Smithy

Her "harvest" photo shows more pink flesh left behind than I saw. Makes me think they may be past their prime. Nonetheless, they're in the freezer now. Looks like I could have harvested more! I don't know why my darling is complaining about the freezer being too full. There's still a gap below and behind that bag.

No doubt if I'd asked they'd have said "no" but these things are falling off the cactus and littering the ground. Others took a slight twist to get them off, and a couple left behind brilliant red spots on the plant, making me wonder whether they were too early. How can you tell whether they're at their prime or past it?

Do use tongs. Don't use silicone-coated tongs. I just spent a few minutes picking the glochids out of my thumb and good silicone kitchen tongs. Shoulda known better! BTW needlenose pliers work, I think tweezers would be better because the glochids are so fine.

Well, look what's in full fruit at our campground! The prickly pear juice I was able to buy last spring was / is good, but already sweetened. Someone -- @heidih? @blue_dolphin? -- had asked about the taste of the juice. Now I'll have a chance to find out. How I'll jam a bag full of these things into the freezer is a good question, but I'll figure it out.

I tried using egg roll wrappers this summer for another filling altogether, and the lot fell apart during the boil. Are there any tricks to using egg roll wrappers as opposed to pasta?

That's quite a selection of drink flasks! I think we'd have to go to a specialty store: sporting goods, or possibly a Starbucks, to see such a variety. The tea flowers are beautiful. I love the intense colors some of them have. I had no idea that peony flowers were edible. With such a variety, do you think people choose teas more for their aesthetic appeal (flavor, color) or for their supposed benefits? For instance, in the USA I see chamomile packaged in "calming" teas.

Here's a clearing-out-stuff dinner. 1 carnival squash, some leftover pepper stuffing from the freezer (sausage, corn, tomato, onion, who knows what else) stuffed into the halves. Topped with shredded cheese (leftovers from a dinner party). Baked until the squash was soft, topped with more cheese at the last. We needed easy today. Lots of miles driven, and yet another flat tire! At least this time we caught it before it started to shred.

I think the "two birds in a bush" goes along with "a bird in the hand is better than two birds in a bush", but that would have been much much too long for the bottle cap. Just as "2 peas in a pod" would have been clearer if they'd stuck a "like" or "as alike as" in front of it. The last one was the toughest for me. I've heard the expression, but can't think in which context.

The idea of buying a baguette from a vending machine horrifies me. What a loss to their culture! It's strange (and fortunate for us) that the pendumlum seems to be swinging the other way in the USA. I see more artisanal bakeries in places I travel than I used to see.

It's funny, I thought that was one of the easiest, but it seems to have eluded a lot of people (and @blue_dolphin was SO close!). Here, I've rotated it for a better perspective. See if this helps.

That is a very amusing drinks menu! And the parting shot of a fortune! The food looks great.

So, has anyone gotten all the rebuses? If so, post away! Otherwise I'll do so later today.

I'm not sure I have! This photo from Llano shows the whole rig, but not very clearly. I'll add a better one next time we open out.

@francie, I am utterly charmed...by your food, as always...and by your son and his muscles and skills.

If you have discussed this before, I've missed it. Please accept my apologies, and elaborate anyway. Is tea-drinking there strictly a contemplation of the tea, akin to a wine tasting? Is it a celebration of the tea and its qualities, whatever they happen to be? What is the social component?

I appreciate this writeup! The last time or two that I made (or attempted to make) squash ravioli, neither the filling nor the pasta result was satisfying. I'll try this idea next time around.

I'm impressed! In northeastern Minnesota, especially the Iron Range, potica (their spelling) lives on. Before I retired I had opportunities to go by a bakery that made a nice potica. I've never tried making it myself.

My darling loves to have a shot of Scotch or bourbon in the evenings. Somehow, in all the packing-up for the trip, we neglected to notice that his glass had migrated into the house. He's been making do with an oversized glass but I decided to walk into town to find something better, and to see what was new or how my old favorite stores were faring. First stop: Charlie's Furniture and Gifts. I've written before about Charlie's and managed to pick up some good kitchen wares there over the years. Sure enough, they had some nice barware. I picked this glass. From there I wandered along the streets, noticing a small craft brewhouse (new) and an Italian restaurant that has replaced a burger joint. I resolutely stayed away from any place that might sell cookbooks...even the library, with its book sale. Scenes seen around the Courthouse Square: (I love these old stone buildings) Signs of a laid-back community On the way back, I wandered into a thrift store. I already had the glass I sought, but one never knows what treasures might be found. (It never hurts to look, does it? ) I spotted this enameled-steel pan, that looks like it would be perfect for a terrine, or small lasagne, or possibly bread. Any information about it would be welcome. At about that time, the owner greeted me and noted that all kitchen wares were half price. Then I spotted the glassware that we/he really needed. It was a set of 5. She wouldn't break up the set. On the other hand, the entire set was marked as $2.50. Here's the haul that I brought back to the trailer. One glass from the set is missing from the photo, as it was already in my darling's hand. Total price: $2.44, counting tax. I guess I should have gone there first, but he says he also likes the "Big Shot" glass from Charlie's. He'll save it for special occasions.

