I ate my first kouign amann from the palm of my hand at a farmers market in Oakland almost two years ago, and I will never in all my life forget the taste of those first buttery, caramelized, incredibly flakey morsels. I dream of traveling to Brittany to try a kouign amann straight from the source. Then again, now that I know that making them at home is not only doable, but just as buttery and flakey as anything coming from a bakery, I may not need to. Kouign amann? At home? I'm not kidding. Here's how you, too, can have a fresh batch of kouign amann cooling on your counter right now.

The moment I stepped into the little neighborhood bakery near the coast of Lebanon, I knew I was someplace special. Furn Al Sabaya ("Bakery of the Ladies") is run by three sisters, Martha, Lorenza and Lucie, who work together behind the counter to sweetly and almost magically churn out an array of unusual breakfast pastries from their fiery oven. The one that captured my heart was a thin egg tart flavored with butter and mint, sort of a cross between a quiche and a pizza. This recipe keeps the buttery goodness of the original, but bakes the egg filling into a flaky, free-form crostata that would make a uniquely tempting addition to a weekend brunch or a special lunch alongside a crunchy green salad.

If you're like me, when you travel there's usually a food destination or two on the list of things to see and do along your journey. But between those mega-meals I'm always looking for things to keep my tummy and incessant need-to-snack in check. My go-to snack for these moments is comprised of three parts, and it goes with me on every single road trip I take! 

For better or worse, rice cakes have become one of my gluten-free travel staples. They're easy to find, are surprisingly sturdy, and make a decent alternative to sandwich bread when staying with non-GF friends and family. Yet rice cakes are boring and not especially nutritious (possibly even bad for you). I plan to replace them with this Super Power Chia Bread from Oh She Glows. 

There are few worse feelings when traveling than the sucker punch of a delayed flight — or even worse a straight up cancelled trip — especially when there’s a connection on the other side. The upside here: a chance to check out the airport bars, and if you’re lucky, maybe even a chance to drink in some local flavor.

Q: I have a fabulous go-to butternut squash soup recipe that is really simple: onions, spices, stock, and squash softened in a deep pot and pureed with a hand blender. However, as summertime looms, it's tough to find good squash at the grocery store. What spring/summer vegetables would you suggest using in this type of simple soup?

All this week we've been talking about travel snacks here on The Kitchn. An ideal travel snack is portable, versatile, configurable, and heat-resistant. (Unfortunately that last factor rules out chocolate as a viable option.) You know what meets all those criteria in spades, though? The chickpea! Roast 'em, dry 'em, shake 'em all up. You've just found your new travel buddy.

Q: I've been trying to figure out how to recreate gyro meat at home. Most recipes seem to bake it like a meatloaf, but it doesn't have the right texture. So my question is: How can you make gyro meat at home?

Sent by Veronica

This week, a continued conversation about the best kind of cracker for cheese. Since I prefer serving cheese with bread, a cracker's got to carry a certain kind of special quality if I'm going that route. And these most certainly do. Surprisingly, though, I passed them by for years, not knowing exactly what they were all about.

I long to be one of those people who packs a healthy, well-balanced meal when they travel. I have friends who pack lunches for their plane journeys — thinking out which foods will complement others and how it will affect the way they feel mid-flight. I don't do this. Usually I can barely manage to eat a decent breakfast before I get out the door. But what I can do is throw together a trail mix for those flights — one that's been put to the test during quick camping trips, day hikes or longer car rides. And I'm always thankful that I took the few minutes to do so.