Saturday, May 29, 2010

New Braunfels Farm to Market...

For all the years I lived in New Braunfels, I didn't know they had a Farmer's Market...or a "Farm to Market" as they call it here. Or maybe they just started it...I don't know. First off, you have to know that they refer to the rural roads here as "FM" which means "Farm to Market." When I lived in New Braunfels, my house was just off FM 1044. Now you know a little bit about Texas roadways. And I guess that's why they call the market "Farm to Market." Enough about that.

I was expecting it to be a lot bigger...it was probably a total of about 30 booths, so it didn't take too long to go through. Orchids...

They really are beautiful...so perfect...


On to Texas pasta. They should put their little pamphlets of information right-side-up in the display case.

Mushrooms. These Shitakes seem a little pricey, but they probably don't weigh much of anything, so a pound would probably be about half of a box!

I can't remember the name of this variety, but they were very photogenic.

Then there was a guy selling cactus...or I guess that would be "cacti" since it was more than one.
This one was pretty...almost looks like the flower of a Hibiscus.

This was just a little guy about four inches tall. I liked it because it looks like little trees from "The Grinch" with sprayed-on snow.


You're always going to find the cowboy boot planter at these places.

Before continuing, I'll have to say that New Braunfels has a LARGE population of elderly retired people. You can definitely tell that in the craft fairs the city has throughout the year. Take these for example...

They are something that my grandmother would have had. Cute, but not an item on my list.

And here's what you do with those casserole dishes that you're not using.

Continuing on, here's all the popcorn you'd ever want to eat...

This kid is running the popcorn stand. He sees that I'm taking pictures, so when I come up to him, he asks, "So, who do you work for??" Now, he looks like he's about 10-12 years old and you'd think that he'd ask that question in a pretty innocent way. Not this kid. It was like he was a seasoned 50-year-old private eye asking where I was at 7:32 on the night of July 17, 2006. I told him I was a reporter from The Washington Post doing an expose on exploited children from New Braunfels at popcorn stands. (Haha...I kid.)

On to the breads. This booth had partially "raised" breads that you were supposed to take home and finish baking. Well, it was about a million degrees in south Texas today, and everyone was sweating up a storm and all these bags of bread were soaking up the heat. Besides that, there were a few booths that had jars of feta cheese, spaghetti sauce and pesto dips that were sitting out in this heat and I was thinking that this didn't add up to a real healthy equation. I tasted a few which were actually quite good, but passed on purchasing anything because of the high temps.

"Bubba's Smoked Meats." Between you, me and the fencepost, why would anyone intentionally want to refer to themselves as "Bubba?" Maybe that's just me, but then I'm not a big beef jerky person to begin with, so I'll just pass on this one.

Pretty girlie things...

Interesting bird feeder...

Painted wine bottles turned into olive oil jars...

The jewelry booths had a bit to be desired...

"Uncertain Farms??" Again...why would anyone come up with a name like this? So....they're not certain what they're doing? Uncertain of what the outcome will be? Uncertain of what's in the ingredients?? Hmmm...I'm thinking this isn't the best marketing strategy, but to each his own.

Mega bird houses. These were actually pretty cool. I want a house like this (which was priced at about $450). It's such a shame that the birds will not have little bird maids to clean them out periodically because you know what it's going to look like when the birds take it over. I guess you could hose it down every now and then.

I like the little propane tank...hahaha!

On to the grapevine lamps. This guy was very proud of his accomplishments, and I'll have to say they were very different...I've never seen this before. And the shades are made out of goat skin. Again, I don't think it's my style, but I'm sure there are people out there who have a decor to fit. I think he said this one ran about $350.00.

Then he also had lamps that did double duty as wine bottle holders. I think the grapes are included. Haha!

Lots of jellies in those 100 degree temps...

Then I finally got to the actually vegetables...which was only about five booths, and they only had about five different veggies each. Not a big variety.


So...did I get anything at the Farm to Market?? Yeah...I had a weak moment at the birdhouse booth. I got this little guy because I have a soft spot for rustic cabins...even if they have spiders in the biff.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The fun of gym workouts...

