Gator Bowl Read Online Free PDF Page A

you busy.”
    â€œThat’s for sure. I thought it would be quiet out here, but there’s never a dull moment.” Uncle Saul shook his head, his black and gray curls moving with the gesture. “I should go alone. Alabaster won’t run from me. You two start cooking, and see if you can come up with an idea for Zoe’s food truck.”
    Uncle Saul put a pair of knee-high mud boots on his thin legs and left the cabin.
    â€œOkay!” After I put Crème Brûlée on the floor, I ran my hands through my naturally curly hair, which was quickly turning into a black frizz ball. “That was crazy.”
    â€œI didn’t know if I should root for the alligator or the chickens.”
    I laughed at that, and pulled my unruly hair back from my face. “Uncle Saul said his kitchen is stocked. I guess I’ll cook some dinner. Want to help?”
    â€œI think my talents would be put to better use working on the motorhome,” he said. “I like to eat, but I’m not much of a cook.”
    I couldn’t argue with an offer of free labor to get my food truck running. If Ollie was willing to do that, I was willing to cook him a great dinner. “Thanks for helping out. I knew I was right about you being a good person.”
    He scowled and turned away. “Better be careful who you say that to, young’un. You might get burned.”
    I watched him storm out of the cabin—engine parts in hand. I stroked Crème Brûlée. “You have to be careful what you say all the time. You never know how someone is going to take it.”
    Putting all the drama from my mind, I looked through Uncle Saul’s kitchen to see what supplies he’d bought. It seemed like he’d put in enough food to feed the whole town. I didn’t think he, Ollie, and I could eat that much in a week. Not that I minded. My little kitchen in the apartment back home only held so much. All the cabinets here were filled with food and there was a big freezer in back, too. There was so much that I didn’t know where to start.
    That was, until I saw dozens tiny, fresh-caught catfish that had been conveniently cleaned and cut for me. My heart also did a quick little dance when I saw the unshucked ears of corn on the other table. I’d just read a recipe for catfish grilled in fresh cornhusks. I’d been itching to try it.
    I shucked twelve ears of corn and put the corn to the side, then soaked the cornhusks in cold water. While I waited for them to soften up, I mixed up some cornbread batter and divided it. Half would be used to coat the fish, and the other half to make spicy cornbread.
    â€œYou think that’s too much corn?” I asked Crème Brûlée. He was on the floor watching me cook.
    He stuck up his nose—what little he had of one—and curled up in a corner on a throw rug to sleep.
    â€œI’ll take that as a no.” I smiled and went back to work, slicing up the fish fillets and dropping them into some hot oil after coating them with the cornbread mixture.
    When the cornhusks were ready, I put a fried fish in each one and tied it shut. I fired up Uncle Saul’s grill, then went back inside to make the cornbread.
    I decided to roast the corn on the cob with the fish, and added some locally made barbecue sauce to each ear. The cornbread was done by then, and I cut a mixture of yellow squash, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes. I sprinkled that with some fresh basil, and got it ready for the grill, too, by wrapping it in some aluminum foil.
    There was already a delicious-looking banana pudding in the fridge that I knew we’d eat for dessert. Uncle Saul had put in plenty of beer and sweet tea, so we were covered for drinks.
    I pulled up a chair near the old grill and sat down while my food cooked. Uncle Saul had been collecting cookbooks all his life. I’d brought a few outside with me to read as I searched for my perfect signature food. It wasn’t long