Birthday Bakery Crawl

Took The Husband on a bakery crawl for his birthday, because The Husband loves himself some baked goods and we live in an area full of bakeries we have not visited yet. You would think, considering how much money we spend on baked goods every year, that such a thing could not be true and yet it is.

While I'd plotted a great many bakeries thanks to Yelp and Google Maps, we only visited three before The Husband cried uncle! I have no doubt we'll visit the remainder soon ... a bakery a weekend would probably be the sensible method.

Sensible, schmensible. Visit all the bakeries. Eat all the things.

Cupcakes  from Sugarbelle

Chocolate mousse cake from La Petit France

Assorted tarts from Aby's Bakery

He Takes Me To All The Best Places

Last Friday, The Husband surprised me with a quick trip to Trinity College in Hartford, to see Buddhist nuns from Nepal work on an enormous sand mandala. The nuns arrived, with their sand and tools, at Trinity back in August and have been working on the mandala since September. It was almost finished when we saw it and, wow, the colors and detail were stunning.

"On the first day, the lamas begin by drawing an outline of the mandala to be painted on a
wooden platform. The following days see the laying of the colored sands, which is effected
by pouring the sand from traditional metal funnels called chak-pur. Each monk holds a
chak-pur in one hand, while running a metal rod on its serrated surface; the vibration 
causes the sands to flow like liquid."                             – Sandpainting @ Wikipedia

On Sunday, after all that painstaking labor, the nuns ritualistically dismantled the mandala and released the sands into the Connecticut River!

CT Garlic Festival Goodness

We attended the 8th Annual Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival on Saturday and, as usual, arrived back home with tummies and totes full of garlic. This year, I finally broke down and bought a proper shopping basket. Every time we go to a festival like this or a farmers market or a picnic I regret not owning a deep, narrow, handled basket shopping basket. Well, they had baskets in spades at the Garlic Festival and one was purple and green, so ... I bought a basket. And, in under an hour, it was full to the brim.

What did I buy? Darlings, it's more like what didn't I buy! I bought:

• 4 kinds of garlic (Red Rezen, Spanish Roja, Purple Stripe, and German White)
• Crunchy caramelized garlic bread from Wave Hill Breads
• Organic balsamic vinegar from The Olive Oil Factory
• Dark and milk chocolate garlic bars from Isn't It Sweet
• Keifer's Kettle Korn (The Husband's big purchase)
• Mountain Products Smokehouse's lamb and chicken sausages
• Pickled sliced turnip
• Sauerkraut
• Fresh CT green beans
• Tiny CT beets

We also ate many delicious things, including a fabulous lemongrass chicken bahn mi from Lemon Grass Grill (out of Somewhere, New York) topped with homemade roasted garlic mayonnaise, pickled carrots, daikon radish, cucumber, and cilantro. It was even better than I'd remembered and I look forward to eating another one next year. (Surely someplace in Hartford County sells good bahn mi and I don't have to wait a whole year for another one?)

This was our fifth year at the CT Garlic Festival and I still can't get over how big it's getting. Every year, there were so many more vendors and visitors than the previous year and, after a couple hours, I find myself completely overwhelmed by the crowds. We arrived at 10:30 and the Festival was already hopping. By the time we left at 1:30, the place felt packed to the rafters. I know this is a good thing as it means the Festival is unlikely to fail, but it can be exhausting if you're a very short woman who doesn't like crowds.

Clearly, next year we will arrive at 10 on the dot. And I will bring two shopping baskets.

And Good Belly Cheer Was Had

Like many small New England cities, the heart went out of mine a few decades ago as the business and community center moved away from Main Street. People moved out to the burbs, etc, and businesses moved out to keep them company. It’s sad and frustrating, but my city is (despite vocal naysayers and trolls) trying to revitalize. The downtown streetscapes have been redone, some storefronts spruced up, and a few new businesses have moved in.

Today I attended a preview of Barley Vine, the new gastropub on Main Street. It’s all exposed brick and wood, tin ceilings and chalkboards, bar stools and friendliness. I was completely charmed. (I offer no insult or condescension when I say it reminded me a lot of Plan B -- my husband and I have spent a lot of time at Plan B in West Hartford and consider it one of our favorite burger places, so to find something similar-but-different in my own little city is just totes awesome).

The bar is extensive, with lots of good beer selections. They even offer Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider which is one of my favorite ciders and one I don’t usually see a lot locally. (I see a lot of Woodchuck ciders and, while they’re good, they’re no Samuel Smith). Always smooth and gently apple-y, it goes well with everything ... including the BarleyVine burger.

