Local is Where I Go

Sandusky Bay Farmer's Market

Jackson St Parking Lot

Downtown Sandusky, OH

Wednesdays 3-6 pm

during the growing season

Goodbye Sandusky Bay Farmer's Market 2011, see you again in May or June 2012.

Port Clinton peaches

It was an exceptional year for peaches in North Ohio this year. Peaches were plentiful, sweet and flavorful. Last year, there was a freeze (and I think flood) after the bloom, and killed any chance of local peaches. This year, every chance I got, I went to the Sandusky Bay Farmer's market and bought farm fresh peaches. One of the days, everyone in my group were standing around eating these peaches for a snack. Seriously, everyone was saying, "yum" or ,"Ohio peaches are just the best this year!" with big smiles on their faces. It was a perfect moment of contentment as we ate our snack before moving on with our day. These peaches, so fleeting, are now all eaten, and only a memory in my mind, and a wish for another perfect peach growing season next year.

Perkins blackberries

This was a great fruit growing season in N. Ohio this year. The blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries have been outstanding. These are the last of the blackberries for me for the season. I hoarded these, and did not share the pint of blackberries with the crew. These sweet and juicy blackberries were my secret little snack in the evenings.

Local corn

I think this corn was from the Milan area of Ohio. It was picked that morning of my purchase. I got a 1/2 dozen. I bring Ziploc brand Zip and Steam bags with me when I travel, just in the case I can steam up some local veggies, like this corn. 3 minutes on high in the Zip and Steam bags, and I had a really nice focal point to my daily diet.

Local corn

It has been such a wonderful growing season this year in N. Ohio, and I ate really well while in N. Ohio because of the offerings from local farmers at the Sandusky Bay Farmer's Market. I look forward to next year's market and what I yummy local organic foods I can taste!

Really Good Nashville

This guy goes where I go to eat, and he even gets the same dishes I get!

Yum!

Enjoy the video!

It's Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It isn't a good Thanksgiving meal until something gets burnt. It isn't a REALLY good Thanksgiving meal until something catches on fire! As pictured above, the burnt and recently caught on fire garlic bread made with Sloco locally baked bread, locally grown Barefoot Farmer biodynamic organic garlic and Italian parsley, local JD Milk home churned butter, and salt.

Recipe for burning bread

Put butter, garlic, parsley and salt on bread.

Toast in the oven for a few minutes.

Turn on the broiler for a few seconds to finish.

Forget the bread is under the broiler.

Do other things while bread is burning.

Look into the oven and see bread on fire.

Pull flaming bread out of the oven and douse with a soaking wet towel

Put smoldering bread out on the front step.

Turn fan on and fan all the smoke out of the house.

Laugh and enjoy.

A Day in the 'Burgh

I learned that Pittsburgh is the only city with 3 major sports teams with the same team colors. That is right the Penguins, Pirates and the Steelers all are black and gold. So, many places in the city sells black and gold stuff. Yes, even the Mexican market sells black and gold chips.

Besides black and gold things available in the 'Burgh, there are some really really good food made in the traditional ways. Where I hang out in the city, there are virtually no chain restaurants. There are a lot of independently owned restaurants making traditional recipes, and there are a lot of independently owned specialty food stores that rock.

Olives

Wine

Parma Sausage Company, house made air dried prosciutto - Do I dare say this, the domestic Parma Sausage Company air dried prosciutto tastes better to me than Parma Italy prosciutto. It also costs a whole lot less than the Italy variety. I brought back about 10

lbs of dried cured salami and Parma Sausage Company prosciutto. I am in love with these meats.

Cheese from Pennsylvania Macaroni Company is the best cheese experience one can have. PennMac has the most extensive cheese counter in the USA. Thank goodness they mail deliver. If you are ever in the 'Burgh, go on a Saturday afternoon to the cheese counter at PennMac and fully experience the life of cheese. This trip, we got an Italian sheeps milk truffled cheese, an aged piave and a young piave.

Dinner - my pals have 1/2 a cow in the freezer. The meat is from the 4H cow they viewed at the local county fair, went to the farm where the boy walked the cow 2 miles every day, and went to learn more about the boy who raised their meat. Really, this beef was tender and delicious. Thanks 4H.

Glutton Free Clementine Cake. It think the cake is made from almond flour, clementines, and sugared clementine rinds. We called it Clementine Crack.

What I Saw in Boston

I recently went back to my home town of Boston. I got really lucky for the weather and travel. I went the day after the record breaking October 2011 snow storm, so my plane was on time, and full of people who were bumped from their snowed out flight from the day before. I landed, and downtown Boston snow had melted and it was actually felt warmer than Nashville. I made it to my destination, still within the urban zone, and there was plenty of power, hot water for showers, food, light etc. I turned on the TV, and west and north of Boston, people were without power, and the temps were dropping to 32F over night. It would be nearly a week for power to be restored because so many power line came down.

Since I was so very lucky to be in the Boston downtown area, I had all the luxuries that come with having power, so I got to enjoy myself! I decided to take some time to be a tourist, which I have not done for probably over 30 years. It was a delight! Here is some of what I saw.

Massachusetts State House

I love the gold dome

Hallow's Eve head

I93 Park. I93 used to be an overhead highway that ran right through downtown Boston. The highway divided Downtown Boston from the Famed North End. There was a dank, dark, drippy, drudgery, smelly, trashy walkway under I93 for as long as I could remember. To get to the North End was tricky because it was so disgusting. Then through the 1990s and 2000s, the big dig happened and I93 went underground and the gross disgusting walkway was reclaimed as a park. I93 has some problems, but the park is not one of them. The park as really opened up the North End making it look so much nicer!

