Smithy

That's a new name for me. Is it this book? I see some of her others are very highly prized - must be first editions.

We went to the grocery store in Llano to stock up on a few supplies we were missing. I wanted to see whether I could find blue corn masa, thanks to a bug in my ear from Jane Butel's Southwestern Kitchen, one of those cookbooks I showed you earlier. I was also curious to see about cornbread mixes, due to a conversation begun here last year about cornbread. @heidih suggested buying a mix or two to see what we liked or didn't. Well. I need not have worried about options. Sweet yellow cornbread, yellow cornbread, white cornbread, Texas-style cornbread...this is just a small sample. I was also pleased to see that rice flour was available here, just as @Dave the Cook had noted it should be. I didn't need any of that yet, since I'm still working on the Bob's Red Mill rice flour I bought in Tucson, but it's nice to know what to look for and where to find it. I picked up a few of the mixes as well as some blue masa, not shown here. I won't get to any of it before we get home.

Nice to see that they take care of you even at uncivilized hours! That may not be the most upscale breakfast that you've shown, but it looks hearty. I can almost taste the crunchy bacon and smell all the good smells. The eggs look like they're done properly. Sometimes that's exactly the sort of breakfast I prefer!

What a delightful menu! I particularly like the note that they charge based on portion taken, rather than an all-you-can-eat buffet plan. Yes, that plate is lovely and the color is a favorite of mine. When we're traveling in the Princessmobile, I have this: When I'm at home, it's even better -- thanks to Kerry. The plating is horrid but it's all I can find online. I think the sunset photo is beautiful. There's something wonderful about northern sunsets, especially as the days start to lengthen.

On a completely different note: I now know what a pawpaw plant looks like!

There is something about the bookness of books, as someone here once said, that I find more compelling than e-books or internet, even though I have figurative tons of the first and spend plenty of time on the second. I love the heft and feel, and occasionally the (good) smell, of the paper and ink. Sometimes books have notes written into the margins and that gives them even more personality. They are more solid, less ephemeral, than electronic formats - and that is both good and bad. My darling and I spent time this evening talking about the value of cookbooks vs. internet searches and videos. He pointed out that some things simply can't be transmitted by either medium, although video may come closer than text. In his opinion, "cook until done" is utterly inadequate even though @liuzhou says that it's a common phrase in Chinese cookbooks. My darling is essentially a rote cook (x minutes at y degrees) and doesn't understand / isn't particularly interested in developing a feel for cooking beyond that level. We were eating the last of the Llano brisket at the time. Good barbecue like this seems to require a "feel" as much as a formula. How can one convey that in print, whether electronic or dead-tree? Do you suppose the next step of education, that puts video to shame, will be virtual reality? We'll need to have touch and smell added before it is useful for cooking instruction, I think.

Our cheese slicer broke a while back, and we've been having trouble finding a replacement. I went to Charlie's Store, sure that they'd have the right item among their kitchen wares. Charlie's has been a regular stop for me when in Llano. I've always come away with something: cool kitchen ware, a cookbook, once a mattress to replace ours that was failing after only 1 season of travel. (They delivered.) For once, I struck out. They had a cheese slicer, but it was larger than I wanted and I decided to wait. I still enjoyed strolling the store, admiring their goods and visiting with Kim, the owner/manager. Then I noticed something: there were no cookbooks! They were all on the sale shelves in the back room. (I didn't see any that appealed to me.) I asked Kim about it. "They never move," she lamented. "It's sad, because I really love cookbooks. I like to read them for fun. But nobody buys them any more." This seemed odd to both of us, but we agreed that it isn't good business to stock something that won't sell. Our conversation was an echo of a conversation I'd had at an earlier stop, when I'd visited the library at Fort Davis and checked out ther book sale room. It was a tiny room, and the cookbook selection was huge. "Nobody takes them," said the library assistant. We both marveled at the apparent lack of interest in cookbooks that were essentially free. I groaned when I saw a copy of "Seasoned With Sun" in great condition. I bought that secondhand just before our trip began, for - what, $8? and here was a copy marked $1. I almost bought it just to see if someone here on eGullet wanted it, but I didn't. So why is it that the cookbooks aren't moving? Two data points don't necessarily make a trend, but it does make me wonder. Of course, *I* am a fine counterexample. I don't need any more cookbooks! I keep telling myself that! But I came away from the library book sale with 4 new-to-me books, and that was after setting aside a few others that caught my eye. Then in Llano, although for once I purchased nothing at Charlie's, I went around the corner to the antiques/secondhand store, and found this: Six bucks. Yes, I bought it.

