Toothwhale

Kettle corn

 

September starts the season for fairs and festivals around here, and where there is a fair or festival, there often is kettle corn. Thank goodness for that. Straight from the iron kettle and under a clear blue sky is the best way to eat kettle corn, but when that's not possible, it's all right to improvise.

Ike & Sam's Original Sweet & Salty Kettlecorn is a bagged kettle corn that comes very close to tasting like the real thing. The problem is finding it in stores. (Pass up LesserEvil's Classic Kettle Kettle Corn. Its brown rice syrup coating is no sweet and salty heaven.)

It could be possible to make great kettle corn on the stove at home. I tried a recipe for Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn and got some good corn -- and lots of unpopped kernels and burned sugar. I think there might be a trick to it.

The good news is that genuine kettle corn perfection is out there, especially now.

If you're in Nashville, look for Moose Head Kettle Corn. It's at concessions in TPAC, at The Produce Place, inside Farm Building 1 at the Nashville Farmer's Market on Wednesdays through Sundays, at LP Field for Titans games, at Vanderbilt Stadium for Commodore football games, and at Full Moon Pickin' Parties at Percy Warner Equestrian Park. We munched some at a festival on Sunday and it was so, so right.

Lunchbox ideas

I think fondly of the foods I ate in my elementary school cafeteria. Turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans was my most favorite. It wasn't until middle school that I really ate a packed lunch.

When Henry starts kindergarten in a few weeks, he won't have the option of a cafeteria lunch. Students at his new school don't eat in the cafeteria until first grade. Even then, I think we'll choose to pack a lunchbox.

I've been packing lunches for him and Harper since they started preschool. Henry is a peanut butter and jelly guy, and he always gets natural peanut butter and all-fruit jam on whole wheat. Harper is a ham and cheese girl from way back, and she gets Boar's Head ham on bakery white. I also pack cheese sticks, baby carrots, pretzels or crackers, bananas and sometimes applesauce.

When I think about packing Henry a lunch five days a week rather than three, I want to mix things up a bit. After a little brainstorming and internet digging, I made a list for myself -- and you -- of lunchbox ideas.

Sandwiches
peanut butter and jelly -- choose natural peanut butter and vary the fruit of the jam
cream cheese and jelly -- on a bagel, perhaps
ham and cheese -- be picky about your lunch meat and try different cheeses
turkey or chicken -- use dinner leftovers or high-quality lunch meat and sneak on some lettuce
For a fun change, roll sandwich ingredients into a tortilla and cut into pinwheels.
Hard-boiled eggs are a healthy source of protein and a good occasional sandwich substitute.

Fruits and veggies
bananas, sliced apples with or without peanut butter, unsweetened applesauce, berries, grapes (no more halving required), dried fruit, baby carrots with or without ranch, grape tomatoes, seeded cucumber slices, celery with peanut butter or cream cheese topped with raisins (better known as Ants on a Log)

Dairy
milk in an insulated cup, cheese sticks or cubes, healthy yogurt in single servings

Crackers and other snacks
pretzel sticks, snaps, or mini twists, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, other baked crackers made with whole grains, Goldfish, popcorn (finally!), granola bars, homemade trail mix

Please add to my list with your own ideas. You'll want to check out this list of Lunch Box Ideas from Wendolonia, too.

Recipe links too good not to share

I keep a mental list of recipes I want to try. Now, the list includes kale chips and Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes, and Sweet Pepper Stew. It no longer includes Peach Pake or Easy Homemade Granola, because I made those. And they both were too good not to share with you.

I was eating as many in-season Georgia peaches as possible when I came across Tara at If Mom Says OK's recipe for Peach Pake. Tara's pake is a cross between pie and cake that looks like cobbler. Sounds heavenly, right? It is. The pake is buttery and rich and fruity in the best possible way. The recipe calls for two cups of sliced fresh peaches, but I used three cups. I recommend you make Peach Pake.

Before I saw Rachel at A Southern Fairytale's recipe for Easy Homemade Granola, I didn't know how easy making granola could be. The ease of preparation and the fact that Rachel's photos of her granola are mouthwatering, sent Easy Homemade Granola to the top of my mental recipe list. I made the granola last night (with a little less dried fruit), and like I told Rachel, I don't even know what to say. It is CRAZY good. Make it and you'll feel like you've done something special.

Do you have a list of recipes you want to try? What's on it? Please share.

A farmers market morning

I like green beans, tomatoes, and the idea of shopping at a farmers market. Would I like the West Nashville Farmers Market?

Yes!

We visited the market for the first time on Saturday morning. I thought we might find a produce stand, but it was bigger and better than I even hoped it would be.

On a large grassy space, there were booths of vegetables, herbs, soap, eggs, meat, pies, bread, granola, flowers, cheese, pasta, honey and more for sale. The vendors didn't seem to mind little hands that found the colorful and interesting produce irresistible. A young woman played acoustic guitar and sang. Lots of folks shopped and sampled and seemed, like we were, to be enjoying the vibe.

We bought handmade soap from Earthwind Botanicals, a big handful of green beans for $1, a loaf of raisin bread from Twin Forks Farm Artisan Breads, garlic and herb chevre from Noble Springs Dairy (for the love of basil and oregano in spreadable goat cheese, that stuff is good), and honey sticks and bee pollen.

We'll be back soon for more.

The West Nashville Farmers Market is on Charlotte Pike near the Richland Park Branch Library. Shop from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from May through October.