I am not sure where I was going with this.

Blogger AppleCider5946 impugns the place of Dr. Pepper in American life:

There was a time in America when Mom[']s homemade apple pies and cakes were a treat you got to eat once in a while . . . [n]ow mass produced candies and cakes are available almost everywhere you go. Some Americans are in a quagmire stuffing themselves with donuts, Twinkies, and Ring Dings for breakfast, lunch and dinner then washing it all down with a Dr. Pepper.

As someone who may be having Diet Dr. Pepper with cup noodles (24 cups for less than $6 at Costco!) for a snack later today, I resent the implication that Dr. Pepper is on par with Twinkies, a snack food not even the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association can totally get behind.

In support of AppleCider5946's theory, however, a Google search quickly reveals that Americans obsessed with Transformers hold that "[m]y favorite recipe is to mix canned chili with Dr. Pepper and malted chocolate milk balls to make a damn fine gumbo." Given the nature of the community that was posted in, I am not clear if that was serious. But it may well be.

Sadly, a search on "Dr. Pepper brings joy to humanity" was, until I just mentioned it in this blog, a Googlenope. Also: "Jesus loves Dr. Pepper," "Dr. Pepper cures cancer," and "Dr. Pepper is an alternative fuel for the future."

However, "Dr. Pepper, the Drink of Kings" gives you this site.

Anyway, Dr. Pepper can completely be a part of a balanced diet. And for the record, sugary cereals were worse in the days of apple pies cooling on the shelves than they are now - sugar was considered a vital nutrient. Like how tobacco smoke soothed the throat.

News You Probably Won't Use

Diet Dr. Pepper: it's the Alaskan pepper spray.

Things that should be mixed, and things that should not.

Some people, desperate for something sweet despite the calorie-counting that they are doing, will make a "float" out of Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper and frozen yogurt. I am not sure that this works as well as root beer and ice cream; I suspect that the chemical differences of the two frozen confections would affect their relative bouyancies and speeds of dissolving, not to mention how the synthetic nature of Dr. Pepper with three extra adjectives might interact with any other synthetic food (in my hope to become the next Stephen Colbert, I'm going to encourage all you "Mixed Drinks" readers to go change the Wikipedia entry for Dr. Pepper so that it says that Diet Dr. Pepper and non-fat American cheese make a powerful plastic explosive).

Speaking of mixing things with yogurt, on Saturday night the Sherbs and I went to a Greek kebab restaurant which had a fabulous dip for the toasted bread and pita chips. According to what I remember from the waiter, the dip was:

• yogurt
• garlic
• crushed red pepper
• maybe lemon juice

It was super-tasty, anyway. When I have more time I'll look it up on the internet.

Dr. Pepper Makes Treif Taste Better

Pregnant Mormons do not want Dr. Pepper in their Mexican pork. I think because it has caffeine. However, Weight Watchers seems to endorse the Diet Dr. Pepper in barbecue pork concept. Others are for "ham in a Dutch oven" with Dr. Pepper.

I'm waiting for the Iron Chef with pork and Dr. Pepper to see how Bobby Flay does.

Also, evidently, three years ago Dr. Pepper fulfilled my anime dreams.

More Dr. Pepper Musings

First, I learned that, for some, Diet Dr. Pepper assuages the grief that comes from the loss of a loved one:

Ralph F. Stayer, who founded Johnsonville Sausage Co., died June 25 in Naples at the age of 92. To celebrate his life, Alice Stayer, his partner in business and in life, organized a party to enjoy her husband’s passion — bratwursts.

* * *

The assembly line started with rolls, then freshly grilled bratwursts, sauerkraut and pasta salad. It ended with soda, water and a friendly greeting by Stayer’s son, Ralph C. Stayer, 64.

“I just love Diet Dr. Pepper,” he shared with a smile on his face. “Here, take this one. You have to try it.”

Now, for what I've been thinking about since Thursday evening: Dr. Pepper salad dressing. I think it might work, along the lines of a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I think there's a way that Dr. Pepper, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil could work together.

Or maybe I need more sleep.

Playing With Google

To aid in my contributing useful things to this blog, I signed up for some Google Alerts, where Google sends an e-mail to you about new things corresponding to an internet search. Due to the nature of this blog, I get Dr. Pepper updates daily.

What I have learned so far:

• Diet Dr. Pepper has slightly more caffeine than regular Dr. Pepper.
• I am not the only person who eats hot wings while drinking Dr. Pepper.
• Chuck Norris prefers "Mr. Pibb to Dr. Pepper. When asked why, Chuck Norris responded with, 'I don't trust Doctors.' Then, he shot lasers out of his eyes, and ate the hearts of everyone in the room."

As you can see, Google Alerts will no doubt further broaden my horizons and the knowledge of you out there in readerland.

DDP For You And Me

For my "at work" second breakfast, I am having a home-made scone (part of the family surplus that gets fobbed off on me to fob off on my co-workers) and Diet Dr. Pepper. I feel much better about my place in the world.

I do not believe that "sconetastic" is a word, but I will use it anyway.