It’s kind of an ethical/health compromise. Ethically, I don’t believe one should do nothing just because they don’t want to do everything. I was never a huge meat eater so giving up beef, poultry, lamb, etc. wasn’t that difficult for me and I feel better not contributing to industrial animal farming. Living on the…

Given that we will have a newborn granddaughter this year, I ordered a Popeyes turkey. It was expensive. Our Popeyes does not sell them in store. But given the circumstances it made sense. I don’t eat turkey, so three meat eaters and I’ll share some with the couple next door. We’ll see if it’s worth the cost! Will…

We had raw oysters last year but this year we are saving them for when our toddler granddaughter, son and his wife arrive from Australia in early December. Our granddaughter can down a dozen raw oysters in a quick minute.

Mashed potatoes must be a Northern thing. We never ate them at Thanksgiving.

Would totally try - if it were on sale. 

Even down here they sell a port wine cheese ball rolled in chopped nuts. It’s...divine. But I’ve always been a fan of any “trashy” cheese.  Even the canned spray cheese. So I guess the port wine cheese ball is a step up from that.

Local politial leaders? One of mine is Matt Gaetz. Let your imaginations flow with horror stories - the kind that keep women up at night and even make female dogs nervous.  

I love papaya salad. The Thai market in our old town used to sell the green papaya already shredded so you could make it at home. In our new city we have a variety of markets but they only sell the whole papaya. I could shred it myself, but it’s sooooo much easier when it’s already shredded and it’s only my husband…

Yeah, I’m not dealing with idiots like that anymore and I don’t care if they are family. I’m not doing it. 

I really can’t imagine handling that big of a crowd. We’ve been to several music festivals and some handle food vending fairly well and some - not so much, mainly the smaller festivals. Probably because they don’t have the practice with crowds the bigger vendors have. 

Dude. Fuck off.

I said Barilla pasta is fine. I’ve eaten it and will probably continue to eat it in preparations that are saucy and cheesy and where the pasta is a texture rather than a taste. I merely said that when I can afford (and have access to) better brands I will use those for simple dishes where the actual pasta is the star.…

The texture of better pastas are really rough - visibly rough. I like Garofalo, Rustichella, Rummo, LaMolisana, Raos and DeCecco. DeCecco is probably the the easiest to find in the grocery store, but it isn’t my favorite. If you’re making a very saucy, cheesy pasta or a casserole, you probably wouldn’t notice a…

I ain’t in the least bit Italian, but I can just look at it and see it isn’t great pasta. Smooth exterior? Not great. I don’t really care where my pasta is made as long as it tastes really good, and while I will certainly eat Barilla the same way I eat Kraft Mac and Cheese and all other sorts of “not great” food, if…

Our local Y sets specific times for pickleball in their gym. Same with a local park with tennis courts. This allows various groups to meet up for play and enjoy their preferred sport. 

Ken’s Honey Mustard and Marzetti’s Simply Dressed Lemon Vinaigrett mixed half and half. I use that on our Amazing Salad served at all family gatherings - diced roasted beets, diced roasted sweet potatoes, honeyed pecans, mixed greens, wee halved tomatoes, goat cheese and avocado slices.

We love Old Bay but much prefer the Low Sodium version. I want flavoring spices, not necessarily more salt - which I can add myself. Not sure about using it for desserts. Hmmm.

I regularly buy a few select meat subtitues - Impossible ground (when it’s BOGO) for bulgogi, Morningstar Farms veggie burgers for burgers and gyros, Beyond Meat brats and veggie sausage patties, Gardein Meatballs for spaghetti and for meatball subs, Morningstar Farms corndogs for trash eatin, Sweet Earth bacon for…

Drink beer. Save money! One of my dearest friends and I go out to dinner sometimes. She drinks wine and sometimes martinis. I drink beer. Her bill is always significantly higher than mine.

Yeah, if you have to spell a name weirdly to make it “different” - it isn’t different! Just give them a different name. My granddaughter’s name is Pebble. It’s a family name with a very interesting history. It’s a little odd, but easy to spell and unique enough so that she won’t have anyone else in her class with the…