I found out about a website for putting travelers together with people who have a room (a couch) to share for a night or two. Low cost travel housing plus you get to meet people from all over (it's an international site). Just out of curiosity, I posted for a couch in Nebraska. Met the nicest family! Turns out they moved to Nebraska about 8 years ago, and from just up the road from my home in Long Beach, Mississippi! What a small world! I stayed with them for two nights.
The first night, I was treated to fried okra and catfish! The next night, they let me cook for them - a vegetarian burrito type meal:
They cook exclusively with old fashioned cast iron - which is what I use back home. All the veggies came from their garden (tomatoes, onions, garlic, every kind of pepper you can imagine, even the sunflower seeds), and I picked up some baby portobellos to add in. I sauteed it all in a bit of olive oil. Red beans and brown rice in a soft tortilla shell, topped with the veggies and rolled into a monster burrito made for a fun meal. We topped it with some of their home canned salsa and enjoyed a Nebraska fiesta.
This couch surfing may be a really fabulous way to meet new people everywhere!
