Early tomorrow, I’ll be flying to the Cooking Light Reader Recipe Contest in Birmingham, Alabama.
Whenever I go on a trip, my mom will casually ask me, a week before the trip, if I’m done packing. She does this because she is the kind of person that actually packs for a trip a week in advance. She also sets the table days before a gathering at her house. She has already asked me where I’ll be staying when we travel to the Chicago area at Thanksgiving time.
That gene missed me. I pack up until the last second, and most of our vacations begin by Tom turning around the car to retrieve an item I’ve forgotten. The firsts guests to arrive for a party at my house get corralled into setting the table and lighting candles. And I’ll begin thinking about our Thanksgiving plans sometime in early November (sheesh, at least I’ve decided where I’ll be for Thanksgiving).
So I have started packing for Birmingham... but I haven’t finished.
I have packed the items most critical to the enjoyment of airplane travel -- reading material for the plane and snacks.
My reading material:
- Gourmet Magazine
- The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman
- Fat Girl by Judith Moore
My snacks:
Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bars, Roasted Mixed Nut flavor
Super Ropes (long red licorice ropes)
Dove Chocolate bars (milk chocolate and dark chocolate)
Chewing gum
I can’t help but compare my snacks to those Amanda Hesser described in her Cooking for Mr. Latte. I’ve since returned the book to the library, but my memory is that she packed herself a gourmet spread. When the flight attendant noticed her feast, he snuck her a bottle of premium wine from the first class cabin. On our last trip, the flight attendant spotted me pouring myself a couple of Dots candies from the box. He held out his hand for a contribution.
Anyway, this will be my last blog entry until later this week.
