The End Draws Near..

You know that old saw about walking half way to the wall over and over will result in the fact you never get there?  I’m sort of in that predicament myself.  In this case it’s a book.  You remember I said I had that book called "50 Foods; The Essentials of Good Taste", by Edward Behr?  As I said then, it discussed what he considers the fifty most important foods, from Anchovies to Walnuts.  Depending on the item, there are two to four pages discussing characteristics, varieties, methods of cooking, how to buy it, what complements the item, and words about wine.  Its matter of fact, to the point, and succinct.  Excellent information.  I find I very much enjoy reading it and am learning a lot.  I am currently on number forty one: Potatoes. That means there are only nine more items to go.  So here’s the dilemma: if I keep reading (and enjoying), it will be over.  I don’t want it to be over!  I suppose I could begin again.  Oh well, I do have somewhat of an out:

In more than one of the chapters, Mr. Behr refers to the following book:

We had Amazon perform its miracle and within a day or two of clicking “Check out” it was on my porch.  A quick thumb through reveals that it is pretty much the same format, but with 290 pages, there isn’t quite the same amount of space for each vegetable.  So I look forward to learning about Louvana Chickling Vetch from Cyprus, Griselle Shallots from France, Giant Zittau Onions from Germany, as well as the more common Pumpkin Yam Sweet potatoes from America.  Looks like good reading.  The endless variety and pleasures of food.

Numbers of Books - on the Move!

Segueing into more books, this morning MFO and I helped with the annual book migration from the Leonardtown Library to the Fairgrounds for the Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale..  An armada of vehicles queued up behind the building

And then an army of volunteers loaded the hundreds of boxes into them

And then multiple trips were made to the fairgrounds

And then the boxes were further dispersed to the proper buildings (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s, Rare, and so forth)

This coming week they will be unpacked, organized, and will be waiting for you next weekend.  Thousands of books will be gobbled up at two bucks for a hardback and only a buck for paperbacks.  You really should come on over and look for that special book.  There are hundreds of cook and food related books, as always.

As we were leaving, we stopped to see some Turkeys in the field by the fairgrounds

And stopped again to pick up some local meats from our friend Willie Goddard’s little shop south of Leonardtown

if you can't read the sign, he's open Saturdays 9 - 1

 (until the farmer's market opens)

More Foodie Numbers

I don’t know if you get the daily Washington Post, but I picked up the Friday edition for an article in the “Weekend”. It was titled “40 Dishes Every Washingtonian Must Eat”, a nine page spread with pictures of each one along with where you could get it.    There was a little discussion about each one, something about the restaurant/shop where they were available and a little history, along with why they were a "must eat".   One (especially me) is always suspect of these kinds of things,  thinking: “for X dollars, you can make the list!”.  The author spent a lot of ink assuring us that they were selected from soliciting opinions of “real” people on social media, various blogs (most likely not the present one!) which are then informally voted on by the editorial staff.  Maybe so.

You’ve had enough pictures to look at, so I won’t give you more.  Nor will I list them all, but a few maybe of interest.  Oysters at Old Ebbitts Grill; Duck Confit at Water and Wall; Burger Américain at Le Diplomate; Wings at BonCHon; Taramosalata at Kapnos; or how about Dwaeji bulgogi at Yoonha’s Kitchen and Deli?  Most of the places were unfamiliar with me, so perhaps this might be a good guide into the unusual.  Interesting.   Although I didn’t look, you can probably find the list on line..

Okay, Mr. Goddard’s pork chops are about thawed, so I’ll go get the grill ready because today when you go outside, you don’t FREEZE YOUR “Butt” (not the word I would use, but this is a family blog) OFF”!  Naked in the streets folks!  After which you must

DFD