Tag Archives: outdoors

Mar1

Cupid Party

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……..well as you can see from the painting…..we love to entertain…

I have the wonderful pleasure of having retired from my professional career

as a Health Care Administrator, after 35 years of service and

get to work in the field of my true passion………..the Culinary World!

I work in a retail food environment (i.e. Grocery Store) that is very innovative and trendsetting…

I am the resident Chef for my location and have a wonderfully ordained kitchen in which I get to prepare all sorts of culinary delights for customers wanted to expand their foodie interests.

Due to this I also maintain a recipe site : www.Chef-Emil.com , should you ever be interested in checking out my creations!

I work with the most amazing group of people and so very enjoy what we bring to our customers.

Each year I throw an appreciation party for our group, this year it was the Year of the Cupid…

I ran about the house and gathered up all the Hutschenreuther Puttis I could find to create the tablescape

Just as a point of interest, the Hutschenreuther Company was founded in 1814 by Carolus Magnus Hutschenreuther in Hohenberg an der Eger, Bavaria, Germany.   He had previously worked at the Wallendorf porcelain manufactory in Lichte.   After his death in 1845, the factory was headed by his widow, Johanna Hutschenreuther, and her two sons.

From 1860, they produced hand-painted gilded porcelains, and were quite famous for the use of the Putti (my cupids).  

A large part of the factory was destroyed by a fire in 1848.

I wish the photos would show the marvelous detail of the work….We  fell in love with Hutschenreuther and have been collecting for some time..

First and foremost,  we had to pick out the wines for the eventing…

Then, of course,  have the coffee bar ready for those who may have had too much wine…

…..the house is ready for the guests to arrive…

The food is simple and easy to eat, as we plan on doing a lot of talking and mingling…

….a plate of Smoked Salmon with Creme Fraiche,  Rye and Gerkins…

…all sorts of cheese, representing the marvelous tastes of our planet…

…this is The Cupid Party, so some sweets were in order…

This Trifle is made with Triple Chocolate Cake, drenched in Godiva Chocolate Liquor, Strawberries, Vanilla Bean Custard and Fresh Cream…

….wonderful Caprese Salad, with Mozzarella Nibs….

 ……….of course the guests of honor for the evening……

a grand time was had by all ……and then at the culmination of the festivities, these wonderful people

present me with something I shall cherish for all time…

…can you believe the were able to find a Tin Man Chef!!….

….so until next year….Ciao….hmmmm…… wonder what the theme shall be..

 

Jan31

Grab A Beer – Shiner, Texas

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shiner sign

The Flying Monkeys were restless and wanted to explore some new place, so off we went to Shiner, Texas

Shiner is located in Lavaca County.

It all began in 1887 when Henry B. Shiner donated 250 acres of land for a railroad right of way.

As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 2,069.

shiner old

To our amazement there are no hotels in Shiner!  So we booked a room at the Shiner Country Inn..

Not the lap of luxury, but clean

Shiner is the home of the Spoetzl Brewery,  the oldest independent brewery in Texas.  The brewery is most well known for producing Shiner Bock,  a dark German/Czech-style beer that is now distributed in 41 states.

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………..but more about that later.

We explored the entire town to plan our itinerary………okay that took 10 minutes,

so we went to Snowflake Donuts for breakfast…

 

Upon entering we found a table of about 20 locals, all of whom ceased conversation and stared at us the entire time we were in the place…….okay weird!

………..now back the the Spotzl Brewery……

A group of businessmen incorporated Shiner Brewing Association

and placed Herman Weiss in as the company’s first brewmaster.  

In 1914 a German immigrant brewer named Kosmos Spoetzl co-leased with Oswald Petzold

with an option to buy in 1915.  

kosmos

Spoetzl had attended brewmaster’s school and apprenticed for three years in Germany, worked for eight years at the Pyramids Brewery in Cairo, Egypt, and then worked in Canada.   He moved to San Antonio in search of a better climate for his health, bringing with him a family recipe for a Bavarian beer made from malted barley and hops.

