Day Seven

All right, before you say anything, you have to understand one thing: I am a Yankee.

I don't mean I'm a Yankees fan (heaven forbid), or a resident of New England. I have ancestors on both sides of the Civil War, including a great-grandfather who was a Confederate soldier, but that's not what I mean either. I mean "Yankee" in the general, friendly sense that accompanies the statement, "Y'all ain't from around here."

I have plenty of Southern friends, and their traditions and turns of phrase delight me, but when it comes to the kitchen, I am just about as Yankee as they come. I've only ever eaten okra once, I was in my twenties before discovering that hush puppies weren't just shoes, and while I have no objection to eating fried food, the thought of deep frying anything in my kitchen makes me want to reach for a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, a teaspoon, and a large pile of fresh veggies.

This is why I am counting the experiment pictured above for Item #8 (try 20 new recipes). Yes, it is from a mix. No, I didn't use a real deep fryer. No, my lovely cast-iron skillet is not nearly full enough of oil. Yes, I had to measure the temperature by taping my candy thermometer to two bamboo kebab skewers and balancing it across the top of the skillet because I have not the faintest clue how you actually measure the temperature of a pot of boiling oil. (That sounds so medieval, doesn't it?!) And yes, I burned half the recipe.

But it was a walk on the wild side, and I tried it, and they were actually pretty good. And if real Southerners don't eat their hush puppies with ketchup and Tabasco sauce, I don't wanna know.


-----



I'm fairly sure the calories were nowhere near atoned for by today's outside activity (raking leaves), but it sure was a good day for it. I forgot to go outside yesterday when I was sick, so I'm starting over on that. Dang it. I have a feeling it's not going to look like this in three months ...