We were visiting my wife's family in Vermont which ends up being a large group, with most of her brothers and sisters, and their spouses and kids, and this year even several girlfriends of the kids. All told we were about thirty. Meals were split up with one or two people volunteering for each meal. New Year's Eve was my night. I was stumped at first as far as what to make, but the co-volunteer Eric (a foodie BIL) came up with the suggestion of top-your-own tacos. We actually went with tostadas, and made black beans, three different meat toppings, and about a dozen other topping options, with side dishes of Mexican-spiced rice, and homemade cole slaw. Logistically the meal worked well, although some people didn't realize that they were supposed to be able to pick up the tostada after they made it, and instead they buried it beneath a 2-inch deep mound of toppings. Also we forgot to put out the guacamole until after half the people had served themselves. Food wise, some parts of the meal worked better than others. The shredded chicken verde was good but would have been better with more of the tomatillo salsa, however the co-op closed early, and the normal grocery store had no green salsa. The beef/chorizo was good but could have used a bit more of something, Eric and I couldn't decide what it needed. The shrimp was a big hit, the only problem with it was it disappeared so fast, the recipe (as well as I remember it) for the shrimp is below. Chili-Lime Shrimp 2 lbs peeled uncooked shrimp (31-40 count -- cut into thirds) 10 cloves garlic (minced) 1 4oz can diced green chilies 2 limes chili powder canola oil Liberally cover raw shrimp with chili powder and the juice of 1 half of a lime, and let rest for 10 minutes. In small pan, heat oil over medium heat, add garlic and green chilies, until garlic is softened and fragrant. remove from heat. In large pan, heat oil over high heat, until it is smoking hot, add shrimp stirring occasionally to make sure all the shrimp are getting cooked, and none are burning, after about 2-3 minutes the shrimp should all be cooked, add the garlic and green chilies that you set aside, and the rest of the juice of the limes. Stir for about 1 more minute, and place in large bowl to serve. Overall the meal received rave reviews.

We went out to eat! Daddy had a French dip, Lola had well cooked salmon with sweet potato fries and slaw, Ben had chicken tenders with a cookie (ain't it fun to be young!), April had a club sandwich, I don't know what Mark got?, Susie and Tiff had fish tacos (I had them last Tuesday so I didn't want them again) barramundi, one had slaw on the other had red beans and rice, and I had chicken tenders. If it helps, yesterday I had, umm, actually I don't know what you call it, it was peach moonshine and passion fruit puree, with tajin on the rim. Kitty photobombed

Yikes. Nothing worse than waking up and realizing "here it comes", knowing the next 5-7 days will be miseable while it goes its course. And sometimes longer will secondary issues. Nice to be on the mend. Usually early Spring here can be miserable with cool temps in the 40-50ºF rainy and damp. Freezing snowy weather is dry and not so bad. I was planning to use a chowder base, SummerTonic, a fish corn chowder-ish. Did a 180 and made something up making a fish stock with one of the smaller heads and a collar. (butter, white wine, leek, celery, shallot) Fish stock is a quick 30-45min. Broth was epic with the miso-ginger-lemon-wakame-hijiki Tonic. Poached two of the larger collars in the broth 8-10 min and into our bowls under the noodles. (collars are full of tender meat) Shared at the table between us... Larger head and two collars food savered for the freezer. A pint of cubed fish, (tuna, salmon, halibut) and two collars. Future chowders. Seasoned glass noodle was an excellent choice.

NiCO, I hope your new phone is doing as it is supposed to. Somehow mine never does, or maybe it does and I just don't know it, LOL. Jack, it finally cooled off here and we got a little rain. I've been canning and gardening and canning. The cattle are enjoying the respite from the heat and the little bit of green that's coming back from 6 weeks of no appreciable rain. I even cooked because my nephew was here working on fence. I made a pot roast, fried green tomatoes, some garlic bread and an apple pie. The crust was from SharonCB's recipe, the Nathan's Never Fail Pastry. I make a batch in the food processor, divide it into 6 portions, wrap in plastic wrap and then freeze it. The frozen portions are then put into a zip lock bag and I have pie crust when I need it. The last time I picked up a grocery store pie crust it was nearly $5 for 2 crusts and I just refuse to pay that, so I make my own and freeze it. I like the recipe very much, and use butter as the fat. I always smile and think of Sharon when I pull that chunk of dough out of the freezer. I didn't think to take pictures, though. Annie