Connie and I do vacations pretty
much the way we live our lives. Pack as
much in as possible then collapse and sleep and get up and do it all over
again. With everything going on over the
last year, we’d only had four days totally out of the office. And, that includes Sundays. So, yes, we were overdue for some fun and
games. We got our favorite traveling
partners to come along with us and off we went.
First stop, Huber Winery. We’ve been there umpteen times and are always
so impressed with what they’re doing down there in Starlight, IN. A wine tasting, a trip through the cheese
shop (green onion Havarti anyone?) and a quick visit to the farm market and we
were on our way to Huber Family Farms.
Home of our favorite fried chicken livers. We split a dinner and there were still enough
for me to have those for breakfast the next morning. We always get the cole slaw as one of our sides. It’s the sweet and sour – read sugar and vinegar
– kind. And, it’s frequently the one I
pull out the Huber cookbook and make at home.
This time we tried the chicken and dumplings as another of our
sides. A bit too salty and not enough like
my grandmother’s. Next time I’ll go back
to the green beans.
From Huber we headed south to
Falls of the Ohio state park.
Fabulous. The interpretive center
takes you from 450 million years ago when that area was 30 degrees SOUTH
latitude to now when it’s 38 degrees north.
It walks through the formation of the New Albany shale and how the
fossil beds came to be at the bottom of a lake and are now part of a
river. Totally fascinating science
there.
Yes, one of us HAD to put his feet in the river...
Next stop was the George Rogers
Clark homestead. Interpreters were there
so that made it much more interesting. Can't believe I didn't get ONE photo!
Finally, we headed into New
Albany and drove around a bit to see where we were going the next morning. And, to investigate the restaurant we’d
decided on for dinner. Hull and High
Water was the name. And, it was
closed. Bummer. On to our second choice. Closed.
Ok, so our third choice was OPEN.
We checked in to our hotel and freshened up then headed out for
dinner. What a dinner it was. Enough food to feed an army. And, it was wonderful food. I had an appetizer – tots and Bourbon BBQ
beef – along with a spinach salad with strawberries. Connie had a burger and mac and cheese. We’d eat at The Exchange regularly if it wasn’t
so geographically undesirable.
Day two. Up early and on to the Culbertson Mansion. Caitlin gave us a fabulous tour. At one-point Mr. Culbertson was the richest
man in Indiana. The house was a wedding
present for his second wife. His first
had died and he married a widow. Connie
and I both responded that our favorite thing of the entire trip was the
ceilings in the Culbertson mansion. I’ll
let the photos do the talking…
Time to head south to Shaker
Village at Pleasant Hill. We got there
in time to grab sandwiches and eat a picnic on the grounds. At 1:00 we had an introductory tour thanks to
Andrew. Then, at two we had a farm tour
and tasting. They’re using all
environmentally sound practices. We met
some interesting ducks and got to see piglets and chickens and one magnificent
rooster! Then it was off to the gift
shop where we scored some switch plate covers!
Our last activity at the park was on Shaker Music. A retired Methodist minister named Holly Wood
led the lesson. Now, we truly understood
why they were called Shakers. Last but
not least we took a ride on a paddle wheel boat up the Kentucky River. Saw a few turtles and a couple of fish jumping
but it was mostly about the great scenery.
see the turtle?
On to Beaumont Inn. My folks used to go there regularly. It was my first visit. I, of course, told Mom it was as magnificent
as she remembers it being. In actuality,
the food was average and we weren’t thrilled that the advertised rocking chairs
weren’t on our porch. Oh, and we didn’t
like the full ashtray that WAS on the porch.
I was torn between being glad I finally got there and being sorry it
wasn’t what I’d imagined I’d find… Isn’t
that often true of life!
Day three. I know, it feels like we packed four days
into the first two! Up and at ‘em and on
to Fort Harrod. It’s a living history
museum so we got to learn about broom making, weaving, basket weaving and how
the fort’s residents managed to hunt despite the Indians. Well, sometimes they succeeded and often they
never came back… Over to the side is a pioneer cemetery. Some of the info is tough to read but it is fascinating. Up front is the cabin where it's believed Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were married. Very well protected inside a red brick building! It’s a very well done
site.
Next stop – Berea and Squire
Boone’s Tavern for lunch. Chris and I
both got the fried green tomato salad with chipotle dressing. YUM!!!
I’d have that again right now!!
Lunches were served with spoon bread.
We meandered down the street and
checked out the artisans. Most everything
was expensive so we passed on everything we wanted. It’s about experiences and not stuff! Well, unless it’s cookbooks. Which I did buy a few of… Then it was on to the artisan village. Intermittent rainstorms and more expensive
stuff for sale. But, it was a lot of fun
to see it all.
Chris was thrilled because we
could “rise naturally” on Thursday. That’s
a term we learned at the Culbertson Mansion.
The women in the family were all allowed to rise naturally. We were still on schedule to head to a cathedral
down the street for it’s 10am opening time so I set an alarm. Good thing because I got a few chigger bites
at Shaker Village so I was up half the night itching.
Day four. The Cathedral of the Assumption was our first
stop. More stained glass than I’ve ever
seen in one place. And, incredible
mosaics on the walls. Connie explained
that they are the stations of the cross. I’m not certain how many photos I took but I
really went over the top!
From there we headed downtown to the Underground Railroad Museum. They suggest at least two hours to tour it. We really needed six to eight but finally gave up after four and a half. Fortunately, they have an in/out policy so we were able to take off around lunchtime and go next door to Taste of Belgium. I do wish they’d open a location in Indy! Connie and I split a mushroom crepe and a pig and fig crepe. The mushroom was absolutely outstanding and the pig and fig was close behind it.