The BarleyVine burger is the only burger on the lunch menu (dinner menu unseen) unless you want to build your own. I reckoned anything that eponymous was likely to be good and ordered it medium as written. Ground and shaped on site from local beef, it was a thick puck of tender, juicy beef on a sturdy roll with charred onions, roasted red bell pepper, blue cheese crumbles, and arugula. Lunch burgers come with sweet potato and kale chips -- fry people, like The Husband, may not be amused. I love sweet potatoes and kale chips are always a win, so I was exceedingly amused. (Next time, I might try building my own burger so I can try Barley Vine’s house-made bacon).

I have to be honest and say my preview wasn’t without flaws -- the bartender had some trouble locating a bottle opener for my cider, the fussy computerized cash register refused to print my tab, and the top of my hamburger roll was a little charred. But, hey, it was a preview. By the time Barley Vine has its grand opening on 11 October, I expect everything will be fine. Barley Vine is actually (quietly) opening to the public this Saturday and I fully intend to drag The Husband down for supper on Saturday or Sunday.

My meal, minus the 20% preview discount, came to just under $15 which seemed extremely reasonable considering it was a drinking lunch. (I even merited a free sample of Cisco Brewers' Monomoy Kriek -- it smelled slightly sulphurous and tasted, at first sip, a bit like mellow cherry balsamic vinegar. That may sound weird, possibly undrinkable, to you but I thought it was quite delicious. I can’t imagine what I’d drink it with, though. Duck with balsamic cherry sauce? French vanilla ice cream?)

Taste of Hartford: Firebox Restaurant

So it's Taste of Hartford, again. That delicious time of year where my kitchen grows cobwebs and I accrue many OpenTable points as I bop from restaurant to restaurant. It's impossible, with my work schedule, to eat at every restaurant but we still manage to make a good go of it, anyway.

Wednesday night, we dined at Firebox which is a restaurant I've been meaning to try for *cough* years now, but somehow never got around to. More fool me. The food -- all locally grown or sourced as Firebox is all about farm to table -- was delicious and I can't wait to back to try the duck confit pierogies or duck confit salad (I ♥ duck).

What I ate:

Greznyk Farm Potato Leek Soup

garlic
 thyme 
croutons, 
chive oil


Braised Sepe Farm Lamb

Brussels 
sprouts,
 baby 
carrots, 
pearl
 onions,
 lamb 
jus

White Chocolate Bread Pudding


raspberry sauce, whipped cream

I would happily eat all of these things again. The Husband, alas, was not so keen and I do not know when I will be able to cajole him back.

County fair, county fair / Everybody in town'll be there

We spent the afternoon at the Harwinton Fair which is, I am ashamed to admit, the first fair we've made it to in 2011. We had a lot of fun eating delicious fair food, admiring the animals, and acquiring pickles.

We shared clam chowder in a bread bowl, Philly style cheesesteak, buttery grilled corn on the cob, foot long hot dog, soft-serve strawberry sundae, and tempora-fried cheesecake. Oh, the cheesecake! So unbelievably delicious! (Admittedly, I've yet to meet a fried cheesecake I didn't like!)

There was lots of livestock, of course, and we admired the bunnies, poultry, coos, and draft horses. Draft horses were big, bunnies were unbelievably squee, and coos ... they looked at me with their big brown eyes and I felt just wee bit guilty for eating their relatives.

Strangely, I didn't feel guilty admiring the prize winning cabbages.

It was a fine day for a fair, but by the time we returned home the weather had taken a turn and we were content to hunker down in the living room and warm ourselves with our laptops.

I still have lots of turkey left from Friday's roast, so I whipped up a batch of Frontier Soup's Colorado Campfire Soup for supper using, of course, turkey broth and leftover turkey meat. Very thick and rich with lots of carrots, peas, potatoes, peppers, and white beans, it is much more a stew than a soup and made a for a very comforting, warming Sunday supper.

UnMenu Plan Monday, 1 August

Why is it unMenu Plan Monday? Because I don't really have a menu plan, this week. Oh, I have an eating plan, but it doesn't involve cooking unless "cooking" means "making big bowls of salad." Taste of Hartford runs August 1 through August 14 and I mean to take advantage of all the great prix fixe menus available to me. Missed last year's TOH as bringing a wheelchair into restaurants can be a big pain in the butt no matter how handicapped accessible the law (and common freakin' sense) says they ought to be! And I had enough drama and pissiness in my life at that time without adding more, thankyouverymuch.

