The Best Chocolate in The World
In my hands is a basalt stone, about the size of a small running shoe. I’m rubbing roasted cocoa nibs on a metate, (mah tah tay), a curved tablet of rough-hewn stone, and watching the cocoa bean components melt into that familiar texture of warm, dark chocolate. Chris offers me a small spoon and I […]
Raising Six Grand
For the last four years I’ve made a donation to our local Juvenile Diabetes (JDRF) fundraiser. This is a great charity, the local group raises hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they always score very high for efficiency and effectiveness. And our community gets very involved in the fundraising. This group never sits still; they sponsor […]
The Good Lady Upstairs
Bonnie, our faithful and fearless Jack Russell Terrier was growling, a deep threatening growl that meant business. She was determined not to let this intruder near our bed. The hair on the back of her neck spiked upward and her teeth were bared. She was this close to leaping on and ripping into this intruder. […]
Hot Stones or Deep Tissue?
A friend of mine recently gave me one heck of a present, a massage. So I made my reservation and at the appointed time I introduced myself to a lovely young woman and proceeded to get undressed. She offered me the choice of deep tissue or hot stones and naturally I answered “Yes please!” After […]
I won a Date with Tony Bourdain
From the Fall of 2006 It’s 7:00 a.m. on a Friday morning and I’m lying in bed watching the ceiling fan as it slowly induces in me some well-deserved motion sickness. At least I am in a very nice bed and the bathroom is only a short crawl away. I’m 44 years old and I haven’t […]
Making the most of a Leg of Duck
Jason Scholz, Chef/Owner of Stella’s Southern Bistro loves a good fried green tomato, and we serve plenty of them. It’s a year-round staple because it’s what the customers want. Yet Stella’s also serves the finest charcuterie in the South. You heard me, the South. Charcuterie is the process and technique of grinding, curing, smoking and […]