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Greek Fries
Enhance a humble bag of frozen fries ....or make your own with Yukon Gold.
Turns fries into an important side dish, showered with Mediterranean flavors.

Ing Lge bag frozen fries, or fry up 6 medium Yukon gold 2 tbl olive oil 1 tbl Homemade Greek Seasoning ½ tsp k/salt ¼ cup small feta crumbles 2 tbl ea finely chopped curly parsley, red onion 4 lemon wedges; tzatziki, lemon dill sauce (your fave), or aioli, for dipping

Steps Evenly space oven racks to ensure even cooking. Add fries to bowl; toss w/ olive oil, Greek seasoning, k/salt. Spread fries in straight lines on 2 parchmented sheetpans, spacing out as far as possible. Bake 425 deg 20 min. Take them out and carefully flip each fry. Return to oven (reversing pans on racks). Bake crisp, golden 8-10 min, watching carefully; time depends on fry thickness and oven. (If fries seem soft, bake a few more min.) Taste and add pinches salt if needed.

Garnish: Transfer fries to platter; top with feta cheese crumbles, fine-chp parsley, red onion. Serve with lemon wedges and tzatziki or lemon dill sauce.

Notes makes a goodly amount of fries, but much less than a Greek restaurant portion. The largest quantity that fit on two baking sheets is 2 lb; decrease if desired (adjust seasonings).

Homemade Greek Seasoning
Made with simple pantry staples and perfect for sprinkling on fish, chicken, and veggies. Stir 3 tbl oregano 2 tbl ea basil, onion and gar/pwders 1 tbl ea dill, black pepper ½ tbl salt. Store air tight in pantry jar up to a year. Use 2 tbl per pound of chicken or vegetables.

I found my Jingle Bell Jack book this morning! Right where I thought it would be. I have two copies, so I’ll bring the other copy when I see my sisters in October. I’ll set it aside now in the beach bin that we always take.

Incidentally, after spending hours and hours of research on new beach locations east of where we usually go, it was decided that maybe we should stick to the same place where we’ve gone before, near Ft. Walton Beach, on Okaloosa Island. The prices are much more reasonable than further east. Maybe we can take a day trip towards Pensacola or Orange Beach just to get a feel for things.

We decided to each have our own units instead of sharing. It gives everyone a place to go back to if things get unpleasant on day 3 or later. Hubby and I have always shared a unit with older sister and her hubby. Younger sister has wisely had her own unit with her hubby each time.

My older sister is undiagnosed bipolar, and she has frequent migraines. It’s not fun to be around her when she isn’t feeling well. Sometimes, it’s her own making, and sometimes it isn’t. Either way, I don’t like being grunted at when I’m being courteous. Hopefully, this trip will be fun, and if there are any differences, we can each have our own space to retreat to. I know she doesn’t wish it to be this way, but she’s unpredictable and not always under control.

My one difficulty will be that we will have to leave our one cat behind for so long. We discussed it at length whether it would be less stressful for him to be here by himself, and have the pet sitter come once or twice a day. He doesn’t ever come out to see her in all the years she looked after the cats. Last summer, he lost his brother to cancer. They weren’t litter mates, but had been together since they were a week or so old. For 14 years. We all grieved for a few months after brother’s passing. It was unexpected. Very aggressive cancer.

Anyway, we decided that two days in a car crate each way, plus a hotel stay 2 nights, plus a week in an unfamiliar place where we wouldn’t be around for several hours each day would probably be more even more stressful than being in his own home by himself. I hate that I couldn’t figure out a way to make it work. We could board him, but that would also be stressful, plus he’s gotten sick whenever we’ve done that in the past. Soon he’ll be 15. He’s holding his own, and I hope he stays with us a while longer.