Katie Meadow

Sad to leave Asheville. Next time we will stay longer. We stopped off on the way out of town at Hole Doughnuts, which are, I'm sure, the best doughnuts on earth. There's inside and outside seating. This time it was gloomy and chilly, so we ate inside. All doughnuts are fried to order, and you can watch them behind the counter rolling the dough and frying your doughnuts. The menu has not changed. All are yeasted. There's vanilla glazed, cinnamon sugar, and my go-to: the toasted almond sesame. There is a fourth one that varies weekly. This time it was blueberry. I'm not a person who ordinarily eats doughnuts but if this place existed at home I would weigh 400 lbs. We arrived at our daughter's with an obscene number of doughnuts and two enormous loaves of Owl Bakery bread. If I had my life to live over again I would go to Black Mountain College, which of course is no more, although there is a wonderful museum dedicated to the artists who taught there and their students. That museum is not in Black Mountain, but in downtown Asheville. The current show is lovely.

So High Rise guy is two for two. Dinner at Zambra was out of this world. It's Tapas. The wine list is head-spinning. I started with a lovely sparkly rose cava that came in its own little bottle which amounted to two full glasses. I wish I could accurately remember what we ate, but it's now the morning after. The plates were generous. The Patatas Bravas were the best ever. A salad of crisped chickpeas and arugula and little shavings of preserved lemon was so great there's no way I can talk about it. A bowl of mussels was so exotic and spicy and abundant we had to request more toasts to go with it, which they happily provided. Everyone was gracious. For dessert we shared a Basque cheesecake and an outrageous espresso martini. It had a lot of ingredients: cinnamon infused vodka and god knows what else. There was a bit of foam on the surface in which three expresso beans floated. Zambra is DARK. A problem apparently for no one there but me. They found us a very nice table under a window, so I could actually see my food for a while. By dessert the sun was long gone so I couldn't see the cheesecake on my plate, but everywhere I put my fork was delicioust. Unlike our first night, downtown was hopping, which was very reassuring. This morning we are off to Hole Doughnuts and Owl Bakery to take some great treats to the granddaughters. And by the way, Owl Bakery makes an unbelievable dark 100 % rye bread. I've been thinking about it for two years.

So great being back in Asheville! Here for just a couple of days. Crossed the bridge over the French Broad River for breakfast. It's raining so we decided against checking out the River Arts District, but the view from the bridge gives you a sense of disturbance, but you can't see the details of the damage to that area up close. Yesterday afternoon was brilliantly sunny and chilly, but warm enough to stop for an afternoon refresher on an outdoor patio. They had High Rise Soda, which has 5mg THC; I had a can of blood orange, and yes, an hour later I was marveling at how well I had packed, gawking at the beautiful white tile walk in shower all lit up from the south-facing windows. High up on the third floor, and high. Downtown seems relatively the same, but quiet, which wasn't the case two years ago in late April. We had an early nostalgia dinner of soup dumplings. Oh, about breakfast this morning at Sunny Point Cafe in West Asheville. This was a recommendation of the server who brought me the High Rise Soda. I don't love eating breakfast out, but this place was fabulous. It was packed and adorable. I will never go out for breakfast anywhere else in Asheville ever again. Fried green tomatoes, excellent, which isn't always the case. Smoked salmon on crispy hash browns on arugula with some kind of amazing. cream-cheesy drizzle. Shrimp and Grits fantastic: spicy, creamy, served with some kind of grilled slab bacon. Biscuit good, but not as good as my husband makes. In-house blueberry jam to make up for it though, so win win. We sat next to a very nice calm black dog, who did not appear to be a service dog. If you find yourself in Asheville, go. Of course If you are lucky enough to have two breakfasts in Asheville the other one should be Hole Doughnuts, which is where we are going tomorrow morning before driving to Atlanta. Dinner tonight is also a recommendation from the High Rise guy, who, after our breakfast this morning, has risen way up in my admiration. Later, that.

Toughen up, people! Crusty Baguette, fruit leather, salted caramels, chunky peanut butter, raw fennel salad, Mexican hot dog, fried chicken sandwich with spicy slaw. If not, rice pudding, a smoothie of carrot juice and orange juice, chocolate mousse, stewed rhubarb, Vietnamese Egg Coffee, cotton candy, pure fruit popsicles, home made blood orange jello and anything requiring an immersion blender. Hope it goes well!

No we aren't.

You don't think he bakes all night?

Kill me now, @Pete Fred. If you don't have a guest room I'll sleep on your couch.

Brilliant, @liuzhou A performance of great range and depth!

As for commercial strawbs Driscoll's is ubiquitous here in CA and elsewhere, although smaller operations do sell commercially here. In season, the alternative is our farmers' markets. My daughter in Atlanta buys boatloads of strawberries as the twins devour them. When I'm in Atlanta later this month and doing some shopping for her I'll look for Florida produce. I can't say I've noticed any difference in the berries when I'm there, but that proves nothing.

Plastic explosives often have a tactile feel like molding clay, right? So, like toffee.

I just cooked a package of Mayan Beans. Really good! I'm very committed to Domingo Rojo and these are definitely comparable, but smaller, and a little different in texture, very creamy. I ordered them a couple of months ago, but they are unavailable now. I used them to make Red Beans and Rice. Highly recommend when they come back in stock.

I have one of these tomato presses. They are not well designed, but they do work and they are relatively cheap. And best of all it's great looking and a fabulous color. Tomato Strainer, Tomato Juicer Sauce Maker Machine Suction Cup Base Hand Crank Food Mill Press with Stainless Steel Filter for Fruit Vegetables (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

And @Neely one more anti-slime okra treatment is my husband's adaptation of Vivian Howard's Okra Oven Fries. Heat the oven to 400F. Slice the pods in half lengthwise, cutting off the stem end if you like. Toss the okra halves with olive oil, salt, pepper, and any other spice of choice. Howard suggests ground coriander, we like smoked paprika. Place the halves cut side down on a baking sheet.Don't crowd them. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn the halves over and roast another 15 minutes or more to desired crispness. The pieces should be partly browned, partly crispy, partly a little soft. Really great for cocktail hour with a Bloody Mary. Or with a Porch Swing. Or on a porch swing.

I've often seen red bell peppers combined with tomatoes for a soup. A little tomato might reduce the bitterness and also support good color. I'm surprised your roasted peppers were bitter. Usually I find roasted red pepper dressed with salt and olive oil (when done by myself) to be pretty sweet. I've roasted tomatoes with a sprinkle of brown sugar, so as suggested above, sugar might help, and cream too.

Pain meds yes, but also a gummy.