Buttermilk Fried Corn and First Quarter Moon Pies

Okay, so they're not really moon "pies," but I was on a food theme here, so bear with me. It felt so amazing yesterday evening/last night, and the moon was at a perfect first quarter, so I decided to break out my digital camera and shoot a few shots. (I know, you're probably tired of seeing pictures of the moon, especially when they all look more or less the same!) But hey, you're still reading this, so you must be at least SOMEWHAT interested! *g* Anyway, below are some of the pictures I took, with a couple different settings.

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Today I thought I would try out a recipe in one of my barbecue cookbooks. It was for "Buttermilk Fried Corn." Now I thought, "Hey, I love corn nuggets! I'll make some!" I should have taken a hint from the part of the recipe that said "can be served as a side dish, or sprinkled on a salad." Nuggets these were not! They were just corn kernels, coated in buttermilk, flour and cornmeal (with a little bit of salt and pepper) and deep fried. And they didn't really have any taste to them, so I added a bit more pepper and some seasoned salt to try and liven them up a bit. Apparently I went a little overboard on the salt... *sigh* At any rate, I now have a bag of somewhat salty "corn nuts" of a sort. They're kind of crunchy, kind of chewy, and rather salty. They might go well on a salad, but they'd go even better in a soup, or anything that needed some corn and salt added! lol So I didn't end up with the delicious corn nuggets I was expecting, but oh well, you live and you learn.

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Next up for this evening/this weekend are some dishes that can be eaten for several meals. I plan on making egg noodles with either Alfredo sauce or Garlic and Parmesan sauce, maybe with some grilled and diced chicken added in. And I have my Dutch oven now, so I plan on utilizing it for a few different meals. I think the first up (unless I find something else that appeals to me) will be some pulled barbecue pork. Yes, I know, I made that a week or two ago on the grill, but it's really easy to make, especially in the Dutch oven, and it will feed us for several days (and we can always freeze it if there's a lot, and enjoy it at another time.) I have a lot of recipes in my barbecue books that call for a Dutch oven, so I'm going to have fun experimenting with them. If any of you out there have any good Dutch oven recipes, I'd love to hear about them! Over the next week or so, I'm also going to cook some Cornish game hens, a large baking hen (a big chicken basically, but the taste is quite a bit different), and anything else I can cook on the grill and not heat up the house. I'm looking forward to doing some trout fishing soon, and having some fresh fish on the grill too! So many recipes, so little time... :)

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Finally, as Clare mentioned, please keep our Dad in your prayers, as he's having his heart checked out at the hospital on Wednesday. Also, Monica is really in a depressed state at the moment, seriously missing her mother, and not really wanting to do much of anything, especially not go to work. If any of you can give her a call once in a while, and just chat with her, I think it would help a lot. Losing her mom has been really hard on her (as it was on all of us who've been there), and she's not doing too well. Please pray for her improved mental and physical well-being. Thanks.

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Well, that about wraps up this post. Enjoy the pictures, have a great weekend, and keep in touch. Peace.