DAILY DIRT: Before you try the chocolate-covered bacon, try one of those Kool-Aid pickles

Daily Dirt for Wednesday, June 25, 2025

I’m not sure about that peanut butter-and-jelly burger, but the “garbage plate” sounds great! … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,323 of The Daily Dirt.

1. It’s that time of year when we start looking for some different foods to eat.

When the thermometer moves above 90 degrees it can affect our taste buds. With that in mind, the Board of Control at The Daily Dirt offers the following items to be considered as summertime menu replacements:

Kool-Aid pickles: Soak your pickles in Kool-Aid powder, bringing about a sweet and tangy flavor, not to mention some bizarre and bright coloring. The pickles absorb the coloring and flavor of the Kool-Aid, resulting in an unexpected and tasteful summertime snack.

Chocolate-covered bacon: A sweet and savory concoction, chocolate-covered bacon can defy expectations. Strips of bacon are dipped in melted chocolate and left to cool until the chocolate hardens. The salty bacon and sweet chocolate combines for a harmonious combination.

Peanut butter-and-jelly burger: Just imagine sitting down to this at a backyard picnic. Start by topping a juicy beef patty with a slice of cheese, then add creamy peanut butter and sweet jelly. The richness of the peanut butter complements the tangy sweetness of the jelly, creating quite the flavor profile. 

The garbage plate: Upstate New York is credited with this dish, which is a mishmash of various comfort foods piled on to a single plate. Meat (hamburger, hot dogs and/or sausages), potatoes, macaroni salad and baked beans — all topped with onions, mustard and a spicy meat sauce. A true warm-weather calorific indulgence.

Fried Coca-Cola: Say what? This involves turning Coca-Cola syrup into a batter, which is then deep-fried. The resulting nuggets are crispy on the outside and gooey with warm cola goodness on the inside. A perfect picnic offering in this sultry weather.

2. Did you know (Part 406)

• That you share your birthday with about 19 million people worldwide.
• That after water, tea is the most consumed drink in the world. (What about Mountain Dew?)
• That the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in Death Valley, Nevada, in July 1913.
• That your tongue is covered with roughly 8,000 taste buds.
• That anteaters have no teeth.

3. This week’s celebrity birthdays include:

• Singer Carly Simon is 82 today. One of the first albums I ever bought was her “Anticipation” LP in 1971
• Former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter turns 51 on Thursday. His best overall season was 1999 when he hit .349 with 24 home runs, 102 RBIs and 30 stolen bases..
• Entertainer Ariana Grande will be 32, also on Thursday. Surprisingly, she has 20 tattoos.
• Former NFL quarterback John Elway turns 65 on Saturday. he is the only player in NFL history to pass for more than 3,000 yards rush for more than 200 yards seven straight seasons.
• Entrepreneur Elon Musk will be 54, also on Saturday. Among all of his accomplishments, Musk co-founded PayPal in 1998.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Carly Simon’s best song will always be “You’re So Vain”.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He probably thinks this song is about him.