kayb

Does anyone know if squirrels will dig up and eat asparagus sets? My bed has some suspicious looking holes in it. I have a healthy sized colony of squirrels in my yard. And not a sprig of anything sprouted. I guess I'll have to replant next spring and cover the bed with chicken wire. On the other hand, the green beans are all sprouted -- and unlike the old house, I do NOT have a family of bunnies here! -- and the tomatoes and other plants look strong and healthy. I'm sold on raised beds.

That'll handle the cilantro. Now, to find thyme... Thanks!

@blue_dolphin -- I love the glasses the dacquiri and the gimlet (I think, without looking back) were in. The ones with the twisted stem. Gorgeous!

Even lower end canned tuna makes a decent salad with cannelini beans, capers, green onion, lots of olive oil, and a healthy splash of red wine vinegar. I ditto the upthread comment about tuna croquettes. And I must confess I'm fond of a salad of low-end tuna, sweet pickles, mayo and cooked pasta (preferably small shells).

As an aside, I was on a Zoom call today about potential business opportunities post-COVID -- the consensus was a major restructuring of the supply chain, with a focus on more and smaller distribution centers dispersed about the country, was the general forecast. A 4-million-square-foot distribution center is a fine thing, as long as nothing fouls up the long legs between it and its destinations. Current experience and wisdom seems to indicate smaller, and closer together, DCs will ensure fewer failures due to supply chain disruptions.

Picked up my Kroger order this morning. They were out of stock on chicken nuggets (go figger!) and they subbed sliced deli American cheese for sliced deli co-jack cheese, with which I was not overly pleased, but OK. I then took out on a search for herbs, as my initial planting of them is not doing well, so I'm going to replant in pots. Not a lot of luck on getting what I wanted (specifically, no thyme, marjoram, tarragon, cilantro). Then I went by the WalMart N'hood Market in search of what I didn't get from Kroger. They had chicken nuggets. They had the Yukon golds I'd forgotten to order. They had paper towels, on which I was low, and toilet paper, so now I have a multipack for each bathroom. They had a pretty decent selection of produce (I already had produce from Kroger, so I contented myself with strawberries and a plastic clamshell of watermelon chunks. I know it's well past the time most people plant herbs. I may well attempt a Memphis run to see if any of the more comprehensive nurseries there have potted herbs; else, we'll be thyme-less and cilantro-less this summer, and that is not a pleasant thought. I was encouraged to see more mask-wearing. It was also notable that I went in a coffee shop, sat down (for a business meeting) and had a cup of coffee that I had not brewed, for the first time in two months. Now, if my green beans would sprout, I'd call it a good day.

Late lunch or early dinner, whichever. Pork chop, fried potatoes with onion, purple hull peas with tomato relish. More childhood comfort food.

I'd been craving a cheeseburger. So last night I picked one up from a local joint that does excellent ones. With fries and a strawberry shake, which I drank before I got home. (Life is short; eat dessert first.) Hit the spot. No pix, as I was starving and devoured it.

I guess it's a function of the part of the country. Down here, if you see "uncured bacon," or "fresh bacon," it's sliced pork belly. Also sold, in some supermarkets that cater to an older/more rural/more blue collar clientele, as "fresh side meat."

Yes.

Glad to have you, Todd. Ah, Chicago. One of my favorite places to eat.

Dunno so much about its comparison with DQ, but there are two frozen custard stands in Arkansas that are worthy of notice. One is King Kone, a 1950s-ish stand in Hot Springs. Dip cones are worthy of notice. Has pizza burgers and the works. The other is Andy's Frozen Custard in Jonesboro, which has two stores, one of them unfortunately only five or six blocks from my house. They make a sundae called the Ozark Turtle which involves frozen custard, hot fudge sauce, hot caramel sauce, toasted pecans, and a plethora of maraschino cherries. I have gained, well, several pounds from those damn things.

LOL! That is just GREAT!

I'll be interested to hear your reviews. Looks like it'll hold a quarter sheet pan. Yes?

There's ANOTHER one glaring at you. I'd be looking over my shoulder, if I were you. Just sayin'.

What a great day, Kim. One thing that's been keeping me sane is just getting out and driving; particularly enjoyable in the early days of spring when the trees were a bajillion different colors of green. I'm close enough to the Ozark foothills to get there and back in a leisurely afternoon drive, and that usually results in stopping at some farm stand to pick up strawberries, lettuces, fresh eggs. Contactless, too; most are on the honor system. Take what you want, put your money in the box. Please and thank you.

Finally got the asparagus and green beans planted, in advance of today's expected rain. First time I've ever planted asparagus, so I went by the book -- mound of mixed soil, compost and fertilizer, roots spread down sides of mound, everything covered over. Soil is good and rich. Fingers crossed!

Beat me to it. Here's the link.

Nice! I'll try wagyu -- one day.

Not really food, more "pre-food." I took my life in my hands and went to WalMart yesterday because I needed a bag of compost and four more bags of garden soil to finish up the asparagus bed. Soil bags are stacked out on the parking lot, and garden center has a separate entrance, so I figure, no problem. Except -- you cannot go IN the garden center entrance. And they have an employee sitting there to tell you that. I ask her how to go about getting garden soil. Go inside, she says, tell them what you want, pay for it, bring me the receipt and i'll get someone to load it for you. OK. Walk in, make my way to an uncrowded register, pay for the dirt, walk back to garden center, find same girl from the other side, and show her my receipt. She shanghais some kid to put dirt in my trunk. At least I didn't have to make my way to the inner reaches of WalMart. And, thankfully, there were more people wearing masks than there had been two weeks ago, the last time I was in a big-box store.

Had to spring for Egg when I saw it in my BookBub email this morning. River Cottage books look good, but...no. Just ... no.

One of my favorite dishes, if you can find a good cantaloupe at the same time you can get good fresh asparagus, is to roast the asparagus with salt, pepper and olive oil and arrange in a circle on a big plate. In the center of the circle, put a mix of cubed cantaloupe and cubed fresh mozzarella, dressed with a viniagrette of lemon juice, white balsamic and neutral oil and sprinkled with fresh herbs of your choice -- I like tarragon, parsley and basil. You can add chunked grilled or poached chicken to make a nice light entree for a warm day. My daughter's mother-in-law served this at a luncheon for her baby shower. Not sure where she got the recipe.

Finally, we're making progress. Empty bed will be green beans. A smaller bed, not shown, will be asparagus. Planting those today. Then it's going to rain for a week.

Great story!

FYI: Always being up for a new canning/preserving book, I clicked on the Hands-On Home. It came up $17.99 on Kindle. I, too, am an US Prime member. Dammit. I would have liked to have had that one.