Speaking of watermelon...what? We weren't speaking of watermelon? Well, we are now. Did you know that in the South, watermelon and fried chicken constitute an entire meal. Maybe a side item like baked beans, green beans, or corn bread could be added, but that's entirely optional. I was thinking about this as my children ate only watermelon for dinner the other night. Then I started thinking about food storage, and how there's not really any good way to store watermelon. I did at one time put watermelon in a dehydrator just for curiousity's sake, since it's watermelon and I wanted to see how much would be left after dehydration. It actually made some pretty fabulous fruit leather. So you could do it that way, or just save seeds. But what if you're Southern and disaster strikes? I think you would probably agree that there are a few items that are essential to southern food storage. Grits, for example. I don't think people from other regions really need a 50-gallon drum of grits. Or red Koolaid. Which is the perfect accent to a meal of watermelon and chicken. The red #40 highlights of the drink perfectly compliment the nutty notes of the crispy skin on the chicken. It's really a culinary delight, nay, a culinary circus, for the palette. Oh sorry, I think I disembarked from my train of thought there for a minute.

In other news, the hamster (lowercase, actual hamster) is still MIA. I prefer to think that he's moved on to bigger and better things. Or joined a band of muppets on their way to NYC to break into the big time. I'd like to think he's figured out how to open his little plastic ball to stop at truck stops along the way for a bite to eat. Then he pops back in during the night, maybe putting tiny flares along side to warn others. Those are the things I'd like to think, because the alternative is kind of sad.
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