How do ya like them apples?

 I've said it many times: if I could choose only one season to drink beer, Fall would be it. The flavors of my favorite drink are deeper, more satisfying, and more varied. This change is much like the changing scenery around here at this time of year. I could gaze at the hills and horizons for hours, mesmerized by the flames of red, orange, yellow, brown, and balancing green. The scent of the air when I run on the Towpath is so familiar, so enticing. Many beverages get warmer and fuller, comforting spices become more prominent in sweet and savory foods. The harvest adjusts from summer tomatoes, peppers, and zucchinis to apples, pumpkins, and root vegetables.

This year, I found a way to embrace the season a little more. Over the course of the last two weeks, I purchased 8 bags of apples from a local orchard and got to work domestic-like. I made Fall Harvest Butter from my book The Vegan Slowcooker. Much to the dismay of my Gramma, I can never make a recipe exactly as directed. Half the time it's because I don't have all the ingredients required. Other times it's because I think my changes will make it better (sometimes I'm right, sometimes not). Or sometimes it's because I am simply poor at following directions. The Fall Harvest Butter making process fell into the latter and second to latter (can I say that? If not, how do you signify not the former and not the latter, but somewhere in between?). I added molasses because I thought it would taste good and I over spiced it because I didn't notice when the specified amount switched from 1 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon partially through the spice list. The result is a little heavy on the cloves and I'm not sure the molasses was the best idea. Even still, I think it will be great added to oatmeal. I gave jars to my family and I'm awaiting to see their reactions. Like many families, mine tends not to pull any punches. There's no lying or beating around the bush with us. However, we don't generally go out of our way to hurt feelings. Therefore, if the fruit butter is a bust, they'll probably not mention it. But since the anticipation will likely drive me to ask them, I am sure they will tell me the truth.

One of the many, many bags of local apples I purchased.

Fall Harvest Butter, made with Ohio Maple syrup in my slow cooker.

But here's my best success story of the week: I made apple cider and it's better than you can buy at the farm! It was so sweet (no sugar added), so fresh, and so seasonal! Apple cider is really just apple juice with no filtration. Most apple cider is pasteurized (cooked) to help prevent bellyaches and based on my cider, I think it cooks away a little bit of the "punchline". I didn't pasteurize mine or even skim off the foam and pulp. I figured I would eat those apples without cooking them first and there wouldn't be too much time between juicing and drinking, so bacteria wouldn't have much time to get monstrous. I was right. I brought it to my family's first annual clam bake and it didn't last long.

This is 15 pounds of apples. I made no claim that this was economical. Just delicious!

I wonder what else I can do with Fall harvest from my local farmers...

Glow

Canton is a good friend of Akron. Although smaller in stature, Canton has many similarities with us. We both grew out of industry. We have smaller downtowns that don't get enough credit. We're affordable. We share an Airport. We depend on large Corporate Headquarters stationing here, such as Diebold, Timken, Goodyear, and Firestone. And we took a big hit with the recession (like everyone else).

I was driving in Canton yesterday to an appointment. It was a sunny, happy, quiet Sunday. As I was cruising along, smiling for no reason, something on the side of the road caught my eye. I turned my head towards the attention grabber, whatever it was, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I looked deeper, wondering what my brain was getting at. Then I reminded myself that I was driving and I should focus my attention on the road. So I did. And then it hit me! The thing that my brain was trying to point out to me was this:

Sure as shootin', I stopped, parked, and walked a block to take this picture.

It was a house under new construction. Again, not the first time I've ever seen this. But it is the first time in a long time that I've seen a house under new construction. The housing bubble burst and recession to follow put a hurtin' on all forms of construction, but especially new housing. I heard story after story of housing contractors going broke because people could barely hold on to their current house, let alone build a new one. Without notice, projects like this simply vanished from our daily views.

But yesterday, this house was glowing. It was as if the Canton economy wrapped it's arms around my attention and said "Hey! I'm feeling good! I'm gaining back my health and it's pretty awesome! Be excited with me!"

Have you ever noticed that healthy people glow? Scientifically, this desirable radiance and color of skin is a result of good nutrition, optimal blood flow, and general healthiness on a cellular level. But unscientifically, it's pure happiness. Healthy people are happy people and that shows in their appearance.

Canton has begun it's workout regimen, reformed its diet, and its taking care of itself. Canton is glowing with new optimism and it's well on its way to re-establishing a healthy economy!

And what's good for Canton is good for Akron. Salud!*

* Salud is Spanish for Cheers to your Health! Definition

An Eye-Opener

I was all wrong about this blog. I thought I would have to work hard to have a steady stream of material. But here I am in Day Two of this little project and I've had handfuls of things to discuss!

