Monday, August 11, 2008

Country boy comes to town

My brother, Timothy, was in town Saturday and Sunday to hit a local concert and do some biking. I love when he comes to visit because he's always up for trying new things and isn't content with just hanging out. 

Joe left for Australia on Saturday for work, so T and I hit the Toby Keith concert at Nissan Pavilion. Not much to say about it. Just a bunch of drunk 15-year olds blaring country music in the parking lot and passing out on the lawn during the concert. Impressive.

But Sunday, after a morning of burning off crazy calories on our bikes, we hit the last 15 minutes of the farmer's market and stocked up on menu items for the week. T was totally in awe of the variety and volume of fresh produce. Rockingham County Virginia, while the proud poultry capitol of the world, isn't exactly overflowing with concentrated markets of resources. Instead, they're called Kroger and super Wal-Mart :)

We spent Sunday afternoon cooking and watching the Olympics. For me, this is right up there with cooking all day and watching Wimbledon. Even after hitting the farmer's market, T still wanted to visit Whole Foods and gawk. (He fell in love with a giant Whole Foods in Portland, OR, and I'm sad to say our Baltimore store was a little small compared to that one). 

We spent three hours on our bikes in anticipation of the following feast:
  • Sotoccenere with truffles and Rancol cheeses to start, paired with slices of fresh starfruit
  • Grilled eggplant risotto
  • Carmelized broccoli with garlic
  • Turkish tomato salad with fresh herbs
That morning, we'd picked up the latest issues of Bon Appetit and Food & Wine for inspiration, although we improvised on our recipes of choice.

We ate early and he indulged me in a walk across town to Fell's Point. Being the good Irish boy he is, he bribed me into a Guiness at Slainte, followed by a Smithwicks at James Joyce. He assured me, after my thick Guiness, that I'd prefer the lighter Smithwicks. Ahem. Even still, I can't take credit for downing the Smithwicks. By 9:30 my eyes were drooping, and I passed it off to him to finish. I'm a beer pansy. Not going to lie. It makes me feel too full and sluggish. How did I survive college?

Thanks to T, I've got great leftovers to enjoy all by my lonesome this week. Thanks for keeping me company, Timothy! I loved showing you around town. 

Dinner recipes to come later.



1 comment:

Unknown said...

While this is a little late........................Your brother is the SHIZNASTY!!!

And yes he does appreciate being shown around the sweet town of Baltimore.