Phillies

Jase and I scored two awesome tickets for a recent Phillies game. This was only the second time I've seen a professional baseball game live. The first was over a decade ago in Denver, at a stadium that, in my opinion, made the better move in naming itself after a beer instead of a bank.

Citizens Bank Park is well-designed, the bathrooms were clean and they serve local hot dogs and beers. The hard, plastic, tiny seats though, were truly sucky. It was incredibly hot and humid, and so when the clouds starting rolling in and the wind picked up, we were actually relieved.

The event was sold out thanks in part to it being a fireworks night. The game was tied in the sixth inning, it started raining in the ninth inning and Phillies won at the bottom of the tenth. The whole story is here - it was an exciting game!

And to make it even more enjoyable? Why, vegan beers and dogs, of course :)

Haha - I love it!

Sk8 FDR

FDR skate park in Philadelphia especially rocks because it represents the awesomeness that a group of passionate people can accomplish. In the mid-nineties, when skateboarding was banned from Love Park, the city tried to make nice with the skateboarding community by donating a piece of land in FDR Park (Broad and Pattison Streets) below an I-95 overpass for a new skate park.

Unfortunately, their half-assed efforts (the construction of two pyramids and a grindbox) proved to only further piss off the skaters.

Fortunately, the anger was transferred positively, and fueled the skating community to build their own park.

Like any grassroots project, especially those headed by such a strong willed population, the construction of FDR skate park had many ups and downs and lots of drama. In the end, a pretty amazing concrete park emerged, thanks to the fundraising and volunteer efforts of the skateboarders. There's an excellent article about FDR here. I do hope that the second generation of skaters at FDR (Avery, et. al.) appreciate those who came before them, rose up to the Man, and took care of business.

We went on Saturday, the boys to skate and me to take photographs of them, the graffiti and concrete landscape. There's a half-pipe that's good for kids just learning to ride, but otherwise, FDR is not a place for a kid to learn how to skateboard. Even though Avery is a confident skater and is familiar with the park and the concept of carving lines, we still always get there early to be out of the way by late afternoon.

Happy trunk.

Don't be a victim.

A patient, older skater.

Conner and ice cream.

Dustin climbing out of a bowl.

Pop pop's tired.

Dirt balls.

And, of course, I must mention food, right? After FDR, we headed into Chinatown for fabulous vegetarian lunches at Singapore :)

Check out our photos from the day here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikaelamartin/sets/72157600302119505/.

McCooles skarpifny night

Some girlfriends and I recently visited McCoole's at the Historic Red Lion Inn in Quakertown. McCoole's is a great little historic place on the corner of Broad and Main in Quakertown. Their tag line is "Upscale atmosphere for the working person's wallet." That's definitely the vibe they have going. It reminds me of a place your parents would've taken you to celebrate a birthday or Father's Day. It's elegant, but not luxurious.

I've eaten in the dining room before, this time our primary mission was snacks and drinks, so we opted for the bar area. The inn was recently renovated and is quite warm, very welcoming and absolutely has that old, upscale saloon feel. The walls are all wood paneled in rich tones, the foyer is deep with layers of tile, plants and comfy yet period-appropriate furniture. Most importantly, the service is brilliant.

The bartenders and waiters are helpful and fun (besides the usual veg*n questions, we had celiac ones as well), and the service is quick. Our chef even came out to hand deliver one of our dishes. Do you know why chefs jackets have a pen-holder pocket in the sleeve, not the chest? Hmmm...

This particular group of ladies are my first and only "girlfriends." I have girls that are friends, of course, but never had I, a complete set of honest-to-goodness girlfriends, until these four. You know that group of chatty, laughing, silly girls who talk about boys and relationships and sex, and now also about husbands and children and homes? The ones who go out for Girls Night? Yeah. Never had 'em.

That is, until I met these fine women when we worked together five years ago. They are the most intelligent, ridiculous, confident, honest, caring and passionate women I've ever met. Seriously, they rock. And they introduced me to what all this hubub about having girlfriends and a Girls Night is. It's just fun! :)


So, that's four of the five skarpifny ladies. Nancy, Stefanie, me and Emily went out and toasted our other member Ellie, who abanded us for a boy in North Carolina ;)

And what is this skarpifny I speak of?

It's our gang, yoh.

Respect.

We had some dee-lish food including a Roasted Vegetable Salad that was chock-full of roasted vegetables (not just a couple thrown on top), a Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Napolean and duh, french fries :)

The menu is extensive, and the staff seemed more than willing to adjust any item to suit tastes and needs. You can check out the whole menu here: http://www.mccoolesredlioninn.com/menu.html. But honestly, brussel sprouts were the vegetable of the day and they have Spaten on tap. What else do you need?

