Every once in a while, maybe every three years or so, I have a thought that, while not especially profound, is at least worth remembering. Or writing down. And normally I do neither. If I’m lucky it’ll come back to me later, but usually it doesn’t. I had one such thought about the ubiquitous “I’m not gonna lie...” tossed oh so comfortably into today’s conversations. Which is fine, really. Lying is generally bad form, and it’s probably best avoided, so go ahead and not lie. Good on ya. But don’t tell me you’re not going to lie about something nobody in their right mind would lie about. Don’t say, “I’m not gonna lie, I really like ice cream,” or, “I’m not gonna lie, pygmy goats are pretty darn adorable.” I suppose it's okay if you're defending an unpopular, yet harmless, opinion - "I'm not gonna lie, I actually enjoy candy corn." There you're just sticking up for those who lack the self confidence to voice their minds.
No, you should reserve the phrase for a true confession, for something shameful. Something you maybe, probably, definitely should lie about, like, “I’m not gonna lie, I think there’s a real plus side to human trafficking,” or, “I’m not gonna lie, I voted for Trump.”
Those are just my two cents or so, now preserved in the ethers of the internet, which, I’m not gonna lie, I invented.
I am once more not gonna lie: cider syrup is delicious and incredibly versatile. Keep a bottle in the fridge and try it on all sorts of things, savory and sweet. Use it with anything that might call for pumpkin spiced latte spice, and leave out the pumpkin spiced latte spice. Have it over ice cream. Mix it with bourbon. Mix it with rum. Roasted Brussels sprouts with cider syrup, yum. Anyway, I'm not getting paid here, so you figure it out. Here's the recipe.
The cider around here is filtered and looks like apple juice. I'm not gonna lie, I find this reprehensible. Still, this is what we have to work with. I might be able to find unfiltered apple cider --like you get when you go apple picking (except not in our backyard) --at a "health food" store, but my question is this: can I use the filtered "cider" or do I have to dig out my birkies and go all co-op?