My Letter Home - March 28

Getting Ready for Opening Day!

It has been a wild week and that’s why there haven’t been any blog posts plus the delay of my Letter Home. I was sick for a couple days thanks to some bad food that knocked me off my feet and made me wish for death for about 24 hours. But all is well now as I rejoice in losing a few pounds and jumpstart my way back to healthy.

This week was all about new adventures both locally and out of town. Friday night, the church hosted a Lock In for the youth inviting kids from the church and their friends to spend the night in the church, play games, watch movies, eat tons of junk food and drive the adults chaperoning the event crazy. I was lucky to have the puppies as my out with Paul choosing to sleep on the hard floor of the church basement with about 30 kids and some parents. I went for the first couple hours to play some “get-to-know-you” games, watch the first part of The 10 Commandments and see how man Cheetohs a 12-year-old boy could shove into his mouth at one time.

One of the games involved either/or questions such as, “Do you prefer to live in the desert or Artic?” Paul and I at the same time answered, “Aren’t we living in the Artic already?” That got a laugh from those folks who consider 40 degrees to be spring.

With the man who turned me on to baseball - Go Reds!

For the next two days I was in bed, while it snowed and the world went gray. But I was ready to go on Tuesday when we ventured south to Cincinnati to see Paul and Heidi who were visiting folks in Lexington. We went to this great restaurant on the river, Moerlein Lager House that had the most fantastic Short Rib Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Coleslaw that was amazing. Since I was still getting over the crud, I kept to ginger ale instead of their artisan beers, but I definitely want to go back. We spent the rest of the day at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Museum which helped put me in a baseball state of mind. I will miss my Rays, but I figure since the Reds are the oldest professional baseball team, it’s historical. Plus, they don’t play each other – unless they both get to the World Series and then yes, I am all the way – Rays!

The secret to vibrant applique is to use fabric that has some motion to it.

On Wednesday, I went to my very first Quilter’s Guild meeting. I have never been to a guild meeting and one of the ladies in our church invited me to go with her and her daughter. It was a pretty cool time. 

I love this design!

I learned about a festival in Logan Ohio that is dedicated to washboards, got some tips and tools regarding applique, had so many people offer to help me make my first quilt, delighted in a delicious lunch from Mumfords, a down-home favorite, and took home an armful of books about quilting. The whole event was inspiring and these ladies are true artisans when it comes to turning fabric into art.

Isn't this just so amazing - and it's all done by hand. 

With today being Maundy Thursday, the week and Lent are coming to a close. We have a busy weekend and then I am hoping to just spend time creating next week, I have so many sewing, knitting and cooking ideas rolling around in my head that I must get them out.

I miss you all and take care,

Patricia

What I Miss Most About My Old Home: Wearing sandals on Easter Sunday with a cute dress and not having to layer it with a wool coat and stockings.

What I Like Most About My New Home: The creativity and simple pleasures I have learned from the locals and that I ignored for so long. 

My Letter Home - March 20

Rambo the Rooster

I am a day late, but I do have a lot to share with my friends back home. This week was all a about getting to know new people (and critters), discover new places and find new ways to use my time wisely.

I just wanted to take them all home.

I went on a couple visits with Paul this week and shared time with some people from the church. One of the highlights was our Friday date night. This is usually the time Paul and I spend alone, but this week we went to a meet and greet with goats. Holly, and her son are championship dairy goat farmers and she has about 20 adult goats, but this is a precious time since she has tons of babies jumping and playing everywhere.

I haven't had this much fun since playing with Fiona's puppies!

The babies were so friendly as Paul and I sat in the stalls and let them romp all over us. Paul even tried his hand at milking one of the mamas and he was a natural. It was one of the best date nights we have ever had.

