munchymom

My mom made the most wonderful pan-fried chicken when I was a kid. Haven't had it in years, since she's more health-conscious and out of the habit of frying now... but maybe I'll request it the next time I visit (have to introduce the next generation to the wonders of pan-frying, you know!) My dad's always been in charge at Thanksgiving, and he makes the best turkey and stuffing (not to mention a fabulous turkey noodle soup the next day).

I just had a peek in the pantry and I have cans of beans, corn, tomatoes (plain and Ro-Tel), coconut milk, pumpkin (left over from last Thanksgiving), and Progresso soup (one Minestrone, one Lentil, left over from the last time I was sick).

This made me curious, because I was born and raised in Grafton County (Plymouth) and never heard of Easton! So I did a little Google and found this link which has some suggestions. Unfortunately it's been a few years since I lived there and I've not been to any of the places they list. It looks like you'll be in shooting distance of North Conway and Lincoln - North Conway has a location of Flatbread Company which is pizza that's definitely worth seeking out. In Lincoln, the Common Man is good. A breakfast place that shouldn't be too far from you is Polly's Pancake Parlor which is seriously not to be missed - great pancakes and bacon. Have a good trip!

Charlotte's Web affected me so strongly, I've never eaten a spider since I read it!

A fresh, local peach, so juicy I have to eat it over the sink . . . oh my.

I find that for a snack to satisfy me, it needs to include some protein. Crackers with cheese, crackers with peanut butter, and nuts with dried fruit (trail mix) are my standbys. Having a big glass of water after the snack seems to help keep me from going into continuous eating mode.

Okay, I'm willing to buy that this one is just my own personal quirk, but to me it always seems sort of inappropriate for the server to draw attention to how much I ate. My feeling is, unless it's a situation where quantity is salient, e.g. one of those "Eat the 72-ounce steak and you get it free!" places, just don't mention it. But that could just be me.

Closely allied to the "Still working on that?" phenomenon: I hate it when waiters feel it necessary to comment on the fact that I finished my food, e.g. "You must have really liked that!", or even worse, the sarcastically delivered "You didn't like that at all, did you!" Okay, I ate all the food served to me. Is that so unusual? For heaven's sake, servers, when you see an empty plate, the nice thing to say is "May I take this?" Unless you're the customer's mother, you don't need to mention that they cleaned their plate!

My husband is a vegetarian. I am not. Yet, nine times out of ten, when the food is brought out by someone who did not take our orders, they plunk the meat in front of him and the pasta in front of me. This drives me up a wall. I used to be annoyed when a server came out with the food and said "Who had the...?" But I'd rather that than have them just assume, and get it wrong.

What's particularly silly about marketing a low-carb wine is that ALL non-sweet wine is low in carbs. It reminds me of the early '90s, when the bad guy was cholesterol, all of a sudden you saw things like olive oil with labels saying No Cholesterol! Well duh, cholesterol is only found in animal products. And then a little bit later, when the bad guy was fat, you'd have things like a five-pound bag of sugar labeled "A Fat Free Food". If they want to market to me, they should make wine that tastes good and doesn't cost too much. Carb count doesn't really enter into it.

Holiday meals come to mind - turkey and stuffing at Thanksgiving and Christmas, followed by my dad's wonderful turkey pot pie the next day, and turkey soup the day after that. My mom makes fabulous Christmas cookies and buche de noel. Everyday food - well, I never heard of anyone else eating this, but every so often I get a craving and have to indulge - English muffins, spread with cream cheese and Underwood deviled ham, then toasted under the broiler. We had it all the time when I was a kid. Oh, and blueberry pancakes. My parents always freeze a bunch of blueberries during the summer so they can toss them into pancakes year round. My dad's scrambled eggs, made with a couple of slices of American cheese melted in (that's the way I make them now too.) My mom's barbecue sauce, on barbecued chicken.