McCoole's at Red Lion Inn
4 S Main Street
Quakertown, PA 18951
215.538.1776
http://www.mccoolesredlioninn.com/

PS: After McCoole's, these vests were liberated by Emily and Nancy from the shadowy grips of Stef- er, ahem, someone's closet. For the record, would you please assure her that they will never be back in style?

Bakers on Broad open hizouse

After sending off Awesome Miss L, Jason and I bummed around, straightening up a bit here and there until it was time to go to the baker's open house. Linda and Rafael of Bakers on Broad celebrated their first anniversary in business by inviting everyone in for a tour, conversation and snacks. It was a brilliant way to spend a Sunday afternoon after a busy weekend. Even better? Well, the wine of course.





























Jase and I sat at the front window bar (a refinished slice of a very large tree), chatted with some fantastic people (bottom right), drank wine and nibbled on bread (duh) and local cheese from Hendrick's Farm in Telford before we went down a set of spiral stairs to check out the kitchen. I don't know what exactly we were expecting, but the kitchen is huge. There are three rooms, the most impressive one housing a gigantic oven (top left). Rafael went through the baking process, though, to be honest, I was half in the bag by the time we left and can't remember the delicate details of baking through which he walked us.

I do know however, that we were quite impressed.

Jase and I joked about how we pictured Rafael awaking at the break of dawn to shuffle downstairs into their regular ol' kitchen to bake bread in their oven. Then, as the sun rose, Linda would take over, moving the goods to the front room and working with the customers. Apparently, we aren't the only ones with this impression and that is precisely why they had this open house.

Their operation is quite impressive, and it made me realize just how much they must have scrimped and saved and researched and constructed in order to open a bakery of their very own. The tour also explained why it took them so long to open once they took ownership of the building - which happens to be their home, as well. Those two clearly worked very hard.

Jason and I were lucky enough to meet some of Linda and Rafael's super nice and very proud family (middle right). I'm pretty sure they were only being super nice so that we would finally go home. And yes, we were the last to leave.

We've begun our campaign to convince Baker's to have an event like this every Sunday. Hey, it could happen...

Join the campaign!
Bakers on Broad
503 East Broad Street
Souderton, PA 18964
215.703.0518
http://www.bakersonbroad.com/contact.html

;)

Montgomery Theater date night

Being the clever and wonderful and sweet girlfriend that I am, I naturally gave Jason an equally clever and wonderful and sweet gift for his birthday last year. I would like to note that the gift is even extra super special because his birthday is on 31 December. As in, NEW YEARS EVE. Had I known this before I fell in love with him (I should have requested a thorough inspection), I would have made him change it. But, whatever. We're here now, AREN'T WE?

So anyway. This year, I bought a season subscription to our local playhouse, the Montgomery Theater in Souderton. This, in and of itself, is an awesome gift. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The theater just rocks. The building is gorgeous, the staff is dedicated and passionate, the programs are inclusive, the shows seem to be handpicked and parts singularly crafted for the actors that play them, it has a perfect, central location and every seat in the house is good. It's a great, local establishment.

For Jason's birthday, I bought the season subscription, but made it sweeter by actually picking the dates out on the calendar, and creating five Date Night packages. Each package is really a bottle of wine (Pinot Noir, Red Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon) that has a handmade tag listing the date, time and show tied around top, a certificate good for a dinner (homemade or at a restaurant, his pick), and a description of the play from the theater's program.

See, it's the birthday gift that gives all year. And, it's insanely caring and thoughtful. I know, I know, I'm just good like that.

[Please, don't mind that nagging thought in your head. The one that's saying something like, "Heeey... wait a minute. Mikaela's the one who likes the theater so much...she's going to the plays, too...hrmmm." I am selfless and goddess-like. I did it for Jason. It's all for him!]

We've enjoyed three shows so far: Psychopathia Sexualis, The Drawer Boy, and Butterflies are Free, We went to our fourth show, The Last Five Years (by Jason Robert Brown), over the weekend. Jason's dinner choice was sushi from Kira and the wine was Ravenswood Red Zinfandel.


After dinner, we walked to the theater. Luckily we got there a little early and had time to visit the Sharon Moore Gallery across the street. Sharon just moved her gallery from a crowded store front on Broad Street, to this newly renovated, high-ceiling space in one of Souderton's famous old cigar factories. You must visit!