That looks perfect. Thank you!

I hope your room has enough space to accommodate your personal project! I have visions of your having to clamber up onto that bed to get enough working space. That's quite a beer selection you're showing. I'm surprised to see beer in the grocery store. It's been a few years since I was in Ontario, but I recall having to go to the Beer Store to get any beer. Has that changed, or is my memory faulty?

We've polished off the last of the stuffed-pepper appetizers. Now that I've had several different types, I think I'll be ready to try making my own "gator toes" or "armadillo eggs" or other variants of jalapeno poppers. The best probably were the ones that included Miller's brisket. Hmm, maybe I should try cabrito...except that I won't be trying to do these before we get home, and the cabrito won't last that long. Last night for dinner I did the Chorizo and Green Chile Breakfast Casserole from @JAZ's Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook for Two. I noted above that I tested a few recipes for this book. This breakfast casserole was one of the tested recipes. We like it a lot. One thing I didn't consider was that I don't have a 1-quart casserole dish in the Princessmobile that will fit into our 3-quart pot. The springform pan I generally use in this IP is okay for cheesecakes, but not leakproof enough for this recipe. There was a bit of cleaning-up needed in the Instant Pot insert. Not a big deal, but it's something I'll rectify when we get home. The showy Texas wildflowers... ...have given way to earlier-spring Kansas flowers. Still showy, but smaller. We'll be here for a few days, then make the push home.

I especially like @dcarch's idea of lights over the sink. The older my eyes get, the more I hate working in shadow, and the existing ceiling lights will be behind you when you're working at the sink. It looks to me as though the microwave / range hood is on an interior wall, so it's unlikely to vent outside. That's something I wish I'd had, but we didn't think of a way to do it until after our kitchen remodeling was done. Oh, to have all that uncluttered counter space! I think it's great that you plan to minimize on-counter storage. It's good that the appliances - all new, high-quality - will go with the house. From what @blue_dolphin says, this seems to be a regional difference. Alll the appliances went with both my house purchases, although we did discuss it in advance. I don't think there's an assumption one way or the other in Minnesota.

I like it. (I'm still working on leftovers...) I think it has a distinctive taste - not strong, but you wouldn't confuse it with beef or pork. It reminds me slightly of lamb, but that could be the power of suggestion from my mental association of one animal with the other. It's also lean. I think it would be easy to dry out, but this isn't / wasn't.

Texas is far behind us now, but I have another post or two to share from there. We would like to have visited Laird's B-B-Q & Catering one more time, but they finally managed to sell after some years of trying. More power to them, they wanted to retire! The pits were sold to an outfit in Austin. I understand that Kenny is thoroughly enjoying retirement and Esther is selling her art in a local gallery. The old place is now a private residence. That meant that our last hurrah for our 'cue season was back at Cooper's Old-Time Pit Barbecue, which was no hardship. It's an easy walk from the park where we stayed. I've written about it before, and if you want to see a previous entry you can look here. The pits had the usual tempting selection of meats. I had made arrangements in advance to get a small piece of cabrito (kid goat). I've never had it. It's supposed to be delicious, but it always sells out quickly. It turned out that I could ask someone to set some aside for me. I also selected brisket. In addition to the meat, there are desserts and sides to be ordered, if one wishes. The macaroni and cheese didn't make it into this picture. I got some hickory-smoked bacon, and more potato salad. Once I'd paid for the purchases, I went to get one last large serving of their wonderful pinto peans and barbecue sauce. You've seen those before, so instead I'll show their award plaque and part of the dining area. Once I got home and we were ready to eat, I unwrapped my prizes (you've seen brisket; this is cabrito shoulder)... ...and discovered that there was no way my darling would let cabrito pass his lips. It isn't a question of flavor, but rather a question of cuteness. He has a soft spot for them because of the way his Bedouin friends in Egypt treated them: never to be eaten directly, but instead to be sold in order to buy essentials such as cloth and foodstuffs. He knows it isn't rational, but there it is. So he had brisket, and I had cabrito. (That's his preferred barbecue sauce - Jack Daniels #7 - instead of Cooper's sauce on the brisket.) Some miles outside Llano, on our way north, we passed under this banner. "Oh, no!" he groaned, "I can't get away from it!"

