YummO

Ever heard of Salt Potatoes? If you are from central New York, you not only know about these tasty little morsels, you love them. They are a staple at any cook-out, carnival or summer get-together. Me? I ♥ salt potatoes. Big ♥. You can't get them in the south. You have to make due.

The Syracuse, New York area has a long history of salt production. Salt springs located around Onondaga lake were used to create consumable salt that was distributed throughout the northeast via the Erie Canal. Salinated water was laid out to dry on large trays. The salt residue was then scraped up, ground, and packaged. Salt potatoes were created in the nineteenth century by Irish immigrants working the springs who cooked their potatoes in the salty brine. [See Wikipedia]

When I got my monthly Food Network Magazine this month I paged through the recipes. And what do I see? SYRACUSE scrawled across the top of the page. Food Network had discovered salt potatoes! Hmmmm. Little potatoes slowly cooked in a LOT of salt (which raises the boiling point so it takes much longer to cook) and drenched in butter. They are so creamy and delicious. Yeah, they won't clean our your arteries but they will make you smile.

Want to try them? Here is the recipe from the magazine. Let me know what you think!

Movies!

I had an afternoon alone yesterday and two Netflix movies to watch.

This was the first movie I put in the player. Precious is a film about a 16 year old girl in Harlem, NY. She is horribly abused by her mother, raped and pregnant by her father, and illerate. She's pregnant for the second time, removed from public school and then sent to an alternative school. She has some rather vivid fantasies about who she wants to be or who she could be. Precious leads a very sad life, an oppressive life.

I couldn't watch this film; I turned it off after about 20 minutes. I know it won Oscars; many movies that I have not enjoyed have also. I took the disc out after this girl stole a bucket of chicken. There was nothing enjoyable about that 20 minutes, I don't care how well the parts were acted. (2 stars)


After removing the first disc, I put Crazy Heart in. This story follows Bad Blake, an alcoholic, washed up country music singer. Bad Blake is not a great guy. He's self-absorbed and mostly bitter -- the man he mentored and taught has an amazingly prosperous career, leaving Bad in the dust. Bad is playing bars and bowling alleys in small towns. While in Santa Fe he meets Jane, a newspaper music writer. Jane has a four year-old son and a past she doesn't want to repeat. She falls in love with Bad knowning she shouldn't.

Cue the music. This movie wasn't bad, just predictable. You knew what was going to happen before the characters did. Jeff Bridges was very good as an alcoholic has-been, and Robert Duvall was wonderful, as always. (3.5 stars)

Have you seen either film? What did you think?

Chittenango Falls

Review by Do

Earlier this month my husband and I went on a day trip to Chittenango Falls, in Chittenango NY. I have always wanted to go and we ended up alone on July 4th weekend, so my husband planned a nice drive out for us. This is a pic from the top of the Falls. We had a gorgeous day too...we really lucked out.

We cautiously walked down rock stairs as they were pretty steep. I wouldn't recommend this excursion for someone who isn't prepared for a good hike. These are pics from the bottom of the falls on a wooden bridge that crosses over the ravine. There was a family playing in the water at the bottom, but I'm not real sure if that's actually allowed or not.

We continued across the bridge and up the other side of the falls. The trail is tricky in parts, but mostly comprised of steps carved into the rock. There isn't much of a rail to speak of, but it is not too difficult to make it all the way around the falls.

This was our tour guide (my husband). He picked up a trail map as we entered the park, and he planned our hike for the day. The trails names are pretty self explanatory. Trail A, the Gorge Trail, travels down, around, and back up the other side of the falls. This is the trail you would take if you just wanted to see the Falls. Trail B, Creekside, takes you up the creek and back.

After Trail A and Trail B, we pitstopped for a drink and then our tour guide decided we would continue on to Trail C, Chips Trail, which heads on into the woods. I still am not too sure why it's called Chips Trail, it should be called Desolate Forest trail. This trail didn't seem to be too widely used, but what the heck, we gave it a try. Our quick hike on Trail C led us to Trail D, Meadows Trail, at which point I thought the locals were going to step out of their house and shoot at us for trespassing. This was a very extended trail through...of all things...a meadow, who knew?? We did not venture on Trail E, Meadow Extended Trail, because I wanted to make it home that night. Trail C-E are through the woods and meadow with no sight of the Falls, and no wildlife that I could see. At one point we seem to have been following the power lines with the hope it would lead us back to civilization. We joked we should be leaving bread crumb trails 'cuz it all started to look familiar...again. Look kids Big Ben! (see National Lampoon's European Vacation for inside joke). After about an HOUR, my experienced tour guide, who kept insisting he was a human compass, did manage to find our way back. (note to self: do not let tour guide lead the way on Trail C, D, and esp not E, ever again).

