I realize this is a little late, but I wanted to break down the most popular posts of 2012.  Thank you to anyone who has stumbled upon this very humble blog that is very much a hobby.  I enjoy all your comments and suggestions!

1.  Oven Baked French Toast:  This is one of my favorite recipes that my mom used to make when I was a little girl.  It has an added bonus that it doesn’t require many ingredients and is very easy.

2.  Easy Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage:  To be honest, I was surprised by the popularity of this post.  I like Corned Beef and Cabbage and I think this is a great way to cook it, but I didn’t realize so many other people would like it.

3.  Cori’s Dog House:  We’re a mixed blog.  We write about recipes and restaurants that we visit and that’s ok.  Cori’s Dog House is a great hot dog place in Mt. Juliet.  Yum.

4.  Tennessee Caviar:  (Also known as redneck caviar) This is an awesome dish.  We make it as a treat and eat it with chips.

5. Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House:  This is a great stop if you are a Tennessee tourist (or a resident).  I take students every other year to tour the Jack Daniel’s distillery.  We eat here every time.  You eat with a hostess, who discusses the history of the town and the boarding house.

Most of these posts were written previous to last year.  Here are a few of my favorite post this year, in no particular order:

1. Mushroom Beef Stew:  We make this regularly in our house.  It’s relatively easy and awesome.

2.  Phyllo Chicken Pie:  Also a new recipe that made it into our normal rotation.

3.  Nona Lisa Pizzeria:  A really great pizzeria in Watertown.   Worth the drive.

4.  Gingersnaps:  We make these almost every year around Christmas.  They are my favorite Christmas cookie.

5.  Burger Republic:  This is my new favorite restaurant.  I’m so glad it’s close so we can go there regularly.

There’s my 2012 review in a nutshell.  Any recipes or restaurants we should try in 2013?

Hi folks.  This isn’t food related, but just something that has been on my heart.  David Riemens went missing in Watertown, TN on 8/8/12.  I did not know him personally, but I have friends who are really missing him.

He was a stone mason that did amazing work.

This is copied pretty much directly from the Facebook page:

David Riemens has been missing since Wednesday 8/8/12. His truck is parked in the Dollar General parking lot in Watertown TN. If anyone has seen him or knows anything about •where he might be, •the contractor he was meeting, •the old man building a block foundation, maybe for his adult child- approximately 20 mile radius, near an old barn not visible from the road and there is rock fence nearby. •If they are still working on it, the stud walls may be up by now), or his truck being parked at the Dollar General, please call the Watertown Police at 615-237-3224.

The FACTS, as we know them:
– David did not have a cell phone.
-Permits of all kinds have been pulled in 3 counties

-David met an “old man” at LuLu’s in Watertown on either, Sunday 7/29 or Saturday night 8/4. Does anyone remember that night or who he talked to?
-He went to the mans property twice, to pick up old brick with the old man.
– He was on his way to bid the job of later (stone) facing the existing block foundation
-There were 2 older men laying block while David was there. These 2 men are VERY important to find also. They would know the property owner and the contractor.
-There is a stone fence and a barn on the property.
-David was at Dollar General in Watertown, TN on Wednesday 8/8/12 sometime, after 10 a.m. where he (probably) parked his truck facing the road at the edge of the lot out of view of any cameras.
-MAYBE, He was “Supposed” to meet the old man there and then go to meet the contractor. We don’t know what kind of vehicle he got in or who was in the vehicle. It is “Possible” the old man was not there. It is “Possible” the contractor met him there. We only “know” what the “Plan” was that day.
-There are 2 pages that were torn out of David’s sketch pad that was found in the truck…. before? after? who knows
-David was able to drive from Donny and Laura’s farm in Shop Springs to the mans property, pick up the brick, and then drive back in about an hour. This is an important clue in regard to the geography.
-David is a wonderful person who is loved and we MUST find him.

Please know that we read all your questions, suggestions, and prayers, and that:

* David had no known enemies. This may/may not be foul play.
* His bags were packed to visit his family in Michigan. He took no belongings
* He did not take his dog.
* He is a very fit, active, sober, loyal, outdoor savvy, kind man.
* Videos at Dollar General/Car Wash show nothing.
* K-9′s suggest he got out of his truck and into another vehicle
* We have more than 2 detectives on the job
* We have people flying around looking from a plane
* Building permits are being pulled in Wilson & DeKalb Counties
* Home phone records have been pulled-no lead; he did not have a cell phone

It’s amazing to me that someone can just disappear into thin air.   I’m just hoping this gets the word out to people who may not watch the news, but love to eat great food.  If this rings any bells, please call the Watertown Police at 615-237-3224.

Last Saturday, the Bug and I visited the Franklin Farmers Market.  When I first moved to Nashville about ten years ago, the Franklin Farmers market had about twenty vendors and was sparsely populated.  In ten years, the vendors have tripled or maybe quadrupled.  The number of patrons have multiplied to almost an overwhelming amount.

The vegetables and fruits that are common right now are leafy greens (lettuces, swiss chard, collard greens) and strawberries.  Leafy greens are great, but I was really on a mission to find strawberries.  The market opened at 8am and by the time we got there at 9am, all the strawberries were sold!  So, I explored a few other vendors.

Noble Springs Dairy was there with their delicious goat cheese.

