Urban Adventure

Today represents a "first". My hub, C, went with me to check out a new lys! He actually agreed to do this willingly!!! Like all man-Martians, he HATES shopping in any form, so I was quite surprised. Maybe he thought that if he went along, he could keep my yarn-buying from entering the danger zone - hah! - as if that would stop me. Of course, he may have been using the promise of new yarn as foreplay...and it's working ; )


So, we climbed into the SUV and took the long journey from prairie to urban core. Our first stop (of course) was the lys. Quelle disappointment! I will not name this poor excuse for a yarn store, but let me say that any shop that has less than 1/3 of its square footage dedicated to yarn is NOT a yarn store, even though they represent themselves as such on their website. And when at least 1/2 of the yarn is synthetic, well, call me a snob, but they are no better than the giant chain craft stores, although mucho pricier. What a HUGE letdown, since I was hoping to find some beautiful merino for my SIL's Christmas gift and some really fun handspun for the Funky Scarf swap I have joined. Needless to say, I bought nothing. C was sympathetic,. bless him.


We strolled over to the River Market, where we had a lovely Thai salad and satay. I bought some fresh, tender, baby okra pods, red bell peppers and sweet onions. Time to make some Creole Smothered Okra - to die for! Even if you think you don't like okra, this is one to try. I will post the recipe in the next few days. (Just like Pavlov's dogs, I am drooling already).


Then we visited the delightful (and thankfully air-conditioned) Steamboat Arabia Museum. This is a celebration of treasures that were found buried in a Kansas wheat field and an enjoyable way to spend 2 hours on a hot, muggy Saturday.


Finally, we stopped in at Pryde's in Westport, a mecca for cooks and gardeners. This was C's idea, bless him again. See, several years ago I splurged on a Berndes frying pan - non-stick, deep, covered - perfect for sauteeing, braising, steaming, wokking, pan-frying, etc. - in other words, the most versatile piece of cookery I owned. I loved this pan, wanted to marry it. And C (aka "Mr. Why Read Instructions, It's Just A Frying Pan") - well, let's just say my beautiful pan needed to be replaced. So we got a replacement today - the LAST one of its kind, they don't make this particular model anymore. So, my relationship with the pan-of-all-pans continues anew....and C has already read the instructions carefully. So, I shall be christening the pan with some luscious smothered okra tomorrow....mmmmmmm! And, you don't need to follow a recipe for this dish - my kind of cooking.


If you've noticed, none of my pictures have been publishing the past week or so, even from previous posts that did show them before. I don't know what's going on, but have contacted the Blogger geeks for help and hopefully they'll figure out what's going on.