*deep breath*

So, yes, eating out a lot and subsisting on enormous salad between times in an effort to, I don't know, pretend I have a healthy lifestyle or something.

Monday
Dish Bar & Grille (TOH menu here). Looking forward to mussels, tomato pie, and chocolate cream pie. Haven't been to Dish Bar & Grill before, but enjoyed lunch at its sister restaurant, Dish 'n Dat, a few months ago.

Tuesday
Enormous salad with grilled chicken, diced roasted beets, sunflower seeds, goat cheese crumbles, and light red wine vinaigrette.

Wednesday
Feng Asian Bistro. TOH menu isn't up yet and I've never been to Feng, but keep meaning to so this seems like the perfect time!

Thursday
Another enormous salad.

Friday
Haven't made reservations anywhere yet, but thinking about trying the USS Chowderpot IV (TOH menu here) -- RI clam chowder, salad, sweet
 chili
 glazed
 tilapia, and cheesecake sound pretty good to me.


Saturday/Sunday
Late lunch/early supper at Black-Eyed Sally's BBQ & Blues (TOH menu on main page) or Agave Grill (TOH menu here).  Leaning toward Black-Eyed Sally's as The Husband insists we've eaten at Agave before, but I think I just talked about trying the (now defunct) Southington Agave that he just thinks we've been there.

Plan B for (Nearly) Best Burger Ever

Sunday, we hit Hartford for a little art, some Puerto Rican pride, and (of course) delicious food. Connecticut has a Burgers & Brews Trail [pdf] and, while we're not terribly keen on brews, we do love a good burger so were eager to try one of the Trail's many venues. Plan B Burger Bar in West Hartford seemed like a good start and we arrived just after opening (it's never too early for a good burger) with good appetite.

I ate the "Pretzel Burger" -- a beef burger on a pretzel bun with spicy mustard, lettuce, pickles, cheddar. Served with organic mixed greens and a half-sour pickle, it was definitely one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. The beef was tender and juicy with just a little pink and the soft buttery pretzel buns soaked up all the good juices. My only complaint was that the cheddar was too mild and waxy -- the spicy mustard and the burger's sheer beefiness overwhelmed it.

At the end of our meal, we shared a twee chocolate cake which looked rather like a certain snack cake, but tasted so much better:

Garlic Festival Fun

Sunday we took my parents to the Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival at the Bethlehem fairgrounds. We had a lot of fun sitting in on workshops, eating all sorts of garlicky deliciousness, and browsing the many vendors of garlicky loot. This was the third year we've attended the Festival and it's hard to believe how much its grown in that time. There were so many more vendors and visitors than last year that it was almost overwhelming!

I brought a shopping list with me, of course, and did manage to find just about everything I'd planned on buying at the Festival:

• One dozen beautiful brown eggs and a pound of green beans from Killam & Bassett Farmstead of South Glastonbury.
• Pint of tangy sauerkraut from Horman's Best Pickles of Glen Cove, NY.
• Always yummy Vinegre de Garlique from Josie Porter Farm of Stroudsburg, PA. The blue labeled bottle is made with agave & the green with brown sugar -- the agave vinegar is a new product and is a little harsher (but still awesome).
• "Mild" Can't Beet It! from East Windsor.  I love this stuff on sandwiches or pirogi.
• Olive Oil Factory's fig balsamic vinegar from Twin Pines Farm of Thomaston. They were also giving away bits of 4-yr-old Cabot cheddar on thin slices of pickle -- a surprisingly tasty combination.

What's missing from my loot? Plain ol' garlic! The vendor I usually buy from wasn't at this year's Festival and the other garlic vendors just couldn't tempt me. Better luck next year?

Yummies:

Roast beet and carrot flatbread topped with whole milk mozzarella, fresh thyme, honey, and greens from Farm to Hearth! Farm to Hearth specializes in making delicious, all natural, organic made-to-order wood-fired personal pizzas made with locally sourced ingredients. It was nice to see their booth at the Festival as I've never seen them outside the Coventry Regional Farmers Market (where they're usually surrounded by a huge crowd of hungry people).

Big, beefy hot dog topped with roast garlic cloves from Spacey Tracy's. Hot dog has a nice bite to it and the roast garlic was all that is nutty, garlicky, and good. Would have been absolutely perfect if the bun had been toasted.

Can't wait until next year's Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival.

