A Quick Trip Out to Mt. Airy for Ham Hocks and Soup Bones

Posted on March 6, 2012 by AnnieRie

You know you’re deeply ingrained into living in West HoCo, when you spend more time in Tractor Supply Co. than you do in Home Depot. Actually, you rarely do Home Depot. If TSC doesn’t have what you need, you are shopping at Clark’s or Kendall, supporting local businesses.

Today we needed stuff (or my better half did) for his tractor maintenance, and to clean up a few things on the snow thrower before putting it away. I wanted to visit Wagner’s Meats to get soup bones and ham hocks. I have some anasazi beans soaking to make soup in the crockpot overnight. I am getting into good enough shape to soak beans. If we get a crockpot soup done, it will be three of four meals worth.

Wagner’s processes meats for local farmers and sells also from a storefront. Yes, you can get a side of beef here, but you can also come in and just buy a pound of whatever you need. Soup bones are 89 cents a pound. Ham hocks were big and meaty and smell really wonderful right now as I am typing and they are cooking away.

This is my first visit to Wagner’s as I usually run down to Boarman’s but I can’t drive for a while, and the last time I hit Boarman’s, they were out of beef bones for making stock. I got four pounds today, safely stashed in the freezer until I have the time and am allowed to cut up all those veggies to add to make beef stock. Nothing like homemade stock to make soup.

While out there, we checked out the location of Cartercue, the BBQ joint out on Main St. It wasn’t open or we would have picked up some carryout to bring home for dinner tonight. Turns out the temporary cook aka my husband will be heating up leftover soup from the other night’s dinner.

I can’t wait to be cleared to eat real food again. This soft diet is driving me nuts. I must be healing. I am hungry.

Mt. Airy has the distinction of being in four counties in MD so you find yourself seeing county entrance signs almost every time you cross a creek. Since I enjoyed being outside on a great day, we came home on back roads south of the interstate, roads like Long Corner and Florence. Really west county out here. Yes, this is a named road, and not someone’s driveway.

If you don’t live in west county but want to see some incredibly beautiful parts of Howard County, take your GPS and put in a destination avoiding highways and taking the shortest distance instead of fastest time. We were heading south on Rte 27 when we input “go home” and it took us on roads like Gue, which is the road above in the picture. Never been on this one before.

Oh, and you definitely know you have changed how you live when many of your shoes come from Tractor Supply. Ariat I buy them when they go on sale.

hocofood@@@

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Updating My Local Resources Page

Posted on March 5, 2012 by AnnieRie

I originally wrote the local resources page to support an Eat Local Challenge for the winter. It did not reflect all my local sources for food, just those used to prepare a meal with ingredients produced no more than 150 miles from my home. We were then to blog about it. Over 100 participants started the challenge. About a third of us still are going at it after fifteen weeks.

That is why there are sources on the page that fall far outside of West Howard County, and even MD. Eating locally is somewhat easy but boring in the winter, except for the fact that Maryland does not yet produce wheat flours, nor will they ever produce olive oils, citrus and spices. Those exceptions to the challenge were stated at the start. Interestingly, enough, I found that Union Mills at the Shriver Homestead north of Westminster still grinds corn meal, buckwheat, rye and wheat flours. Here is the response I received from them about their sources.

Buckwheat comes from York County.
Corn is mostly Carroll county.
Roasted corn from Perry County
Hard wheat is from a mill in Lancaster County; I’m not sure where they get it.
Rye is Carroll county.
White Rice from the grocery store.
Ivan Lufriu, mill operator

Every time I found a source for meats, dairy, produce, and locally produced items, if I used them in the Challenge, I documented them.

I am now in the process of expanding that page to include local items year round, and the vendors at our local farmer’s markets.

When I first started this challenge, I thought it would be difficult, not knowing how many sources of food around here produce items all winter. High tunnels, greenhouses, hydroponic growing, all have opened up as consumers want local, fresh food, not shipped in from China or New Zealand or South America.

