The Front Porch Swing

[Triple Willow]

Blooie... that was so funny. I had to read that one to my mom. We got a good laugh. I can just see the look on your husband's face. LOL

 

[Beeps and Peeps]

Oh, dear...all of this talk of "exotic" foods has me drooling. As I've said, my father was a KY hillbilly, and I spent formative years in NE TN, but we moved to south FL when I was still school age (very much against my will, the culture shock was horrible). I was stuck in FL for far too many years due to family ties and career, however, I have finally made it back to the South (extreme NW South Carolina, almost GA or NC depending which way you orient yourself...I'd be deeper in the mountains if I could, but my mom is here for almost half of the year doing the "snowbird" thing.)
All this to say, I love Southern cooking, but one of very few things I miss about south FL/Miami was the tremendous variety of good ethnic resteraunts there. Surprisingly enough, a SC upcountry town of fewer than 4,000 does not provide much in the way of choices for food

 

[Beeps and Peeps]

Second that, Blooie...your deck story is another classic!

 

[Triple Willow]

I was introduced to Middle Eastern food by a co worker....  Very similar in some of the dishes to Greek.  Instead of Gyros they served Schwarma.... Oh MY GAWD....  for Chicken Schwarma they take chicken breasts and pound it out flat then marinate it  Then each breast is skewered on the same rotisserie as they used to cook Gyros.     Imagine a stack of chicken breast and onion  and lime almost two feet tall rotating in front of a broiler  Then the crispy juicy bits are shaved off with a huge kniFe.....  Served with either in a Pita pocket with lettuce and tomatoes and a creammmmy Yogurt sauce.  Or on a plate with roasted veggies.  All her spices came shipped from Turkey from a family member....  

I tasted one spice and couldnt identifiy it....  It was a largish grain of something red and it had a smoky nutty flavor..... and it was bright red.  I asked the owner what it was....  she laughed....  Turkish Paprika..  Americans have not tasted good paprika.  I asked where she got it and she said an uncle sends all her spices to her because she couldnt get them here.    Oh she could but we are talking huge bucks in the US.

And I dont know what it is about eggplant that is a food that I love sliced thin dipped in egg then in seasoned flour and fried in olive oil...  But they do it TO DiE for....  It has to be the seasonigs  and very very good olive oil.

deb

Ahhh yes Deb, good food! Many moons ago I dated a guy from over yonder way and I sure do miss his cooking. That's all I miss about him. LOL I wish I had learned more about their food back then. If I could come back home and sleep at night I'd love to go to several different countries and learn their way of cooking.

I don't know what it's called but have you had the eggplant, zucchini, tomato, meat, etc stew that you eat over rice? Ohhh my goodness it is good!

I thought you were going to say that spice was sumac. lol I love sumac but it is so hard to find. I believe I may get my friends in Pakistan send me some.

Oh yeah, I really miss that home made yogurt! I still dip my chicken in yogurt. Yum!

 

[perchie.girl]

Oh, dear...all of this talk of "exotic" foods has me drooling. As I've said, my father was a KY hillbilly, and I spent formative years in NE TN, but we moved to south FL when I was still school age (very much against my will, the culture shock was horrible). I was stuck in FL for far too many years due to family ties and career, however, I have finally made it back to the South (extreme NW South Carolina, almost GA or NC depending which way you orient yourself...I'd be deeper in the mountains if I could, but my mom is here for almost half of the year doing the "snowbird" thing.)
All this to say, I love Southern cooking, but one of very few things I miss about south FL/Miami was the tremendous variety of good ethnic resteraunts there. Surprisingly enough, a SC upcountry town of fewer than 4,000 does not provide much in the way of choices for food

Cooking is fun as long as you are willing to eat the experiments.... LOL. Years ago When the Pointer Sisters were very popular They were some Daytime talk show. They made something they called Peanut butter stew. Talking about how they grew up in a large family and meals had to be stretched.

It involved Onions, tomatoes, garlic, spices chicken stock peanut butter and about a pound of cleaned shrimp and fish.....

I was Thirteen at the time so I decided to make it. I used Onions tomatoes garlic peanut butter.... No chicken stock so I used water,..... Oops No fish...Hmmm where do I get fish... So I thought... Canned tuna. Yep two cans of tuna should do it.

Shall we say....

I ate as much as I could get down before mom poked her head in and said "Whats that?" She wouldnt even taste it..... ewww.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Yep I hve had it and Nope I dont know what its called.....

but its really really good.

deb

 

[Beeps and Peeps]

Memories of youthful experiments in the kitchen are probably why I stick more to baking than cooking, Perchiegirl. Plenty of uses for eggs in baking, too! Now, I just have to feed those girls for 15-19 more weeks and they can start earning their keep with more than entertainment value

 

[BCMaraniac]

Oh, dear...all of this talk of "exotic" foods has me drooling. As I've said, my father was a KY hillbilly, and I spent formative years in NE TN, but we moved to south FL when I was still school age (very much against my will, the culture shock was horrible). I was stuck in FL for far too many years due to family ties and career, however, I have finally made it back to the South (extreme NW South Carolina, almost GA or NC depending which way you orient yourself...I'd be deeper in the mountains if I could, but my mom is here for almost half of the year doing the "snowbird" thing.)
All this to say, I love Southern cooking, but one of very few things I miss about south FL/Miami was the tremendous variety of good ethnic resteraunts there. Surprisingly enough, a SC upcountry town of fewer than 4,000 does not provide much in the way of choices for food

I live in NE TN now.....where did you live, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Beeps and Peeps]

BCMaraniac, it was in the semi-rural area around Kingsport. We went all the time to visit family in Pikeville, KY and Big Stone Gap, VA.
I love it up there...much as I enjoy where I am now, that region will always be "home".

 

[BCMaraniac]

BCMaraniac, it was in the semi-rural area around Kingsport. We went all the time to visit family in Pikeville, KY and Big Stone Gap, VA.
I love it up there...much as I enjoy where I am now, that region will always be "home".

Me too. My family is from Sneedville.