The truth is that I actually loved my wooden spoons and cooked with them almost exclusively.  That is, until Minnie, the miniature Great Dane destroyed them. 

I came home one afternoon to find splintered wood in a small pile in our den.  There was one piece that puzzled me: it was perfectly cylindrical and smooth as could be.  I didn’t figure out what it was until I went looking for my wooden spoon and it was nowhere to be found.  That one belonged to my late paternal grandmother.  Irreplaceable.  My mother had tied it onto the top of a Christmas package years ago and I treasured it. 

When I told Mama what happened, she gave me one of hers.  But I didn’t learn;  Minnie destroyed that one too.  She apparently retrieved them off the dish drainer where, I suppose, though washed, they still had a residual aroma and taste of something delectable to her, though her palate isn’t very discriminating.

Incidentally, yesterday I heard a strange sound, like something had fallen, but I couldn’t find whatever it was until this morning when I encountered another splintered mini-pile of wood.  Years ago in a sculpture class, I made a wall relief piece out of tea boxes.  Our power has gone out several times this week due to storms and perhaps the humidity caused the two boxes to come apart sending them plummeting to the floor.  Once again, I suppose they still gave off a residual aroma or taste.  See the photos at the bottom of this post for the before and after.  Have I mentioned that Minnie is a brat?  Loveable, but a brat just the same.

So, alas, I was in T. J. Maxx yesterday and snagged a very inexpensive bag of bamboo untensils ($3.99 for five) which I “test drove” last night.  I love the way they “handled,” and I LOVE that they are made from a sustainable plant.  If yours ever need replacing, I highly recommend bamboo!