On the people side, I had a great day out on Monday with Julia, one of the ladies from church as she took me exploring the small town of Urbana (bigger than West Liberty, but still a small town). We went to lunch at Teabaggers, a quaint café on Main Street. This is such a great place to eat. The husband is the chef in the back and his wife is the waitress, hostess, barista and all-round-nice lady in the front. I had the special of French Onion Soup and half a Reuben sandwich. It was spectacular. The soup wasn’t too salty, like French onion can sometimes be and the Reuben had slices of banana peppers on it which really brought all of the flavors together. Afterward, we shared a slice of chocolate chip cheesecake that was divine, and I don’t really care for cheesecake. I am adding this to my list of favorites from now on.

This was so delicious and rich, I had to save half of it for the next day. 

We perused some of the antique and country stores on the block and then Julia took me to the old train depot to show me where we can pick up the bike trail to Simon Kenton bike trail. I don’t know much about Simon Kenton at this writing, but this is the trail that is supposed to go through West Liberty in the fall. There are so many bike trails around here that I am looking forward to warmer weather when we can get out for a ride. For now we will drive to Urbana, get a coffee at the Depot Coffeehouse and get moving.

Knitted Graffiti!

Paul and I ventured to a little town called Yellow Springs about 45 minutes away. Called “Hippie Town” by the locals do to its proximity to Antioch College and the liberal lifestyle of its inhabitants, Yellow Springs has a lot of cute stores with local goods, great places to eat, their own brewery (set to open next month) and the best book store I have seen in a while. Think of Dunedin and Safety Harbor together, with Haslam’s thrown in. That’s Yellow Springs.

Art can go anywhere

Of course, I was intrigued with the crocheted and knitted graffiti throughout the town to add color to the leafless trees. And I also loved the Yellow Springs Irish Stout they served at the Ye Olde Trail Tavern, the second oldest restaurant in Ohio.

All of this playing and exploring kept me busy, but I still feel like I have to do more. My freelance gig is up today and I am trying to not feel useless. Going to last week’s Ladies’ Missionary Aid meeting helped. This is a group of ladies at our church who get together every month to discuss the needs of the church and community, what they can do to help, spend time in fellowship learning about different women of the Bible and have a lunch together before they go out and get working.

This month’s focus was on revamping Angels to the Rescue, where folks volunteer their time to cook, clean, do yard work and run errands for people in need within the congregation. I signed up to deliver meals this week and it’s a very fulfilling task. As you all know, I love to cook and I like meeting with the people I deliver to as they tell me stories about themselves and their town. Another focus is on finding ways that we can use our crafts to help those in need. At next month’s meeting we will put some charities on the table and see who wants to do what. I already have a list and have started on projects.

I am still adapting to the weather and the new lifestyle, and finding my place, but it all feels right. I miss so many of you and ask you to keep in touch and let me know what’s going on.

Love,

Patricia

What I Miss Most About Home: Going for Saturday morning bike rides (or any time I want to ride my bike)

What I Like Most About Here: Seeing new life all around me and the appreciation of it. 

Fat Tuesday is Just a Name

I just had to go with some Cajun fare tonight, but was too busy to make something downright dee-vine!

Solution: 727FoodNow and Anna Stella Cajun Bistro. Miss Heidi shared with me a gift card to use this food delivery service and I thought tonight would be the perfect time to not only try delivery, but this restaurant.

But why make Cajun just one night? Even eating healthy, I was able to fit in this deliciousness into a few days with an Oyster Po’Boy tonight and Crawfish Etouffee dinner on Wednesday. I couldn’t even finish the sandwich tonight, it was so rich and delicious, but I did finish each little crispy oyster! So Yum!

Great experience overall. I highly recommend trying 727foodnow or a delivery service in your area. It was so easy, they were right on time and the delivery fee and tip aren’t much more than a tip if you went to the restaurant. In fact, I will probably continue this little treat monthly to save me some time from cooking and cleaning while enjoying a wonderful meal.

