The Blog Snob and Her Last Meal

I realized today that it has been over a month since I've blogged.  And, since I believe that if you can't think of something to blog about at least one time a month then you should probably just get rid of your blog, I figured I'd better get on it.  Because, if you don't have something to blog about at least monthly, well, not to be rude or anything, but you are boring...because really there isn't that high of an expectation when it comes to blogging...you can blog about anything and everything...family, friends, trips, parties, potty training, water-births in your back yard, etc.  

But, I guess I'm just a blog snob thinking that everyone should blog at least monthly.  I have a lot of opinions about blogging and commenting on blogs and opinions on most other things too.  I can't help it.  Someone has to set rules for the blog world.  It's a new frontier.  

Also my mom bugs me ALL THE TIME about why I'm not blogging.   Today she asked me if I was in a blog bog.  I know my blog is probably her main connection to the outside world and to the goings on of our family but I guess I really just haven't been in the mood lately.  Maybe I have been in a blog bog.  

So, without further adieu, the post...

I got home from Brazil/Bolivia two weeks ago.  And, although I have a lot of trip blogging to catch up on (and I will catch up), I just have to say that I'm glad to be home in time for the end of summer/first of fall.  

Because, it's the most delicious time of year.  

And it's also a very cheap time of year to be a person with an income of zero since lots of people have free food from the garden to give their local unemployed spinster and any other produce you do have to buy is super cheap like,  

Delicious peaches courtesy of cousin Lucy...

Strawberries I picked this week from my mom's garden...sorry to bring it up MOM since I know all your gardening in Brazil efforts have failed...but you'll be home next year to pick your own strawberries.  And, they are delicious.  

And, the very best of all...raspberries from my grandma's garden.  I don't think there's anything better to eat in the world (including candy and ice cream and cake and pie and pastries and South American Oreos) than a sun-ripened raspberry straight from your grandma's garden...unwashed and everything and warmed by the sunshine.  Yum!

If I ever accidentally end up on death row (which, if I play my cards right in life I won't) raspberries will definitely be part of my last meal...a big bowl of raspberries from my grandma's garden.  Followed by my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup, then some pistachio-white chocolate almond-cookie dough frozen yogurt, and then topped off with another bowl of freshly picked raspberries...because a fresh garden raspberry should be the first and last thing that every human being tastes in life.  

I know a few people who don't like raspberries and I feel sorry for them...oh so sorry.

And while we're on the topic of produce...I just have to say that I have discovered my new favorite vegetable...

the Chayote.  

I tasted chayote for the first time in 2005 in Guatemala.  It was love at first taste.  I asked some of our Guatemalan friends what the vegetable was and they told me the name was güisquil but I couldn't find that word in my dictionary to figure out what we called the vegetable in the U.S. and we were at a restaurant when I tasted it so I never got to see what the raw veggie looked like.  And that was before the days of me looking up EVERYTHING on Wikipedia.  So, I just didn't figure out what it was.  

Fast forward to 2010, July to be exact.  I'm in Brazil, at the mall, in the food court, with my mom.  My mom and I order fish from a waiter wearing a vest and tie. The food court in the mall in Fortaleza is pretty fancy.  You can even buy filet mignon if you care to.  I think it is weird that you have to order from a waiter at the mall food court (even at Pizza Hut), but whatever, it's Brazil.  You can also order a big keg o beer with your meal if you want to, and when I say keg, I mean keg...the thing must hold 5 gallons of beer.  But, we didn't.  

So anyway, we got our fish dish, which, by the way, was delish.  And, it came with a yummy assortment of boiled veggies...one of which, you guessed it, was chayote.  I recognized the flavor right away and asked my little Brazilian food court waiter what it was.  He told me it was called chuchu in Portuguese.  So, we went to the grocery store later and asked for chuchu, and finally I found my new favorite vegetable...now if I can just find it for sale in the U.S. of A. 

Anyway, it is delicious and nutritious.  Even though it looks kinda pearish it tastes like a cucumber and a potato got together and had a baby.  Sounds weird but it is really good.  And, it's really good for you with lots of vitamins and very little calories.  So, if you can find chayote for sale in your neighborhood you should buy some and try some.  It's so good!

I just wrote a big, long post all about fruits and veggies.  I am weird.  

But see...you can blog about ANYTHING.  I'm not saying people (other then your mother) will read it and comment, but at least you can blog about whatever.  

Well, that's it for now.  Stay tuned for more...