During our museum visit we all
learned a lot. And, all of us got very
depressed about what the white folks have done to the Native Americans and the
African Americans. We only got through
the major gallery and our two specialty tickets – one for the Rosa Parks
Experience and another called the Color of Money. We’re going to need to go back to
finish. It’s absolutely worth a visit.
As we got in the car the rain and
the wind started. Stoplights were
swinging parallel to the ground. It was ugly. We debated the intelligence of heading to
Spring Grove. It’s a cemetery and
arboretum. Finally the consensus was the
storm would blow through by the time we got there. It did.
There are three paths to follow.
We took all three. Saw turtles on
the first two and a groundhog on the third.
And, more downed branches than you can count. And, two downed trees. And, TONS of interesting headstones.
We had a bit of time to kill
before dinner so found a Goodwill where I could check for cookbooks. Found two.
That put my total for the trip at six.
I’ve already used three of them and love them. Have a ton of recipes bookmarked to try.
Dinner was at the Incline Public
House. Where we saw another
engagement! Two in two nights!!! All of our dinners were fabulous. Fish sandwich, smoked brisket grilled cheese,
hamburger, and soup and salad. The view
was great too. Back to the hotel to
collapse.
see the white bridge on the right? behind it there's a tall, round building. that's our hotel!
Up early Friday morning to head
to Holtman’s Donuts. Oh, yeah. Best donuts I’ve ever had. Connie loves chocolate cake glazed. Those were better than his beloved Dunkins. I had a maple bacon yeast that was so good my
mouth is watering just typing about it. Good
thing that shop in in Cinti and not Indy or we’d be regulars.
Last stop, Jungle Jims. Virtually no room in the car other than the
cooler so we had to be judicious. I had
a few things on my list that I can’t find in Indy. Duck breasts (probably at Kincaids but we’ve
not been across town to check,) goetta, pink peppercorns, champagne vinegar… We found a few more treasures but mostly
enjoyed window shopping. If you’ve never
been there, you need to go. I think it’s
the size of a couple of football fields.
There are side rooms for specialty ethnic foods. Ireland, France, Spain… And, shelves and shelves for others. I took a ton of photos of interesting
food. And, of the décor. Gotta keep looking up or you miss half the
fun! Lobster was on sale so we got a
couple of them. One to split for dinner
Friday and the other for lobster rolls on Saturday. Rather threw off my dinner menus, but that’s
ok.
Ok, homeward bound. On the way home, Chris started talking about
a great restaurant in Columbus that I’d never found. Homeboys.
Well, that became our lunch destination.
Fried chicken and fish bites.
YUM! Green beans with real
seasoning and great mac and cheese. Well worth the wait.
On to Indy and one happy doggie!!!
Back to reality. Time to cook dinner was upon us. Lobster and what else? The imperfect Produce box was the standard
one since I never got online to customize it.
Apples, oranges, red potatoes, carrots, kiwis, kale and a few other
goodies. I pulled out two small red
potatoes and the kale and started looking through my new cookbooks. And, Giada’s Italy which I’d taken along to
read. Found a couple of great
recipes.
Saturday evening we were heading to
the theatre. Dinner had to be
quick. Connie actually found split top
buns for our lobster rolls. I saw a
recipe a while back for lobster rolls with browned butter instead of the usual
mayo or the usual butter – depending on which state you’re in! I decided to mix mayo and browned butter and
see what happened. Well, let me tell
you, yumminess happened. I grabbed some
fruit from the produce box and threw together a fruit salad that wound up being a
total winner. Here’s how our meals came
together:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 slices thick cut bacon, diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ t crushed red pepper flakes
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 bunch kale, stemed and torn
into large piecesK
Kosher salt and black pepper
Directions:
Brown the bacon in a large
skillet. Use a slotted spoon to remove
the bacon from the skillet then pour off all but two tablespoons of the bacon
grease. Sauté the garlic, scallions and
red pepper flakes. Pour in the balsamic
vinegar and cook until it’s a bit reduced.
Stir in the kale and keep stirring for four to six minutes until it’s
wilted.
Adapted from Tasting Kentucky by
Maggie Green
Giada’s Parmesan Potatoes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 small redskin potatoes
Olive oil
1 small sprig rosemary, stemmed
and finely chopped
½ - ¾ c shredded parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425. Cut the potatoes into quarters. If they’re larger, eighths or sixths will
work. Toss them with olive oil. Put them in a baking dish and sprinkle them
with the rosemary. Roast them 20 minutes,
tossing a couple of times. Then,
sprinkle the cheese over and roast them another 10 minutes, tossing them
once.
Adapted from Giada’s Italy by
Giada DeLaurentis
Kate’s Lobster Rolls
Serves 2
Ingredients:
serves 2
One 1.5 lb lobster, cooked, picked
and chopped
¼ c mayonnaise
1 T browned butter, warmed
1 large or 2 small celery ribs,
finely diced
2 split top buns
1 T butter
Directions:
In a skillet, melt the last
tablespoon of butter. Brush it over the
bottom of the skillet. Open the buns and
put them in the skillet cut side down.
While the buns are getting nice and brown and toasty, mix the rest of
the ingredients for the rolls. Stuff the
filling into the buns and devour.
Tropical Waldorf Salad
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 apple, cored and chopped
2 kiwis, peeled and chopped
¼ c browned and chopped
pistachios
¼ c mayonnaise
1 T Malibu rum
Directions:
Toss it all together and serve.
