A little bit of excitement occurred recently — I just had my first piece of fiction published in an anthology!

It’s a short story titled “Ganja Ghosts” — about, well, smoking the you know what in Singapore. And it’s appeared in a lovely book called “The Marijuana Chronicles,” edited by the brilliant artist and bestselling mystery writer Jonathan Santlofer.

In addition to Jonathan, there are stories in there by Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Child and more. To say I’ve been thrilled would barely even begin to describe it. And yes, all of you should absolutely run right out now and buy a copy!

So, it seemed like a celebration was in order — and thankfully, my Let’s Lunch mates were on board. For this month’s lunch date, we decided to share our ideas for perfect “munchies” …

Now, I should note that I’m a big nerd when it comes to naughty substances. But I do understand the food cravings that can hit — something salty for the mouth perhaps, all the better if it’s crunchy and fried. All of this made me think of these out-of-this-world Spam fries I first tried in Singapore a few years ago.

Those fries at Wild Oats — a low-key bar with delicious finger food by fusion chef Willin Low — were perfectly done. Crispy and salty and especially tasty with generous swipes of the kaffir lime dip that Willin offered on the side.

I’ve thought of those fries often — usually when I’m feeling snacky. So when I was thinking up the perfect munchie, Spam fries it was.

This dish is insanely easy to make — just cut up Spam in the shape of fries, deep fry them and serve with home-made lime mayo. I didn’t have kaffir leaves on hand so I made my lime mayo with key lime juice instead. (Anything that reminds me of Key West makes any dish all the better, after all.)

How were they? Let’s just say the fries disappeared in about the time it might take you to feel like firing up something new. And the next time I get snacky again, I’ll have this recipe below.

Enjoy!

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Don’t forget to check out other Let’s Lunchers’ “Munchies” below! And if you’d like to join Let’s Lunch, go to Twitter and post a message with the hashtag #Letslunch — or, post a comment below.

Annabelle‘s Scallion Pancakes at Glass of Fancy

Anne Marie‘s Pepper-Stuffed Tater Tot, Fried Pickle, Cheese Whiz and Garlic Bread Burger at Sandwich Surprise

Emma‘s Homemade Pizza Rolls at Dreaming of Pots and Pans

Grace‘s Fry Sauce, with an Asian Twist at HapaMama

Jill‘s Stone Fruit Salad at Eating My Words

Jonathan‘s Chocolate Chewy Squares at Jonathan Santlofer

Linda‘s Heavenly Hash Popcorn at Free Range Cookies

Linda‘s Sam Sifton’s Trinidadian Chinese Five Spice Chicken at Spice Box Travels

Lisa‘s No-Time-To-Wait Nachos at Monday Morning Cooking Club

Pat‘s Sausage Rolls at The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook

Rashda‘s Farm-Fresh Corn Fritters at Hot Curries & Cold Beer

Vivian‘s Spam Bacon & Kim Chi Sandwich at Vivian Pei

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Spam Fries with Key Lime Mayo

Directions:

Mix egg, key lime juice, salt and pepper well in a food processor. While it’s running, very slowly add in olive oil. Keep mixing until the consistency is as you’d like it. (Recipe adapted from Chubby Hubby.)

Cut spam up into thick fries. Heat up enough oil in a heavy pan for deep-frying until it’s hot but not quite smoking. Drop “fries” in and cook until they’re just starting to turn brown. Note: This happens fairly quickly if your oil is hot so watch your fries very carefully so they don’t burn.

Serve immediately with key lime mayo on the side.