annabelle

I haven't even bothered to watch this season yet. I meant to get caught up last week, but read the promo about food trucks and thought, "Gawd. Again with the food trucks?" And Habitat for Humanity sounds great in theory, but the homes they build are rife with problems. My father was a commercial and residential builder and watching some of their volunteers use tools makes me wish they had a nurse on site. (Gail > > Padma.)

Thanks! It sounds great and I meant to watch it and forgot all about it. I got soured on kids and cooking by making the mistake of watching Rachael Ray and Spiky Fierri and their kids cooking show. Those two are cringe-worthy in themselves, but the editing made it totally obvious who was going to win from the git-go.

I'll have my dogs check out Rupert's blog tout de suite.

I haven't seen it yet. Are Ramsey and company judging it too? What night is it on?

How's Rupert?

That's fine, Elsie. It's just not my style.

Beautiful pie, Andie! That crust is nice and short, too. I also decorate my pumpkin pies with autumn leaves of cut out pastry.

Dave, re the thought bubbles. You had a picture of a picnic or some sort of celebration where the locals were sitting around tables and there was an older woman in a black dress with a sour look on her face. I can't remember what the thought bubble said, but it was a scream. Very judgmental and very old Gallic.

That Grubstreet article is painful to read. Could the author be any more precious? Blech.

See, I don't care for ME or Indian food preparations. Okra as used in Indian or ME cookery is slimy and "yucky" to me. Fresh okra that is tossed in cornmeal and seasoned flour, flash-fried in shallow oil is both crunchy and moist.

Okra has been one of my favorite vegetables since I was a child. Fried as described above. Pickled and in gumbo. Any of the other treatments described would land me solidly in the Okra Haters Club. Other than pickling, okra can be bought frozen already sliced for use in gumbo or even frying.

The food processor is most definitely not your friend with squashes or potatoes. It just pulverizes the meat and causes watery vegetables to weep and starchy roots to turn to glue. I have made pumpkin pie with sugar pumpkins long ago in the misty past and did as Martin said and ran them through a food mill. That will remove any stringy bits. If it isn't smooth enough to suit you, you can run it through the mill again using one of the finer discs. Please post a picture of your pie. I'd be interested to learn if it is better than your experience with canned pumpkin*. *That's punkin around here.

Bon chance, Dave!

Yea! Do some more thought bubbles over the heads of the locals this time, too Dave.

How loose is it? Is it watery? I'd cook it down if so. I leave the pumpkin pureeing to Libby's since they've been at it for ages. Best of luck.

Oh, that would be nice if it is Dave. I liked his last blog a lot.

I'm thinking Central America . . . maybe. I can't tell if that church is in ruins or is adobe.

Kansas is not part of this blog, from what I can figure. Yes, they have sunflowers and many Catholics. Greens are still growing, however. Huiray, there is a saint for every calendar day in the Roman Catholic religion and is reflected by Christopher Columbus' naming of the Caribbean Islands according to the days on which they were sighted. Catholicism and mysticism informs the very lives of many who live their faith and it isn't verboten to speak of faith in an every day context. Older generations understand this. My grandmother used to bless the bread before she slid it into the oven. The slashes on round loaves of bread are a representation of the Cross. That said, I am thinking this one is rural-ish Southern Mexico, going by the shoes and jeans on the figure in the last photo.

Central America would be my guess, the countries that are above the equator share the weather of the Northern Hemisphere. That is definitely a cross of the Virgin Mary (see the entwined VM at the center of the cross). So, that narrows it down to NA, CA and SA.

All Saints Day is definitely a big deal, being a holy day of obligation.

Well, "there ain't nothin' in Texas except steers and . . ." Or so they used to say in boot camp.

Not that I'm aware of. We grow soybeans, corn, sorghum and cattle here.

Yes, it does, doesn't it?

Is the holiday Dia de los Muertos? That's a festival and not celebrated in all of Latin America. Those look like Mexican sunflowers, though.

Surely it can be both. Share the wealth of your knowledge Jaymes!