Heart Healthy Month Tip: Even when you overindulge, like I did tonight, you can still keep a heart-healthy lifestyle. Have a healthy breakfast and lunch using most of you calories at dinnertime. Split restaurant portions into sensible portions before you indulge. Add a little extra exercise to your routine that week. If you know in advance that you are going to splurge, you can workout a little bit more or harder a day or two in advance. This way you can have extra without the guilt. All good for your heart.

Going Dutch

We spent today in Sarasota among the Amish. I had heard of the Pennsylvania Dutch and learned about the Amish and Mennonites by watching films like Witness and The Devil’s Playground.

Our delving into this culture involved food of course, and I picked Paul’s brain about this group as we dined. (He teaches college level religion courses and has a degree in theology so it seemed like he would be a good source.)

We had an early supper at the Dutch Heritage, chosen because there wasn’t a long wait and the buffet interested us. Me especially since I have been on a salad kick and I really wanted some rabbit food (as my dad calls it.)

This wasn’t my first visit. We had breakfast here a few months back around Christmas time and after we filled ourselves with carb-laden delights we walked it off exploring the gift shop they have upstairs.

But this time the focus was on food. The salad bar had your regular lettuce, tomatoes, cukes and such, but also was a garden of colorful eggs (not just for Easter) and other premade salads full of mayo. The eggs were hardboiled with one soaked in pickled beet juice (I do love pickled beets) and the other glowing yellow from its mustard bath. I didn’t try either since they firstly just didn’t appeal to me and secondly eating them in front of Paul would have made him cringe.

After feeling slightly healthy from all that roughage, I dove into the hot bar. I made some wise choices picking boiled potatoes with butter and parsley over the mashed or fried variety; having brussel sprouts (only a few since they lacked luster) and green beans (which were yummy); and choosing a small piece of salmon paired with a small portion of pot roast as my main course.

Those Amish sure know how to make pot roast. It was tender and succulent and just a wonderful mix of seasonings. If I could make this at home, Sundays would never be the same. I was so full, pushing to the point of taking another bite could be explosive, I didn’t venture to have anymore, though I do think this may be a place I would love to dine at in the future.

I skipped dessert, but Paul sang the praises of the chocolate cake, and it sure did look good. Just a cube of sheet cake, but sometimes simpler is better and these ladies know how to bake. Next time we may just get a pie to go and have that for breakfast.

The food wasn’t only the comforting part of this meal. The staff is very kind without an attitude in sight. Ruth, our waitress, was in her later years, but still moving and shaking it like she was 50 and stopped by not only to check on how we liked the food, but also just to chit chat and ask, “You from around here” I guess they get a lot of tourists, and I can see why.

This really set the tone for the rest of the day, filling our bellies, warming our hearts and putting smiles on our faces. When was the last time a visit to a restaurant did all that for you?

NYC Bites

To some New York is all about fashion. It is host to the hottest Fashion Week in the world and you will see stores there that aren’t at the local mall or shopping plaza. For me, however, the city is about food. It is a city that can boast there never seems to be anything bad (in the way of food). (Portland is pretty close to this too, I never had a bad meal there.)

Since I started going to NY 12 years ago, I have tried a plethora of restaurants and food joints that still stand out in my head. For marinara, I went to Bona Fides, an Italian joint run by Russians; stuffed cabbage, Odessa (which I missed this time); steak and creamed spinach, the Knickerbocker , which I would never had gone to if it wasn’t for Mich’s mom who took me there as payment for getting her around the city; pizza anywhere; coffee anywhere (and I mean anywhere since NYC is the only place where I have always gotten a great cup of coffee and never once went to a Starbucks to get it).

Plus cocktails, like watermelon margaritas at some cool place in the Village; pomegranate margaritas at Rosa Mexicana; vodka shots at Dick’s; martinis at Bar 86 with the co-ed bathroom and steamed up doors.

This time was no different. I had my sights set on two places, and only made it to one, but there is no disappointment in this piece. We didn’t make it to Odessa, but instead took a more Asian-inspired culinary trip.

