Oysters and Pearls

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Across
  1. 2. Best when covered in a fine peanut sauce
  2. 5. The opposite of me, so to speak
  3. 7. What my spring rolls evoke
  4. 9. Apparently I have editorial oversight over this as well
  5. 13. I am actually this
  6. 15. My best friend, bivalvian
  7. 17. My good friend, aging
  8. 18. My best friend, white
  9. 20. Important punctuation for my sentence construction
  10. 21. They are often a balm for me
  11. 25. Balm from a fish
  12. 26. How all my neighbors who adore me greet me
  13. 29. Featured at the bottom of all my emails, for filler
  14. 30. Fans of my work?
  15. 33. My alma matter's team
  16. 34. A favorite conditional verb
  17. 35. Where I allegedly live
  18. 36. A modifier to which I am partial
  19. 38. An apt title, for some
  20. 40. My writing crutch
  21. 42. My best friend, Nigerian
  22. 43. How cheese is cut
Down
  1. 1. What food helped me cope through (2)
  2. 3. Balm from deep inside
  3. 4. My family heirloom
  4. 6. My qualifications
  5. 8. Balm from a mammal
  6. 10. A favorite punctuation
  7. 11. My best friend, not white
  8. 12. My best friend, who I pay
  9. 14. A lubricant for the soul
  10. 16. How pizza is cut
  11. 18. I seriously have a friend with this name
  12. 19. A favorite, hearty Korean dish
  13. 22. My best friend, whom I cook alive
  14. 23. A balm
  15. 24. Where the heart is
  16. 27. A lowbrow comfort
  17. 28. A balm, in beverage form
  18. 29. A favorite way to open a paragraph with
  19. 31. My side-project
  20. 32. What food helped me cope through (1)
  21. 37. My smile
  22. 39. A fish I allegedly caught this July
  23. 41. This method of chicken-cooking is a balm