Bao! I wish there were a place that made good bao in range of my office.

Oh, that would be the best. There's a bao stand at the Sunday farmer's market. I wonder if they have a restaurant too. Must investigate.

I had a deep fried artichoke as an appetizer for lunch one day last week. No batter, nothing, just the bad boy deep fried so each of its little petals fanned out and were delicate and crispy. With good olive oil and a little grated parmesan?

Mmmmm...

All this talk of putting things in dough has me all of the sudden craving Swedish pancakes. Cook up the batter nice and flat, butter it up, then spread jam or syrup all over and roll it up--yum!!

From xkcd: Upcoming Hurricanes

Hah! Love "Hurricane Illinois-Has-It-Too-Easy"!

On Sunday, my family and I were comparing regional natural disasters, with my brother contending that California is made up of nothing but potential catastrophes, but my stepmom saying it'd be worth it if she could live there (my stepsister lives near LA). We get tornadoes here in the Midwest, and my brother gets the occasional hurricane out in New Jersey, but as he pointed out, if you don't live on the coast, you're pretty much safe.

You guys, thank you for all the good vibes. I'm a firm believer in the power and efficiency of good vibes, so even this very fact alone makes it easier to bash heads against my computer and not freeze in panic thinking of how behind I am.

(And, yeah, typing "freeze" made me wish I could freeze-ray a-la "Dr. Horrible" the PhD committee until I figure all this stuff out so that they wouldn't get the whoosh of the deadline passing until I could safely put all I need in their hands.)

I had empanadas yesterday

You are a day ahead of all of the hivemind (or at least its conversation topics). Does that mean you've got hold of the time machine?

I can't decide between the stuff-in-dough group or the fried group as being my favorite. Put them together, though....

We have a traditional dish my mom makes which combines the two. So good.

I had a deep fried artichoke as an appetizer for lunch one day last week. No batter, nothing, just the bad boy deep fried so each of its little petals fanned out and were delicate and crispy. With good olive oil and a little grated parmesan?

I still dream about a salad I had at a restaurant in Brooklyn 2 years ago that had fried baby artichokes w/ white beans and some kind of delicious parm like cheese. so good.

We have a traditional dish my mom makes which combines the two.

Which one is it, and more importantly, when will you invite me to your parents to eat it and the other frikasse thing?

I automatically think Florida State University. My alma mater.

Yea, Barb! I'm wearing a "Florida State University Alumni" t-shirt right now.

Does that mean you've got hold of the time machine?

Either that, or he has empanadas every day. Not that there's anything wrong with that -- and there's very much right with it.

I had empanadas yesterday.

Now I really want empanadas. No place in this county sells them. Guess I'll have to drive down to Tampa so I can go to Mr. Empanada and take care of my fix.

Hey JZ, do you think Emmett would be a beta reader for me? It was suggested in Great Write that I find a couple of kids in my middle school range to read and give me some feedback.

Errr...maybe? He generally treats summer as a total holiday from anything remotely school-like, including reading of any sort, but he may be enticed by the prospect of a grown-up seeking his opinion and expertise (plus, baby bat!). And, even if he doesn't want to, he could probably recommend a bookish friend or two to help out.

I'll leave it to Hec to make the pitch.