We had a great time at the Chittenango Falls. The day was beautiful, the park was not packed, the falls were gorgeous, and I love hikes. The park also includes picnic areas, charcoal grills, a small playground, volleyball nets, and would make a wonderful place to have a family outing. To view the falls, I would positively recommend Trail A and Trail B.

I think I just talked myself into a family trip back so the kids can enjoy the falls too. If I can get everyone on board, maybe we'll plan a picnic lunch after we explore the falls. I know they'll love it as much as I did.

Do you Ichiban?

While up in the New York last week, my sister and her family, my parents and Dominic and I had a wonderful hibachi dinner at Ichiban Japanese Steak House in Liverpool.

Do had reserved us a hibachi table so we could see the live-action of Japanese cooking. We had a great hibachi cook -- he was friendly, professional and quite personable. And he made a mean fried rice! Seriously. The fried rice was the best I've ever had. It even beats the fried rice from the Egg Roll House in Columbia, SC (and that is saying something).

I ordered the steak and scallops. I upgraded to filet mignon for an extra dollar; well worth it. SO good. We got so much food. Soup (not miso but noodle which is weird for Japanese but it was tasty), salad, shrimp, hibachi vegetables, your entree, and tea. We also ordered a tuna roll for an appetizer -- hello Yum! So good. Did I already say that?

Additionally, Dominic is allergic to shellfish which I let them know upfront. Not only did they write it and highlight it on the order sheet, but the waitress asked about it. They cooked his chicken and rice in a separate part of the kitchen to eliminate cross-contamination. That is something that I seriously worry about in Asian restaurants because of the predominance of seafood. No issues whatsoever. I was thrilled.

Our chef took to Dominic and tried to get him involved in the cooking. The fire scared Dominic a bit so the chef kept trying tricks. This one involved hitting a lemon on the spatula and catching it in his hat. Too funny. He was lots of fun.

Dominic even tried the chopsticks. The waitress gave him a chopstick helper so he could actually use them. He did great with the chicken and the rice.

All in all, it was a very good meal. Good company, good food, good experience. If you ever get to Syracuse, New York try Ichiban. It's worth the trip.

Relentless

Review by: Do

Title: Relentless
Author: Dean Koontz
Copyright: 2009


Any Dean Koontz fans out there? I started reading his fantastic thrillers when I was still in my teens, and have been a fan ever since. As always, some better than others, but always entertaining.

I borrowed 2 books from my mom recently. 'The Gargoyle', by Andrew Davidson, and 'Relentless', by Dean Koontz. I started 'The Gargoyle', which is advertised as a "New York Times Bestseller", and in which my mom insisted "gets better" - but after numerous chapters I just lost interest. That book was a bit too graphic for me, and I started to get tired of reading about how the pool fella was going to kill himself...get on with it already then! I decided to take a little break from that book and just give a little peek to 'Relentless'.

Let me tell you, I was hooked right in the first chapter. He always knows how to grab your attention right at the beginning and he doesn't let go. He makes you want to finish because you have to know what happens! This particular book centers around a family of 3 who have their every day lives turned upside down by sadistic & cruel idealists who wish to shape their own society. Cubby & Penny have a 6 year old son Milo who is, by all accounts, a genius, but still a child at heart. Also a part of their family is their adopted dog Lassie who plays a very important roll in their lives and in this book. (SPOILER ALERT: For those of you, like me, who hate to see an animal harmed in any way, shape, or form in books, movies, and/or in real life, it is my duty to let you know that no Lassie was harmed in the making of this book). Moving on....

At first , I tried to read this book at night after my family had gone to bed, which is sometimes my only real free time. But this book was so convincing in its malicious nature that I found myself deciding that is was much too scary to read at that point in time. I never noticed how dark and scary my house could be so late at night!

This book was very well written, as usual. A great thriller, fairly gory, somewhat sad, and even a bit funny. I enjoyed this book immensely, and it's one of the better D.K. books I have read in a long time. I am actually hoping he brings the remaining characters out of hiding and writes another exciting story about them...or would that be impossible with how the story ended?? I guess you'll just have to read it and find out.