The West County ICC

Getting around in west county is confusing for some, easy for those who live here. This postcard that came today

reminded me that to get from east to west or vice versa, many of us use this relatively direct routing that the bike races use.

The Homewood/Folly Quarter/Triadelphia route is our ICC. People believe that these rural roads have little traffic and are good for serene quiet bike rides. Believe me, other than the Sunday morning of the races, these roads are anything but serene.

Bike race days don’t bother those of us who live out here (at least, most of us), but the pre-race training gets a little crazy. Packs of cyclists vying with trash trucks, Eyre buses, school buses and commuters using these roads as a way to avoid Rte. 32 can be a little daunting.

I have witnessed accidents because of low visibility around the trash trucks, and a number of times we have had tire tracks swerving up to our lawn and back down to the street.

Those of us who live out here go through this circle (downtown Glenelg meets the end of Dayton) countless times a week. The gas wars between Royal Farms and Shell means we have some of the best prices around. This pic in April was when gas in Columbia was almost $4.

Lots of residents come here to gas up and get coffee, so it is a busy place even on weekends. The run to Columbia from West County along this route takes you past St. Anthony’s, where the Monk’s Bread that HowChow blogged about is sold.

This site is lovely, with grounds that are just incredible to visit.

The University of Maryland has some of their research farms along the route also.

So many times, people say to get to Glenwood or Glenelg to just take Rte. 32. It is not the most direct way to travel, and certainly isn’t as scenic. The back roads that connect east and west, and north and south get you past some interesting sites, like this one.

This is on the north south shortcut and Rte. 32 avoidance route. Where else can you find a post office like this one?

Take the back roads. Avoid 32, and the traffic. Stop and enjoy the scenery, and eat al fresco at the Crossroads. The $29.95 all you can eat crab special is active. We saw the sign on our way north on the Ten Oaks/Linthicum route the other day.

At least their picnic tables have a fence to keep you from getting that parking lot view.

hocoblogs@@@

Visiting Alex’s Snowball Stand in Lisbon … And Other Random Thoughts on West County Activities

Yesterday morning I posted that we would be going out to Sharp’s Farm to buy plants. While we were out, my husband wanted to try the snowball stand in Lisbon to see how they measure up to Woodstock, his favorite place for summer treats.

We spent about 30-45 minutes picking out plugs at Sharp’s, and it is warm and humid in the greenhouses, so a snowball sounded good.

After we settled up, I carefully wedged the plants in the back of the truck, I didn’t want them sliding around in the bed of the pickup. As you notice in this picture, these are not the two dozen flower plugs I bought, these are the pole beans, cucumbers and a few more exotic varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Somehow they enticed me, and now I need to rethink what goes where in the garden. The 3 inch pots at Sharp’s are only $1.50, a very good price for plants this large.

So, where are the snowballs? They are here.

They also sell ice cream and Nathan’s hot dogs. They have a children’s play area around back.

They are on the circle in Lisbon just up from the Town Grill and on the way to Larriland Farms. A really convenient spot to stop for a cooling ice cream or snowball after picking strawberries this May.

On the way home we stopped into Western Regional Park to see how it had grown. There are now five miles of trails in the park, paved and natural surfaces.

Weekends in West County. You also have lots of options for picnics. There are three locations where you can pick up foods to go and have a day in this less crowded Howard County park.

There is Vittorio’s.

Casual Gourmet.

And, Smokin’ Hot.

All in all, a good trip today. I am monitoring the updates on when the strawberries will be ready to pick at Larriland. In the meantime, my husband gave his egg custard snowball from Alex’s a thumbs up, for putting more than enough flavoring in it, and for the taste. We will be going back.

hocofood@@@

Grillin’ and Enjoying a Killer VA Wine

Tonight we decided to grill using mostly local ingredients.

We wanted to try a killer wine from Virginia. This is a wine that will rival Bordeaux wines such as Pichon Lalande.

The year 2009 was one of those years where the weather cooperated in giving us big, flavorful wines worthy of cellaring. Linden had their barrel tasting the past two weekends and pre-released this 2009 Hardscrabble Vineyard cabernet dominant blend.

Dark, intense, a baby when compared to other wines. Here is an example of what winemakers are capable of producing in the Mid Atlantic region when it comes to wines. This wine won’t peak for at least ten years. It can be bought at a fraction of the cost of Bordeaux wines with less depth. It just overwhelms your palate. The filet, though, stood up to it..