Delicious Connecticut Noms

Saturday was the last day of Connecticut Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go get some Connecticut noms:

Doesn't that look tasty? It's pumpkin bisque and a Gyro Burger from Plan B Burger Bar in Simsbury:

Lyman Orchards's spicy pumpkin bisque with candied pecans and a bourbon crème fraise ...

Fresh ground lamb blended with our all natural and certified beef topped with Rosedale Farms inspired Tzatziki sauce, diced local tomatoes, organic red onion and feta cheese served in a warm pita pocket and with a side of crispy rosemary salt dusted fries.

Yum!

The Husband ordered the Salmon Burger (Atlantic salmon, red onion, corn spread, organic lettuce) with truffle fries and while the fries weren't as good as truffle fries we've had elsewhere, the little bit burger he deigned to share with me was very good.

We followed up our burgers with ice cream from J. Foster's in Avon. The Husband stuck with safe choices -- cake batter and chocolate fudge brownie -- while I went straight to the good stuff and tried the maple bacon ice cream ("Bacon from locally raised pork mixed with CT Sugarhouse maple Syrup"). Oh, it was tasty with a good, strong maple flavor and lots of crispy, smoky, salty bacon bits.

Farmers' Markets Fun

Sunday morning we visited CT NOFA's Taste! Organic Connecticut festival at Manchester Community College. While this was CT NOFA's tenth festival, it was the first time we had ever gone and we weren't sure what to expect. Mostly, it seemed like a large farmers' market with workshops and music. Some of the workshops sounded quite interesting -- "Pickle This!" and "Extended Season Gardening," in particular -- but we arrived too late for the pickling workshop and were ready to leave well before the gardening workshop started. Maybe, next year? I already make pretty good dill and bread 'n' butter pickles, but I'd like to pickle my own garlic and giardiniera.

While we didn't end up buying any produce at the festival, we did pick up a baguette and beautiful rhubarb pie from La Brioche. Farmer's Cow was giving away free pints of ice cream, so we snagged a pint of "Hay! Hay! Hay! Vanilla" to go with the pie.

On the way to pie and ice cream, we had to walk past Joy Newton's beautiful display of jewelry, note cards, prints, magnets, and paperweights. I stopped, thinking I might buy something for my mother (never too early to start Christmas shopping for difficult giftees), and couldn't resist buying myself a pretty dogwood and faux-pearl bracelet. Isn't it lovely?

Of course, "on the way home," we did a quick sweep through the Coventry Regional Farmer's Market and picked up:

• Salsa from Salsa Loca
• Goat's milk yogurt from Ladies of Levita Road
• Gnocchi from Pasta di Modena
• Red bell peppers
• Macoun apples

Coventry & Coo-beasties

Today, we visited the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market at the Nathan Hale Homestead for the first time this summer. Missed all of June, July, and August, but the market runs through October so there's still plenty of time to shop.

We bought:

• Giardiniera and pickled garlic from Christine's Country Kitchen
• Peaches, eggs, and bacon from Highland Thistle Farm
• Gnocchi from Pasta di Modena
• A half pint of blueberries
• A quarter pound of shiitake mushrooms

We also bought some yummy beef from New Boston Beef:

• ground beef
  
• flank steak
  
• tenderloin steak
  
• sweet Italian sausage
  

I meant to go back round and pick up a beautiful watermelon from Four Fields Farm and a container of Beaver Brook Farm's lamb bolognese sauce, but my ankle was pretty tuckered out by then and we decided to head back to the car ...

And then we drove to Storrs for ice cream at the UConn Dairy Bar. The Dairy Bar makes all of its ice cream (24+ flavors) on the premises from UConn milk. The ice cream was quite wonderful -- very creamy and rich -- and we were pleased to call it lunch. Total ice cream consumed: one scoop each each black raspberry, vanilla, strawberry cheesecake, and cherry vanilla. While the Dairy Bar does not sell milk, it does also sell UConn eggs and cheeses at extremely reasonable prices (2½ dozen eggs for $5!) and we will surely pick some up next time we visit.

Full of "lunch," we drove a little way to UConn's animal barns where we saw ships and coo-beasties. Happily, we managed to arrive at the Kellogg Dairy Center in time to watch the one o'clock milking. Must admit that, having grown up on Farmer Boy, I am always surprised by the massive amounts of stainless steel and rubber whatsits used in modern milking. Where is the tin milk bucket? The three-legged stool?

