food

So, like anything, when you try to do too much of one thing, your body and your brain retaliate. The point being, by Thanksgiving I basically gave "low-carb" the finger and started to consume every ounce of bread, pasta, and potato I could get my hands on. This is where" pizza with crust" became my friend again. So from venting about carb neglect comes this realization full circle; MY fascination with pizza!! AND so after two paragraphs of rambling about my carb intake, time to cut to the chase on my top picks for pizza at four fabulous locations in the suburb of Anaconda, Montana.

Join the fun for a great cause with Fred Moodry Intermediate School's Night Out! Again, the event happens Friday, January 20th! It's four hours of excitement (5 pm to 9 pm) with a silent auction, cornhole tournament, bingo, food, and prizes! How's that for a level of appeal!? Admission is free, with all events occurring at Fred Moodry Intermediate School (219 E 3rd in Anaconda). To register for the cornhole tournament, email asaltenberger@anacondaschools.org. Slots are filling up fast! For those interested in a little bingo action, cards range from $1 to $5. Plus, a true staple of school functions will be the option to purchase the World's Finest Chocolate bars. Mmmm...I can taste that divine candy right about now. The Anaconda Community Foundation and other area businesses have made it possible for the Fred Moodry Intermediate School to shine this Friday. So, don't miss Fred Moodry's Night Out! More information is available by calling (406) 563-5269 (prompt #3) All schools in the district are invited to attend.

All families have different entrees that garnish their tables during the holiday season. What might be traditional to one family may not be to another. Dinner entrees and dishes such as turkey, prime rib, ham, pasta, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, and sweet potatoes were standard choices for our family growing up. However, if it were up to my adult children, they would list SWEET POTATOES as their number one pick OVER any meat entree or green vegetable. Technically, my girls have been heck-bent on "sweet potatoes this and sweet potatoes that" since they were five years old, every holiday, and basically any time of the year. My son, however, the oldest of the bunch, definitely leans more towards the carnivore and greens aspect of grazing during the holiday and probably wouldn't even notice if sweet potatoes were on the table.

Today's Townsquare Media, Harrington Pepsi, Ace Hardware, and Butte Cares Clothing Drive at the MAC was a great experience for everyone involved. Volunteers, sponsors, and participants came together for a great cause; along the way, many met and connected with new faces. For numerous years, the Clothing Drive in Butte has helped provide gently worn clothes, hats, gloves, blankets, shoes, and more to those in need within the community. It has also offered a sense of worth and accomplishment to the many volunteers who donate their time to the Clothing Drive each year.

The Thompson Family City Wide Food Drive is when you leave non-perishable food items near your mailbox for volunteers to pick up between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is preferred that items be set in a grocery bag and made available by 10 a.m. this Saturday. Other items in need include paper towels, toilet paper, deodorant and shampoo. If you would rather bring your items to a drop off location, you may do so at the Butte Emergency Food Bank (1019 East Second), and select spots at Safeway on Front Street, Three Bears Alaska, and the Racetrack Fire Hall off of Farragut. Cash donations are also very much appreciated and can be made by visiting HERE. The food drive this Saturday is in memory of Jim and Margie Thompson, who operated Thompson Distributing in Butte with their family and staff for years, and where the Drive was first established. Here's to all of us "meaning it" by coming together to do our part!

We're not even two days past Halloween, and wouldn't you know it; it's time to move on to another excellent event underway, but this time for the holiday season. The calendar doesn't lie as Thanksgiving will be here before you know it, which means another wonderful rendition of the "Butte"iful Christmas Craft Show is coming! This spectacular, feel-good craft show for the whole family will take place at the Front Street Station in Butte on Saturday, November 26th, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, November 27th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

What was supposed to be a casual, quick outing for breakfast at the Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda recently turned into a breathtaking mini tour of their newly remodeled patio, bar, lounge, and Trackman indoor simulators! From talking to Karen Wooldridge Heim of the Old Works gorgeous pro shop over the summer, I knew that plans to remodel portions of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course were in the mix. In fact, this past weekend, they officially opened their doors for breakfast in their refurbished lounge. Pancakes, breakfast burritos, eggs, bacon, sausage, and more are now available on the menu every Saturday and Sunday year-round from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Also, appetizers and drinks are prepared and served by a super staff and will be available throughout the year during "simulator" hours, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekly.

"stranger things" referenced here is the out-of-the- ordinary food concoctions we allow to enter our digestive systems. We all have interesting food cravings that others simply don't understand. Some people keep their cards close and don't want others to know about their quirky, not-so-common meal choices. Others have no problem putting their habits and unusual food creations out in public. I lean more towards being "shy" about sharing my crazy food combinations, but luckily, (depending on how you look at it) I'm ready to spill my guts on a few of my edible idiosyncrasies.

However, what about the top 5 foods on school lunch menus from yesteryear that should have never seen the light of day? Here's what I recall from the school lunch menu that wasn't so cool. What do you think?

Come on; mayonnaise is a stigma! You're either ostracized for liking it or worshiped for making the most fantastic salad and other recipes with it. For over two decades, up until about 2019, I boycotted mayonnaise like the plague. Initially, it stemmed from food poisoning "I think" I got from a macaroni salad left out too long at a birthday party (the perishable egg theory is accurate). From then on, it was me against mayonnaise! Unless it was used in a particular baked goodie, I happened to master in the mid-90s that family and friends raved about over the years. (I'll say it made the dessert in question very moist...no secrets revealed...yet).