The filets and the bacon were fron Boarman’s. The asparagus and potatoes from the Zahradka Farm CSA. A local dinner with a wine from the master. Jim Law has assisted countless aspiring winemakers, including Black Ankle winemaker Sarah O’Herron. He is one of those talented people who puts his heart and soul into his wines.

The year 2009 was a perfect year for making big wines in the mid Atlantic. This is the vintage to buy.

For a fraction of the cost of dinner in a restaurant, you can grill a steak and serve a killer wine. Trust me. We did dinner at Aida on Saturday. My grilled dinner with wine blew it away.

From start to finish, a simple grilled meal with an awesome wine can be had for half the cost of going out. In this area, we are blessed with wineries that produce excellent cabernets and chardonnays, at a fraction of the cost of French or California wines.

Check them out. Make a killer dinner yourself. Look at VA and MD for some big, cellar worthy reds.

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Lunch at the Lunchbox

OK, so Frederick isn’t Hoco, but for those of us in West Hoco, it isn’t far to get there. Sometimes, with less traffic, I can be at the Costco or Wegmans there in less than half an hour. We had some errands to run this morning, and the weather wasn’t cooperating when it came to doing things around here.

We decided to check out Lunchbox. If you are a Top Chef fan, you know about Bryan Voltaggio and Volt. This past November, he opened a lunch place on Carroll Creek.

The menu is fairly simple. Soups, salads, pressed sandwiches, desserts. Decor is fun, too.

The sodas are a treat, like Cheerwine.

Little touches of whimsy like the bottle openers above the containers, and crates with “free” apples. Buy lunch, get an apple.

I did not take a picture of my meatloaf sandwich. Not great looking, but so tasty. I did like the set up in the corner that says it all.

Oh, and in good weather, you can dine al fresco with no views of parking lots or storm water management ponds. Frederick is really fun to visit. Take a trip out some day.

hocofood@@@

Second Chance Today

OK, when I moved here it was about to become the Last Chance when Claire Lea named it that. They already had JK’s in Wilde Lake, which we loved to frequent.

When it closed in 2004, many of us mourned the loss of another of our favorite watering holes.

Tonight at the Second Chance, in Oakland Mills, the local blogging community is converging to raise a pint or two (or 53) and share stories, tips, enjoy the face to face camaraderie of being local writers about All Things Howard County (and beyond).

And, for us locavores, maybe buy a pint of local beer. One of my favorites. Love the names of Flying Dog beers.

See you there!

hocoblogs@@@

Feeding My Farmer’s Market Addiction in Silver Spring

It’s been two months since I set foot in a farmer’s market. I think I was having withdrawal symptoms, so I coerced persuaded my better half to drive me down to Silver Spring this morning. I can drive now, but can’t carry. I suppose that if I went by myself I might buy less, but there’s no fun in that.

I decided to issue myself a personal challenge. That is, not to set foot in Giant, Safeway, Food Lion or Weis for the next six months unless I absolutely have to. There are just a few things not available elsewhere that I buy in the grocery store.

My goal is to use CSA, farmers’ markets, Boarman’s, local veggie stands, small businesses, family owned businesses (have to say this to sneak in Wegman’s), pick your own farms, and everything else I can think of that will provide me mostly real food instead of processed.

I will keep track of what I do and use the blog to discuss how well I am doing in really changing my diet to eliminate more and more of the processed foods. Today was the beginning of stocking up on fresh foods, and clearing out the pantry and fridge of the processed stuff.

We arrived around 11 am and the first thing you see is the Atwater’s truck.

I had to pick up a loaf of kalamata olive bread to serve with the last chicken noodle soup out of the freezer tonight. We had demolished the two loaves we bought last week in Catonsville, partially by taking some to friends for dinner last night.

We got apples, spring onions and chard from Spring Valley. It is so good to see spring onions. I love them with microgreens, like the ones in yesterday’s CSA delivery. Down to Firefly Farms for cheese, and Mock’s Greenhouses for the wonderful cherry tomatoes, hydroponcially grown basil and arugula.

