If calling names is a disreputable thing to do, I must be quite disreputable. My antics in the kitchen have me calling names, because I want the recipes I invent to have \”handles\”.

Monday night I was fixing the next day\’s lunch. I had a serving\’s worth of salmon in the fridge; and that was the starting point. But what to do with it?

I had never combined salmon and tofu before; but why not try it? Sometimes what seems outlandish turns out to be a hit! So I mashed 6 oz of the tofu; mixed in the salmon; and then added a tablespoon of Green Goddess dressing. After that came some freshly ground black pepper.

Now I get to calling names. What handle does a body give to a mixture like that? Tosam? Samfu? Tofumon?

It\’s sort of like my Hoppin\’ John variations. The original recipe uses black-eye peas. l like to substitute other legumes for the black-eyes, and invent names according to the particular legume used. The one with lentils is Leapin\’ Leo; the garbanzo bean one is Gallopin\’ Garbanzos, and so on.

More Names

Then there\’s calling names with our bicycles. Mine both have names; and so did the tricycle.

The trike\’s name was Valkyrie. That came about one morning about ten days after I got it. I was making a circuit of the local park before going to work, pedaling as fast as I could; and Ride of the Valkyries popped into my head, out of nowhere. Instantly I had the tricycle\’s name.

The hybrid\’s name is Katy; named for the Katy Trail. A co-worker of mine is originally from Missouri, and he rode the Katy Trail a time or two. He told me about it; and it sounded great. At the time I had just gotten the hybrid, and my interest in long-distance riding was growing. I thought it would be fun to ride the \”Katy\”, and named my bicycle after the trail.

The more I though about it, however, the more I saw how much money such a trip would cost; and I decided I\’d rather put that money on a road bike. I\’ve never regretted the decision. And the road bike\’s name is Scottie! I wanted the bicycle to have a name, and it\’s a brand called Scott; hence Scottie.

I guess I\’ll be calling names all my life, won\’t I? By the way, that salmon-tofu mix: it came out very bland. Next time I\’ll do more to spice it up.