Let's live in the present (sorta) and talk about today. Like most communities, 5Ks are plentiful and the running trend isn't slowing down (pun intended!)! Today I had the opportunity to run the second annual Race Around the Park 5K, organized by a dear friend, Tony, and his church group. While I'm not entirely proud of my results, it was a nice Fall run around Schneider Park and I was happy to support a cause my friend believes in. Plus, our race shirt is pretty sweet!


It's a brightly colored tech tee!

Schneider Park is a big open area near Fairlawn. There aren't any jungle gyms or other kid-fun things and parking is all on the street surrounding the park, but it's a free place for extracurricular sporting teams to practice. Akron Rugby uses the large grassy area to practice when our Pitch is too muddy and torn up to use. We often share the fields with little kids playing soccer in their so-stinkin'-cute methods. We have to watch our language and keep a fair distance from them, but I'm glad we all have this area to share.


Drinking more expensively than I eat is not uncommon.

Afterwards, I introduced my running friends to a cute little alcohol-serving-gourmet breakfast joint, located in a little nook between Akron and Fairlawn: The Eye Opener. Nuzzled next to a bar, across the street from Coffee, Bagels, Juice, and other services, it is almost hidden yet fits right in. The wait for a table of 5 was only 15 minutes at 11am - prime brunching time. I ordered their signature Bloody Mary without a second thought and it was everything I would expect a $6 drink to be! It also complimented my build-your-own omlette of spinach and bleu cheese with tomatoes on the side and thick sliced, buttered rye toast. $4.50 Omlette base, $.60 each for bleu and spinach, $6.00 bloody mary.
Being a girl, I sometimes feel the pressure to leave a few bites on my plate so as not to look like a piggy... and that thought passed pretty quick as I looked at the lone piece of toast remaining. Down the hatch!



Please note the Bloody Mary served in a jar!

This was only my second visit to this restaurant, but I'm still impressed, as were my friends. Good food, bloody marys, and decent service.

"We never knew this was here!" friends said.

This was an Eye-Opener indeed.



Branding and logo, well done.

Old school kitchen window.



A Ribbon Cutting of Sorts

As we say when we wrestle from our slumber, put ourselves together, and greet a brand new day – Good Morning! A world of possibility lies ahead for the day – and for this blog! It’s been rolling around in my noggin for quite some time and I’m finally ready to put pencil to paper – or fingers to a keyboard – and get going!

Earlier this week, I attended a trail dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for The Village of Richfield* in partnership with the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition. The Village, in part through funding received from the Ohio Public Works Commission and Summit County, constructed 1.25 miles of walking trails on land previously owned by the Carter-Pedigo families.  This trail connects the library, Village Hall and leads to Brecksville Road. It was an exciting day for those who had worked for years to make these new trails a reality. We gathered near the opening, listened to the Mayor of Richfield, Bobbie Beshara, and other key personnel happily discuss the creation of the trail. Mayor Beshara’s predessor** spoke about how the property was acquired and noted that the group had actively engaged in once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in order to make their vision a reality. He knew the-time-is-now opportunities when they were presented and he did not delay. Because of his action, Elaine’s Trail, Old Hickory Trail, and Virginia’s Trail are now available for our enjoyment.

 

The trail awaits! Let's cut the ribbon and get going!

I couldn’t help but see the Universe using this event to push me to get my initiatives going, this blog being one of them. The time is now. Let the ribbon to this new path be cut!

You know that Johnny Cash song I’ve Been Everywhere? Sometimes I feel like I could sing that for myself. While my international travel has been sparse (ok, if Mexico and Canada don’t count, it’s non-existent), my domestic travel has been flourishing over the past several years. Through work, professional organizations, and my other “extra-curricular activities,” I’ve been blessed with many occasions for travel. I love going places. I love seeing other variations of American culture. I love seeing new things. But you know what else I love? Akron. I love my home. I think it’s one of the greatest little cities on earth and I feel bad for the Akronites that don’t agree. We’ve got a little of everything and a lot of optimism here. We’re growing well, we’re building, and we’re indulging in the unique qualities we have here.

And I want you to love Akron too. Join me as I live here, love here, and experience everything my favorite city has to offer.

* "I'm no geography whiz, but isn't Richfield in a completely different county than Akron?" I'm glad you asked that. Yes! Richfield is a 20-30 minute drive from downtown. One of the great things about Akron is that it's in driving distance to so many other exciting places and I think that's a valuable quality for a city to have. This blog will be about many things, but they'll all have some relation to Akron. But for the record, the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition is based in Akron and that's the reason I was invited to the ceremony.

** Boo on me for not remembering his name. I even tried looking it up, but failed to find anything. How would you google that anyway?