DEAR ANNIE
BY ANNIE LANE

IS MY ONLINE ROMANCE GOING ANYWHERE?

Dear Annie:

I am in contact with this guy who is 52 years old, and I am 58.  I have never actually met him; he said he was planning to visit me, but when he arrived at the airport to fly to see me, he realized he needed more money for his flight.  I told him to go home and said we can meet another time.

Then he told me he had to go to France for work, and we talked when he was there.  After he returned to the States, it seemed that things had changed, that he was more serious about me.

I told him I was coming to visit him, and I spent Christmas in the town where he lives, but he ended up getting COVID and was not allowed to have visitors because he was in quarantine.  So I came home.  And now we talk, but not a lot.

However, after he saw how much I cared for him, he said he would visit me for two weeks with his “teammates,” and I’m not sure what that means.  I really want to believe him but don’t know anymore.

I’ve tried to quit talking to him, and it’s not working.  He says he loves me so much.  But I don’t know what to believe.  — Relationship Question

Dear Relationship:

How can he love you so much if he has never met you?  If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.  In other words, it sounds like this relationship is not going anywhere.

FOUR AMIGOS BRISKET

As I said in the picture line up – meet my new favorite brisket recipe!  Four Amigos:  Brisket, 805 refreshing blonde ale, Claude’s Barbeque Brisket Marinade Sauce, and Garlic!  Give it a try – I wager it’ll be your new favorite, too, if you’re like me and are not a master grill/smoker kind of person.

IN A SLOW COOKER ASSEMBLE THE FOLLOWING

• 4 pound chunk of trimmed brisket (I always keep on the look-out for brisket in the mark down section or on sale – then freeze it until I’m in the mood for some fabulous brisket)
• 1 can of 805 beer – or beer of choice (think beer with a little kinda flavor to it – not a light beer or “regular” kind of beer  – although they’d work in a pinch)
• 16 ounces of Claude’s Barbecue Brisket Marinade Sauce (I find mine at Kroger – check out your local grocery stores)
• 2 tsp Lighthouse dried garlic (or 4 large, fresh cloves)

CAP (LID) THE SLOW COOKER AND COOK ON LOW FOR 10 HOURS

REMOVE BRISKET TO A CAKE PAN OR CASSEROLE DISH AND LET REST 5-10 MINUTES.  SHRED WITH A FORK (S).  YES, THIS BRISKET IS SO TENDER IT CAN BE SHREDDED WITH ONE FORK!

Ideas for enjoying brisket:

• As the main entree served with beans or mashed potatoes or potato salad and green salad or green beans or broccoli and a fresh roll of choice
• Taco style!
• Big old burrito with rice + beans + shredded cheddar inside
• Chunks on top of a main course salad prepared with chopped fresh tomatoes, thin sliced red onion, cucumber slices, carrots, alfalfa sprouts, shredded cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, chopped hard boiled egg and dressing of choice
• French dip sandwich – toasted baguette and hot au jus
• Chopped up and mixed in with scrambled eggs + salsa + cheese for breakfast

~  Hippie Cowboy recipe box