Working out in a gym is pretty enjoyable these days with all the high tech stuff. I spend most of my time on the treadmill in between workouts on the other machines. I was telling Jared the other day that being able to watch TV while you're on the treadmill makes it SOOOO much more entertaining. This isn't MY gym, but these are what the treadmills look like...

I went in on Tuesday night and turned on the machine and this was on TV...

I LOVE this movie. It's just good fun with a great cast. Who can't love William Macy's geeky personality?

Anyway, watching this movie while you're doing a few miles makes doing the few miles so much more enjoyable. In fact, you kind of forget you're walking as you're laughing to all their antics. What made it even better is that the FX channel did little bits from the Sturgis Rally during the commercials and since I've lived in the Black Hills, it was kind of like old home week.

Coincidentally, I will be taking a motorcycle training course the end of June.

Even more coincidentally, the department where I work at Texas State University conducts this course, so I get to take it for half price. Yay!! Because of the on-going project I'm working on with my friend from South Dakota, I figure it's about time I become more familiar with riding a motorcycle other than being just a passenger.

On another note, I was walking in town about a month ago and passed by a little shop that I had never been in before. I drove by it again last week and decided to stop in. It's a very eclectic shop selling everything from jewelry to clothing to knick-knacks to fragrances to...leathers. Hmmm...kind of s strange mix. So a little couple in their 60's owns the shop which is in the bottom floor of an old house in the middle of San Marcos. I got to talking with the woman and she asked if I was a biker. Well, I told her that I was working on a project with a friend from South Dakota on writing a book about rides in the Black Hills, but while I didn't own a bike, I did enjoy riding. She proceeded to tell me that she treated herself to a Harley on her 60th birthday a few years ago. WHOA!! I couldn't believe it. This woman was about 5'2" and probably weighed about 110 pounds. I figured her husband had gotten her into it, but then she said that after she had been riding for about a year and a half, she finally got her husband to buy one! Haha! I asked her if she rides with people, but she said she just rides around the Texas Hill Country by herself and loves it. So now she sells leathers in her shop to cater to the biker crowd. What a story.

So, once again, I've digressed from what I originally wanted to write about. I was on the treadmill again this morning and was watching the Food Network. This show was on...

She was talking about a veggie dish with eggplant, fennel, peppers, cheese and marinara sauce. It sure sounded good, so I decided to try it out tonight. Here are the ingredients. Mind you, I have never once in my entire life made anything with fennel. I don't even know what the heck it is. I went to Wal-Mart to get the ingredients, but they didn't even have fennel, so I had to go to the regular grocery store in town. You actually only use the bulb of the fennel, so it really seems like a big waste of the rest of the plant.

Grill the veggies to get that toasty kind of taste...

And put the ingredients in layers...

Cheese goes in between each layer, so it's a pretty cheesy dish.

The final product...

So, would I make it again? Probably not. It was good, but not great. The fennel was strange. It has an anise (licorice) flavor. I really like eggplant, so I enjoyed that aspect, but the rest of it was kind of a waste. I will be more careful when I'm watching cooking shows while I'm on the treadmill in the future.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

A different take on Puerto Morelos...

I was cleaning off my desktop tonight and discovered some pictures I had taken in Puerto Morelos with my Holga....which is here...

Here is Wikipedia's definition of the Holga in case anyone is unfamiliar with this camera which came out in the early 1980's:

The Holga is an inexpensive, medium format 120 film toy camera, made in China, known for its low-fidelity aesthetic.

The Holga's low-cost construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks and other distortions. The camera's quality problems have obtained a cult following among some photographers, and Holga photos have won awards and competitions in art and news photography.

Mine cost about $25.00. It's a bit of a hassle because you have to order the 120 film and then send it off to Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, to have it developed. The thing about Holga shots is that you never know what you're gonna get.

Anyway, I think they're kinda cool...sort of like they were taken back in the 1950's.