It all looks, beautiful. I'm glad to see all the great publicity!

@kayb, I'm thrilled for you! The kitchen looks beautiful: ready to move into, and all you'll need to do is decide where best to put things. Is that oven a Samsung, by any chance? If so, is it one of their dual-option ovens? That's what I have at home.

That looks like a wonderful place! I like the fanciful names. I would have a difficult time choosing; it all sounds delicious.

That's my favorite, too! Give me peaches, or nectarines, and the fixings for ice cream and I'm a happy woman.

That's a great story. Thanks for sharing it!

Right you both are!

That looks like a wonderful Easter dinner. Ramps!! Oh, you lucky duck! Ours will be coming up in about a month.

Yep! (Taken out of context, that sounds rather uncomplimentary. ) OK, here's the other one for the day:

This one probably isn't too tough...

More sights from my walking tour. I did not buy the cute cookie jar, nor any of the very large apothecary jars (bargain-priced), nor any of the other pretty jars, nor the stiff wooden basket large enough to double as a crib, nor even a pressure gauge. Nor did I buy (or even try to fit into) the vintage cowgirl outfit, for that matter. Later in the day we went to Miller's Smokehouse & Market. They have a great selection of fresh and smoked meats, sausage-making supplies, preserves and a few "normal" groceries. Here's a very small selection of their offerings: We bought some of their sausages, the massive chicken breasts I showed in the sous vide post earlier, and a selection of their stuffed peppers: jalapeno poppers, armadillo eggs, gator toes and brisket poppers. The brisket poppers are supposed to be the local favorites; having sampled some, I can see why. We baked them in the oven at 325F or 350F until the bacon wrapping was brown. They were good! We also bought pork steaks. It seems as though most areas that we travel favor thinly-sliced pork - something appropriate for quick frying, but not satisfying for the breaded, oven-baked version my darling prefers. These overcompensated: each steak was immense in thickness as well as area. We decided to share one. I couldn't finish my half. Lest you think we're only eating meat and potato salad in Llano, let me tell you about the green beans I cooked from @JAZ's new book, The Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook for Two. (Disclosure: I was one of several eGullet recipe testers for this book, and Janet was good enough to send me a free copy by way of thanks. I'll also say that I liked the recipes I tested so much that I bought a copy of the book for my best friend when it hit the presses.) My copy finally (finally!) caught up to me in the roving mail, and it's bristling with sticky-notes for recipes to try. For this dinner it was the Warm Thai-Style Green Bean and Tomato Salad. Simple, from start to finish, and delicious. I didn't tell my darling it contained cilantro. He loved the salad as much as I did.

I wrote last fall about the terrible flooding along the Llano River that prevented us from visiting then. The park where we like to stay was badly damaged. I'm happy to report that most of the trailer camping facilities have been repaired, so we were able to visit for a few days, get our fill of barbecue, and see how the town fared. I have been enjoying Cooper's pinto beans for breakfast for the last couple of days, and it's a good way to fortify myself for walking tours. The Inks Bridge that connects the northern and southern sides of the town actually had water over it at the worst of the flood. It wasn't damaged, but the river bed has been scrubbed down to the rock. On the downstream side of the bridge, there are two photos that show the "before" so you can see how much that flood affected the vegetation. I walked across the bridge and admired the sculptures that have gone up in another riverfront park. (Note the flood debris high in the tree's branches!) I walked on into town, and by sheer dumb luck discovered that there's a Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings! I went to the Courthouse Square to see what they might have. I walked around two corners of the square before I found it: 3 stations, only. Well, this was the first weekend of the season for the market. One woman was selling vegetable plants that wouldn't appreciate being asked to flourish where we live. Another woman was selling baked goods. The third vendor was a man selling hand-woven cloths. To the left of the spinning machine were some plain, soft cotton napkins; the cloth to the right was woven of linen, or maybe linen and cotton. I had never seen a spinning machine like this, but the style dates back to Mahatma Gandhi's day. Lest this veer off into politics, please see this link for more information. This vendor is making his own yarn from cotton, but the cloth I bought as a table centerpiece is made from purchased yarn. It's luxuriantly soft. You'll see it in use at the table before we get home...but not when we're eating something messy! The weaver assured me that it's been washed many times, and that as cotton it's quite washable. Still, I don't think I want to risk it with barbecue sauce.