charcoal, not propane.

in texas, bbq means bbq. there is a particular smokey flavor and sauce on the meat, which is beef. in other parts of the country, bbq can simply mean the "outdoor event with a grill." i have never truly barbequed anything. i do not have a propane grill; i don't really know how to make the charcoal one operate (but have friends that do); i am a vegetarian.

luckily, when i sent out an email last week to suggest a memorial day bbq, everyone knew what i meant. this is not texas.

kim's birthday was the week before, and she, too, had an outdoor event, with a grill. and we had lots of leftover buns, chips, and vegetarian meat products. i decided that i would have a bbq and we would use up the food in the fridge. of course, i was going to make more food to make that happen. but, oh, i was wrong. even though there were more people than i thought there would be, i have a ton of picnic food in the fridge. i am living on potato salad.
so, potato salad a la tina. (i know it's not photogenic, that potato salad.)
this makes quite a bit. i am unsure on servings.
1. boil cut potatoes (4-5 pounds) until they are cooked but not mushy. strain the water from them and let them cool.
2. in a large bowl, mix potatoes with cut celery (3 stalks, maybe), 3 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 1 tablespoon each of sugar, oil, and vinegar. also: celery seed. maybe 1.5 tablespoons. i did not measure. this is a family recipe, damn it.
3. add a little salt. (my family is not so into salt. so it's up to you.)
4. add mayonnaise and mix. (we really like mayonnaise. so, probably about 1/3 cup. maybe more.)

and, pasta salad a la tina.
this recipe makes an enormous amount.
1. cook one bag of pasta. (i used a corn-based pasta this time, gluten-free. and it was still good.)
2. chop 4 peeled kirby cucumbers and 2 big tomatoes. (i used beefsteak. i also added a little bit of chopped onion and green bell pepper, but they are just extra.)
3. italian dressing. tina and i like to make the italian good seasons packet that you put in the cruet. i used 3/4 of it. shake over the veggies and pasta.
4. mix in celery seed. 2-3 tablespoons.

i realize that these recipes are inaccurate but mostly, i went by taste. this is the taste of my childhood, damn it. there is no precision.

so, we still have a ton of stuff left. i have had potato salad with my breakfast for 2 days in a row. what?!? it's just like home fries; no thinks that is weird.