In 1976, the Nation's Bicentennial, the Freedom Trail was installed throughout the city. This trail takes walkers to some of the historic "must see" places in the Boston. Many of the places to stop were marked by a marker like the one I photographed. Most of the sidewalk markers have been vandalized or stolen. This one has survived because it is near the end of the Freedom trail, where most Americans don't make it because they are too tired to go on to get to this point.

At Old North Church is still a working church. On the church grounds is a memorial in memory of the men and women who lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq during this war. There is one dog tag hanging for every dead soldier.

Hubway - the short ride bike rental experiment

Shaw, some revolutionary war hero

New England Holocaust Memorial

Haymarket Pizza - really spiffed up and looking good. This street used to be where farmers would pull up their horse drawn carts to sell fruits and veggies to the public and grocers. This building was more like horse stables, than it was a modern building. When I was in high school, Haymarket Pizza used to just be a window with a wooden hinged shutter, and no sign. When they had pizza, the shutter was propped open, and it is $0.50 per cheese slice, and $0.75 for pepperoni slice. The slices were big, hot and floppy, and perfect for a filling lunch. The price was right too. When they ran out of pizza, they would take the prop off the shutter, the shutter would slam shut, and you would have to wait until the next day business day to get a pizza. Well, things have changed, and Haymarket Pizza looks like a real deal pizza business with a sign now. The prices are still extremely reasonable, only $1.25 per slice. Now that is still is a good deal for lunch!

Paul Revere statue

MADD about Tea

MADD About Tea, Nashville

Sunday Nov 13 12:30-3:30 pm

Shamblin Theatre

Lipscomb University

3901 Granny White Pike

Nashville, TN

www.MADDAboutTea.org

facebook: MADD About Tea

cost $35 single, $65 double

click here to get your tickets

Come join the MADD hatter tea party and try a variety of teas (for real, tea tasting)! Because it is a Madd hatter tea party, wear your craziest hat and win the best hat contest! Craft Store here I come! I need to make me a MADD as a hatter hat! So, how the crazy hat part is going to work is that there will be a Photo Booth set up during the event to get your hat photo taken. For the next week, Nov 14 - 21, the photos will be on the MADD About Tea Facebook page and the top 3 hat photos with the most "Likes" will win a prize!

Also included in this event is a silent auction including items from the fabulous list: Alegria Boutique, Elizabeth Sulkowski, Hilton Inn Downtown, J Bangs Hair Salon, J McLaughlin, Joseph Sulkowski, Kali Yuga Yoga, Kundalina Rinsing Yoga, Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, MADD, Margot Cafe, Nashville Predators, Nuvo Burrito, Portland Brews, Rose Pepper Cantina, Sambucca, Silly Goose, The Dog Spot, and the Frist Center.

OK, about MADD, they are a group which protects people from drink driving, and supports victims and survivors of drunk driving. Did you know, on average, one person dies everyday in the Tennessee by the driving hands of a drunk driver. Sadly, statistics show that 1/3 of us will be a victim of drunk driving. MADD is trying to reduce this statistic. Do your part, don't drink and drive, get a ride with a designated driver, and get home safely.

Taste of Nashville Winner...

Thank you for entering the contest for 2 ticket to the Taste of Nashville Event. Don't let this stop you from going. Please buy your tickets in advance. Here are some details:

When: Friday November 18 7:00 pm - November 19 1:00 am

Where: The Cannery Ballroom, 1 Cannery Row off of 8th Ave So.,

Tickets: $50 in advance, $60 at the door, $75 VIP

NOW ON TO THE WINNER!

IT IS RANDOM NUMBER 9!

HETTAR7!

Thank you Hettar7 for the heads up for Cafe Rakka. I plan on trying Cafe Rakka in the coming year and blog about it! I plan on trying all the suggestions everyone left!

Chinese in the MS Delta

"Chinese came to America in the late nineteenth century in search of the fabled Gam Sahn or Golden Mountain. When they arrived to the alluvial plains of the Mississippi Delta all they found was back-breaking agricultural work. First introduced to the region as indentured servants by planters during Reconstruction, these early Chinese sojourners (mostly from the Guangdong or Canton province) soon became disenchanted with working the fields. They moved off the plantations. Some left to go back home to China, but others stayed and opened small neighborhood grocery stores. Serving as an alternative to plantation commissaries and catering to a predominately African American clientele, the Chinese American grocer was a mainstay in many Delta neighborhoods well into the 20th century." An oral history recorded by the Southern Foodway Alliance, photos and interviews by Jung Min (Kevin) Kim.

Frieda Quon, who offered an oral history, is from Greenville, MS. My father's parents immigrated from the Canton Region of China to Greenville, MS in search of the Golden Mountain. Some of Frieda's story is the story of my family. The difference between Frieda and my father and 3 of his siblings is that my family decided to leave Mississippi and never to return. I was born and raised in the North, and never did my parents ever take me to the South, and never to MS when I was a kid. I am guessing they did not take me to MS and the South because it was a hard life for my father, and he left MS the 1st day he could, and never planned on returning. If we were going on vacation, we were going to Wyoming, Hawaii, and California, etc and there wasn't time for Greenville, a town that my dad didn't want to see again. The 1st time I was in the South was the day I moved to Nashville. The 1st time I stepped foot into MS was 5 years ago, and I have yet to visit the Delta. It is not that I don't want to visit, it is the opportunity has not yet presented itself. Visiting Greenville is on my list of a "must see". I look forward to finding Frieda, and I think she knows my family. I look forward to finding the corner where my Grandmother's grocery store was, and seeing where my father was born. I look forward to seeing and knowing where my father's family first immigrated to in the USA.