Pittsfield, Vermont, population 427, reacted in its own special way to severe flooding from Hurricane Irene that has turned their community into an island.

They had a town barbecue.

"No one in this town was expecting the flooding to be what it was, and we've all gotta eat," said Jason Evans, the owner of the skiing enclave's popular Clear River Tavern.

"My house is high and dry, but there was water all around my restaurant," he said. "We just had everybody come to the park and we cooked up hamburgers and hotdogs.

"I would have lost everything anyway, so why not feed some folks?"

Read Flooded Vermont town epitome of patience

Previously - Rescues, places of refuge mark aftermath of Irene in New York town and Amid devastating New York flooding, a stream of information

There's one fruit that everyone associates with New Zealand, and that's the kiwifruit - that green-meated, furry-skinned fruit that makes up half of the strawberry-kiwi dynamic duo.

Also known as the Chinese Gooseberry, they originally were grown in China but are now possibly New Zealand's best-known export, other than, say, Crowded House and Flight of the Conchords. It's named after the kiwi, the country's symbolic flightless bird.

iReporter Tab Hauser of Flower Hill, New York, was delighted that upon arriving in New Zealand in July 2010 for a visit with his family, he could find not only the standard green variety that we get in grocery stores, but also a golden yellow kiwifruit that was "a little juicier," as he described it.
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More from KRDO

Previously - I scream, you scream, we all scream when there are cicadas in the ice cream and Health department bugs out over grasshopper tacos

Emily Smith is a researcher at CNN. She grew up in Cape Town before moving to the United States and recently wrote a South Africa travel guide for CNN Travel.

I remember my first encounter with American food. It was Disney World, Florida, during the June and July school holiday of 1996. My younger sister Helen and I had been begging my dad to take us for years; he’d wanted to wait until we would remember the experience. Aside from the rides and the characters and the heat, the memory of the food we ate will always stick with me.

My dad comes from a conservative Afrikaans background, it’s similar to Dutch. We had red meat, a starch and a vegetable almost every night for dinner growing up. The only time we ate pasta was when he was out of town on business, and heaven forbid there was fish on the menu until a few years ago.
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• A "Maggot Melt" apparently tastes "kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich, just a little crunchier." - KRDO

• The connection between American government and grub. - TIME

• Pucker up for the calamansi lemon. - The Kitchn

• Rafael Nadal sizzles on court and off. Why yes, chef! - New York Times

• How restaurants can give good Facebook. - Mashable

Watching Minnesota Vikings starting safety Husain Abdullah on the sun-drenched field during practice on a recent afternoon, you’d never guess he hasn’t had any food or drink since sunrise.

Abdullah is an observant Muslim, which during Ramadan – the Islamic holy month that ends Monday night – means no eating or drinking from sunup to sundown, not even water.

“My religion is very important to me," Abdullah said after practice. "I mean, it’s the basis of my life.”

Read Despite daily Ramadan fast, Muslim NFLer trains for the season

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Pyros rejoice - August 30 is National Toasted Marshmallow Day!

Build a good old-fashioned campfire in the backyard or gather around an open flame with some skewers and a bag of 'mallows!
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Consider the daily Coffee Klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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