I am going to make my own flatbread dough with the Union Mills flour I picked up at Breezy Willow a while ago, and put arugula, bleu cheese and Boarman’s sausage on it one night next week. The hydroponic greens and the high tunnel cherry tomatoes from Mock’s are a hint of what is to come in summer. The basil is intensely scented, making me want to create a caprese salad if only I had some fresh mozzarella. The tomatoes burst with flavor and you wouldn’t know they were “hothouse” tomatoes unless someone told you.

I was talking to them and yes, they will be a supplier to Wegman’s in Columbia just like they are in Frederick. Woo Hoo! Their bibb lettuce is incredibly sweet and delicious but today I already had containers full of greens and spinach at home from the CSA. This week we will be feasting on fresh salads.

Stopped at Garden Path Farms to pick up short ribs to use in the crockpot tomorrow with the chard bought at Spring Valley and the CSA mustard greens.

Soaking cranberry beans from MOM’s overnight tonight, so dinner will be greens, beans and ribs in the slow cooker. I will use the last pint of my turkey stock from the freezer to make this. Another real food dinner made from scratch.

After picking up these goodies, we hit Lebanese Taverna for a kafta sandwich. There are so many interesting restaurants on Ellsworth just behind City Place. Want Pho? Peri Peri? Thai? Lebanese? Potbelly Sandwiches? The list is endless. 100+ restaurants in the surrounding area. Free parking in the Wayne Avenue garage. A Whole Foods across from the parking garage as well in case you aren’t already shopped out.

Take a cooler in your trunk. Hit the market. Next week they go back to spring hours. From 9 am to 1 pm. Have breakfast, brunch or lunch and get in shape for our markets to open in six weeks. Can’t beat fresh veggies, meats, cheeses, eggs and fruit from area farmers.

And follow me on my GGSAC* journey. The *Great Grocery Store Avoidance Challenge*.

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Out and About – Roots, MOM’s and R&R

The past two days saw us out doing errands and shopping for a few things I needed in order to meal plan for the week.

The destination Monday was lunch at R&R. We decided this time to try the tortas. Trust me, ours did not look like this.

Tortas are R&R’s contribution to the sandwich trade. OK, but not my favorite. We ate there, crowded in a corner. We had the barbacoa, aka lamb. The lamb was very good, as was the Mexican cheese. Bread a little soggy and not much avocado. We will go back to eating the tacos in the future. You just can’t beat their tortillas.

Before hitting R&R, we stopped at MOM’s to get a few things. That grew, but I did get quite a few local items. They have a larger selection of local items than Roots.

The local haul from MOM’s. These will find their way into my next two local meals.

As for Roots, we hit there Sunday while my hubby had to go to Kendall’s.

Highlights included: sea salt, rosemary crackers, hummingbird farms hydroponic tomatoes (local) and bulk pepitas for salad.

I also picked up some locally baked croutons from Canela Bread to serve with my Bowling Green Farm jalapeno spread.

And organic limes for the mojitos Sunday night. The mint in the mojitos is from my garden pots outside that are already producing.

Yum, mojitos and appetizers on the patio. In March. Love the weather this month.

hocofood@@@

Standing in a Crowded Fireplace …

… and yelling “Theater, Theater!!”. One of my favorite JK Lea quotes. For whatever reason as we approach St. Patrick’s Day, I got to remembering how great JK’s Pub was. How it was our neighborhood bar. How much JK put of himself into making it special.

This triggered the memories. I found my 15th Anniversary mug, and my husband had to have a Guiness to toast the occasion.

For quite a long time it was the place to go after work to relax and meet others. Our next door neighbors met there. Got engaged there. Married there. Quite a number of people did the same. We met a couple at the blogtail party who also married there. And, they knew our neighbors and played darts with their son. The small world of Howard County.

I don’t know if there is any place like it still in Columbia. There are bars, yes, and happy hours, but the old time, every one knows each other, neighborhood bars seem to have disappeared. Or maybe it’s just because I am getting old, and don’t frequent bars like we did when we were young and relatively free to go out many nights.

Other favorites from our past in Howard County –

Roy’s Place Too
Last Chance
The Allview Inn

As for today, it seems to us that Iron Bridge comes close. So does Victoria’s.

Others????

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

hocofood@@@

Coming Full Circle

A return to real food. When I was young, my mother always cooked from scratch. That was pretty much the only way to cook. The 50s were a time before supermarkets contained aisle after aisle of packaged and processed foods. It was a time you ate seasonally, and you followed the family traditions. Fish on Friday. Hot dogs and beans on Saturday. A chicken or roast on Sunday. Leftovers made into soup for Monday.

