Kiva Zip — A resource for food

Well, it’s like this. After a period during which things have been, by turns, stressful, frustrating, and downright unpleasant, I figured I’d get back to you on a positive note, and share a really inspiring food-related story.

Well, getting to visit with Bill would put a positive spin on anyone’s year!

A new program in Arkansas launched yesterday, designed to provide microloans, crowd-funded, to entrepreneurs in the state. Kiva Zip provides small, zero-interest loans to small businesses and start-ups. I’m privileged to have been asked to be a trustee for the organization — i.e., one who recommends borrowers, who then complete a loan application, are interviewed by a Kiva loan team, and, if approved, see their loan appear on the website. From there, social media and small philanthropists all over the world take over. You can register as a lender, browse the loans, and pick one or two or a dozen to support. The minimum loan is $25. 200 loans later, that borrower gets a PayPal payment, and is off to pursue his dream.

There are 32 Arkansas loans on the website right now. Of those, 17 are food-related. They range from a creamery and soda fountain to organic vegetable farming to artisan candy to a market in a tiny Delta town that’s the only source for food and drinks for 22 miles, to an artisan cheesemaker who’s turning his hobby into his livelihood.

NOLA, and its accoutrements

A million characters in New Orleans. I wish I knew the story of this one.

I do love New Orleans. The worst thing about going there is trying to decide just which of the nine bajillion places to eat you’ll visit while you’re there.

Will you eat at Galatoire’s? Brennan’s? Two Sisters? K-Paul’s? Arnaud’s? Commander’s Palace? Any of the other big, little, in-between places that dot the narrow streets of the French Quarter, or will you venture outward?

I believe I could spend a month in the Big Easy, eat at a different restaurant every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and still find amazingly wonderful new places to try. And weigh 700 pounds.

I mean, Antoine’s has been feeding people since 1840, Tujagues since 1852. I have yet to sample either. So much Creole, so little time.

I had two dinners, one lunch, one breakfast to spend on gastronomic excess (not to mention I had an iffy stomach) on my recent trip. I guess I could’ve had two breakfasts, had I gotten my happy arse up in time to go and get back before my 9:30 meeting.

I chose, in chronological order, Brennan’s, Felix’s Oyster House, Mr. B’s Bistro, and Cafe du Monde.

Hello? Anyone there?

 

This would be me, but I’m not blonde.

Well.

You might well note that, from the absence of posts and the allusions to assorted activities, it’s been an eventful, and busy, month.

Child C and Future Son-In-Law have moved in. NS has been moved out; he has some issues which require a different sort of living environment, one where he can get the help he needs. (As an aside, to any of you who cope with mental illness in a friend or family member, I understand your plight much more than I once did.) Work has showered me with projects and assignments on which I am so behind I do not see much hope of ever catching up, or at least not before mid-2013.

The week that was

You know it’s a good party when there’s a line to get in.

One problem with living in Hot Springs is that there’s so much cool stuff going on you often can’t get around to all of it. Which, sometimes, when the stuff is fun and not work, means you Do Not Cook.

And sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with that, either.

This week has been opening week of the Hot Springs Music Festival, which is just absolutely some of the coolest stuff of all the stuff that Hot Springs offers. Musicians come from all over the world and for a solid two weeks, will play a dozen or more chamber performances as well as a half-dozen full orchestral concerts. It’s sensory overload, and it’s marvelous!

It’s also hell on cooking. But there is still good food to be had — including at one of the social events of the season, Flavor of the Park.

Long tables full of yum. And lots of satisfied diners.

Flavor is one of major productions of the Greater Hot Springs Chamber (my own employer). It features goodies from about 20 restaurants, beer and wine from local distributors, and a good time being had by all. We have it down at the Farmers’ Market Pavilion, and for a change, this week it was merely warm, not sufferin’ hot like it was last year.

Get’cher latkes, right here

Latkes as a base for a perfectly runny egg, framed by bacon.

I have mastered the latke.

You’ve just got to put the squeeze on that potato.

Child C, who has been a frequent presence at my table of late, since soon-to-be-Amazing Grandchild Two is nearing his debut and needs  feeding. She called today, and I went and picked her up, brought her back here, and fed them. I was in the notion for latkes, and the last ones I made were WAYYY too moist and needed too much flour to thicken them, resulting in a doughy taste. Ick.

So I grabbed potatos, along with a small onion, and grated them in the new FoPro, which, as soon as I master the thing (as in not trying to put the push-thingy in upside down), I am going to LOVE. It’s a KitchenAid 750,  $239 regularly, $119 on the refurbished KitchenAid website. There is no point to paying full price for ANYTHING KitchenAid, I tell you. My mixer and my FoPro came from there. Both of them at least 40 percent off retail. But I digress.

Hello from Atlanta…

And you know what Atlanta means — Murphy’s!

I went last night. And yes, they had the pork shank on the menu. And yes, it was marvelous. And yes, I was planning on going back tomorrow night, but for the fact that I have a business commitment that’s come up suddenly that will have me crawling out of bed at 3 to leave the hotel at 4 to get on an airplane leaving ATL at 6:05 tomorrow morning, a change that was effected yesterday afternoon.

Starbucks will be my friend.

Sweet Home (from) Chicago

I do love Chicago. City of broad shoulders, meatpacker to the world, and all that stuff. I love Wrigley Field, the Magnificent Mile, the Gold Coast, the Water Tower, all of which I’ve ambled through/by/around in the past couple of days.

Charlie-the-Tuna never had it this good.

Because Chicago, in addition to work, means food. Chicago has some of the best restaurants on the face of the planet, and I did manage to sample two or three of them on my quick up-Monday-back-Tuesday trip from which I have quite recently (as in 6:45 p.m. tonight) returned.

But I got in three good meals, plus a hot dog, sans bun, at Wrigley Field, while I was gone.

Murphy’s law

The picture does not do it justice. I promise.

Some things are so certain they’re just like money in the bank. After a third dinner there over the span of a year, I think I can say with that kind of confidence that Murphy’s will consistently be a fine, fine meal. And that it would be damn near worth moving to Atlanta for.

And I can say with absolute certainty that the pork shank I had last night was the best piece of pig that had not been in contact with a barbecue pit for an extended period of time that I have ever had. Period. Ever. At all. I dreamed about that damn pork shank all night, and woke up thinking about it today, and would cheerfully go there tonight and eat another one.

Murphy’s is a combination bakery, wine shop and

Let me entertain you…

The centerpiece of a holiday open house -- turkey sandwiches!

…And we’ll have a real good menu, yes sir (with apologies to Gypsy Rose Lee).

{Note: I started this post Tuesday. I figured I’d finish it up before I dived off into this weekend’s meals.}

Or at least we will if we do our entertainment shopping at the Culinary District, my most favorite store in which to shop in all of Hot Springs, Arkansas (closely followed by the Old Country Store, which has all the bulk flours, grains, legumes, and spices and other organic stuff; do we see a pattern here??), where they had their annual Christmas Open House last Sunday.

Oh. My. I did not want dinner, though I cooked it, I think.

Hello? Anyone home?

The Sunday loaf LAST week was butternut squash rye bread. If you're interested, let me know and I'll run the recipe next post.

Oh. I’m home. For a change.

Friends, it has either been a hellacious 10 days since I last visited with you and y’mama ‘n ‘em, or I’m getting older and can’t keep up the pace.

Hush. I didn’t need to hear comments from the peanut gallery.

In any event, it has been busy, I have been gone, I’ve cooked little if any of what I contemplated, and maybe someday I can cook again, if I can stay home and unexhausted long enough.