The Continuum

Don't look now, but I may have just invented another product for Deseret Book to "borrow." 
 

Favorite dish

Our ward just started doing the "linger longer" socials after church, usually once a month.

I noticed that, generally speaking, family members usually go after their own dishes first. I wonder if that's because they've had time to think about it and build up an appetite. Or it could be that they think that other ward members are rotten cooks.

I don't think I should ask.
 

Well done!

According to my ancestors' journals, the crickets ate everything.
 

Palate cleansers

We had the missionaries over for dinner the other night — Elder Randolph from Utah and Elder Childs from Nevada — and we asked them what their favorite dishes were for dinner. We got some interesting answers. One of them said "chicken soup," which I never would have guessed.

It reminded me of some of the chicken soup I was served as a missionary (claws and all). There was another soup that was a missionary favorite, miyeok-guk I think it was called. We just called it "creatures of the deep." It frightened me.

There was more than one dinner appointment that I dreamed of having instead a Brick Oven pizza or a Big H burger. Imagine my excitement to learn that in my new area they had both a "MacDonald" and a "Kenturkey Flied Chicken"! MacDonald wasn't bad — good burgers and a mascot that looked like the Oregon Duck. After looking in the windows of the "KFC" we decided it was safer not to go in.

Nowadays I find myself with a longing for good, authentic Korean food. Weird how that works!

 

Distractions

I can still remember the best places to eat in my old areas. Although I'm certain that by now most of them are long gone — but their memories live on!
 

But when it was bad

Every area on my mission had that one place you could get cheap food that was usually really good. From time to time the quality would be questionable, but it was often worth the risk.
 

Feed me

Sometimes it’s the small things we need to pay attention to.

I’m reminded of Elder Holland’s message that we don’t want to fill people up with “spiritual Twinkies.” They come to be nourished by the good word of God

A travel journal, part 5

It may seem that a lot of the travel cartoons focus on food. Napoleon is often credited with saying that an army "travels on its stomach." The same it true with a tour group. If you can get some good sleep and eat some good food, then you'll have a good trip.

In this particular hotel, there were two tables set up for breakfast. One had fruits, pastries, juices, cereals, breads, cheeses and more. That was for the regular guests. Our table is as described, with the addition of a couple of carafes of water.

I saw more than one member of our group "accidentally" grab breakfast from the other table. Can't say that I blame them!

We have certain travel rules set up for safety. One of those is to not wander off alone in an unfamiliar area at night without letting a chaperone know. It's easy to get lost. And if you've ever been lost at night in a foreign country where your understanding of the language is rudimentary at best, you'll understand why this rule is in place.

It only happened one time. Never again.

Lunch that day was in San Sebastián, Spain, where they have a variety of excellent food, including these wonderful empanadas that helped us survive the meager breakfast!

 

A travel journal, part 2

If you've traveled in Europe, you may have noticed that restaurants and stores either close down or have significantly reduced hours on Sunday. That's great — unless you want to eat while you're on the road.

Our itinerary had us eating at the restaurants or kiosks at Chenonceau, a famous castle/château in central France. There was one restaurant open, but it could only serve about eight people at a time. Our group was 40+ people.

Despite the variety of selections in the vending machine, we left hungry.

We were able to talk our tour guide into stopping for food at a gas station along our way. The Eni station isn't like your corner Chevron or Texaco with overwarmed hotdogs and nasty nachos. It's more like a refined Buc-ee's with a grill and restaurant.

It wasn't the fine dining we might have had at the château, but it was good enough for our group!

A variety of wonderful food in one of the cases at the gas station.

At the end of the line

Sego root and crickets make excellent toppings, I'm told.
 

We're good at feasting

Our elders came to dinner the other night and said they only wanted salad. Until the main course came out. And the bread. And the dessert.

We didn't have many leftovers that night — except for salad.
 

Surprises

Football bowl games are upon us. And for us, it’s also time to clean out the fridge after the holidays. In both cases there are often surprises — and they’re not always pleasant. 
 

No unhallowed hand

It took me a long time before I was brave enough to try street food. But when I did, I wished that I had been braver sooner. I missed out on some good stuff!

The tots are in my other pockets

They say it's a good idea to check pockets first before doing laundry. But if you're the parent of a boy, it's often a risky proposition.
 

Lines of authority

To tell the truth, I think most bishops would prefer to get a phone call like that over some of the messages they get. Besides that, any good Relief Society president would make sure you ate your vegetables. Oh, there would still be dessert, but you’d have to down the veggies first!

If you feed them, they will come

A good, long lesson over lunch, dinner, breakfast, second breakfast. Elevenses. Seems like a good idea!
 

Making adjustments

I'm sure that I am not the only missionary who had a little trouble adjusting to the cuisine in the mission field. 
 

What's left to put on the menu?

It was a huge deal in our house if we ever ran out of the basics. The basics being cereal and milk — and the occasional Pop Tarts.
 

What's in your cart?

Not that long ago I walked out of the grocery store at the same time as our sister missionaries. I had a case of soda and a pizza; they had a grocery bag full of fruits and vegetables. 

But I had veggies on my pizza, so that counts, doesn't it?
 

"Beauty's a doubtful good"

My son at college told me about some of the meals he's been making for himself. Like the missionaries here, he's not likely to be posting any dinner plate photos on Instagram any time soon.
 

Editor's Note: The headline is Shakespeare from The Passionate Pilgrim.