Ecuador Trip

Several of my future posts will contain stories, and perhaps video and pictures from my recent trip to Ecuador. Here's one now:
Today we went to a botanical reserve. Parts of it used to be a corral or pasture for cattle twenty-five years ago. By now, large parts have been reclaimed by the jungle and the twenty-five year-old trees are quite impressive. They have a garden where they grow crops as well as foods useful for local inhabitants. They make their own fertilizer. I got to make an insecticide out of hot peppers and ginger. After that, we walked around in the forest and I got hot and tired. We ate a lunch that they packed for us back at the place we were staying (Amazonicas). It included the now cooked empanadas that Dr. McDowell had tried to give us a few days earlier. After lunch, we walked to a rocky beach by river and waded a bit. On the way there Santiago found a huge snake but it was uncooperative. Being a student of herpetology, he tried to pick it up I thought for sure he was going to get bit. Dr. McDowell did some tai chi on the beach

After swimming we walked back to the bus. The bus then drove to a botanical garden owned by the people at the reserve. It was very hot and I was already tired from all of the walking. We did see some cool insects. I saw a moth/butterfly with a false head. Of course as I tried to take a picture it flew away. It was very cool.
We went to a town with monkeys. They climbed on people and took their food and sunglasses. Noah climbed a tree to get to the monkeys but they were much more graceful and agile. I got lots of video. Then we went back to the university and swam before dinner. Later, I walked to town with Santiago, Rachel and Gwendolyn. I bought 3 liters of aqua con gas and drank it all. We saw some ants, working together by the hundreds, pick up and walk away with a piece of Chex cereal. It was awesome!!

Scratch Foodworks

From the outside it looks like a quaint house with a good stockpile of wood for burning. That wood however, is not there to provide heat during the cold winter months. it serves to bake and flavor the bread loaves and pizzas this store specializes in. It is put to excellent use.
What Scratch Foodworks does is simple enough. Their goal is to provide simple, hand-made, home-made food. They bake 12-15 varieties of bread each week allowing people to come in and pick-up loaves on the weekends. After they bake their breads they load-up the oven with tomatoes and garlic for the pizza sauce (yes it really is made on site).
The most fun I had from Scratch was when I ordered a pizza. You see, Scratch offers a unique menu item: “trust” pizzas. This means you tell them you want a pizza and they put on it whatever they want. What I received was obviously their version of “the works”. It was a sixteen inch round (the only size offered), loaded down with an amazing variety of specialty home-made meats and fresh vegetables all over mounds of perfectly browned and gooey cheese and a delightful chimichurri pesto sauce. Now, that would be enough to make a great pizza, but, that was just the window dressing on a crispy, chewy multi-grain crust, a crust that brought a lot of flavor and did more than just provide a platform for the toppings
I’ve had a lot of pizza in my life. I’ve been to the two great American pizza towns and nearly everywhere in between. I’ve had the large thin New York style slices and the deep cheesy Chicago-style pies. I’ve had their signature pies and I love them for what they are. I’ve been to the country of origin for pizza and had the margherita, a small flat pan of dough covered in tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella and sprinkled with basil. I’ve had gourmet pizzas with duck and plum sauce and all sorts of high brow toppings. I’ve made my own pizza from boxes, mixes and even from scratch. I’ve eaten all of those pizzas and loved them for the tradition, innovation and cultural specializations that they represent. Scratch’s pizza deserves a place right next to all those as a completely unique pizza experience.
Were that all they offered it would be enough, thankfully though, the owners and proprietors of Scratch Foodworks also treat us to additional delights not least of all are their cured and smoked meats including pancetta, pepperoni, and capicola. Scratch Foodworks pride themselves on their uniqueness, individuality and their dedication to those traits shows in their food, food which rises above. I whole-heartedly endorse this place to anyone eager to experience startlingly different but in no way pretentious food that ties into our culture as Americans while also improving on age-old dishes.

THE BAKEHOUSE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY ONLY.

11 A.M. UNTIL 11 P.M.

More pictures are available at: My flickr account

Upcoming Events

First things first: I've added my very own PayPal link. Any money from it will go specifically to pay for driving to various events and the purchasing of food items to be reviewed/remarked on. This blog will function without the aid of donations, but they would help me function much better in he community

I've been thinking of some things I'd like to remark on. I've already been invited to partake of some fiddleheads (young ferns) once they begin appearing. also, I look forward to attending the ramp festival in Cosby, TN at the beginning of May. I'll try to convince my local friends that I should also participate in their morel hunts this year. We'll see if I can gain their trust. Once the Farmers market starts up again I will be paying a visit. I have many wonderful restaurants I'd love to remark on but I'm going to hold back for now.

I love beans and my mother was nice enough to purchase several packages of heirloom beans for me for Christmas from RanchoGordo.com. I've already made Chili Verde and Bean Pot beans that were to die for. I'll will blog on my experiences recreating classic bean dishes. I enjoy beans a great deal ever since doing a report on them for a class. If you find me writing about them too much just let me know.

Welcome Southern Appalachian Foodies

This is just a short welcoming statement of purpose. I am not a Southerner. I am, in fact, a Northerner. More specifically, I'm from Northwest Ohio (Hometown paper). Let me attempt to appease your concerns. I love food. It is that simple. I'm an adventurous sort who loves to be challenged by new tastes and experiences. It is for this reason that I started this blog. I hope that my tireless efforts to sample the culinary offerings of the East Tennessee region that I might be able to introduce many people to its joys, complexities, history, and yes, anthropological importance.
I am a graduate student at East Tennessee State University. I am studying the origins of agriculture in this region which, many currently believe, is the origin of agriculture in North America outside of Mexico. These plants are referred to colectively as the Eastern Agricultural Complex. The plants eaten by prehistoric people in Southeastern North America included Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri), Little Barley (Hordeum pusillum), Sumpweed (Iva annua, and Squash (Cucurbita pepo). That's right squash was initially cultivated right here in the good old U.S. of A., well, what was to eventually become the U.S. While many of these early plants are no longer widely eaten, they were essential to the early Native Americans until the introduction of Corn (Zea mays) and Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) from Mesoamerica.

Enough with the history lesson, lets get eating