first day, first pie, from here. not limey enough. too condensed milky. no whipped topping. ($5.95) [view from our balcony-- Gulf of Mexico]

second day, pie number two, from here. mushy, bland, pale crust. filling was nice and lime-y. not cloying. liked the topping. ($1.49)

second day, pie three, from here.  finally a graham cracker crust! but crust was too thin and filling too thick, gooey, and plentiful. bad green (apple?) syrup on top, overshadowing lime flavor. ($4.95)

third day, pie four, from here. four pies in and on day three of our trip, I proclaimed this the best slice so far.  crust is ideal. nice topping, lime-y filling. one complaint– too chiffon-y, could be custard-ier. ($5)

fourth day, the fifth pie, from here. with the name key lime in the name, it’s no surprise that this rated better than the slice just above– though just a bit. crust was crunchier and more substantial.  filling rated close to perfect by one of us and not light enough by the other. great and attractive topping.  but spider web of sauce only detracted from the lime flavor of the pie. ($8)

fourth day, sixth pie, from here.  just as good as the fifth. crust crunchy and laced with coconut. filling thick but could be limier. topping was tasty though on the side. ($7)

seventh day, the seventh and last pie, from here. this is mr. food’s second favorite, after the fourth. crust was ideal and filling was thick and lime-y.  very smooth. only complaint is lack of topping. ($4.95)

The pie summary: In a unanimous second place finish, pie number seven! We both liked this one for its traditional ingredients and lime-y filling.  And we have a tie for first place with both pie number four and number five (minus the awful tasting plate decoration) claiming the top honors– the former nominated by Mr. Food and the latter by me and my taste buds.  Hearty thanks to all the pies who participated.

“please do not climb, stand, or slide down noodle.”

We need more public art like this one.

From my in-laws’ backyard.  Lucky.

But they also have cheese curds!

and giant deep fried onions!

and my personal favorite stickless-food: mini donuts!  Here seen in production. (Not shown: next picture in series, me watching with mouth agape)

So much food imagery at the state fair– sister L even got herself wedged into a kiddie ride shaped like an apple. (not shown).

One of our first meals together was at a new place in town (supplanting the less preferable restaurant of the same chef).  I can’t remember exactly what I ate, but I remember liking it, even if only vaguely.  I did enjoy the fiddleheads– must have just caught those in the right season.  Mr. Food will remember the rest, he always does.  Next stop for eating out is here… when it finally opens!

Mrs. Smith and I made dinner the other night and this is the only surviving picture.  Roasted veggies (most importantly artichoke!) that went with, I think, pork roast and white wine…

More recently we hosted a breakfast at our place.  Even little S and littler GG were there.  (and as a result the cats were basically not)   Mr. Food did the cooking and the rest of us sat around and watched.  There were Italian sweet sausages from our new CSA membership (they were amaaaazing, but note to those curious: the waiting list is quite long, it may be another year before you’d get your hands on any), and bacon cooked up mostly to feed little S.

Also fruit salad and Mr. Food’s famous orange-y French toast with challah from Mamadou’s (note to intrepid blog reader– some of the photos on that site actually came from my camera!).

The meal was followed by an impromptu concert by Mr. Smith and little S on the drum pads accompanied by Mrs. Smith and GG as back-up dancers.

(breakfast picture credits go to Mrs. Smith)

…to today:

and a strawberry-close-up:

Besides the berries we also have tomatoes (two kinds), herbs (four), peppers, cucumbers, and squash.  The cilantro is going crazy and blooming dill-like leaves and flowers and a couple of peppers have already been destroyed by local varmints (bugs? squirrels?) but everything else is coming along well.  Hope for a harvest before we get the first frost…

There are those who will not think anything is amiss with a cupcake that arrives without a paper wrapper– even a little cake without the tell-tale ridges that come from being baked in one. All cupcakes are created equal to these folks. “It is a cupcake and I shall eat it,” mumble these brave faux-cupcake eaters, mouths full of muffin. Mr. Food is part of this crowd and so are co-workers N and A, I found during an informal poll recently.

I am not one of those people.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll still eat the cupcake; I’m not crazy and I’m not going to waste a decent piece of cake. But the absence of the wrapper signals to me that this unfortunate cakey round has been left on the fence between cupcakes and muffins. A muffcake, if you will. In my book, the two do not meet for lunch. Muffins are usually a bit sweet but should not be overly so. My favorite muffins are more of the banana or pumpkin varieties, not the chocolate chip or crazy-carrot-cake-”muffins”-masquerading-as-cupcakes-drowning-in-frosting sold here. Muffins have smooth sides and would look weird clothed in paper sheaths. Cupcakes, on the other hand are allowed to be smothered in any kind of frosting and colorful toppings that are available. For the record my preference here is for the good old yellow cake and chocolate frosting combo with any bright, little crunchy bits on top. A cupcake must be dressed in ridged paper pants. A’s husband, N, is so far my sole co-conspirator on this issue. (If there are more of you out there, speak up!)

This issue came to the forefront of my food thoughts recently after a trip to The Spotted Apron with N over lunch break. I ordered a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. It came with several spots on top. N wonders if they are in fact Necco wafers… I’m pretty sure they’re not, but they sure look like them. Anyway! I went to eat it and noticed its unclothed appearance. Shocking for a cupcake to be naked, I thought to myself. N was not concerned. She did not seem worried about eating hers later in the day. I ate it but it bothered me and it still does. And, to note, it was indicative of the overall quality of the “cupcake.” I won’t be doing that again.

A. It’s a muffin. End of story.

We hope she has struck out to realize her own happiness, or as was said in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, she’s just r-u-n-n-o-f-t. Sigh. We miss her already and hope to see her again. For now, we have fond memories and lots of pictures (see her, on the right in the header).  And yes, for once we feel good about never getting around to clipping her nails.  Best of luck to her and to any animal who crosses her– she’s a fiesty one.