This turkey would like to remind you to stay out of the malls this year so you can buy your Christmas presents in locally owned small businesses that contribute more to your local community. Don't be a jive ass mofro, shop and buy local.
I'm not kidding when I tell you that the next crisis we face is going to be in our food supply. I'd adivse you to watch a short film called The Power of Community (How Cuba Survived Peak Oil). This short film has much to teach us about how to farm and live when the oil runs out, and yes, despite what FOX Noise and Rush tell you, the oil is going to run out someday soon. This film about our supposed enemy has more information and hope in it than in anythign I've seen in the past few years. There is a way out and we'll all find it just as soon as we stop letting big business tell us how to live.
One of the consequences of putting our place on the market is having to be out when people want to look at it. As a result of having to be out when realtors show our place we have eaten dinner out more in the past month than we have in the past few years. I like to eat out from time to time but anymore since I know most of the food served in restaurant around here is not organic or naturally grown, I'm kind of leery about eating it. Also I like to cook and I've gotten pretty good at about a dozen or so dishes and so I prefer to eat at home where I have some control over what kind of foods I cook.After an attempt to play 18 holes of disc golf yesterday morning with my friend Keith, we had to stop after 12holes because by 9:30 it was already too hot to take a breath, Sparky and I got cleaned up and we trundled off downtown to take part in the festivities. Unlike so many others, we dressed properly for the screamingly humid heat. (Honestly people, when it's 90+ degrees out and the humidity is 100% percent, it's not a good idea to dress all in black. And if your kid is whiter than white except for his blisteringly red cheeks and he or she is sweating like a Republican at a truth telling convention, then it's probably time to get the kid inside or at least under some shade.)
There were the usual suspects vendor wise participating in this year's Blue Plum. The pseudo hippies were there pedaling their tie dyed wares, local food vendors also were amongst the vendors, and the folks from Just Herbs, Inc were there once again and we loaded up on spices, teas, and other herbal concoctions. We also loaded up on handmade soap and bought a soy candle from this great establishment.
One great thing about our small festival is that they offer booth and table space to local non profit advocacy groups. And one group that is near and dear to our hearts is the new PFLAG chapter that was started by our friend Rev. Shuck and the gal who owns and runs Althea Soap. 
Alas Rev. John was out of town helping his 90 year old father celebrate another year above ground, but the PFLAG booth was well staffed. Our good friends and fellow trouble makers John
and Snad, 
and a bevy of others, staffed the PFLAG booth and they twisted our arms, I mean they persuaded Sparky and I, to become members of their fine organization. Before I forget, here's a shot I took inside Althea Soaps. Having just used some of the soap we bought there yesterday I can truly say it's great stuff. If the overly processed soap corporate America producesa nd sells causes your skin to itch and burn like it does mine, then do yourself a favor and buy some of Melanie's soap. You'll be supporting a PFLAG friendly business and getting a great product to boot. As you can see she also sells other stuff in her little shop so go back and click on her web page when you get the chance.
No self respecting street fair would be worth it's salt if they didn't have a shitload of folks selling all kinds of deep fried food, funnel cakes, and other crap that's bad for you and this years Blue Plum acquitted itself nicely in that regard. Here's a shot of one of the street food vendors I took as I hurried by before the siren song of deep fried food got too seductive for me to resist.
I almost succumbed to the fried Oreos.
I loved the sight of these two young Hispanic boys wearing madras shorts.
I bet this little gal ended up as red as her great looking shoes by the end of the day.
Here's a shot of my friend Keith. That's Keith on the far left wearing, wait for it, wait for it, a BLACK t shirt. He justified it by pointing out it was an Obama for President shirt, so I let him slide this time.
And since I figured out how to use my digital camera as a video camera, here's a a couple of minutes of The Subdudes. If you listen very closely you can hear me say, "I think I'm recording a movie." To which you can rightly reply, "No you moron, you're not recording a movie, you're just recording random shit that happened to get in front of your lens. What you have recorded is far from a movie."
The first full weekend in June in Johnson City means it's Blue Plum Festival time! There'll be live music, food, stuff for sale, and various organizations will have booths that offer info during the street fair. 
I love to roast things in this clay pot roaster that Sparky's sister got us a few years ago, especially whole chickens. In order to use it though I have to soak it in cold water for ten minutes. Also I don't pre-heat the oven when using the roaster because it needs to warm up gradually as the oven heats up.
As my clay roaster soaked up the cold water I cut up about 7 cloves of garlic, a third of an onion, and one third of a red pepper. 
Next I ground about a tablespoon and a half of fresh black pepper. To that I added a tea spoon of sweet Spanish paprika and a tea spoon and a half of sea salt. I then tossed in my garlic and I poured in a glug of extra virgin olive oil. I mixed it all around and then I set it aside.