Having a dialogue with the mill operator about the source of his grains connects me to where my food comes from. Watching the cows graze at South Mountain, or seeing the vegetables grow in a farmer’s field is more satisfying to me than reading a twist tie label that says “produced in Mexico” or wherever.

A little more effort, maybe, and yes, more expensive sometimes, but worth it to me.

As for looking yourself for what is out there, I found these two websites to be invaluable.

http://www.localharvest.org/
http://www.realtimefarms.com/

Happy Hunting!

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West County Hidden Treasures – Triadelphia

Posted on March 4, 2012 by AnnieRie

Today we took a ride. I needed to relieve cabin fever and it isn’t that far down the road, just to get out and walk around the northern access to the Reservoir. We had the added delight of getting to see an eagle perched on a tree and talk to a fellow visitor who has seen as many as eight eagles flying, perching and fishing at this point.

There is a boat ramp here with access here mainly used by kayakers and canoeists to silently glide along the water’s edge and look for eagles and other birds as well as just enjoy the less visited north end of the reservoir.

Most are more familiar with Brighton Dam.

Put on your calendars a reminder to come out here when the azaleas bloom. It is a tradition to visit the gardens. A Tip — avoid Mother’s Day at all costs unless you love traffic jams. More people come out to Brighton Dam for access to the reservoir but there are other “put in ” points all around the perimeter.

An added attraction just down from Big Branch, and up Green Bridge Road is Greenbridge Pottery.

It is definitely worth a visit. Becky had lovely items at our last holiday crafts fair at the Conservancy. Come on a Saturday and after taking Green Bridge down to the pottery shop, turn right on Triadelphia Mill and follow to the reservoir, then continue up for fresh meat, eggs and veggies at TLV Tree Farm.

I saw on their web site that they are open on Saturdays now from 10-2. I am down to one pound of bacon in the freezer and a pound package of short ribs, so time to go up and see Jamie.

We bought trees from them for years. Cutting our own, until we finally gave up and got a small artificial tree. I still miss that post Thanksgiving trek across their property looking for the perfect tree.

They sell at three Howard County Farmer’s Markets. Their family has farmed here since the late 1800’s.

You can stop at most of these places doing a loop from Triadelphia to Triadelphia Mill to Greenbridge or vice versa. TLV Tree Farm is another of the family owned farms here in the County put into preservation, to continue the traditions of our past. Supporting this young generation of farmers just makes sense. Better food, made close to home.

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My Inspirations for Blogging

Posted on March 4, 2012 by AnnieRie

For whatever reasons, I got to thinking about what tipped me over that precipice into wanting to write a blog. I never really read blogs except for travel ones back when we were big into traveling. There was a time for about six years that we worked like crazy and couldn’t take lots of time off, so when we did, we did it big. One big vacation a year. Travel blogs helped us decide new areas we wanted to visit.

Like Turkey. Without reading a travelogue we never would have thought of visiting Istanbul. Turns out we loved it. And, we wouldn’t have thought of visiting the Spice Market without reading about it in a blog.

We also would not have known that a great way to travel is to rent houses using on line assistance, like VRBO. It is how we found a house in Sonoma for a great deal off season in November, and from reading travel blogs I found out it was less crowded and easier to spend time at the wineries without feeling like part of the Disney World sized crush of people. Also found that having a house with a grill and a deck made us feel more a part of a community than a tourist. We shopped at the farmer’s markets and grilled many nights.

So, blogging inspired me. Eventually even I started taking pictures of our food.

One day, for whatever reason, I noticed an email about the 50 Best Food Blogs, by the New York Times. One of them caught my eye.

Orangette

I started reading Molly’s blog. I had read articles of hers in Bon Appetit, particularly finding it interesting that she wrote about sauerkraut at Thanksgiving. It’s a Maryland thing. Other parts of the country don’t traditionally include sauerkraut at dinner with their turkey.

