Note From Quentin: The Imaginary Family Project is open to a fair amount of author freedom. When I first began to structure the project, I thought that most writers would, as I did, just write a short 2 or 3 paragraph entry. To my surprise, most have written much longer stories. Our author this week has taken a new approach, presenting 3 mini-stories. Are they about the same person? Different people? That’s for us readers to figure out with our own interpretation. Enjoy! Continue reading The 2011 Imaginary Family Project – Week 13→
Oh man have I been guilty of this one in the past, but I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf.
Several studies have attempted to compare the dangers of texting while driving with driving under the influence. One such study was conducted by Car and Driver magazine in June 2009. The study used two drivers in real cars and messured reaction-times to the onset of a light on the windshield. The study compared the reaction times and distances of the subjects while reading a text message, replying to the text message, and impaired with alcohol. The study showed that at 35 mph, reading a text message decreased the reaction time the most, 0.12 seconds for the first driver and 0.87 seconds for the second. Impaired driving at the same speed resulted in an increase of 0.01 and 0.07 seconds respectively. In terms of stopping distances for a driver going 70 mph, these times were estimated to mean:
I would never get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, and yet, every time I read or send a text message or email while driving, I’m actually a lot more dangerous behind the wheel than if I was legally drunk. This paradox just doesn’t fly with me anymore. I’ve got to stop. Continue reading N.U.T. #2 – I don’t text or email while driving.→
My heirloom black seed lettuce will be ready for its first cutting this week.
I play lots of food games, kitchen games or garden games. Mostly with myself, but they still entertain me for hours. One of these activities is a game I like to call, “Beat the Restaurant.” It involves ordering a dish I really love from a restaurant until I have “cracked the recipe code” in my own home kitchen. Sometimes this takes a couple of years because we don’t really go out to eat that often, and the chances of Mick agreeing to go to the same restaurant just so I can order a dish I’m trying to deconstruct aren’t very high. So what I’m about to share with you is special, and it has to do with my little Victory Garden.
My Garden Report for this past week? Things are definitely coming along. Spinach is now ready for early picking. And I did, of course. I cut about 1.5 cups of the most beautiful little perfectly deep green leaves and thought to myself, “I’m going to share my recipe for Cafe 501’s Spinach, Pear and Blue Cheese Salad!” Other restaurants serve something similar, but I’ve never had it anywhere except Cafe 501 where they use the perfect dressing. Yes, it’s perfect (in my head)…for a LOT of things. I’ll tell you about the “lot of things” after I tell you about the salad, deal? Here are a couple more photos for my garden report section: Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Entry Six o’Clock Dinner Secrets→
Now that lambing is wrapping up, Sue and I are able to get away from the farm for more than just critical errands or to go to work. A couple of Sundays ago, we stole away to the Rock Cafe in Stroud for a leisurely Sunday breakfast. Our friends Lisa and Linda from Living Kitchen Farm in Depew met us there, and we proceeded to pig out. Reviewing the Rock seems a little unfair since it is one of my favorite places, dive or otherwise, in this part of the state. However, I want y’all to know what a great place it is so you can visit yourself.
The Rock Cafe is right on Route 66
The Rock Cafe has been a Route 66 landmark since it opened in 1939. The current owner, Dawn Welch, got it listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 after four years of hard paperwork. In 2008, it was badly burned in a fire, but reopened almost a year to the day later, completely restored. It’s been featured in television shows and in the movie Cars. Before the Turner Turnpike opened, it was a Greyhound bus stop. Today, it’s open seven days a week, serving up breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Without a doubt, breakfast is my favorite. The fare is not just standard Okie-diner-ham-and-eggs.
Beignets, Rock Cafe style. YUM!
No trip to the Rock Cafe for breakfast would be complete without trying the beignets. They aren’t exactly standard New Orleans style–more like biscuits meet Bourbon Street–but they are scrumptious. We had an order with our coffee while we waited on the rest of our breakfast to arrive. As luck would have it, each of us ordered something different from the menu. Sue was in a mood for crepes, Linda got the pancakes, Lisa had french toast and an omelet (she has a hollow leg, I swear), and I had the burrito.
Look at all this food! Yeah, we licked the plates clean, I promise.
Our food arrived so quickly, there were still beignets left in the basket. All of it was hot and fresh. After looking at Lisa’s french toast, I wish I had tried it, but I really liked the burrito. It was grilled, making the tortilla wrap crispy and creating a contrast between the crispy outside and the warm, mushy ham-and-cheese center. Sue raved about her crepes, Linda’s pancake stack covered her plate, and by the time we were done, her plate was clean along with the rest of the ones at the table! All of us agreed it was one of the best meals we’d had for a Sunday breakfast in quite a while. Continue reading “Red Dirt Dives” Reviews: Rock Cafe, Stroud→
We have a couple of favorite eateries. It has little to do with the food; it has everything to do with the people who eat there. The restaurants are filled with our neighbors from miles around who fill us in on new business, fun events and serious news that affects us as community members. So we’re driving around in the rain at 8:15AM on a Saturday morning. We’ve got some time to kill before my hair appointment, so we decide to try a different diner for breakfast.
This sign does not stand for open-minded.
Huge mistake.
We walked in and placed our order at a counter then found an empty booth. Usually, I enjoy listening to the locals chat about what’s going on around town. Today was different.
Complaints. Complaints. Complaints. NOTHING but complaints.
*One husband and wife sat at two completely separate tables. He pointed at a couple entering the restaurant, and she complained that she didn’t want to talk to them, so she went and sat in the car.
*The gentleman in the back complained about having to go to work…about twenty different times.
*The newest patrons, the couple the one lady didn’t want to talk to, announced that someone in the next town over had died. The man across from us was sure it had to be an overdose. “You know how those people are,” he said.
*There are too many unwanted dogs getting hit by cars. “They need to be put down.”
It was at this point that I looked up at my husband and said, “We have GOT to get out of here.” The complaints continued.
* Gas prices. Bad gas. “My truck is ruined because of watered-down gas.”
Finally, the biggest nay-sayer got a phone call and announced that he had to leave.