placed snowballs at them. But, what about all those kids that have only seen snow on TV? They may never know sledding or what it takes to construct a true snowman. Snowmen really do “need a good carrot” for a nose, as my son told me while searching through the refrigerator last week. I think he emerged with some sub par, tiny baby carrot for the nose this time, saying something like “This’ll do!” over his shoulder before he disappeared into the cold. Winter can also be a time of reflection and anticipation for the upcoming year. All this talk about New Years resolutions usually pops up about this time and that is always a challenge. I guess that it is good to resolve something each and every year, although many of us give up before winters last snow has melted, leaving far more “Year” left after the “New” part. I resolve to eat less pickled herring this year. I didn’t eat any last year either, so I should be in good shape in that department. Yes, winter has its moments where we all ask at one point, “When is the warmer weather going to get here?” When it does, because it usually does in August or so; we say something along the lines of “It’s too damn hot to go to the pool.” Even better is the famous. “It ain’t so much the heat as it is the humidity.” I think that I’ve heard that tired line every year for the last thirty seven or so years. I probably heard it before that too, but I can’t say that I have a lot of memories prior to my fifth birthday. Can we all agree now to banish the phrase? I think it does more harm than good after all and it’s too cliché. “Its not so bad cuz it’s a dry heat today” is one of my favorites. When the thermometer begins to boil and the egg frying driveway melts the bottom of my shoes, I will inevitably look forward to cooler weather and maybe even snow. Today was the first snow day of the year .What a day it turned out to be. I really don’t say that too often during the sticky, dog days of summer but I still make the granola comparisons.

  When I think of Spanish rice, I begin to smell strange odors. It’s mainly a mental thing but the smells are definitely there and they cling onto my nostrils like the balloon boy holds onto his cardboard box. Memories seep out from my grey matter and magically unlock an evening not long ago when I tried (keyword) to make a sumptuous meal for my wife. Spanish rice was included on the menu and paired with a few items that would no doubt impress her. My skills in the culinary arts would define me, at least for the evening. I had gathered all of the necessary ingredients and had wholeheartedly begun to cook. After some time, the rice was beginning to soak up the surrounding water and it became infused with all of the tasty spices that I had assembled. Every now and again, I stirred the concoction while tending to the rest of the meal marveling at the colorful dish coming together before my eyes. I used the rubber spatula again and again that night in the simmering hot pan. After a typical length of time for cooking rice had passed, I started to sample the ruby tinted wonder. It tasted a little off so I decided that maybe a pinch of salt would do the trick. O.K., it was two pinches of salt then. A few more stirs and another small bite.  I felt a peculiar texture on my tongue then I noticed the odor of a chemical but couldn’t exactly place where I’d smelled it before. It was approximately five seconds after I took that bite when I realized what I had done. The distinct flavor was melted into my taste buds. My skills in the kitchen weren’t so hot, but my spatula was. As I had cooked the rice, I didn’t even notice that I had rested that utensil in the pan the whole time and was casually adding melted plastic pieces to the recipe. My attempt at Spanish rice had become Spatula rice. Yum.