Zote! They have a white one that's got an amazing citronella scent and the pink one doubles as catfish bait while camping! I love that stuff! You can pick it up at the little mercados near me for about $1 a bar. It was my go-to before I discovered dissolvable detergent sheets.

THE BUS ROUT WILL BE TELEVISED!

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The bay leaf is a faith based herb.

I think I had equal parts chicken and pickles on that sandwich. It. Was. Glorious. I was a happy preggo for the rest of the day.

I told her to grab the biggest handful of pickles she could, slap them all on the sandwich, and whatever stuck stayed. And, God bless the woman, after a pointed look at my exceptionally prominent belly, did exactly that.

During a particularly hectic day at work, I ran across the parking lot to the one fast food restaurant that didn't cause my gag reflex to react at that point, Chick-fil-A. I asked the kind young woman behind the counter for extra pickles, and she asked how many.

While pregnant with my middle, I craved pickles. Anything pickled. Pickled okra, pickled onions, pickled carrots. If it was a veggie soaked in vinegar and seasonings, I wanted it.

I mean, we could always do an experiment and see, but I lost my Granny's recipe for a while and tried a ton of different ones trying to recreate it. The ones with butter always came out soft and puffy instead of thin and chewy. It's not that they aren't good like that, but they weren't Granny's.

Oh! Useless culinary knowledge here! The shortening/lard is to achieve that thin and chewy spread that the best (in my opinion) snickerdoodles. That and the tang from a cream of tartar is the addicting part of these delicious devils. For best flavor, I suggest butter flavored Crisco.

To each their own. Lol. I have pecan trees, so I always make a pecan crumble topping for my sweet potato casserole instead of mini marshmallows.

Boil the mashed, but season the water/broth and use for the gravy.

Bake the sweet potatoes so you can extract some of that natural sugar before you turn it into casserole. Also, toast the pecans.

Pecan pie can be teeth-rotteningly sweet (in the best way) so you want to try to sneak some sugar in anywhere you can.

2) Throw a handful of dried lavender buds in your soak to give an American twist but preserve the light floral flavor
3) Candy your pecans before chopping them for the filling. Honey/Maple Bourbon with vanilla bean paste makes a nice flavor.
4) Layer your phyllo with honey butter.

Ok, not that you asked and please feel free to ignore, but here's a couple suggestions for next time that might help.

1) Cut the honey in your soak in half and replace it with either maple or dark corn syrup.

As a Texan who has been using pecans instead of walnuts in her baklava for years (not spending $12 on a bag of nuts when I can go pick them up outside) trust me when I say it will be DELICIOUS!