kayb

Don't send it back. If you decide you don't want it, I'll buy it from you for that spare everyone but me seems to have.

I ate my first crickets when we visited the Tower Grove market in StL recently. They were ground into a meal and added to granola. Tasted like...granola. I was also intrigued by the paella pan that must have been 36 inches across, bubbling on a gas burner. Got some tamales which were quite excellent, as the paella looked to need a while longer on the burner. Made me want to make paella, though.

Pirating about Newfoundland (or any other pirate-friendly lands) should include parrots. Please include pix should you encounter parrots. Looking forward to the touristing and the food. Safe travels!

Penzeys makes a thing called "pico fruta," apparently some sort of chile-lime seasoning to sprinkle on fruit. I have some, have not yet tried it.

Roasting a bird is a two day process for me, since the farm birds I buy benefit from an overnight brine. I typically stuff the cavity with a couple of onion quarters and half a lemon, rub the skin with olive oil, salt and pepper liberally, and roast on steam bake in the CSO. I also will occasionally make Italian roast chicken. I have no idea how authentic it is, but the recipe came from a first-generation Italian friend. One makes a stuffing with ground beef, ricotta, and chopped spinach, seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and basil. Stuff the cavity. Make any remaining stuffing into meatballs. Surround chicken with potatoes, carrots, onions and bell pepper if you like them (I don't, so I don't) and any meatballs. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper. Roast until stuffing temp is at 165. I often do this breast side down so the drippings from stuffing keep the breast meat moist. Nice dinner party dish.

Good use for pesto-- mix with a soft, mild cheese. Pound chicken cutlets thin, spread with pesto/cheese mix, roll up, secure with toothpicks and roast at 350. Cool. Slice 1/2 inch thick. Alternate with slices of tomato, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Not sure why, being in an area where having one's own dairy cow was not uncommon (we didn't, but my parents had done so before I was born, and many friends and relatives did), but we always had margarine when I was growing up, and I generally bought margarine when I was raising my kids. Now I buy nothing but butter, except for my daughter, who thinks butter tastes "too greasy." Well, OK, then.

Grilled burgers, cooked frozen sweet potato fries in the CSO, warmed up leftover creamed corn. As I was feeding two small people as well as us, photos went by the wayside. This cool snap we're having is marvelous for cooking outdoors.

Dinner courtesy of the Farmers Market. Zucchini fritters, cream corn, tomatoes, purple hull peas with tomato relish, fried okra. All bought at the market this afternoon, except the tomato relish, which I canned last year. There was no meat. It was not missed.

Wandering through WalMart yesterday, I saw the Instant Pot Lux for $59.99. I'm not sure what the going rate is now.

There's a diner/burger place in my former home town of Marion, AR, where the proprietress makes all manner of homemade pies. One of her standbys is a "Tang Pie," which appears to greatly favor a Key Lime pie except with Tang instead of Key lime juice. @Smithy, it's Big John's Shake Shack, where we ate when y'all came through last year. They now have a new building, behind the old one, which has been leveled for more parking. Maybe we can try it again when y'all come through this fall!

My personal favorite.

I think for me it was @Kim Shook's recipe reposted from another eGulleter ( @caroled, maybe) for shrimp with corn and tarragon. I make two or three times a summer. As Kim said, the whole is MUCH greater than the sum of the parts. The other is carbonnades a la flamenco, and the lovely, silky sauce it creates.

Beef tips and gravy over mashed potatoes. Marinated veggie salad (broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, snow peas). Sauteed squash and onions. I had wax beans, but got busy doing something and let them burn, dammit. Photos didn't turn out well, so use your imagination.

I was making a fruit crisp to use up some peaches, blueberries and blackberries that had been around on the edge of too long. Had too much fruit for the deep dish pie pan, so... Fruit and cottage cheese for lunch.

The epitome of good gas station food is deep fried corn nuggets (sorry, @liuzhou!). Those things are to die for.

Kim does not exaggerate. I made it when she posted it some five years ago, and have been making it since. Love it.

In the one dinner I got to go to during my abbreviated visit, @Alex, Mrs. Alex, @cyalexa and I went to Vicia, where the food was most excellent (and I had the best sorbet I've ever had in my life). But my enjoyment of the meal was hampered by the fact the restaurant was so loud. There are no soft surfaces to soak up sound, thus it was difficult to hold a conversation at the table, particularly for those of us who are somewhat hearing challenged.

This almost makes up for the blasphemy that was the duck sandwich.

Him. A part of the world to which I have never traveled. I can bring jail slaw. It travels well. @TdeV? Road trip?

Dammit, y'all. I may have to order a backup.

Only thing I've bought is a Roku to replace one lost in the move. I honestly can't think of much else I want or need that I don't have.

Add me as one who's pro-toast in the CSO. It refreshes semi-stale bread wonderfully. I use the CSO so much it's really cut into my oven use. I love it for baking bread; it'll hold two of my 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pans. I would contemplate an air fryer, but with the convection bake function of the CSO, I really see little need for one, plus I'd have to find a place to put it.

Family resemblance is pretty strong all the way down that chain. Your mama obviously passed down some strong genes! I'm thoroughly enjoying, as always, your trip, not to mention the glimpse into your life and family. I do love posts where I get to see other eG'ers and see how the reality matches up to my perception of them.

Welcome! Glad to have you! Would love to see anything you care to offer on the foods of Croatia, too.