During Prohibition in the United States,  Kosmos Spoetzl kept the brewery afloat by selling ice and making Low-alcohol beer  “near beer.”   After Prohibition only five of the original 13 Texas breweries were still intact.   When the Prohibition laws were repealed, larger beer plants, such as Anheuser-Busch, moved to Texas making life harder on the smaller independent breweries,  but Spoetzl kept things small and simple,  never going more than 70 miles for business.

The owner’s daugher, Miss Cecelie took over operations in 1922

and became the only woman in the United States to be a sole owner of a brewery in 1950.

In the 1970s and 1980s the brewery’s ”Shiner Beer” and ”Shiner Bock”  had less than 1 percent of the Texas market.   In 1983 Spoetzl produced 60,000 barrels of beer;  in 1990 only 36,000.   Sales improved after Carlos Alvarez of San Antonio acquired the brewery in 1989:   Production grew to 100,000 barrels in 1994,  and over the next ten years,  production nearly tripled.

As of 2012,  it was the fourth-largest craft brewery and tenth-largest overall brewery in the United States.  Spoetzl currently produces eight beers year round and four seasonal brews per year.

shiner beer sign ending

We were so lucky to have the Brewmaster, Jimmy Mauric, conduct a personal tour!

brewmaster

The brew house was so very beautiful with the copper brew tanks…

The view of the bottling room was amazing……..many thousands of bottles whirling around…..

The tour over it was time for a late lunch……….where should we go…..oh yes the only restaurant in town….

The Shiner Restaurant and Bar..

The place was empty!  The bar was quite beautiful and ornate

The dining room sported wonderful old cabinets…

The food was great….we began with the Shiner Beer Bread and Shiner Black Butter

…..then on to the Pulled Pork Sandwich and the “World’s Best Sandwich”……that was really the name!

It was a Club Style BLT with a Chicken Fried Steak thrown in for Good Measure…….don’t tell my Cardiologist about this post!

Well that was Shiner a quiet, quiet, quiet little Texas Town

So until next time…………PROST!

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Dec18

Havre de Grace

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Whilst driving from Baltimore to Philadelphia, it was time for a break from the road and there before us was a sign for

HAVRE de GRACE, MARYLAND

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Well the rusty old jaw of the Tin Man still has difficulty pronouncing this one correctly

(after all the Emerald City is located in Texas!!)

But off we did go………..

Havre de Grace is a city in Harford County, Maryland  It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay.

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On May 3, 1813, during the War of 1812, Havre de Grace was attacked by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.   The American Lieutenant John O’Neill single-handedly manned a cannon to help defend the town. He was wounded, captured by the British, and soon released.   In gratitude, Havre de Grace made O’Neill and his descendants the hereditary keepers of the Concord Point lighthouse marking the mouth of the Susquehanna River.

The Town is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which in full was once ”Le Havre de Grâce”, “Haven of Grace”. 

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In 1789,  Havre de Grace was in serious consideration to be the permanent capital of the United States.

Havre de Grace was a candidate for the honor of being named capital of the United States, when the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the new permanent U.S. capital,

the vote was tied between Washington, D.C. and Havre de Grace—with the tie-breaking vote cast by the House Speaker, in favor of Washington, D.C.

WOW………..and all we really wanted to do was stretch our legs and find a public restroom!!!

We found a marvelous place to rest and decided to have a bite to eat, since the view was so magnificent.

The Tidewater Grille

We got a great table that looked out over the water and a wonderful railroad bridge.

Two railroad main lines pass through Havre de Grace. More than 8 daily passenger trains on Amtrak’s busy Northeast Corridor speed through Havre de Grace at 90 mph on an elevated line. 

The double track bridge was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1904 & 1906

for its New York City & Washington, D.C. line. 

Well, I don’t know about you, but every time I am in Maryland I MUST have all the crab I can possibly consume!

So I began with a marvelous Cream of Crab Soup

Followed by the server’s recommendation of Susquehanna Hash…………and since we were sitting at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, it seemed appropriate.

It was a marvelous Hash made with Maryland Crab ( lots of it!) and Tasso Ham,  topped with an Egg..one of the best dishes I have ever eaten!