I also found The Slow Cook through some linkage and clicked on it, since the name resonated with me. I started reading it as well.

Both those personal blogs made me think that I too could find enough to write about, and really, how hard was it to start a blog?

When I began, I also had been reading the Patch pages, and found HowChow and HoCoBlogs while wandering around links. The internet really has changed how I operate. Not to mention getting an iPad as a retirement present from my husband and learning all these social media, which are replacing the paper and magazine world we grew up with.

What direction do I want to take this blog? Originally, I wanted to record things that interested me, and also have friends who have moved away keep in touch by commenting back and forth. I wanted to keep a journal, actually, and found it more simple than I expected.

Now, recovering from surgery with nowhere to go (Can’t Drive) and not much else to do (Can’t lift, bend or strain my back), this blog is my daily entertainment. The iPad is light, and I can prop it up and write away.

Not how I originally envisioned spending my spring, but still fun. Now, I am going to send some west county posts back and forth with HowChow. Blog about living out here, eating out here, shopping, activities, events, sights and sounds, plus info on the “over the Border” spots easily reached from here.

It is a great way for all of us to network, as well as make new acquaintances at the HoCo blogtail parties. From years commuting to DC and not knowing many others than coworkers and a few neighbors, blogging has its own social world. And, a nice one at that.

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What a Difference A Decade Makes

Posted on March 3, 2012 by AnnieRie

I have been putting together information on west county for HowChow to use to talk about food and shopping out here, but thought I would do a companion series on living out here.

Physically, most of us out here are 10 miles or less using the back roads from getting to Clarksville or Columbia, and 10-15 miles from Ellicott City. The far reaches of the county out past Woodbine and Lisbon are 20 miles away and closer to Mt. Airy and Frederick. Gaithersburg is actually not that far, and when I look for recommendations for certain stores, Gaithersburg often comes up before Columbia.

Ten years ago, I had no idea we would be living out here. We were relatively content in our town house, with a newly renovated kitchen. Traveling whenever we wanted. No debt, no kids, no pets. Aging parents. Coming and going. Eating out three or four times a week. Commuting by bus or van to DC or VA. Hating the commute. Still loving Columbia.

What changed? Us, and Columbia. We wanted horizontal, not vertical space. Our town house was a three story split level. You couldn’t go from one room to another without climbing seven stairs. No yard. No privacy. An increase of crime, not major except for finding a spent gun shell in our bedroom after returning from vacation. Came through the siding, the drywall and left a hole in the wall at head level next to our bed. Seems a bad drug deal turned into violence down the road by the school. High caliber that could travel the distance to the top floor of our house. Scary, and resulted in a feeling that living in the midst of all the amenities of Columbia wasn’t what it used to be.

I do believe though that the biggest driver was just physically getting tired of covenants. Fighting whenever we needed to do maintenance on a 20 year old town house community. Wrangling over the costs of replacing driveways and other asphalt work. People had changed and weren’t willing to pay special assessments to keep the place looking like it did when we moved there. Many were neglecting their properties and hassles abounded when the community tried to enforce the covenants. We were caught in the middle with my husband on the board. Thirty years in Columbia. Time to move on.

We were ready to do something completely different. Buy an older house with land, and no subdivisions or community associations or rules. It meant most of our search went to west county. Acreage for the amateur radio towers. Privacy. Room for the gardens. Still easy to get back to shopping or restaurants with a little extra time. Besides, we were retiring within five years of moving.

Now, when we walk out past our shed in our backyard we see this.

Not all of it is ours, just the front half. My neighbor’s meadow and ours run together. It is natural meadow, that we cut often enough to allow my husband to put out crank up towers when he wants, and take them down. Eventually there will be a concrete base and self supporting tower there, but for now, it is just home to our little friends.

You can see why my garden is fenced.

As for the back yard, the shrubs and trees screen us from the neighbors. Breakfast and coffee on the patio in the morning, even if still in my robe.