My go-to for a fast meal is hummus - it takes about 5 minutes to whip up in the food processor, another 5 to slice some tomatoes and cucumbers, and set out with some bread, olives and feta cheese. Fritattas and omelets are great too.

Add more exercise to your day. A bottle of wine contains about 500 calories, which is roughly what I burn during my morning workout (60 mins on an elliptical trainer.) So for me it all evens out.

You beat me to it! La Creperie in Chicago is one of my favorites and I try to make it back there whenever I'm in Chicago. I always get the coq au vin crepe for dinner, followed by Grand Marnier crepe for dessert. Mmmmm.

Congrats and best wishes! I'd consider Asheville. The weather will be great there in June, there are lots of good restaurants. If you're into hiking, the Blue Ridge Parkway is nearby and there are many nice hikes in the area. (If you're not into hiking, it's still fun to take a drive on the parkway.) If you're looking for a large hotel, the Grove Park Inn and the Inn on Biltmore Estate are always highly recommended. Or you can find a B & B on the Asheville BBA website.

Our dinner tonight was "semi-homemade" all the way - it was one of those cupboard-is-bare nights that sends me to the canned goods. I made a salad of a can of black beans, a can of corn, a can of Ro-Tel, chopped cucumber and yellow pepper (made of leftovers from Monday's crudite platter). Dressing was juice of 1 1/2 limes, a bit of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, cumin and hot paprika. A bit high in sodium, but otherwise healthful and very tasty, and it took about 10 minutes to put together. Accompanying the salad were quesadillas made of store-bought wheat tortillas and cheddar cheese, served with bottled (Newman's Own) salsa. Took about 2 minutes each. In the summer, I might make a similar salad of fresh field peas, fresh sweet corn, fresh tomatoes, etc. It will probably taste better. But hey, it's not summer now, and I needed something to eat tonight. If I were more organized, I'd buy dried beans and cook them myself and freeze them in small portions. I know they're better (and cheaper) than the canned ones. It's a goal, but I haven't gotten there yet.

For the Trekkies among us, there's always "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

Is the log butter? Is the tub fat-free feta (guessing from the 0% on the label?) And no one else has claimed the Bionaturae whole-wheat pasta yet... I love that stuff.

I like Tastybite Indian meals - shelf-stable and they come with their own little plastic fork and box to heat the food up in - no dishes! I also like Amy's products - frozen pizza, Chicago and California burgers, canned vegetarian "chili". At this time of year I use frozen vegetables - I'd rather have a crisp frozen green bean than those ones that have been imported from heaven knows where and left sitting on the shelf for two weeks. I'll admit to a deep and abiding fondness for the Tater Tot, though since I've been doing Weight Watchers I don't get them very often. I used to take frozen "entrees" to work when I worked outside the home...mostly they were disgusting but I really liked Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini.

We're eating in. After the little one goes to bed, we'll be having cheese fondue followed by chocolate-covered strawberries. And champagne. Easier than fighting the crowds and trying to get a babysitter...and we don't have to drive home!

Caipirinha? Timbale?

It's in south Charlotte, on Johnston Rd. just north of 485. The Whole Foods isn't scheduled to open until 2007. I braved the opening-day crowds at Earth Fare today, and I'll definitely go back, but I don't think it will become my regular shopping place. I usually get natural foods at Talley's and cheeses at the Fresh Market on Providence or Dean and Deluca. If I were looking to buy meat, the Earth Fare selection is definitely superior to Talley's, and their baked goods looked good too. Their prepared deli stuff didn't look as good as Talley's to me though. They had a lot more "conventional" (as opposed to organic) produce than I expected.

Cheese fondue is my favorite romantic meal, especially for something that comes together quickly after the kids are in bed.

The sandwich I ate just before hitting the road to come home yesterday. Leftovers Sandwich, layered as follows: Bottom piece of bread, cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, gravy, top piece of bread Mmm...I wish I had another right now.

I've seen "Mescaline Salad" on more than one menu. I always order it, but so far it's failed to live up to its billing.