We enjoyed our meals and watched the trains as they sped along the tracks over the Susquehanna River and imagined the Capital Building sitting here, but for one vote!

Then it was off to explore more of the town and have a coffee at Java by the Bay

For joy!  The fragrances of the coffee beans was so wonderful in the Shoppe…….

……and the coffee so pleasing, as it was quite windy and cold outside.

Well, hope you enjoyed our little visit to Havre de Grace, now it’s time to get back in the car and continue our journey……

 

 

Nov22

Sacred Trust – Magical Place

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“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch.  Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

e.e. cummings

Once in the life of the Tin Man there entered such a person, who brought such insight and confidence in exposing one’s vulnerability and inner light. 

This Most Magical Mary was the Undergraduate English Professor of the Tin Man, many decades ago.  Their lives have remained intertwined by the vines of love, respect and joy.  The vines continue to bear such beautiful fruit, even the Fall of their lives.  Once the roots of self  plunged into the sacred earth of conviction there sprouted buds to flourish a lifetime.

Marvelous, Magical Mary

 

Want to read more about Mary, click on this link:   http://the-tin-man.com/2012/04/08/reflections-a-visit-to-pennsylvania/  This was the Tin Man’s last visit to the Emerald City of the East and little did he know that his life would almost end upon his return home. 

It was time, to once again, pay a visit to Marvelous Mary in Media, Pennsylvania.  During this visit we wandered the paths of Ridley Creek State Park (just outside her front door – yeah, I am just a bit green with envy!) 

Ridley Creek State Park’ is a 2,606 acre Pennsylvania state park in Edgmont Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania and Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The park, about 5 miles north of the county seat of Media, Pennsylvania, offers many recreational activities, such as hiking, biking, fishing, and picnicking.

Ridley Creek passes through the park. Highlights include a 5 mile paved multi-use trail, a formal garden designed by the Olmsted Brothers, and Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation, which recreates daily life on a pre-Revolutionary farm.

The park is adjacent to the John J. Tyler Arboretum.   Ridley Creek State Park is just over 16 miles from downtown Philadelphia, between Pennsylvania Route 352 and Pennsylvania Route 252 on Gradyville Road.

The bulk of the property was acquired in the late 1960s from the estate of well-known horse breeder Walter M. Jeffords, Sr. and his wife Sarah, a niece of Samuel D. Riddle.   The Jeffords had acquired the land starting about 1912 in small parcels, until they had over 2,000 acres, which was the largest private undeveloped property in the Philadelphia area by the 1960s.    By 1918 they had built a large mansion, now the park office, around a stone colonial farmhouse.  

Twenty-four other historic properties were located on the grounds, many farmsteads that had retained family ownership since the seventeenth century. 

In 1976 these properties were registered on the National Register of Historic Places.

The area was originally settled by English Quakers and remained agrarian into the twentieth century.   The oldest property is the 1683 Worrel House.  In 1718 a water mill,  then known as Providence Mill,  began to grind corn. In the late 18th century a plaster mill was established next to the grist mill.   

A rolling and slitting mill replaced the plaster mill by 1812,  and became known as Bishop’s Mills.   

Workers cottages, a dam, and several outbuildings complete the mill complex, now known as Sycamore Mills.    The mills operated until 1901, when they were damaged by fire.

When one walks through the park, nature reaches out and gathers one’s soul into her embrace; thereby removing all the pins and needles of civilization…

 

“Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backward.”
e.e. cummings

…….until next time, dearest Mary: “listen: there’s a hell
of a good universe next door; let’s go”
e.e. again…….

May10

Castiglione della Pescaia – Grosetto – Tuscany – Italy

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Coat of arms of Castiglione della Pescaia

Coat of arms of Castiglione della Pescaia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever see myself dining in a castle perched high over the beautiful Italian Coast….

……oh but yes…….it happened!!!

Castiglione della Pescaia


The beautiful city by the sea with its ancient winding streets, invited us to slow down and be embraced by the past…….

we so enjoyed walking about and enjoying the shops and markets……

you see where my nose takes me……….so predictable….

our host led the way to the beachfront….

the magnificent castle looking down upon us….

as we approached the beautiful beachfront…

 we found that our host had prepared a marvelous welcoming feast……

We stayed and ate so many delights and enjoyed the beautiful wines,

as the sun set and we thought our perfect day was ending…..

