Springtime, Downtime and a Taste of Things to Come

Spring has sprung here in my world, and with it comes a fresh breeze, a change of living spaces, and a new focus to my blog.

Hey, folks–it is a post that is not about food. Well, not entirely, anyway.

Spring is here and with it comes a fresh spurt of creative energy, a change in living quarters, a frenzy of new business opportunities and some really pretty crocus.

It is also bringing me to a place where I must pause in my blogging activity.
In all likelihood, we are taking my computer apart today and putting it in the back of the car and zooming off to transport it to Athens. Zak and I both hate letting movers touch things like computers and musical instruments, so we have been transporting such things in dribs and drabs for the past week or so.

So, as I will be sans computer, that means that we will be sans blog, at least until we move on Monday and get the laptop up and running around Thursday or so.

So, until then, look for radio silence on this page, but after the move and the return to cyberspace, I will start back my frenetic pace of blogging and will fill you all in on the status of my two, yes two, new kitchens, and how my new business ventures with said kitchens and whatnot are going.

And look for new, entertaining features about the food scene in Southeastern Ohio.

Yes. A food scene. In Appalachian Ohio. Yes. Such a thing exists. It does.

Do not be afraid. I will be there, holding your hand the entire way.

It is just my way of reminding the world that all of the good food out there does not just happen in big cities in the restaurants of celebrity chefs under glitzy lights and showmanship. It also happens in small towns, in farmer’s markets and under the hands of talented home cooks turned professional food producers.

So, until then, cook well, eat well, be well, and log off the computer now and again, go outside and smell the flowers. They sure are pretty.

4 Comments

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1. Once a month I go out with a group of friends to dinner and then to the Little Theatre. I started calling us the Dramatic Ladies, which caught on because I am the only one who could by any stretch be considered dramatic.

   Tonight we went to a new Vietnamese restaurant and I had hot and sour soup for the first time ever. It smelled funny, but tasted wonderful—thanks!

   Comment by wwjudith — March 26, 2005 #

2. Good luck with the new house! I’m looking forward reading your posts again when you’ll be settled in your new home.

   Comment by Dagmar — March 29, 2005 #

3. Wow Barbara,
   Two new kitchens? Let me guess, one with high heat and extra strong exhaust for quick but smoky stir fries and one for the rest of the cooking? I’ve known of Chinese families with such arrangements because their stir fries always activate the smoke alarms. Shirley

   Comment by Anonymous — April 1, 2005 #

4. Hey, everyone. Look for a post from me in the next few days; we are in the new house, and while we have Internet access, I am typing on the laptop, which is a sure-fire recipe for RSI wrist disaster! So, I will wait until my office is put together in order to write a longer, more in-depth post.

   Judith–I am proud to have influenced you. Hot and sour soups are a mainstay in the Asian cuisines. My favorite by far is the Sichuan version, but the Vietnamese and Thai versions are tasty and wonderful, too. Keep eating and let me know what you think of the various types as you discover them.

   Dagmar–as I said, the real posts are coming as soon as the real computer is up and going; sitting on the floor with the laptop is hell on my wrists, which are already peeved at me for my lifting and loading activities of the past month.

   Shirley–the house has two kitchens because the upstairs floor had a mother-in-law suite in it, with a full kitchen. At some point in its existence, the upper floor was rented out illegally to grad students–the house isn’t zoned for such rentals, but they are commonly done in this town, under the table and quiet-like. The upstairs kitchen has a separate outside entrance to the upper-floor deck, where I have put my propane fired wok, the giant wood/charcoal fired grill and a table for prep work. We just put a stove in the upstairs kitchen–unfortunately it had to be electric, as running gas up would be very expensive. We are working on putting in a fridge, too–there is a space for one, but it will only hold a tiny one. As my downstairs kitchen is still unfunctional (contractors work on their own timetable, not yours– a lesson I have just learned), I need to have the upstairs kitchen fully functional soon, as I am dying from not cooking.

   As for what I am going to do with two kitchens–it is simple. The upstairs kitchen is to be a teaching kichen; in Athens, I am starting a business called “Tigers and Strawberries Culinary Services,” which will include personal chef serves, small event catering, dim sum parties, and, most importantly of all–culinary arts instruction. The upstairs kitchen will be functioning as a teaching kitchen–I can take up to five students up there, and have them working, though I will prefer to work one or two on one. I already have students lined up–our realtor and her husband were the first to sign on for Thai cooking lessons.

   So, that is what is up–I am going crazy getting the upstairs kitchen ready for our first cooked meal in the new house–ma po tofu, four seasons string beans and steamed rice. Tomorrow will be stir fried pork and pressed tofu, and maybe a small pot of hot and sour soup.

   Wish me luck–and I will be back on a regular posting schedule soon!

   Comment by Barbara Fisher — April 3, 2005 #

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