Smithy

So there I was one evening, washing dinner dishes, and I noticed a small gap between the sink and the counter at the right rear corner. How odd. I finished the dishes, went off to bed and mentioned it to my darling the next day. "I have visions of the sink dropping right down into the cabinet with a load of wash water," I said. "Oh, don't be silly," said he. "They can't do that; they're supported by a flange." It was a small gap. Perhaps we was right. The next night, washing up after dinner, there was a CLUNK and the sink slipped considerably deeper at the corner. Water didn't quite start splashing down into the kitchen island below, but I wasted no time finishing the dishes and emptying the sink. I didn't take time to take a shot of the entire perilous setup, but here's a closeup of the view after I got it empty: I emptied the cabinet under the sink. For the life of me I couldn't see what was holding the sink up except for one bent clip and some peeled-away caulking. I parked the large cutting board atop the gap. It sticks out at the corners in a perfect booby-trap for the unsuspecting person blundering toward the coffee maker in the morning. I opted for the lesser danger of annoying my darling in the middle of the night and warned him not to use the sink and to be careful of the cutting board. I doubt he slept well that night. Early the next morning, we investigated. It was almost as bad as I'd thought the night before. See that red circle? There used to be a clip there. There was another at one end. That's it: that's what had been holding the sink up under this fancy counter. That, and the plumbing. The good news was that we hadn't planned to move that day. More good news was that the plumbing wasn't damaged. We decided that we needed bacon and eggs to fortify ourselves before a trip to the hardware store. Town and the hardware store were far enough away that we stopped for groceries also. The Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain has expanded beautifully since its early days, if this store is any indicator. The aisles were wide and well-stocked, with a huge variety of good foods. We thought we didn't need much - which meant we came away with 2 full grocery bags. For some reason I didn't take photos inside the store, but it was a beaut. On the way out we spotted a small place that looked like it was on fire. It was close to the pickup, so we investigated. Ribs! It was a rib joint, and the smoke was from the smoker! We bought dinner, although it was still well before noon. Dinner that night was toothsome. Delicious. The ribs were perfect. We weren't supposed to be doing this so early in our trip! But we'd earned it. And the sink is repaired.

Shelby, thanks. :-) We don't seem to have brought any cold weather down here (the other half would be unhappy if we had) but we've brought entirely too much rain. It's been days since we saw the sun! May I send the rain your way? SLB and Porthos, thanks for your suggestions. My usual idea of a hot breakfast is more along the lines of bacon-and-eggs, a rare indulgence these days. Beans might be a good choice. I have never been an oatmeal fan, and my tolerance for cold cereal extends about enough to put a little crunch on the fruit salad. It never seems to last, though: I'm hungry 2 hours later. A couple of days ago we decided we had easily earned that indulgent bacon-and-eggs breakfast. We followed it up with ribs for dinner, and something equally self-indulgent for lunch. Here, in case I run out of internet coverage again, is a teaser:

I love this approach! However, in previous years I've been flummoxed by the gracious responses to such gifts, all of which were variations on 'thank you very much, what do I do with it?' . Do you include recipes, approaches, writeups? How do you reassure your recipients that you're giving them a fun gift?

Well, we're away. Or off. Or both. For the past week we've been reeling the seasons backward, from Minnesota's near-winter bare trees, no-need-to-mow, no-more-leaves-to-fall, no-snow-yet brown-and-grey woods, back through a colorful early fall in Illinois. Now we're south of the Mason-Dixon line, back into what feels like summer: swatting mosquitoes and sweltering in the humid heat, for heaven's sake, in November! We drove long and hard the first day, and covered a little over 400 miles. That may not sound like by American freeway standards, but if you're towing a large trailer and considering wind resistance you keep your speed to around 55 mph and figure you're a rolling speed bump. That first day we broke nearly every food vow we've made recently, eating heavily-processed meats and fatty cheeses in sandwiches that were hastily thrown together and eaten. It's mobile comfort food. Our first night's stop was a Wal-Mart parking lot. Wal-Mart has a clever attitude toward truckers and RV-ers: you can stay for free (at most, not all Wal-Marts). I'm sure they know that they'll be getting business, as they did with us. That evening we walked over to check for food and pick up things we'd managed to miss during the packing-up. We were not tempted by any of their deli offerings, but we spent plenty of other money. Dinner was a slight concession to the day's overindulgences: The next morning, before we headed out, I had time to put together the next week's fruit salad, using our purchases of the night before. This, along with cereal, is our standard breakfast. I'm not much of a cereal fan but have been exploring the possibilities lately, with a nod to the idea of increasing my whole-grain intake. We're all about convenience and speed on travel days, and have things packed for that purpose. Toward that end I'd picked up some individually-packed frozen fish filets, and one evening we tried those. 4 oz of fish never sounds like much, but with the addition of green beans, potatoes and (gasp) bacon we were quite well satisfied. We may not be eating as well as we will later, but *that* is steam. I like hot dishes to be hot. Once the temperature got back above 60F during the day my darling was willing to slow down a bit, and it gave me a bit more time to cook. One evening's dinner in northern Mississippi was stuffed squash; I've posted more about it on the eG Cook-Off #71: Winter Squash topic. Next up: adventures in mobile kitchen repair.