Those were our family traditions. Including one of my personal favorites when I was little. Scrambled eggs and scrapple. My husband won’t eat scrapple so I would get my occasional fix at the cafeteria at work, or when I went to see my parents when my husband was on travel. When I was little, scrapple came from the Lexington Market in Baltimore. Freshly made.

Somehow along the years we all became enamored of packaged meals, canned foods, TV dinners, and the frozen food aisle was a major source of what came home to be “cooked”. OK, but not as satisfying as those foods I remember from childhood.

What else made me think hard about how I ate, and what it contained and where it came from? You see, my dad and I share quite a bit genetically and otherwise. Stubborn Germans, both of us. Still, I thought he was the best.

We shared the same allergies, too. Yes, allergies. It turns out that my dad and I share an aversion to some of those additives put into foods to keep them fresh longer. He sneezed every time we went out to dinner. I started doing the same when I got to be in my 40s. After much messing around to find the triggers, it seems the additives in the ultra pasteurized half and half put on the tables in restaurants was one culprit.

We used to tease dad that he was allergic to the check. But, the cream in his coffee was most probably the source of his allergic reaction. For me, salad bars were always a problem. Can’t do them without a fit of sneezing. Bagged lettuce mixes brought home to make dinner quickly became named as contributors. Other foods were added to the list and avoided.

For the past seventeen days, while recovering from surgery, I ate almost exclusively simple organic soft foods made by myself or my husband. Never sneezed once until the night we had no other salad dressing in the house but one he picked up the other day. I usually make my own. This refrigerated jar of ranch dressing sent me into a sneezing fit. Thankfully, I am far enough along in recovery not to have had a problem, but still unwelcome.

I can go to restaurants where I know I won’t sneeze. Where they cook mostly from scratch. Real food, not reheated defrosted processed foods. Places like Iron Bridge never cause a problem. Bombay Peacock every time caused an outburst. I learned to navigate menus and avoid items all over town.

Today we went to Iron Bridge for lunch after a very good neurosurgeon visit. Celebration. The lunch specials.

Calamari to share. Flatbread for him.

Quiche for me.

Nary a sniffle.

I know I have to concentrate on avoiding as much processed food as I can. I do pretty well because of the CSA and the local farmers. More and more, I have to read labels, buy individual ingredients, make my own, and not rely on processed products.

And, Eat Real Food.

West County – Lunch in Lisbon at the Grill

Today we headed out for a short trip to accomplish three things. Pick up cheese and meat from TLV, check out chicken coops at Myers MiniBarns, and have lunch at the Town Grill.

OK, we lived here seven years. Never stopped at the Grill. It is always crowded when we drive past, but today we decided to brave the rush and get pulled pork. This place smells so good when you drive up.

This would be why. Smoking the meats right in the lot in front of the Grill. All sorts of good stuff including salmon and trout for the fish lovers among us. Definitely small inside, but you can get a place to sit if you wait a few minutes. People are coming and going constantly and it is a mix of locals, bike riders, workers, passers by, and people who just love pit beef.

I did not want to be as geeky as I usually am, and take pics of the food, but I had a BBQ sundae, which is cornbread topped with pulled pork, cole slaw and a deep fried pickle. My hubby had a pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries. They did not disappoint as the smoky intensity is what makes their pulled pork so good. And, it is chunky, not all mushy like some BBQ sandwiches are.

Definitely we will be coming back, maybe even for an occasional Thursday night dinner. They just recently started these.

It puts a whole new meaning on the term Gas and Go. Now, as we also love R&R Taqueria we are becoming gas station food afficianados. Not a bad thing, by any means.

As for other reviews that support how great the food is, check out HowChow and Wordbones.

As for the rest of our trip, we got a brochure and an idea of what the Taj Mahal of chicken coops cost. Trying to decide if we get chickens in the next year, do we build our own coop and spend a fortune on materials, etc. or buy a ready made chicken tractor.

Dreaming and planning. That’s what makes it fun out here. And, yes, we got to TLV for kielbasa and a promise to have a brisket saved when they next butcher a steer, and some Bowling Green Cheese. All in all, a good Saturday morning.

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