With this privacy and loveliness all around us, we have changed. We have friends over for grilled dinners. Crabs. We eat all three meals out here some days in the summer. Having the farmer’s markets and farm stands all around means less time fighting traffic and crowds to shop. It is so simple to throw sausages or flatbread with toppings on the grill, add veggies and a salad, some wine and cheese and we are set to enjoy dining al fresco with a much better view than a restaurant parking lot.

Life is slower out here if you embrace the differences. We have, and think this sums it up quite well.

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Week Ten – There are CSA People …

Posted on March 2, 2012 by AnnieRie

… and there are farmer’s market people. This statement came up during a conversation when I was visiting the farm store at Breezy Willow. We had always been market people, wanting to touch and select the veggies like you can at the market.

We were also fearful of what we would get. Would we like it? Would it be too much for two people? We didn’t need to worry.

After 25 weeks in a summer CSA from Sandy Spring, and 8 weeks in their fall CSA, now 10 weeks into The Zahradka Farm winter CSA, I have covered almost a year of getting veggies, either in a box at a pick up point, or delivered to my doorstep. I was converted quickly.

Today my husband officially became a CSA person.

This is what did it. Two pounds of skirt steak in the cooler from the Farm, that they sourced from JW Treuth Butchers. Sounds like some good cooking will be going on. He wants to marinade and grill it on a warm night in the next couple of weeks while he is still the main chef around here.

This week we also received:
Mixed root onions, two yellow and two red
Beautiful red potatoes
Collard greens
Spinach
A double order of brussel sprouts

The beauty of this CSA is the online ordering. You can double or triple one item if you are already heavy on the others offered this week.

I had considered continuing with them because I do like them, but like the freedom at the market to choose my own meat and eggs in the summer. In the winter, with limited market availability, they are a perfect match to our needs.

For summer, though, we are being true to our first CSA, Sandy Spring. This year we will be going on line Friday night or Saturday to see the probable contents of the box. Monday a confirming email will tell us if any substitutions were made during picking and bagging.

The CSA box on the benches in the Montjoy Barn at the Conservancy is always a present to be opened with anticipation.

The quality and quantity of items was well worth the $30 weekly investment. Tell me where in Howard County you can find 10-14 organic veggie items, including the most exotic or heirloom varieties and I will quit the CSA and shop there. Some weeks our box weighed 35-40 pounds. Less than $1 a pound. Other weeks the haul of heirloom tomatoes alone was worth the fee.

Two months until the May beginning. I can’t believe I get this psyched over veggies, but then hey, everyone has their addictions. Mine include garlic scape pesto and mushroom pate, made with my CSA veggies.

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March to the Conservancy

Posted on March 1, 2012 by AnnieRie

What is happening in March at the Howard County Conservancy?

March means spring is coming, and the Conservancy has lots going on to entice you outdoors, and indoors as well. As a volunteer naturalist, I love to attend walks and talks there to further my knowledge and share it with the school children on their field trips. I can’t go hiking yet after surgery but I will be there to hear Anthony Geraci give his talk on school foods.

On March 10th, come out and take a hike. Bring the family. The volunteer naturalists will be leading family friendly hikes on the Conservancy grounds. Come see some of the cool things the children learn on their field trips around the farm, woods, and grasslands. The walks are fun and informative. Bring binoculars to look for bugs, birds and critters in the creek. The little ones with their families will have a special shorter hike that takes them to see the goats, chickens, and Ranger the owl.

Other family groups will be lead by naturalists on the longer trails maybe doing a creek crossing on a log, or looking to find signs of the birds returning to nest in the bluebird boxes. Look for blossoms on the trees, and for the first signs of spring flowers. Large wheeled strollers can also make it through the hikes. Wonder walks begin at 10 am, and they are free.