Last night I had time to stuff and cook carnival squash for a one-pot dinner. Here are most of the elements: The squash, ground turkey, onion, garlic, oven-roasted tomatoes in olive oil, and cheese. Grated parmesan is shown in the photo, but I also used small dices of mozzarella. The turkey...ah now, I thought I had chorizo or spicy Italian sausage, but I didn't. I seasoned the turkey heavily with a generous amount of Italian spices, hot paprika, smoked paprika, and a touch of garlic salt. The diced onion, diced tomatoes, some garlic and bread crumbs all went together into the squash cavities. This is the first time I've tried microwaving the squash to get it going, and I think it was a good idea...as in, I should have done it more to hustle things along given the hour. The squash shows a bit of softening in this pre-roast photo, but I should have cooked it maybe 20 minutes instead of the 10 I gave it. All told it took the stuffed squash about an hour at 415F (according to the convection oven setting, which may be way off) before it was fully cooked, and at some point I turned the heat down to keep from overcooking the meat. The cheese topping went on when everything was nearly done, then returned to the oven until everything was really done: Ready to serve. The camera card filled up before I could take a picture of the resulting layers, but the mix is very pretty when you cut into the squash, and the flavors were excellent.

I agree with you on that one, but the comments are very funny!

Last night I split and stuffed a Carnival squash for dinner. That post will come later. My question is whether I missed a chance with the squash seeds. Could I toast them and use them as a substitute for pepitas? That salsa recipe sounds good.

In my limited experience at quicker ravioli - say, with a roller attachment to my pasta maker - I've had problems with the filling getting squeezed in the wrong places and preventing a good seal. It may well be operator error (as in, newbie technique) but I've been afraid to try a ravioli rolling pin for the same reason. There must be a trick to it that I don't know. If you get one, please post about how well it works.

This has been a wonderful tour! Thank you all for sharing it with us!

I can't comment on the sous vide time and temperature, but here's my thought: if you're worried about overcooking the meat during the cheese-melting stage (and I think I would be), try cooking the meat just a little less: until it's almost done, but not quite, and let the chicken finish cooking while the cheese is melting. What do you think?

Not that I'm likely to have access to sea cucumbers, but what is the treatment involved in "Job's Tears Sea Cucumber"? There's an advertising campaign here for a chain of chicken-sandwich restaurants in which cows scrawl awkwardly on billboards, writing things like 'eat mor chickun'. When I told my darling about the "Blossom's Riches" content, he said that dish would provide further incentive.

I'm considering it. Maybe it will be my request for a Very Cool Christmas Present this year. The problem is that I don't want to have to start the generator to use it, and that would eliminate its utility during maybe half of our travels.On the other hand, it could occupy the space presently used by our small Crock Pot™, couldn't it? Am I correct in thinking it would do all that the current slow-cooker does, and then some?

I'm in the 'the more meat the better' camp, provided it's tender and flavorful.

The idea of being able to hurry some meat along without damaging it is very appealing. Take Shelby's ribs, for instance: that can be done with hours of slow cooking in our oven, but it really does take hours. We've been experimenting with pork shanks and trying to get them right, and that's also a long, slow cook. A quick shot of smoke, a bit of time in the IP, and I bet we'd have dinner much more quickly. We aren't in a position right now to acquire, much less use, an Instant Pot but I continue to follow this topic with keen, gluttonous interest. :-D

David, that looks and sounds delicious. However, this particular element is puzzling: Is that really apple cider vinaigrette in your pumpkin seed vinaigrette, or did your spellchecker/autocorrect do you a disservice?

