Gracie and Me: Covid-19 #74

     If only "Smell-i-Vision existed, I'd be more of a glutton for punishment than I am now. For the previous 73-blogs, I've chronicled our diet successes and failures. I've written about the tasteless, chalky 'Fuelings' that actually work. I've shared story after story about what I crave and can't have. So why in the world would I binge watch The Cooking Channel (TCC) this past July fourth weekend. I told you... I'M A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT.

The Cooking Channel

     We got hooked on TCC's "Carnival Eats" series. It was 30-minutes after 30-minutes after 30-minutes of episodes not only showing the best looking Junk Food I've ever seen, but also sharing the recipes for these sodium, sugar laced cardio time bombs.

Noah Cappe/Carnival Eats

    The shows host is Noah Cappe, pronounced CAP, like the hat. He's quirky and funny and makes the show(s) fun to watch. We watched him criss cross the country highlighting carnival food from Maine to SoCal. I couldn't take it anymore. So, I started taking pictures when he began covering Southern Treats.

Carnival Eats

     This first sandwich is a Crawfish Cake Poboy with Cheese Sauce. Other fun food included: Deep Fried Brownie & Peanut Butter on a Stick, Hand Pulled Spicy Taffy, A 24-inch Philly Cheesesteak and even a Fried Dill Pickle Stuffed with a Foot Long Hot Dog.

Carnival Eats

     And just when I'd think, "Okay they're going to commercial... I'll get a break from this gastro torture... NOOOOO." That's when the TCC shows commercials for the fantastic foods banned from my plate and palate like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Mac n' Cheese/Add A-1

     I'm somewhat of a Kraft Mac n' Cheese expert. Here are some tidbits that I've learned over the years: #1) If you don't have milk, just add extra butter. #2) Substitute canned PET/CARNATION milk for regular milk & still a ton of butter. Soooo creamy. #3) Add a 'splash' of A-1 on top. It's like a rock concert in your mouth!
     The self inflicted torture didn't stop once we changed the channel. The next morning we were at Walmart to buy a fan. So how we ended up checking out the frozen foods section is a mystery, but we did and look what they have.

Boudin Balls/Walmart, Aisle 2

     Zapps Crawfish Boudin Balls and White Castle Burgers. I came within seconds of opening that freezer door and tossing both those tasty treats in our cart, but believe it or not I rushed to pay for our new, 16" oscillating, pedestal fan as quickly as I could.

White Castle Sliders/Walmart, Aisle 2

     Diet Update: After all that, we made a big Charcuterie board and had late lunches off that both Saturday and Sunday.
     Gracie Update: She's scared of turtles.

     Word of the Day (courtesy: Sarah Fagin Cutrona:) GARDYLOO: A cry formerly used in Scotland to warn pedestrians when slops were about to be thrown from an upstairs window.

Bill Robertson (7/6/20,) Try Worcestershire if you don't have any A-1.