Anthony Geraci speaking on March 15th

Geraci – Healthy Meals at Schools

Anthony Geraci aka Cafeteria Man is coming to speak about healthy foods in our schools on the 15th at 7 pm. This will be an interesting evening as he is always entertaining and enlightening. Don’t miss it.

hocoblogs@@@

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Making the Move to West County

Posted on February 29, 2012 by AnnieRie

HowChow just finished a series about eating and shopping in Howard County. In it, he asked for some input about the western county, as he wasn’t that familiar with stores and restaurants out here in the rural residential west.

I will be doing a guest post for him about eating and shopping, but this post here on my blog is a stage setting post. It is more about living here and what to expect as different from Columbia/Ellicott City where most of the county residents call home. There is still quite a bit, but slower, building of new homes out here, on at least one acre lots, as well as the 55+ development going on in nearby Waverly Woods. Marriottsville and Woodstock are on the edge of west county, but are mostly served by county water and sewer, due to proximity to the landfill. Head northwest beyond Clarksville and you will find farms, businesses, old residences and new developments spread across the rolling hills.

We moved here seven years ago after thirty years in Columbia. Neither one of us in our entire lives ever lived in a single family home. We wanted land, privacy and no covenants. We got all three, but not without adjustments in our lives. Shopping involves at least 12 miles round trip, so you don’t just run out for one or two items.

It is dark out here. No street lights. Skinny two lane roads with no shoulders. Deer everywhere, so driving at night takes more focus. Going out to restaurants and having a few glasses of wine can easily turn ugly.

This has changed how we shop, how and where we entertain, and where we go.

The first thing you learn is how to deal with power outages on well and septic. A propane grill and fireplace are crucial unless you want to be spending nights with friends that have electricity after storms. A generator helps for things like sump pumps and the freezer. We have a wood stove as well. If we have advance notice, like with Irene, we can fill the tubs with water in order to flush toilets.

A pick up truck is extremely useful out here. We got ours used. There is no yard waste pick up here. Compost it. Grind it. Haul it away yourself. Three acres with mature trees results in humongous amounts of leaves. We have a compost pile, and we haul away huge tree limbs that drop on our property line. We back up to another home so can’t easily dump things on the edge of the meadow. Mulching the gardens, flower beds, groves of trees and shrubs, and pathways requires two tons of mulch.

A snow thrower is another almost necessary purchase. The biggest you can find. We worked with one of the neighbors for four hours to clear 300 ft of driveway that was 16 ft wide after the February 2010 storms. Add to that our driveway off the main one, the parking pads, all the sidewalks and patio, and we cleared almost a quarter acre of asphalt, concrete and gravel.

We also shop less and have more storage for bulk purchases. Costco was the original source for buying large cuts of tenderloin, or roasts, or tuna and packaging for grilling. We spend vast amounts of time outdoors, in the garden, the shed, the yard, or the patio.

We go to Frederick more than Columbia, as it is quicker to drive that 25 miles on the highway than it is to slog through Columbia to Costco. We go to the Frederick Wegman’s using a scenic leisurely drive out Liberty Road, right to the store. We use farm stands and markets to give us fresher foods than the grocery stores do.

We have changed from people who bought take out, or went to the Bridge every week, and spent enough at Giant every month on prepared foods to get gasoline discounts every fill up, to people who cook from scratch, grow our own veggies and buy meat and dairy from the source.

Entertainment has changed. Redbox movie rentals for Friday night date night. Tuesday nights at Bistro Blanc. Crabs at the Crossroads. The snow ball stand at Woodstock on a steamy hot Sunday afternoon. Walks around the west county parks. Pick your own picnics at Larriland. Friday night concerts at Black Ankle in the summer. Two or three nights at the county fair in August.

This is just the beginning of the posts about life here. Details on places to go, shopping, dining, CSAs, farmer’s markets and hidden treasures in future posts.