It sounds to me like a gift that just won't stop giving. Even if you want it to. :-)

This is as good a time as any for me to welcome you to eGullet, even though you already have 6 posts under your belt. Thanks so much for posting about restaurants in Madrid, even though 'your baby' hadn't been mentioned until now. Maybe your mention will draw welcome attention to it. Thanks also for the comment on huevos rotos. CharlieDi was also good enough to post about it; his recipe is in RecipeGullet to make it easier to find later; it's here: Broken or Smashed Eggs.

That was quite an experience at Empellon Cocina! Thanks for the detailed post. I enjoyed looking at the titles of the cocktails and the beers, as well as the presentations. If you can think that far back (and that far into the experience!): what did you think of the flavor combination of chocolate, vanilla, tamarind and prune?

That's a nice list, and it gives me a good range of things to look for, although this comment gives me pause: 'That wet wool quality'? Maybe I'll have to try some to find out what he means, and why it might be good. :-)Thanks for posting about this article.

Well then, maybe something along the lines of squash fries? Nuke or roast until soft but not mushy, then coat in something and roast or fry to get a crisp exterior? I've never tried it, so can't offer a recipe. The delicata squash in heidih's post above is great stuff IMO, and I'm eager to try the seasoning combination she used, which will be a new direction for me. It still gets soft when I roast it, but there's probably a way to get a crisp edge on the soft.

I think my problem with winter squash (other than pumpkin, which I still detest) was always its sweetness, aggravated by the perverse insistence of many people to add marshmallows or brown sugar. It was about 10 years ago that I learned that squash can be savory-with-a-hint-of-sweetness and did not have to include the typical 'pumpkin pie' spices. My 'gateway' recipe to winter squash was akin to the sausage-stuffed squash mentioned a few posts ago. Here's the general approach. - Take a small squash: celebration, if you can find it, or acorn, or something similar in size - larger than a big grapefruit, smaller than a personal-size watermelon. Slice it in half along the equator, scoop out the seeds, and cut the ends just enough to flatten them so they'll sit level. - Score the interior a few times with a knife, to improve the absorption of the oils and seasonings you are about to add, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil unless your filler is oily. (Honestly, I don't know whether the scoring is necessary.) - In a small mixing bowl, mix together your choice of a spicy, savory combination of ground meat (Mexican chorizo, Italian sausage, ground beef or lamb work fine, and I'll bet ground turkey would too), finely diced onion, garlic and maybe celery, whatever herbs and spices you think will go well. You can add bread crumbs as a filler/binder, but I don't usually bother. You can add chopped roasted tomatoes and their oil, or chopped roasted red peppers. - Fill the squash hollows with the mixture. Be generous; mound the stuffing above the level of the squash because it will shrink as it cooks. Put the halves upright in a baking pan, cover and roast - I think I use 350F - until the squash is soft and filling is nearly cooked as indicated by softening squash and cooking protein. Start checking for doneness at 20 minutes. - Top each half with shredded cheese (I like parmesan), return to the oven uncovered and roast another 10 minutes until the cheese is browned. I think the total oven time is 30 - 40 minutes. Each half is a one-dish meal in its own bowl, and the approach is very flexible. I'll be posting photos later, but I have to get the squash first.

That's aways awkward. :=) Hibiscus on its own is quite tart. You may find this stuff useful in tea, if you like sweet-tart tea, but I'm just guessing. Whirred up and added to a salad dressing? Used over pancakes as a syrup? Again, I'm guessing...

Ouch! Here's hoping that was the nadir of your trip.

There's some lovely-looking and inspiring food going on here - much more so than the Polish sausage and sauerkraut we had tonight. Sauerkraut is an ongoing adventure at our house, and I'll be posting about it later in the 'kraut topic. dcarch, what is the dark stuff piped/drizzled in a ring over the eggplant?

I think the beer listing is very entertaining. What does "Wild" style mean? No known category? The food looks great. Thanks for bringing the rest of us along as you waddle. :-D