I purposefully don't read the descriptions of the plays. A fun effect of this, is that there's always something that surprises me. Like The Drawer Boy is a drawer, like with markers and pens, not like, his parents couldn't afford and didn't have the room for a crib, so he slept in the dresser drawer as an infant. It was an honest misunderstanding, people! One can imagine my surprise - In my mind, I had built a gritty story about a down-on-their-luck, young couple living in Brooklyn, who had a baby, but no money and little space in their one room apartment.

The Last Five years, was surprising as well, but not quite in the same way. I knew it was a love story (by seeing the logo), and was surprised when it turned out to be un-sappy, and rather brave. And also when I realized it was a musical. I'm not a big fan of musicals. It was hard for me not to groan and tell myself that we could leave at intermission. Which, of course, we didn't. Because the play was fantastic.

The format was brilliant for this story of unfortunate timing and missed opportunities for understanding. The woman's point of view (Jessica Edwards) starts in the present and works back to the couple's first meeting, while the man's (Michael Philip O'Brien) begins at their first meeting and progresses to the present. The couple's stories intersect only at the mid-point of their relationship, the wedding.

Date Four was definitely a winner :) Our next and final date is The Desk Set and a bottle of Barefoot Reserves Pinot Noir (our favorite). Stay tuned - or better yet, go see the show!

Univest Grand Prix

(Check out that rainbow!)

Yes, the Univest Grand Prix is a world renowned bicycle race. Yes, it happens right here, in our front yard (well, a half block away from the front yard). Yes, it's sponsored by many local community-minded businesses. Yes, international professional cycling teams compete right next to beloved locals in the race each year. And yes, this gem of a race was born from the spirit of local Merrill Moyer, and has continued to grow larger, more exciting, and more challenging each of its nine years.

But really? The honest-to-goodness reason why people flock from all corners of earth to visit little Souderton each year? Yeah, it's is for the kids race. You know it :)

Avery ran into his super friend Alex during the sign up and line up for the race.


The kids race is separated into age groups, and takes place on part of the real race course (on Main Street).


I don't know if they declare an actual "winner," but I don't know that the kids even notice :)



The competitors gathered for a group photograph post race.



Avery also ran into super friends Danny and Benjamin at the race; here they're getting ready to be interviewed by a local television station (WFMZ).



Check out some links for this awesome race:

• http://ramblings10.blogspot.com/2006/09/univest-grand-prix-2006-bike-race-in.html
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/oryl/239445760/
• http://www.univest.net/univestInTheNews_082206.asp
• http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/47-09112006-710572.html
• http://www.stmainst.org/grandprix2006.html

Then, mark your calendar and ready your cow bell for the Univest Grand Prix 2007 - we'll meet you there!

Univest Grand Prix:
http://univestgrandprix.com/

Nockamixon State Park

After the last couple dreary days, posting about our sunny Labor (not Memorial :P) Day is a nice break :)


We went to Nockamixon State Park in Upper Bucks County (between Haycock and Bedminster townships). The park is over 5,200 acres surrounding the 1,450-acre Lake Nockamixon - the largest lake in Bucks County - and it must be one of the most beautiful reasons to live in this area.

There are hiking trails, horseback riding trails, a swimming pool, rental cabins and boats, picnic areas with grills, and walking/bike paths. The Tohickon Creek runs into the lake, and you'll often find kayakers there in June and November, when water is released from the lake's dam, turning it into whitewater perfect for an aquaholic. It's a great spot for birthdays, Father's Days, and Momma's Days. There's something for everyone to do. And, it's 15 minutes from our front door :)



We've been known to pack up the Party Car* (my dad's Volvo wagon) with bikes, kayaks, frisbees, dogs, fishing poles and picnic food to spend the whole day there. Avery inherited his Grandpa Dan's high energy, hyperactive, short attention span personality, and, let's be honest, that's the real reason why we love Nocakamixon.

*please read that as "Potty Cah." We're from Rhode Island :P

The two of them can go from fishing, to a spin around the lake in the kayak, to a bike ride, to taking photographs, to sneaking off to buy an ice cream eclair from the boat rental building (yes, we saw you :P) and back again without bothering those of us who prefer a slower pace of reading the newspaper, cooking veggie burgers, playing cards and meditating on the landscape. The park is fun for the whole family, as they say :)

My pops didn't go with us this time, and we kept it low key, only bringing the bikes, Avery's fishing gear and a tote with a couple books and the newspaper for Jase and me, some water and trial mix and a blanket. And the camera, of course.

