EATING AT HOME

ANY DAY'S FORAGE FOR FOOD BRINGS US A BORAGE OF PECULIARITIES that require input from a professional... "someone from the grow zone" of the origination of a species of an edible food item.

I found so many increases to the old "horn of plenty"... the cornucopia that used to be reserved for Thanksgiving. That was the day set aside for being appreciative of whatever landed inside of it that could whet the hunger of a living soul. The problem is in that the contributary list of edibles available to us nowadays, the classification and actual name (in whatever origin) should also be shuttled over to us. We should assume they are all "edible" in some format... raw or cooked.

Ahhh, the splendor, right? Except that the stickly thing proffered is not among the recognizable spread worthy of a picnic table and the fine dining we have traditionally labeled "foodstuff." In all truths, it has become rather frightening. "Prickly pears and Pawpaws?" flanked by "Dragon Fruits... Stinky Fruit (Durian) and Jackfruit" are ominously dangerous foods with the potential to fight back if bitten. So, what are we to do since each of those come to town with no reputable prep chef signed on to assist us in the kitchen? GOOGLE IT!

DINAR CAN BE SERVED in spite of the casually tossed names offered in grocery store aisles or Food Network, and families can still be fulfilled as promised in the old days. We find some intricate "potential delights" stemming from foreign lands and if personalities, say for the likes of Mario Batali of EATALY and FOOD NETWORK... which all bring better than a fabulous introduction to the world's food options, we could all be left standing in wonderment of "What's for dinner?" The historic reputation of those dinar and pound sputterers have had all of this at their beckoning for ages. It is now available to the common man who, by common stance... must also fill his beak.

Now... what is it all? The mentioned vegetables and fruits are a part of the new list of imports from China, India, Indonesia, and African nations. We have Mexico and South America to thank for the "what to do" with a cactus... other than scream out for the harm it generates. There are Alaskan and far north American delicacies... the GEODUCK CLAM (gooey duck) and SEA CUCUMBERS... "an echinoderm" cucumbers from the sea! ...some give a definite HECK NO to that one.

Meanwhile, my dinner is getting set on the back burner. I'm standing in line... checking myself out, and wondering how to ring up the alien objects n my shopping cart. The store clerk that came to my assistance standing next to me asks what things are like the scallion, the cilantro, and or parsley but they can punch the code for prickly pear (cactus fruit) and for the chanterelle mushrooms. We are leaning toward the traditional flora fare because the visual presentation offered at the grocers still has a bit of work to do. We only recently digested the origin and actuality of a SWEET MEAT and BEEF TONGUE ... TRIPE and OXTAILS... let me remember the giant shrimp that two can dine on... the PRAWNS.

At any rate, I step thru the line at HARVEST MARKET where I found all of this but no MASA HARINA for the chicken tamales I started this morning at about 9 a.m. It took three of the larger grocery stores to pull up the one thing I came shopping for; that and some ANCHO PEPPERS. The anchos never showed up, but I did find the Harina packaged under a different name. I could ask again... "WHAT'S FOR DINARRRR!" but at the rate it's all going along we may be having pizza. I never remember the procedure shown to me by inlaws, I refer to my recipe source for recall on all ingredients. It's after 5 p.m. and the dish takes three hours to put together after the chicken is done, the corn husks are soaked to a pliable stage and the anchos are also pliable. Domino and Godfather will bring us a pizza within the next half hour... so

WHAT'S FOR DINAR?

...oh, no rush to dine on, but that fella on the cover? That's PRICKLY CHAYOTE SQUASH! Eat that and remember to go out and taste the world!

BONA PETIT!