Almanzo took his own little milking-stool, and a pail, and sat in Blossom’s stall to milk her. His hands were not yet strong enough to milk a hard milker, but he could milk Blossom and Bossy. They were good old cows who gave down their milk easily, and hardly ever switched a stinging tail into his eyes, or upset the pail with a hind foot.

He sat with the pail between his feet, and milked steadily. Left, right! swish, swish! the streams of milk slanted into the pail, while the cows licked up their grain and crunched their carrots.

Of course, UConn milks about a hundred cows three times a day with each cow yielding ten or so quarts of milk per day. Nostalgia aside, who would want to do that by hand?

We also visited the meat cattle barn ("Cattle Resources Unit") where I was, much to The Husband's amusement, licked on the arm by an overly inquisitive caramel-colored beastie. The Husband was also amused by sight of a cow peeing and had to point it out to me. Boys.

Happy Anniversary! I Bought You Some Peppers.

We celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary by visiting not one, but two farmers markets!

Burlington Farmers Market
268 Spielman Highway
Fridays through October, 3-6

This year, Gresczyk Farms is the only vendor at Burlington, but they put out a good spread and we picked up some lovely yellow squash, pickling cucumbers, peaches, and huge stuffing peppers. When we go back next Friday, I'll be sure to pick up some eggs and hydroponically grown butter lettuce, too.

Southington-Plantsville Farmers Market
1003 South Main Street
Fridays through October, 3-6

The Plantsville market had about five vendors -- including one who was custom cutting chunks of Cabot cheddar from a huge block. We considered buying some, but decided we had enough cheese at home. Madness, I know. We did buy tomatillos, zucchini, apples, and baked goods (including a yummy pumpkin pie square).

Combine my farmers market loot with the huge bowl of cherry and small fruit tomatoes I harvested from my garden and it looks as if my kitchen is exploding with produce. What to do?

Well, I have a plan. A menu plan ...

Menu Plan Monday, Week Forty-Three

An abridged Menu Plan Monday this week as it's Taste of Hartford Winter 2010 and I don't "need" to cook supper again until January 25. What is Taste of Hartford? Local restaurants set a special prixe fix menu (usually includes a choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert) for $20.10. It's a low-risk way to discover new favorites or try out some of the fancy-pants establishments!

Monday (Max Downtown)

• Lobster bisque with caviar crème
• Grilled veal chop with crispy polenta cake, asparagus, and port wine black pepper glaze.
  
• Gingerbread & pear bread pudding with sauce anglaise
  

Tuesday (Peppercorn's Grille)

• Prosciutto "Sushi Style" -- slices of imported prosciutto di Parma rolled with gorgonzola, black mission figs, and a drizzling of fig and balsamic essence
• Costolette di Manzo Ubriaco -- slow cooked fork tender beef short ribs with a port scented red wine sauce, tiny little vegetables, and a gremolata served with potatoes and sautéed greens
• Chocolate mousse
  

Wednesday (Mayor Mike's)

• Tuscan bean soup
• Roast chicken lasagne a la panna
• Fried cheesecake
  

Thursday (work)

• Salad with freezer apple sauce and Kashi crackers.

Friday (Hook & Ladder)

• Soup of the day
• Potato encrusted tilapia with broccoli & mashed potatoes
  
• Toll house cookie pie
  

Slow Cooker Saturday (work)

• Recipezaar's "Crockpot Chicken w/ Black Beans and Cream Cheese" on parsley rice with salad. Ingredients: boneless chicken breasts, low-sodium black beans, low-sodium corn, Green Mountain Green roasted garlic salsa, light cream cheese.
  

Sunday

• Having my parents up for Sunday dinner. Probably going to serve them meatloaf with mashed potatoes, peas, and salad.
  

And then we will all fall into a food coma and not rise again until Spring ...

If You Could Deep Fry Heaven ....

It might taste like a deep fried brownie dusted with powdered sugar. One of the most delicious things I have ever eaten (and it's a good thing I can't get another one until next year).

Went to the Terryville Fair and saw more ships and coo-beasties!

Ships & Coo-Beasties

Went to the Wolcott Country Fair and saw the animals ... seriously, who needs a midway when there are wee piglets to see?