Republic is a Vietnamese restaurant with other Asian goodies like Pad Thai. I was tempted to get the PT, since it is one of my favorite things to eat, but instead ventured into rice noodles with bbq pork and pickled radishes. I loved the radishes!!! It all was delightful and so full of flavor, but the radishes really got me. I could have eaten another plate of them and they complimented the pork perfectly. The bbq was more soy and sesame based not like southern bbq with all the honey and smoke. It was a lighter version of an old favorite.

The next day we continued on our tour of Vietnam as we met Voon for lunch at a place just a block from Republic. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name, but if you go south of Republic a block past Union Square to 13^th it is on the left-hand corner. Here is where Guy and I went crazy ordering several dishes and splitting them which is what I love to do with other culinary deviants as myself.

We had Pad Thai, of course, since Guy swears this is the best in the city. (Now I am not a PT expert, but I have noticed people get really up in arms about the best PT so I am sticking to home and am going to eat my way through all the Thai places in this area to see who has the best – so far it is Thai Basil on East Bay.) Guy also ordered Vietnamese crepes (which are very large noodles folded over and slightly stuffed with dried shrimp and something else very lovely) and pork. The pork chops where the boney, cheap cuts and tasted divine. We also had shrimp clumps of some sort on skewers that were a bit bready for my tastes, but still a great treat.

Afterward, Voon took us to a cupcake place just across the street, Crumbs, and we eat got a huge delicious wonder with me choosing an apple and caramel cupcake and Guy getting the hostess kind. Mine was a spice cake with apple pie filling, cream cheese frosting and a caramel swirl. YUM!

But not to be outdone, Patrick and Guy surprised me with a trip to one of the most renowned Italian bakeries in NYC – Venieros. It was a dream land. I spied through the glass-covered windows all the treats you could imagine in a variety of sizes from long, thick cannolis that looked very sexual to little ones that seemed a bit less lusty. We chose a piece of Sicilian cheesecake with alcohol-drenched sponge cake, a layer of ricotta cheesecake dotted with cherries and so much more (I feel myself going into a sugar coma just thinking of it.) This took us 3 days to eat and we never finished it. The piece was about the size of two normal pieces, but the beauty of the richness satisfied in such a way like an old lover who knows all your buttons.

To break us free of this sugar fix, we also ventured to the market in Union Square. It was packed with my favorites; apples, tomatoes and berries. Summer apples were in season and I never even knew they existed. They are small and round and with a bright white interior and red outside. Their fragrance is undeniably fresh and the flesh was succulent. I had a few of them and felt healthier with each delicious bite.

Then there were the tomatoes. I love tomatoes, all kinds. I eat them every day and could eat more if they would grow more readily in my yard. At the market there were the most ugly beautiful varieties I had ever seen. Never to judge a book by its cover, I chose some of the most knotted up fruits and they did not disappoint. They were in all colors with stripes and specks and so luscious that all they needed was some salt and pepper and a splattering of mozzarella and I was in love. I am still craving these at this moment, but most of the tomatoes here, at least lately, are tasteless and dull.

Our last day there, I went to visit a place I had heard about on the Travel Channel – Peanut Butter and Co. Known for comfort food, like your mom used to make, this small restaurant is in the heart of NYU and was packed with the families of students returning to school. We found a table and picked our favorites with Patrick getting chicken salad, Guy bologna and cheese (which apparently inspired a new twist to his every day) and I got peanut butter and nutella. Now let me tell all you atheists, this sandwich proves there is a God and he is oh so good. It was heaven and I can even make it at home. Their list of treats was packed, but I got a menu so I can venture forth in new discoveries of peanut butter (plus it helps keep the food budget down.)

Along with all this culinary craziness, we ate at home a few times and at some places that were good, but never really inspired more than a satiated smile and a nighty night.

Where is your favorite place to eat in the city??