Penzeys Spice Store

If you are near one of the Penzey spice store locations, it is definitely worth the trip to go into the store instead of ordering online. Every spice has a sample dish for you to smell and see up close. I suppose you could even taste them if you wanted.

They have just about every kind of spice you can think of and some I had never even heard of before. One of the ones I love is the freeze dried shallots. The reconstitute in seconds and smell and taste great...ready to use.

They also have a great selection of premixed spices and rubs. Great of experimenting.

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Ribberfest Madison IN

Ribberfest Madison, IN

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The video of the laser light show didn't come out that great, but the food an music at the Ribberfest in Madison, IN Friday and Saturday, 8/21 and 8/22 was. Great smoked pulled pork, and ribs. Good line up of speciality beer. I liked the wheat beer myself, but friends like the porter. Bud variations were available too. Giant cream puff with Bavarian filling was delish.

If you're into competition BBQ this was a Kansas City qualifier, so the smell of hickory was everywhere. About sixty teams competed. We didn't get to spend as much time in this area, but a friend was one of the teams competing and showed us around their rig Friday night. This is serious BBQ.

We've been to Madison several times and stay in the Cliffty Falls state park campground with our travel trailer. Since we spent most of our time at the festival, I only cooked dinner Friday night when we arrived--grilled chicken with by BBQ rub sliced up for tacos with typical toppings and refried beans and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Blueberry pancakes on Saturday with bacon and sausage and made-to-order omelets on Sunday with Ham and sides of fruit.

For the pancakes I used the new Quaker Oatmeal Pancake mix and really liked it...good flavor and light texture. Added more milk than recipe on back called for to thin the batter a bit, since it sat a while while after I first mixed it waiting for the bacon to finish cooking.

The Madison Ribberfest had a great line up of blues musicians, hot air balloons, beer and BBQ , good friends and cooking outdoors in a beautiful park made this a great event. You should definitely put this event on your list not to miss next year.

Julie and Julia Movie

Our book club went to see the Julie and Julia movie this week. The book was one of my selections and I actually enjoyed the move more than the book. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were absolutely wonderful as Julia and Paul Child. The visualization of those interwoven parts of Julia Child in the book were transformed in the film and made the whole so much more than its parts.

I loved the movie and hope to take my husband to see it. Not only was the film a tribute to cooking and how Julia changed the world for us, but the warmth of their relationship was truly emotionally moving. It made me happy, I too married a great guy, who not only loves me, but supports my sometimes over-reaching cooking adventures.



Julia Child was an extraordinary woman and this movie just gives us a glimpse into that. I'd love to see a movie focusing just on her and Paul's lives.

But beyond Julia and Meryl Streep's performance, the movie showcased how food changes our lives. How creating a meal from fresh ingredients enriches our lives and the value of exploring and learning something well exponentially adds to our character.

Go see the movie and be inspired on many levels!