Avery "fished" a bit. He's more into the process and the different lures and the weights than he is about actually fishing. Which works out great because he never catches (read: never harms or kills) anything :) He's much more content when his hands are doing something, and so usually abandons fishing once he's organized, tested out, then reorganized his gear. He's good at finding stuff to build; this time it was a raft made of sticks, a discarded styrofoam cup and fishing line.


While Avery was building and launching his raft, Jase and I read, and we all observed bugs.

You'll notice that the stick bug and the spider are missing legs. We also saw a grasshopper with a missing leg. I don't know if this is the usual state of bugs at the end of the summer, but hey, it makes sense, right? Spending all summer battling birds, bigger bugs, little toddlers, adolescent boys and footsteps. Come August, it's like the end of a war. Note that the tank looking bug with armor and spikes has all of her appendages. I don't think that's a coincidence, kids. (More pictures here.)

It was a great trip to Nockamixon, as usual. We were a bit sad to be saying goodbye to summer, but the lake gave our spirits a little boost and helped our heads get ready for another school year.

I'll leave you with encouragement to visit the park, with no worries that summer is nearly over. If it's too cool for picnics, there are plenty of great eating places, and check out The Wagon Wheel and The Raven's Nest for incredible music.

It's absolutely gorgeous in the fall, as you can imagine. There's the water release in November that lures river rats from all over. My dad and his buddies run the release every year, and were even featured in a photo essay in Bucks County magazine last year. We spent Thanksgiving in one of the cabins, which was just lovely - who knew family holidays could be so quiet and serene - and include hiking? In the winter you'll find cross country skiers, ice skaters and ice fishers.

And hey, let us know if you go! :)

Nockamixon State Park: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/Parks/nockamixon.aspx

Happy Friday!

We had a field trip today at work - fun!

Sam, Trish, Nancy (that's her pictured) and I went to to the Delaware Valley College's Market on Lower State Road in Doylestown to pick up lunch. And some extras, because it's just impossible to go in and pass up all the local grown goodness. In addition to farmers market fare, the Market also has a nice selection of natural and organic foods, a bakery, a coffee bar, a prepared foods deli, a small ice cream stand, and an incredible selection of desserts. Desserts like peanut butter pie. Zomg!

The market's structure is pretty awesome. It's really a big classroom where students from DelVal College (most known for their agriculture programs). The Market provides a one-of-a-kind, hands-on opportunity for students in all areas of study:

"Learning is brought down to earth, while real-life experience is elevated to an unparalleled level of excellence.

"Business Administrations majors can handle The Market’s daily operations, including ordering, invoice processing, staff management and marketing. In the kitchen, Food Management majors can make sure supplies are available,handle prep work and hire kitchen personnel. Horticultural students can handle the daily care of orchards, vegetable gardens, and other growables. Community outreach programs can be organized and run by Education majors. A market newsletter can be written and produced by Written Communication majors, and the College’s Ornamental Horticulture department can landscape The Market’s exterior areas."

How cool is that? I can't think of a better way to gain knowledge than through this type of learning-by-doing education.

There were lots of DelVal-grown lovelies avaialable this trip: eggplant, zucchini, patty pan squash, yellow squash, different varieties of tomatoes, peaches and red, yellow and green bell peppers are some. Other locally grown produce (broccoli and romaine, red leaf and greef leaf lettuce) was displayed as well. So pretty :)




















The last picture is what I took back to tthe office. For less than ten bucks. Sweet! Clockwise from left that's a quarter peck of DelVal peaches, Stuart's Rootbeer, Terra Blue chips, Del Val spicy string beans, DelVal three bean salad (that had colorful Del Val peppers in it, too) and my Market club card. Not sure what the card does for me yet, but I use it :)

The Market at Delaware Valley College: http://www.devalcol.edu/themarket/about.htm

Pennypacker Farm, the other CSA

Our friends Justin and Kelly (not that Justin and Kelly) belongs to the Pennypack Farm in Horsham. The farm, actually called Pennypack Farm Education Center for Sustainable Food Systems, was was established in 2003 by an 11-member Board of Directors, and is a registered 501(c)3 non profit educational organization. Their mission is to:

"Increase public understanding of the health, economic, ecological and social issues involved in sustainable local food systems. We work with individuals, families, communities, environmental and educational institutions to raise awareness about sustainable local food systems by offering educational programs and a community supported agriculture (CSA) demonstration project."