……..but no we are told that now……the evening will begin!!!

we take our walk up to and into the castle!!!

then the culinary delights begin…..

the most delightful and succulent octopus I have ever tasted……….

and then when one believes there can be no more………..a whole sea bass……oh swoon…..

a perfectly delightful and magical evening spent inside this most majestic castle…

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Mar21

The Demoniac Vegetable — Artichokes

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“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.”

Bette Davis in All About Eve

I have so loved artichokes, even since I was a young boy. I find their rather uninviting, yet intriguing exterior to be a wonder…..much like the lobster…who was the first person brave enough to decide that this was something to eat?!!? And then there is the eating process itself: pulling off leaves and sliding them between your upper and lower teeth to remove flesh, having to avoid the choke…because if you don’t …. you will….choke, that is!  Finding the tender heart and snatching it out to slowly devour it, dripping with hot butter. Wow — sounds a bit ritualistic and frightening.

Rather than go into the bloody detail of it all, if your are interested in step-by-step directions, go to: http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-an-Artichoke

The more I think and write on this subject the more I wonder why I even began! So in my just-past-middle-aged wisdom, I decided to grow my own artichokes…… what else should an aging Tin Man do to entertain himself (?), my rusty knees  can’t get in and out of an inappropriate sports car and it is too hard to keep a toupee on top of this funnel head! In my first attempt, I order plants [at a whim] and put them in the garden ….. during the drought, when temperatures remained over 100 degrees — did I mention that artichokes like cooler temperatures……so I nursed my plants through the searing heat, as they turned their burnt faces up to me every day and wondered why I was holding them hostage in this horrific hades of a place. As the temperatures cooled and they began to look as though survival was possible, a young lad offered to till the garden…………yes, you guessed it  …..goodbye artichokes!

So as the Fall approached, with promises of a mild Winter, I began my quest once again….and found an amazing person who sends the most wonderful plants in the world: http://www.sweetheartartichokes.com/buy.htm  Should you ever decide that you too want to wander down this path, I strongly suggest acquiring plants from her.

So the plants arrived and were so most lovely…………………… into the ground they went far from the garden, in a place the tiller could not go! Guess what……Spring is here and we have ARTICHOKES!!!

You, of course, know by now that I could have purchased approximately 300 artichokes for what I have endured; however, what satisfaction would lie in taking that route!  I do know that if I am ever in possession of 300 artichokes at once, I shall give them to the flying monkeys to hail down on the head of the Wicked Witch of the West who lives at the bottom of the hill, in retribution for NEVER removing her garbage can from the curb!  Click here for more information about that.

Moving on…………see how beautiful the plants have become……so lush and green, bursting with life!

…………..and now the fruit is bursting forth!!!                                                                                                                              Somehow, I am expecting a catastrophic event to put an end to this.

Did you know that the artichoke even has its own legend!??! It seems that according to an Aegean legend and in a song by the poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the first artichoke was a lovely young girl [Cynara] who lived on the island of Zinari. Zeus was visiting (as he often did) his brother Poseidon one day when, as he emerged from the sea, he spied a beautiful young mortal woman. She was not frightened by the presence of a god, and therefore; Zeus seduced her.

 He was so pleased with Cynara the he decided to make her a goddess, so that she could be nearer to his home on Olympia [can't you hear the church lady proclaiming: "isn't that special!"] Cynara agreed to the promotion and Zeus anticipated all sorts of trysts with her when his wife, Hera as away…..oh the lives of gods and goddesses! But as luck would have it, Cynara missed her mother and was homesick, so she snuck back to the land of mortals for a visit. Zeus found this behavior appalling and hurled her back to earth and transformed her into the plant we now know as the artichoke.

In his journal of June 19, 1576, Pierre de L’Estoile writes:

“The Queen Mother ate so much she thought she would die, and was very ill with diarrhoea. They said it was from eating too many artichoke bottoms and the combs and kidney of cockerels, of which she was very fond.”