Rib Love

The Eight Annual Taste of Southington seemed to go off quite well despite the rain (oh! the eternal rain!) and much deliciousness was on display for very little money. We ate:

• Chicken Milanese w/ lemon butter & white wine sauce over penne (Aziago's)
• Crab, shrimp, and avocado salad with honeydew, cantaloupe, and citrus extra virgin olive oil (Kess' Cafe)
• Chili w/ corn bread (Pig Out BBQ)
• Quarter rack baby back rib combination with coleslaw (Smokin' with Chris)
• An adorable little Italian tart filled with chocolate (Paul Gregory's)
  

The ribs were definite faves, but I've eaten them before so it wasn't a particularly adventurous choice for me. The shrimp and melon salad was also very nice and a combination I'd like to try at home.

Will we go to the Ninth Annual Taste of Southington? Of course.

Menu Plan Monday, Week Twenty-One

Time for another Menu Plan Monday! Some of this week is repeated from last week, because I went a little off plan over the weekend as I tried to use up a bunch of produce before it went icky. Darn Mother Nature and her lack of preservatives!

Whoops! Forgot that this week marks the beginning of Taste of Hartford and that I don't "need" to cook supper again until August 10! What is Taste of Hartford? Local restaurants set a special prixe fix menu (usually includes a start, entree, and dessert) for $20.09. It's a great way to find new favorite supper spots or try out unfamiliar cuisine. -- ed. 7/29/09

Monday

• Grilled hot dogs (from freezer) on buns with "Green Beans and Tomatoes" from Better Homes and Gardens Quick-Fix Family Favorites (Meredith Books, 2008).

Tuesday (work)

• "Barley, Corn, and Pepper Salad" from Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2009 with Cabot Hunter's Sharp cheddar chunks, Kashi TLC crackers, and cherries.

Wednesday (La Casona)

• Patacón Casona: Shrimp, fruit, and vegetables in a sweet and spicy sauce served over a large crispy plantain.
• Pollo Tropical: Grilled chicken breast and Portobello mushrooms, with cherry reduction sauce over mashed sweet potatoes and plantains and mixed vegetables. (This was so unbelievably delicious ... I could easily eat it every weekend!)
  
• Peach flavored caramel flan
  

Thursday (work)

• More "Barley, Corn, and Pepper Salad" from Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2009 with honeydew melon, Kashi Heart to Heart crackers, and peanut butter.

Friday (O'Porto Restaurant)

• Sopa de Vegetais: carrot and pumpkin purée with julienne carrots and collard greens
• Linguado Recheado: Baked fillet of sole stuffed with shrimp and crab, served with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes in a lemon-vinaigrette sauce
• Mousse de Chocolate: Chocolate mousse
  

Saturday

• "Tortellini and Peas" from Better Homes and Gardens Quick-Fix Family Favorites (Meredith Books, 2008) with salad. Ingredients: tortellini, peas, milk, diced tomatoes, Parmesan.

Sunday (Costa del Sol)

• Pan Catalan: Catalan style bread with tomato, garlic herbed olive oil and topped with Serrano ham.
  
• Salmon a la plancha: Grilled salmon with Spanish orange brandy glaze.
• Flan: Spanish caramel custard.
  

Savor the Stinking Rose

Today, we went to the Garlic & Harvest Festival at the Bethlehem Fairgrounds and ate so much garlic we could, I kind you not, knock a vampire dead at ten paces. It was an excellent festival -- much deliciousness, many nice people, and the kind of beautiful October weather that makes me want to use words like "limpid" and "splendourous."

Despite consuming all sorts of garlicky numminess, I also had to bring some garlic home with me ...

After sampling many different kinds of raw garlic, I ended up purchasing a small bunch of Spanish Roja and a smaller bunch of German Red. To me, both have a fierce kick and hit the back of the throat with a almost fiery woo garlic taste. This is exactly what I want in my garlic -- I do not love it for its mildness, you know.

I also brought home a jar of "Can't Beet It" (shredded beets mixed with horseradish) which I won't be surprised if I end up eating straight out of the jar. Also, picked up a bottle of garlic vinegar (so mild and sweet!) which I look forward to drizzling all over a nice green salad.

Tomorrow, we're off to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in Hebron. Deep fried oreos and wenches all 'round! Huzzah!

Ships Go Baa

Last weekend, we went to the Terryville Country Fair and saw the ships and coo-beasties.

Ships: Wooly things that eat grass and go baa. Easily confused with the other kind. (See Terry Pratchett’s A Hat Full of Sky)

I’m sorry, but I am incapable of seeing a sheep without lapsing into Feegle.

Weirdly, seeing a cow does not make me think "Where's my cow?"

Oh. Now it does.

(The official Terry Pratchett website features a game called Feegle Free-Fall. Six-inch-tall Feegles droppin' oot of trees head-first onto the big jobs. What fun).