My pot was ready so I took it out of the sink and I drained the water. I then opened my chicken. I like using organic chicken because organic food is best for your body in most every case. If I can't find a reasonably priced organic bird, I try to use ones that have been fed a vegetarian diet and have been raised without growth hormones.
I took most of the skin off the chicken because that's where most of the fat is on a chicken and then I laid the chicken in the bottom of the roasting pan.
Next I slapped the spice and oil mixture all over the chicken and then I added the onion and red pepper. I put the lid on it and I stuck it in a cold oven I then turned the oven on to 375 degrees and I left the chicken in for one hour and forty five minutes. At about halfway though the cooking time I opened the pot to check on the chicken and I turned it over in the pan. And yes, at all times when I was handling the hot roasting pan I did indeed use my keen new potholders.
When my timer went off I pulled the pan out and I checked my chicken. It was indeed done. I took the chicken out of the pan and I poured all that nice liquid that also contained the cooked garlic, the spices, the onion, and the red pepper into a little sauce pan. 
Or Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Mushroom Green Pepper Quesadilla.
I chopped a medium sized butternut squash, scooped out the seeds and strings, and I put it in a big pot to boil. I added a half teaspoon of sea salt and I let it boil away until it was all cooked through, i.e. soft and pliant.
After it was done I drained off the water and I scooped out the squash and I threw away the skin. I then put the squash in my food processor with a cup of chicken broth and I pulsed it all together until it was nice and soupy looking.
Next I poured it into a smaller pan and I added another cup of chicken broth and a cup and cup of water. 
Then I peeled three cloves of garlic, chopped them up, and I tossed them in with a heaping table spoon of some Thai spice rub, a table spoon of crushed black pepper, half a tea spoon of cumin, and a dash of sea salt. I ground all that up with my mortar and pestle and then I put it in with my simmering squash soup.
Next I sauteed half a green pepper, four or five medium baby portabella mushrooms, and half an onion. After that was cooked through I set it aside in a small dish.
I rinsed out the pan and reheated it with a dash of canola oil and as soon as it was hot I added a flour tortilla. As it heated up I spread the green pepper mixture around on it and I added four tablespoons of Newman's Own Salsa. Then I topped that with about half a cup of low fat mozzarella and I slapped another flour tortilla on top of that. As it all melted and heated up I flipped it over when the bottom started getting a bit brown and I let the other side brown a bit. After it got browned on both sides I took it off the heat and I made some carrot and celery sticks.
Then I plated it all. The quesadilla was excellent by the way but the soup was a shade too spicy for both our tastes, next time I won't add any of the Thai spice rub and it should be perfect.
They offer a complete line of organic and sustainably made health and beauty products, along with other products that nurture one's mind, body, and spirit.
They recycle in all their stores and they encourage you to recycle as well by offering some recycling opportunities. They are a bright spot in an otherwise bleak corporate landscape. I for one am looking forward to shopping at their new store here in town when it opens this summer. It's always good eatin' when you have food that has been grown locally and without poisonous fertilizers and pesticides.
Sparky and I ate the little samples Jamie gave us and we laughed at her joke. Then we turned and began to look at the assorted breads they had for sale. Sparky tapped me on the shoulder a moment later and said, "Look." She was pointing at a sign on the refrigerator case that was taped up in front on some containers of what Jamie had just given us samples of. The sign said, "Small containers of Argentina $4, Jars of Argentina $8." We both had a laugh again but Jamie got the last laugh because we ended up buying some Argentina and we'll be having it for supper later tonight.
I said to Sparky, "Hey, let's drive to Jonesborough and see if that new brewery is open." With the prospect of cold locally brewed beer dangling in front of her like a Christmas ornament, Sparky quickly agreed to my plan.
I was worried that they may have been closed by the time we got there but one quick glance at the hours of operation told me we made it in plenty of time, we got there around 3:30 PM in fact.
From the outside the brewery doesn't look like much:
But once you get inside it's another story. We walked in and we were ushered back and the nice young fellow asked us if we wanted to taste their wares. Not being ones to turn down free beer we quickly agreed to sample the locally brewed ales and lagers. And yes, at one point the young man told me the difference between an ale and a lager but I was too busy enjoying the free beer to pay attention.
Once he checked our ID's, we have a new state law that says all persons wishing to buy any alcohol must show ID, the young man started pouring from the taps pictured above. We sampled the house brew, which was very good and was the kind we ended up buying later, a caramel tasting dark beer, a dark Scottish ale that is also currently for sale in local grocery stores in 12 ounce bottles, a beer so dark that it almost sucked the light from the room and that tasted too much like coffee for my tastes, a fruity lager which I liked but Sparky didn't, and one other ale which was really good but the name of which I forget now.
Even though the sign outside said tours by appointment, the young man gave us one without an appointment, finally we are getting the respect and perks we deserve! Blogging pays off kids, stick with it!
The young man took us on a guided tour of the joint and we saw many tanks like the ones above and the ones below.
Mmmmm, locally brewed beer in the fridge. 