Which in part means, that they put together and host some super awesome classes. Classes like, Food Preservation Workshop (Drying/Freezing). Although Kelly's been pretty keen on "playing things by ear" lately, and I cherish my Sunday afternoons, she signed us up for the one hour Sunday session. And, I'm really, really glad we actually made it there :)

The workshop was run by farm member and food preserver extraordinaire, Jo Ping. JP has that certain earth mother vibe every food preservationist needs, but it's uniquely infused with just enough bespectacled scientist to make you pay close attention and take notes when she's speaking. See how she's got her hands on her hips? Yes, ma'am! :)



















JP walked the group of eight through the basics of storage, pickling, freezing and jarring seasonal produce to last through the fall and winter months. Some gems I picked up from the session:

• Go ahead and freeze herbs, there is no benefit to drying them. Chop and place into plastic freezer bags, then tear off pieces as you need them.
• When freezing basil toss the stems, but when freezing parsley, use the stems.
• Always filter tap water that you use for pickling and jarring. The chlorine in tap water can deter the fermenting process needed for these types of preservation.
• Use sea salt or kosher salt when pickling, it just does a better job.
• When blanching veggies for freezing, retain the water for soup stock.
• Yes kids, you really need to blanch before freezing. See how they turn pretty, bright colors when you do that? That's a good thing.
  
• The best veggies for pickling are anything firm; radish, kohlrabi, carrots, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli stems.
• Jarring tomato pulp seems to preserve more flavor than freezing it.

The best part of the class though, was JP sharing her Kim Chee recipe:

Cut in half, one head of nappa or Chinese cabbage. Hint: to reduce loose pieces, cut only through the stem, then tear the halves apart. Then quarter halves. Rub leach leaf with salt, using about three tablespoons per quarter. Place cabbage into a lidded plastic or glass container (not metal because the salt will corrode it), to let leaves soften, anywhere from one to five hours. Meanwhile, mix the following in a bowl to form a paste:

* one grated carrot
* one julienned green onion
* two TBS of sugar
* three cloves of garlic
* one TBS of ginger
* two TBS of hot pepper powder

Remove quarters and rinse off the salt in clean, cooled boiled water. Paint the mixture onto each cabbage leaf, place back into container, cover and store on counter top for two days. Then, place into refrigerator and store up to two months - although, it is best eaten sooner :) Serve with a protein (barbecue tempeh or chicken, fried egg) and steamed rice.

Of course, I'll post here when I tackle the Kim Chee. If you have the chance, check out the other classes offered by Pennypack farm - I highly recommend them :)

Pennypack Farm: http://www.pennypackfarm.org/joomla/index.php

Saturday night in D-Town

Support your local eateries, musicians and clubs!

We celebrated Jason's momma's birthday tonight. Sharon is many things, but food adventurer is not one of those. Jase asked around and found a real American restaurant right in Doylestown, aptly named, The American Kitchen; as well as a great after dinner music spot, Puck.

At the American Kitchen, Jason had the Four Cheese Pasta with Shrimp, his brother Dean had the Meatloaf, Sharon had the Salmon and I had the Goat Cheese with Spinach Salad and Beets appetizer for dinner. Yummm.

A couple blocks walk after dinner, and we were at Puck on Printers Alley. For a $7 cover charge, we were jamming to the sounds of Steve Brosky + The Big Little Band. Puck is in a basement level space, and oozes a Chicago blues funk, f the man vibe. The neon red vertical- reading Puck sign on the side of the building is the perfect avante garde backdrop to the club's outdoor seating and eating area. The patio is defined by, and centered around, a huge, phenomenally beautiful mermaid garden fountain.

Past the outside area, your drawn downstairs by a set of cement, red velvet roped stairs and into the bar. There, your sure to be met my an outgoing, friendly and hip staff. And more red velvet ropes :) Once through the lobby, the popping red and black color scheme and basement factory tone becomes lush and welcoming.


We had a couple drinks at the bar, then moved to a small table toward the stage. Once the band started, a space cleared for a dance area, drinks flowed and the bodies jammed. The band was playing the crowd quite nicely and even acquiesced to Jason's hollering of "DOMINO" after they mentioned Neil Young. Of course, they made him (and his girlfriend and mom) get out onto the dance floor once they started playing his request :)

One thing about partying in Doylestown? There's no cab service. Make sure you have your designated driver process in place. We didn't. I tried calling for a cab from the closest taxi company, in Horsham (with the help of an incredibly gracious, sweet, funny and knowledgeable Puck team member), but they wouldn't pick us up. Boo. We ended up walking to Sharon's house and going back to pick up the car later.

Still, we had an awesome time. We'll absolutely be back to The American Kitchen, Puck and to see Steve Brosky + the Little Band again :)