Here's the last Lone Star bottle cap.

We went grocery shopping yesterday. We didn't need much, but we were out of breakfast fruit and half-and-half. Lowe's is a largish store with generally a good selection, and always friendly people. The one thing I haven't been able to find since we hit the road is our preferred peanut butter, and it puzzles me. Skippy Natural Chunky seems to be unpopular in this part of the country: creamy style, yes; the regular Skippy chunky, yes; there are plenty of other peanut butter brands but he doesn't like the kinds that separate and I don't like the sweetened ones. Note the huge variety of oils, both in size and type. This is turkey-fryer country as well as barbecue country. You can buy the grills, deep-fry rigs, wood chunks, ... everything you need for those sorts of feasts...at this store. The meat selection is good too, but we admired without purchasing. We wonder why one would want the deckle fat removed for a brisket, and what happens to that fat. I enjoyed seeing this do-it-yourself kit: everything you need to make your own jalapeno poppers! One unusual thing about this store is the way it caters to hunters. Deer season opened last weekend -- maybe it was big-game season period, since I overheard a woman dressed in blaze pink(!) camo talking about trying to call in a hog. At any rate, you can get almost everything you need for the hunt, or for fishing, at this grocery store. Most of our purchase became breakfast for the next several days.

We both play guitar and sing; it was one of the first connections we made when we met. Since then I've taken up the fiddle. I haven't mentioned the music (except possibly in the context of singing around the campfire while we're cooking) because it isn't particularly related to the culinary arts. There is a small culinary connection, though: when I'm home, I play in a weekly jam session that gets free beer for our efforts.

In April, 2018 I wrote about the improvements being made to this park. A delightful "splash pad" was up and running for children, and the shrieks of laughter coming from the water fountains and the pavilion were a pleasure. Looking in the other direction, we could see and enjoy the extensive Disk Golf course that had been set up for the older set of park-goers. The high school students who came down here had a great time trying to play the game, and we had fun watching them. Then came the flood of Autumn 2018. The Llano River rose to within a couple of feet of the bridge that joins the two halves of the town, and wiped out the park. The campground and park were closed due to extensive damage. The two new attractions were scrubbed from the park. All that is left of the Disk Golf course is a few signs and a launch pad or two. The pavilion is there, but the Splash Pad has to be completely rebuilt and the debris from electrical and plumbing wreckage is still there. Nonetheless, they persist. I haven't found out the plans, much less the schedule, for rebuilding, but the park is being rebuilt...witness the rebuilt RV park, which was still a work in progress when we visited last spring. One of Llano's regular events is a "Starry, Starry Night" festival that begins the day after Thanksgiving and goes through the holidays. We won't be here to see it, but I think it would be fun. The decorations are starting to go up: archways defining the path toward and along the water, and decorations showing things like "Santa's Workshop", a "Snowflake Express" train, a cowboy sitting by a campfire, Santa fishing. Everything is wound or made of the LED lighting that comes in multicolored strings. This is a lovely town.

We have to go to a grocery store later to restock on a few things, most critically the fruit he likes to make his cereal palatable. I decided to make brunch using some of our leftover pinto beans, along with eggs and some tortillas left over from, oh, I think the last time we were in Texas. (Why those things didn't rot, when they claimed to have no preservatives, is a mystery.) My vision was along the lines of shakshuka, using the pinto beans to heat and cook the eggs. The eggs came out slightly more done than we'd have liked, but overall it wasn't bad. He thought it needed salsa (present but not shown on the table) and I thought it needed sour cream (ditto). I've finally finished off those tortillas!

I agree that the smoked meat is a nice addition. As I recall, the pasta dishes always included some sort of smoked sausage or bacon. It may have improved the flavor, but not enough for him to really like it!

Here are two more Lone Star rebuses from last night...we're down to a single bottle now.