Sorry to always post about food, but it seems to be running my life right now!! Not a bad thing, really. Here are some of the veggies Mom sent home to me from Mills River - don't think I had mentioned that Robert had gone up last week to visit some friends at Western and Appalachian (and used Mom & Frank's as a sleeping pad). Then we went to the coast, so I hadn't had a chance to use many of them....so tonight I had a craving for fried squash.....

Mom will get a kick out of this - when they were down last weekend, I didn't have any cornmeal to bread some squash/okra...so we used some seafood breading as a substitute. Well, since I still had forgotten to buy cornmeal - I found some hushpuppy mix - it actually was an even better substitute. I'll have to remember that in the future! Yummy flavor with the onions. And the texture was just about the right combination of cornmeal, flour, onion and salt!

I fry squash like Duane likes it - just jumbled up with onions...
I know, these pictures seem repetitive - here's what one of the "airport hang-arounder's" brought to Asheboro today.....we used one tomato for sandwiches at lunch.....

Here's one of Mom's spaghetti squash. I guess it could be called an ancestor of one of my spaghetti squash - she grew it from seeds from my garden - must have been two years ago? Here it is raw before heading to the microwave.....poked a few holes in it to release the steam (an exploded squash would be ugly in the micro).
Here it is cooked for about 10 minutes.
Scooped out the seeds and discarded them. Then scooped out the "spaghetti" - not quite as "stringy" as I've had, but I think this one wasn't quite as ripe as some are.
Stirred in a bunch of the pesto that I had in the fridge.....emmm good!
OK, T needs to stop reading 'cause the next few photos are not vegan!


Robert is wrapping up his last few days at Harris Teeter locally. After he gets settled in at school, he thinks he may be able to swing a day on a weekend at a Raleigh store....we'll see.

After he had turned 18, he had been working in the meat department. Occasionaly, he would bring home special cuts of meat for the grill. Yesterday was his actual last day in the meat department because they've trained his replacement. He'll work about another week just as a cashier....

Anyway, I ramble.....yesterday, he text-messaged me that they had fresh oysters!! I am an oyster nut. He brought home 4 dozen (at $4.99 a dozen - a really good deal). Normally, Pat would help by eating his share, but he is traveling on business. So, Richard and I had to eat them all!!!

Just put them in the double-boiler 'til they barely opened up.... used a cheese knife that I believe T gave me....the only dull, oyster knife-life utensil I could come up with.
Popped them open, melted some butter, got out the Zesta's and Texas Pete....nirvana!!

Forgot to include this earlier. Monday evening I got a call from the police department (never a good thing, as far as I can tell....) A pilot had landed very badly...he was a student pilot that had just bought this high-performance airplane. He wasn't hurt, just hurt his feelings and his wallet! The mechanic came and lifted it up and hauled it to the hangar. The Sky11 chopper apparently heard about it and hovered overhead for a while. It was on the nightly news. Must have been a slow news day!



My main Siler City employee grows a big garden and a few times during the summer he invites us all to be at the terminal building at noon for a tomato sandwich lunch. Here we are finishing up - I had two sandwichs!!!

I swear I'm the luckiest person around that didn't grow a garden this year! Here's the things my neighbors, mom, and employees have given me just the past two days!
Yum - zuccihni, spaghetti squash, okra, peppers, tomatos, cucumbers...not pictured is corn....
These cherry tomatoes/grape tomatoes are to die for!!
Lindy gave me fresh basil, whick I made into pesto for the first time - parmesaen, olive oil, pine nuts - yummy on Italian bread for dinner:

Mom and Frank came down Sunday on the way to his regular Monday appointment. Diane invited us over for a afternoon at the pool. We just talked/ate/swam (and some of us took a nap!)

Here's A.D. (Airport Dog) taking a quick drink. This is as far as she goes.

Diane relaxing....Pat was at Oskhosh, so he missed the fun!
Mom enjoying the warm pool - about 88 degrees in the water. The water temp had been 92 degrees the day before, but we had a chilly night (in the sixty's). Still like bath water!
I tried to take an "artsy" photo with Mom swimming and the setting sun in the background...guess I need some fancy filters on my camera. That's all!

The only excitement lately was last night - we went up to UNCG to see Robert's FINAL performance at summer camp!

Since he was in "senior band", they performed last. We had time to have a nice Mexican meal - at the same restaurant we've eaten at for the past 5 years. (Several of those years Richard was at camp also....he chose not to go this year - and he had to work last night.) The waiter took or photo - like many years before. I tried to find one of the other shots, but, alas, it has been transfered to disc - never to be seen when required. Duane shot out the door so he didn't have to participate!



Most of my 2GB memory card in my camera is taken up with the videos of the performance....here is one of the only still shots - of Rob walking into the auditorium. (He's about 4 guys back if you can't make him out!)

And finally, a shot of the performance...Robert was first chair trumpet - invisible on this photo.

I cooked the pods yesterday - just boiled them in salt water.


Cooled them - then you just squeeze and they burst open. Quite tasty - like a green pea/lima mix. I just sat and popped them as a snack.


Also had a wonderful tomato sandwich - this was on store-bought sourdough bread....not sure there is a better food!!!

One of the neighbors brought me a potted daylilly for my 40th birthday party. I planted it outside the next year. It has lived very nicely in the garden since then. It has reproduced and now I have about 6 or 7 of the same flower. It's one of the prettiest things in the bed...unfortunately, I have to wait all spring and early summer to enjoy! The buds started forming about a month ago. Worth the wait!



Dick and Lindy are continuing to give me their extra produce - it's a lot of fun. I took them some "garbage cookies" yesterday as a very poor form of compensation.

Here are some "fuzzy" soybean-like pods. They called the name, but I can't remember what it was. Lindy had boiled some in saltwater and let me try them. Yum! You just squeeze the pod open and out pop a couple of pea-like beans. They were a really neat snack.


Just photos of my "haul" yesterday.....

I had mentioned that Robert was building a "loft" for his dorm room. He went out to the NC State Housing department and downloaded a diagram of the "approved" structure. Then he started building....



It will be for both Robert and his room-mate. They've been communicating via Facebook.


The ladders were a "Robert original" design...

Then he took it all apart to prime/paint it. (Of course, it will have to be un-assembled to carry it into the dorm...luckily - he's just on the 2nd floor of Metcalf dorm - could have been the 12th floor! and I don't think the lumber would fit on the elevator...that would have been lots of stairs!!)


So far, he's just starting the finish paint. He had to add a flame-retardant to the paint according to University rules.


Thought this was cool - the label for the paint. It's actually "NC STATE RED"!! Go Wolfpack!!

Tonight was lasagne night! I made it with meat for the boys.... the ingredients ready....note that I used Ragu instead of the tomatoes the recipe called for - so, I cheated a little - so, shoot me...



The ricotta cheese, parmesan, egg and parsley mix....

Hamburger, onion, sauce and some extra spices.

First layer.


Noodles next. The recipe has the layers arranged differently, but this is how I like it.

The "cheesey" layer

More cheese

And more cheese

Repeat layers - bake - here it is! Looks yummy, I can't eat, of course...

Decided to take advantage of the hot oven and made a nice cake of onion/cornbread. Used the last of the organic buttermilk T bought at the health food store (so she could take the cute old-fashioned milk bottle home!)

Turned out nice - just the right crust.

Robert stole the first piece of lasagne before it had time to "set up"

Here's what I had - it was left over (frozen) from the crazy graduation/Eagle ceremony week. Still pretty good.

Enough - time to eat!!