One of the many farms present was Delvin Farms, with their lovely produce. There were also several farms present selling beef, pork and chicken.

Since I couldn’t find any strawberries, I decided to get some strawberry preserves from Norton Family Farms.

I was really impressed with the preserves.  They were just slightly sweet, really letting the strawberry flavor shine.  Norton Family Farms had several other preserves that I can’t wait to try next time.

If you are in the area, the Franklin Farmer’s Market is definitely worth the trip!

A new recipe will be coming soon, but I absolutely had to share this photo of our little chef!

Sarah Lawrence at Little Tots Photography took these pictures.  If you are looking for a child’s photographer, she is wonderful.

*Disclaimer:  Sarah doesn’t know we have a blog.  She is just great! 

It seems we are delivering more bad news.  Southern Bred in East Nashville has closed.   The note on the door said the owners had pretty much lived at the restaurant 24/7 for the past three years and that wasn’t really living.  While I completely agree, I’m really going to miss their meatloaf, fried okra and macaroni and cheese.  Cary and I are on a new hunt for a meat and three in Nashville.  Any suggestions?

In my other life, I teach chemistry at a small liberal arts university in the Nashville area.  In an attempt to teach critical thinking, my organic class votes on a popular nonfiction science book to read and discuss that involves organic chemistry of some sort.  Here is the list of books they voted on to read:

• Denialism:  How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet and Threatens our Lives by Michael Specter
• What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert L. Wolke
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
• What to Eat by Marion Nestle
• The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason
• The Same and Not the Same by Roald Hoffman

As most chemists know, organic chemistry is anything that contains carbon and is different from the definition of organic foods.  Where chemistry is applied to food is the controversy of pesticides and genetic modifications.

The first semester, the students voted to read Denialism by Michael Specter, which covers a wide range of topics.  They seemed to be most interested in food judging from their accompanying research papers.  Confirming my suspicion of their interest, the next semester, the students selected  The Way We Eat  by Peter Singer and Jim Mason.

During our discussion of both books, students kept commenting that eating foods that were organic were so much more expensive that eating non organic foods.  What I found interesting was that most of the students didn’t know how much a dozen eggs cost.  While several of our students live in their own apartments, many live on campus and participate in the dining plan.  This summer I decided to do a cost analysis of organic vs. non-organic food to help the discussion next year.

Basically, I took our shopping list and went to Whole Foods, which is relatively close to our home.   I realize that you can obtain certain organic foods cheaper at farmer’s markets, Trader Joe’s, and a CSA (my personal favorite).  However, I wanted to go to a place that I could get meat, vegetables, dairy and some processed foods all in one stop.  Here is what I found.

At Whole Foods the total came to $43.62.  The total at Publix using the cheaper option was $35.16.   Overall, I was surprised that certain organic foods like the pasta sauce was cheaper than the other alternatives.  Also, several of Publix store brands like peanut butter and apple juice were more expensive than the name brands.

We moved into our new house last October.  Unlike our former residences, we had a pantry (yay!).  I realized pretty quickly we would need an organizational scheme or we would descend into chaos.  I read about a person using rulers painted with chalkboard paint to organize their pantry.  I wish I could remember the link, but alas it was a long time ago.  Unfortunately, after hunting around several craft stores, I couldn’t find wooden rulers that would fit our shelves.  To solve this problem, my dad cut ruler size pieces of wood for me and drilled holes a little smaller than the size of a pencil in both sides.  I painted the wooden slates with chalkboard paint and used ribbon to tie it to the shelves.  Here is how it turned out:

My friend, Dr. Hbar helped me with the organization of the containers to hold the baking supplies.  Please ignore my poor handwriting.

A more accurate description would be cooking liquids, but cooking oils work for us!

We do love our breakfast.

Overall picture of the pantry.

It is with a heavy heart that we must report that Joey’s in Brentwood is closing.  Joey’s was the first place I could eat after the first trimester and I have enjoyed it immensely through this pregnancy.  Their last day in the current location is June 24th.  Their new location is 897 Elm Hill Pk, which appears to be close to Trevecca University.

In all seriousness, we wish them well in their new location and just maybe they will be open on Saturday so we can come enjoy their fantastic pizza.  No news on the grand opening date.  Apparently, there will be an announcement on their facebook page, which I couldn’t find.  Anyone have better luck?

It’s that time of year again!  We picked up our first CSA today and couldn’t be more excited.  Just like last year, we decided to take pictures and show off what was in our CSA.

Beautiful ripe strawberries.

Onions… One of the reasons we love our CSA is because it helps us branch out and try new vegetables.

Speaking of new vegetables, just like last year we got some beautiful greens.  One thing we don’t do very well is identify the greens….  Any ideas on this one?

Here is a close up of the leaf…

We believe this is Romaine lettuce.

Any ideas on this one?

We also got a lovely Kohlrabi, which Apollo really loves.

We were so excited about our farm fresh eggs that we had omelets for dinner.  How fresh are the eggs?  Well, we actually found a feather on one of them.

We also get a meat share (Yoder Farms ground beef), which I did not take a picture of.  So, I will leave you with a picture of Apollo.

If you haven’t ever tried a CSA, I encourage you to give it a go.  We are very happy with the quality of products from Avalon Acres and highly recommend them!