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Eating Locally – Post Op and Vegetarian

Posted on February 29, 2012 by AnnieRie

This may be one of my stranger Dark Days Meals. It is cooking now, under the direction of my husband who is cooking while I recover from my surgery. This week we were challenged to eat a vegetarian locally sourced meal. Ours will be a combination of items that I can swallow, and that he can prepare. There was a tiny bit of leftover tomato sauce made using Quaker Valley Orchards tomato sauce and local PA mushrooms. He is going to microwave it and serve it over Amish whole wheat pasta that he will make on the stove top.

Part of my meal will be heated applesauce from Quaker Valley. I have been eating some of it each night since coming home from the hospital.

Quaker Valley Orchards are 60 miles north of us. We get their fruits and veggies and sauces at the Silver Spring Year Round Farmer’s Market.

Descriptions from their website:
Applesauce – Our applesauce is homemade with our fresh apples peeled and cooked with our own cider and a touch of cinnamon, no sugar is ever added or needed! Our apple blends have our small fruit added that was frozen in season.

Tomato Sauce – All our tomato sauce sold at market is made on the farm in our kitchen with our own tomatoes. I make it in small batches and preserve it using a pressure canner. We enjoy it all winter long.

My husband will also be eating a large spinach salad that he will put together using CSA spinach, radishes and Firefly Farms Chevre, drizzled with Catoctin Mountain Orchards Blackberry Splash Vinaigrette.

He is slow cooking sweet potatoes with honey and butter and cinnamon in the oven, cooked at 170 degrees until they almost fall apart and caramelize. I can handle that as well. Swallowing is a wee bit difficult still, but I get better each day.

Obviously, I am not up and cooking, nor will I be taking pictures. I do have raw pics of the spinach and sweet potatoes and radishes from our Zahradka Farm delivery on the 17th of February. Still able to put together tasty meals using local items.

My husband will probably open a Linden claret and have a glass, while I get to enjoy Howard County well water and ice. 😉

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A Special Award for a Local VA Winery

Posted on February 28, 2012 by AnnieRie

We received an email yesterday that I just have to share. Glen Manor Vineyards in Front Royal, VA won the VA Governor’s Cup for their 2009 Hodder Hill Meritage. I have written about Glen Manor wines here on the blog as they are some of our favorites, including those made from Glen Manor’s grapes while Jeff White grew for Linden.

We have earlier vintages of Hodder Hill in our cellar, tucked away in boxes waiting for them to mature. This wine is made from four of the five traditional Bordeaux varietals. Only Malbec is missing from the blend.

We have been drinking these wines since 1998 when Jeff’s first single vineyard designation appeared on a Linden label. We recently had a 1999 with dinner. Just like all of Linden’s reds, it was still big, beautifully balanced and still a bit tannic.

A visit in early January to Glen Manor resulted in our stocking up on
their Sauvignon Blancs while assuming we would get some Hodder Hill in April at their barrel tasting. Now, it may be difficult as he indicated he will have to ration us to four bottles. It seems the phone is ringing off the hook since he won this award.

The Virginia Governor’s Cup was revamped this year, making it a very stiff competition, with two levels of judging. The twelve top wines, designated the Governor’s Case, will be featured in marketing and at official state events. Winning this first place finish is indeed an honor for Jeff. Over 400 wines were entered, many of them from very respectable long standing vineyards, and some from “upstarts”.

I mean, how often can you say you beat The Donald? Yes, Glen Manor beat out the Trump aka Kluge blanc de blanc sparkling wine. Here is the link to the press release.

Virginia is so far ahead of MD in promoting local wines. For years we have found the agriculture and forestry office in their government to aggressively promote their wines, all the while MD has been putting road blocks in front of potential MD winemakers.

Now there is some support for MD’s boutique wineries, with legislation passed favorable to the industry, but they will have a hard time competing with VA.

For those of us who love local wines, any progress is a good thing. With Black Ankle getting national press last year, and Glen Manor rising to the top of a booming industry in VA, this region may finally get the respect they deserve. The hills all along the Appalachian Mountains are a perfect place to grow Vinifera. No need to buy foreign wines. Uncork a bottle of something locally grown and produced.

And enjoy the view.

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