2010 – Page 7 – Cerakko Farm

The Year of Small Towns

claudiaNovember 11, 2010Miscellaneous

In our part-time state of Alabama, 2010 was declared The Year of Small Towns & Downtowns. Before the year gets away from us, we hope to visit at least one of the upcoming events being celebrated in these special places – events like A Gathering & Fish Fry Celebrating Fiddler Charlie Stripling on Nov. 13 in Belk. That sounds cool. Folks say Stripling was Alabama’s greatest old-time fiddler, with recordings that date back to the 1920s and ’30s. Read more about him here. And while we’re on the subject of small towns, here are a few of our favorite town names from around the state:

     Arab       Arbacoochee    Autaugaville        Bayou La Batre
Boaz     Clayhatchee             Choctaw              Demopolis
      Emelle       Fishpond          Flomaton          Gasgue
Gees Bend     Hatchechubbee        Loachapoka       Eufaula
              Muscadine                 Naheola           Natchez
     Nauvoo              Ohatchee              Opelika          Ozark
         Pushmataha       Romulus       Wedowee         Wetumpka

happy new year!

mellow monday

claudiaNovember 10, 2010Miscellaneous

We are craazzzzeeee for

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter.

happy new year!

mellow monday

Doo-Nanny

claudiaNovember 9, 2010Inspiration, On the Road, Stuff We Like

One final footnote (or is it be a headnote?) to today’s post about the Chattahoochee Heritage Project…

Category:
Words to live by.
Definition:
Doo-Nanny. A term coined by Butch Anthony’s long-time friend, John Henry, meaning “to improve yourself every day in every way.”

Into the Light

Need a ‘Haycation’?

Are you a two-sided southerner?

At Heart, A Rural Poet

The Chattahoochee Heritage Project

claudiaNovember 9, 2010Miscellaneous, On the Road, Stuff We Like

While in Auburn last week for a board meeting, we learned about The Chattahoochee Heritage Project, a program that spotlights the people, places and culture of the Chattahoochee River Valley. The site was developed by AU students, faculty and friends and is affiliated with the Department of Communication & Journalism. Thanks to professor Ric Smith and the entire team for coming up with this idea and for sharing these wonderful stories. Oh, and be sure to check out the story and video on folk artist Butch Anthony of Seale, Ala., who’s been featured on the History Channel’s “American Pickers” (one of Mike D.’s favorite shows).

Hay: It’s Not Just For Horses

claudiaNovember 8, 2010Good Eats

The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 6-7, 2010
‘Consider This’

A growing number of top kitchens across North America and Europe are harnessing hay’s comforting, pastoral quality in their dishes. They’re using it to lend grassy, autumnal, haute-barnyard goodness to whole poached hams, for smoking veal chops and sweetbreads, as a smoky and strangely familiar seasoning powder for meats and fish and even to flavor whipping cream for dessert. Many professional kitchens source their hay from egg and meat producers; for obvious reasons it’s worth finding stuff that’s fresh, organic and unused. Fergus Henderson, the London-based nose-to-tail pioneer and co-chef behind St. John Bar and Restaurant, suggests home cooks get it at the pet store. Chances are it’s the only ingredient du jour you’ll ever find next to the Friskies. Read more…

Pear-It Forward

Making Biscuits in the Black Belt

The best little rib joint in Alabama