Eating an artichoke is like getting to know someone really well.”

Willi Hastings

“These things are just plain annoying. After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual ”food” out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps. Have the shrimp cocktail instead.” 

 Miss Piggy

…………lovely thoughts………just had to share them, now go eat an artichoke!

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Mar13

Spring Forward……….at my age?!!?

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Spring Forward…………daylight savings time…….more sunlight in the evenings to drink wine on the deck, that’s what I say! Those poor souls in Arizona don’t know what they are missing! Even though it is always an adjustmentnt for me to let this one hour lapse from my life and try to change my circadian rhythm to mirror an artificially imposed rule, I do enjoy more sunlight, especially since I work in a place with no windows (who thought that was a good idea anyways??!!!?). Daylight savings time is not a new notion and was first discussed by Benjamin Franklin and first proposed by George Vernon Hudson in 1895. To me it means that Spring is exerting her power to once again posses us.  I must say, the Tin Man does feel the need for some oil on the joints after the dark, damp winter! 

Something is squeeking as I walk up the hills!

I have wandered about the yard (10 acres of it) today and tried to capture some of the beauty that I now get to enjoy with my extra hour of sunlight. While enjoying the photos (at least I hope you do!), please reflect on these wonderful quotes:

“I enjoy spring more than autumn now. One does, I think, as one gets older”

Virginia Woolf. Jacob’s Room

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”

Margaret Atwood

“A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.”

H.L. Mencken

and to follow that…………

“At my age flowers scare me.”

George Burns

<

Snapdragons
Marigolds…………the Natural Pesticide
Beautiful Four Nerve Daisies
Red Bud Tree at a Distance
Peach Tree promises a Big Harvest…unless the squirrels get them again!
Mountain Laurel …….. Love the Grape Cluster Flowers
Lone Survivor from Last Year’s Drought
…..just love this color combination
Orchids Abound
The ever beautiful Larkspur
Iris in Full Bloom……original rhizomes from my Great-Great Grandmother
Pear Tree is FULL of Baby Pears
Borage for the Bees
Agave Plant………Let’s Make Some Tequila

Napping in the Sun

Mar6

Uxmal, Mexico

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Beautiful Vistas

Sacrifical Altar

Magnificant Buildings

We are groupies when it comes to the Mayan Ruins.  We visit them over and over and go to as many sites as we can.  When we visit Uxmal and Chichen we stay in Merida and so enjoy that beautiful colonial city.  The French influence is still very strong and you can find the most wonderful French restaurants tucked away.

The area around Uxmal was occupied as early as 800 BC, but the major building period took place when it was the capital of a Late Classic Mayan state around 850-925 AD.

After about 1000, when Toltec invaders took over the Yucatán peninsula (establishing their capital at Chichén Itza), all major construction ceased at Uxmal. But it continued to be occupied and participated in the political League of Mayapán.

Uxmal later came under the control of the Xiú princes. The site was abandoned around 1450, shortly before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and was spared their gift of smallpox.

The main ruins of Uxmal cover about 150 acres, with residential districts spreading further beyond that. Uxmal occupies a grassy savannah surrounded by forest and its buildings were adapted to the varied elevations of the hilly landscape.

Unlike most Yucatan sites, Uxmal derived its not as much from cenotes (natural wells) as from man-made cisterns that collected rain water, one of which can be seen near the entrance. The constant concern with the supply of water probably explains the special popularity of the rain god Chac at Puuc sites.

 
 

The real function of many of the structures remains uncertain, and they retain the fanciful names given them by the Spanish.  The most magnificant and largest is the great pyrimad, the Advino.  Also know as the Pyramid of the Magician or the Pyramid of the Dwarf – me thinks that the dwarf was actually one of the Munchkins!  Yucatec Maya folklore have embedded in their history “el anano del Uxmal” the dward of Uxmal.  He evidently hatched from an egg and emerged fully grown and built the pyramid overnight………something a Munchkin would do.

This post is dedicated to the memory of my Mother : Annie Pauline Traugott Friesenhahn, who loved to explore the Mayan ruins and visit with the contemporary Mayan people…. probably because they are short like she was!

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