A shocking absence of big hair

Hubby and I headed south in December. Someone asked where in Texas we were moving and when I replied, "unfortunately it's 'ugly Texas'", her response was "Oh, you're moving to Midland!", and indeed we are.

Or actually Odessa, the twin city next door to Midland. Not for a long time, but hopefully a good time. I paid the import duty for myself at the border: $6 US to bring one of me in. (processing fee for my companion visa)

In preparation for leaving our condo to our friends T&K, who would happily be able to housesit for us, I made a list of possibly mysterious homemade items in the fridge: sundried tomato tapenade, pickled red onions, preserved lemons, 3 kinds of herb butters, wine vinegar in the making, plus glace fruit from Paris...what a food geek. Thankfully, T is a foodie like me and will likely actually use these things.

The morning we drove out was full of hoar frost through southern Alberta. I had calculated that since Manuel Latruwe bakery opened at 7:30am, we would be able to stop by for some pain au chocolate and a baguette - a real, delicious, crisp crust baguette to eat with cheese and smoked buffalo for lunch. It's a Janice Beaton bag full of cheese in the photo of the back of the SUV; I doubt there will be Beaufort in Odessa. And unfortunately, I'm very sure there will not be good baguette - or possibly ANY baguette in West Texas.

Hubby started drawling before we even hit the lone star state, and at the same stop in New Mexico I was ma'amed for the first time. We were definitely not in our Kansas, anymore.

The drive - besides being LONG - was uneventful for us, although we passed half a dozen semi's on their sides in the ditch, blown over from ferocious wind in the pass above Pueblo, Colorado.

The best meal of the trip was in Hereford, Texas - yes, many businesses were named 'Whiteface', and Hubby's cattle side enjoyed this immensely - where we ate at K-Bob's, having the steak, of course. I ordered green beans on the side, craving something vegetal: they came southernized, I think. I'm still learning about this but they were what I would normally say were overdone, except that they also were in a smoky kind of sauce, so I think it was planned. Unless they burned them to the bottom of the pan. I'll continue to research this and let you know.

It was a relief to have used the last gas station bathroom. The sunset was spectacular but we really just wanted to get out of the truck and start making home out of our rented condo. The simple pasta I made that night wasn't fabulous, but it was real food and it tasted good. Plus, it had collard greens in it - collard greens! There they were, just sitting on the shelf in the produce section, along with mustard and turnip greens. I had to try them. The flavour is slightly bitter and although the leaf doesn't look or feel that dense, they take longer than expected to wilt in the pan. I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of the local grocery stores.