Fabulous Food!

Sorry it took so long to get a post up about this, but I have been working way too much!! The Fabulous Food Show lived up to its name. There were way too many vendors to sample everything in one day, but unfortunately that was all I could manage. I got in to Cleveland in the evening on Friday and checked into the Sheraton hotel a few miles from the airport. It was a nice room and the staff was very courteous. Sadly, I decided to have my dinner at the bar and grill attached to the hotel (it shall remain nameless) and ended up getting sick in the middle of the night from the undercooked cheesesteak sandwich. So I was a little late getting to the Food Show the next day, which meant I couldn't get into line to meet Alton Brown. There were at least 500 people already in line when I got there and he wasn't coming out for another hour yet! So I meandered around the show and bought a few things. A couple of AB books I didn't have yet and of course, FOOD. I stayed away from the wine tastings because I didn't want to upset my stomach again.

I watched Duff Goldman's show on a massive screen while he was on stage as watched the lucky people who had gotten in line early that morning to meet AB. I didn't get to see Giada DeLaurentiis though. Her schedule was running opposite of mine. And at about 4:30 I was able to get in line for the 5pm Alton Brown show. I had gotten pretty good seats, sixth row on the aisle and had a very good view from there. But since there were empty seats in the front row and Alton was rather hurt by this, I quickly ran up and grabbed a seat. Front row!! WOO-HOO!

Needless to say, the show was great. I could go on and on with the details and bore everyone to death, but I'll save the anecdotes for any true fans who want to hear about it. Just post a comment and I'll let you know some of the hilarious moments.

Some of it may end up on Food Network, but I don't know when or what the show will be called. I'll keep you posted when I find out!

Nature Girl

I have been lucky enough to spend some time in Nolde State Forest the last few weekends. I live next door to it since I moved to Berks County and the weather finally cooled off to the point that I can enjoy it. (I am a bug magnet and get eaten alive if I go into the woods in the summer) My favorite hike is along the Watershed Trail. I find the sounds of the stream to be soothing and conducive to meditation. I usually take along a notebook and do a bit of writing here and there along the way. The trail starts off realtively level at the bottom af the mountain and slowly works its way up over the ridge follwing the stream until you get to the actual watershed. Somethin interesting I discovered at the end of the trail is what looks like an old root cellar or storage room. I couldn't see too far back into the opening, but it looked like it was about 10 feet square with stacked stone walls. There was a mound over it that curved into a sort of crescent shape as well. I usually spend at least 3 hours wandering the trails and stopping to write now and then. And by the time I get home I am usually starving and I cook up a big batch of stew or soup or throw a roast into the oven. To me that is just about as perfect of a day as you can get.