The Plans I Had For You, or Good Intentions (And We All Know What Road Is Paved Therewith)

I have this dreadful sinking feeling which tells me that this is likely to be one of those pictureless, sad, self-flagellating sort of posts on the many things  about which I've wanted and been meaning to write.  Yes, all those things I haven't gotten to, unlike the rest of you competent, well-organized beings who know just how to handle your lives.  Just so you don't dismiss me immediately, I won't begin with the litany of what hasn't happened and why.  Instead I'll tell you some friendly happy comfy things, like about how G and I rented a car this past weekend and took off for Vermont. 

And I won't even tell you what a hassle it was to rent the car.  Suffice it to say that every time we passed an Enterprise Car Rental sign or storefront on our journey (and there were many of them), we flipped them the double bird.  Both of us.  But I wasn't going to dwell on that.  Rather, I should tell you that the foliage in upper New York State and southern Vermont were gorgeous.   And that we had some delightful meals -- first at our favorite Blue Benn Diner in Bennington: chicken-andouille soup, Vermont cheddar mac 'n' cheese, Cuban pork san with red peppers and cheese, sided with perfect fries, coconut cream pie and 2 homemade cinnamon donuts to go, and two iced teas.  The total bill on that was less than $25, by the way, and the quality of everything was absolutely stellar.  Every time we eat there, we begin to think about employment opportunities in southern Vermont.  Sadly, one of our newer faves, the Farmers' Diner in Barre, is closed.  We did, however, dine at a lovely restaurant that G's parents took us to, Ariel's in Brookfield.  G had a wonderful rack of pork, with apples and autumn vegetables, and I had what might have been the best filet of beef  ever.  Organic greens, locally raised meat -- it exceeded all expectations.  This was especially ironic since all the way up the state I treated my love to a diatribe about mediocre food and middle-of-the-road restaurants, and how much better it is to eat in either dives or very upscale establishments.  The premise being that anything in the middle is bound to be, well, middling (or maybe just not-so-ay-yi-yi, as my mother might have said).  Ariel's, just to prove me wrong yet again, provided excellent, excellent food for a not-excessive tab. 

You would think we'd had enough to eat by this time, but no.  We had breakfasts fit for lumberjacks the following day at Eaton's Sugar House in Royalton, a great place for all those who feel a sense of contentment at the sight of platters filled with pancakes the size of wagon wheels -- served with real Vermont maple syrup, of course.  And we shopped.  We hit the Baker's Store in Norwich (many kinds of flour), the Food Co-op in Hanover (aged Cabot cheddar; Northern Spy apples), Vermont Smoke & Cure in South Barre (sausage, maple sausage, chorizo, cob-smoked ham), and took a glorious mountain adventure up a dirt road to the isolated but beautiful Flag Hill Farm where Sebastian and Sabra make British-style hard "cyder" from their apple crop, in both sparkling and still varieties.

All this luscious provender will remained in our fridge for a while, however.  Tomorrow I leave to deliver a paper at a conference in LA; then I have a brief respite at home, continuing to ply my normal routine of multiple jobs, before another conference in Pittsburgh.  And then before you know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us.  So my posts about successful bread (Bakerina's rice bread) and disaster bread (my own multigrain), jams (plum and peach/raspberry/plum), the cooking I did for my friend Katherine's party (devilled eggs,  prosciutto-fig bundles, paté, Joe's caramel apple bars, ultimate brownies) are either going to have to remain on the back burner or be consigned to the place where posts-that-were-never-meant-to-be have to go. 

Wish me luck in LA.  As often as I teach classes and do presentations,  I always have a bit of stage fright.   

Comments

[Cathy]

Good luck with your presentation Julie! I've been to Blue Benn too - just for breakfast, though. I loved it (and Bennington). I thought it was funny, but somehow fitting for Bennington, that there was a sign for Gazpacho in a diner. Little did I know they also had chicken-andouille soup!

[Rachael]

Im glad to hear the fall leaves were pretty...reports have said it was going to be a dismal season. Thanks for the delicious report!

[tanvi]

Im headed to New Hampshire later this month, and though I wont have time to visit Vermont, I will stop into Food Co-Op in Hanover. Thanks for the tip! And good luck with the class in LA!

[Nani]

Are you going to the NCTE conference, by any chance? I'll be there too and have tenative plans Saturday night with a NYC teacher. Let's touch base, if that's the case! Have fun in LA.

[Molly]

Stage fright? Pshaw, m'dear! You're a commanding woman; have fun, go get 'em, and hurry back to us.

[Joe C]

Stage fright? Don't tell anybody but I often feel like throwing up right before I give a talk. Then afterwards, my appetite is enormous...Where's my cyder?

[Julie]

Cathy, the "Benn" is awesome, isn't it? If only that was my local...

Rachael -- it was gorgeous all the way up through the southern part of the state -- and then suddenly the colors dimmed greatly. Reports said the foliage in general was the least colorful it's been in five years -- but as city dwellers, we certainly enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by.

Tanvi, if you're going to be in Hanover, NH, the King Arthur Baker's Store in Norwich VT is less than five minutes away. If you've got a car, or you can get someone to take you, it's definitely a sight to be seen, and won't take long.

Nani, I am going to the National Writing Project Annual Meeting, which is always held at NCTE. I'm sure we'll meet up there.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Miss Molly. And you're so right -- I did have fun, and apparently so did everyone else. The response was so positive that my organization is flying me out to San Diego in April to give the same presentation at another conference...

Ah bro, the two apples don't fall far from their parent's tree, do they...and speaking of apples, your cyder is certainly here, and should be in your eager hands by Sunday.