April 2008 Archives

I've always liked this shot (taken in 2003 between Selma, Alabama and Montgomery, Alabama). The grass is green and the water and sky are blue--thanks in part to a little touch up work in Adobe Lightroom. I'm thinking of using this photo in a project I'm currently working on for the Southwest Alabama Rural Tourism group (www.alabamasfrontporches.com). It is in large part thanks to Adobe Lightroom that I'm even able to track it down. I've since gone through and done a better job of keywording some of my photos with place specific tags (they already have keywords relating to the specific city/town but not to the larger region. I've gone through and tagged about 500 or more with Southwest Alabama in addition to rural or byway or Marion or Greensboro. Hopefully, this will help me in this project and in the future.

Well, after all those years of rounding up cows back in Octagon, Alabama, I'd have never imagined that I would be hanging a painting of cows in our dining room. But, hey, here goes.

We saw another painting by Les Yarbrough, the artist that did this piece, at the Garden Art Party for Alzheimer's of Central Alabama but we were outbid. We went to the Birmingham Magic City Art Connection downtown in Linn Park this weekend and found this piece along with something smaller for Ann's office by someone from Pennsylvania.

I still have trouble believing that I actually like to see cows now. For years, I looked at them from the perspective of someone who actually rounded them up after they got out. Let me tell you, that is not a pretty way to look at cows--makes it a bit easier to eat them, though. They almost never got out during school, they never enjoyed escaping when it was sunny and pleasant--only when it was dark and rainy.

Now, I see cows and feel more peaceful and can enjoy the tranquil setting of a rural Alabama landscape. Much better.

We did these specifically to sell at the Garden Art Party earlier this month, but they are so popular and unique that they are now being offered online for a limited time--until they run out...

Buy Beautiful Alzheimer's Art Notecards. Available for a limited time! Each set of six cards contains a variety of beautiful bird art painted by Alzheimer's patients. (only $10.00 and includes shipping).

http://www.alzca.org/donate.html

The Recipe:

The Slaw:
1/4 of a large head of cabbage, core removed and sliced thin
1/2 jalapeño pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped green onions
juice of one lime
3 tablespoons light mayonnaise (I used a new version of Kraft mayo made with olive oil that gets the seal of approval from Cooks Illustrated)
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar (sherry vinegar would have been best but I was out)
pinch each sugar and salt
freshly ground pepper

The Fish:
3/4 lb fresh grouper fillets
juice and zest of one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
Spanish seasoning rub/Old Bay or a Mexican seasoning blend plus a little oregano and garlic salt should work okay too--Old Bay always tastes pretty good to me)
freshly ground black pepper

Fresh Tomato Salsa
1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
remaining jalapeño pepper
pinch salt

The Cilantro Cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 jalapeño pepper, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Fresh corn tortillas

Make the slaw early. This allows the flavors to blend--make it at least an hour before serving. Blend the lime juice, mayonnaise and vinegar in a large bowl. Add jalapeño, onion, salt, pepper and sugar. Toss with cabbage and let rest in refrigerator.

Season fish with lime juice, olive oil and spice blend. Marinate for 30 minutes, then grill for 3-6 minutes on each side with mesquite smoke for added flavor.

Mix all ingredients for Salsa together.

Blend ingredients for cilantro cream together, adding lime juice at the last minute.

Heat corn tortillas (I heated mine on the grill for about 30 seconds).

Gently flake fish into large chunks and divide among corn tortillas. (I used 5  tortillas). Top with slaw, drizzle with cilantro cream and sprinkle with fresh tomato salsa. Serve with tortilla chips. Serve any leftover slaw on the side.

Quick job for my friends at AccuPrint, downtown Birmingham, Alabama. We're sending out a monthly postcard with the calendar for the month. Margie decided to have me take a different scene of downtown Birmingham each month. Here's the second scene (around 3rd Avenue North and 20th Street North):

I'm still so pleased that something I dug from Octagon, Alabama has managed to take root and thrive here in Birmingham. At last count, there were about 12 blooming yellow irises and about 25 blooming purple irises. At least a dozen yellow ones have already faded away. Don't really know how long these will last, but I've really enjoyed them this year. Here's a shot of them from above, taken off our deck (and we've been enjoying the deck so much this year--eating lunch on it most days over the last two weeks).

Finally, the irises that really remind me of Mama—the purple ones—are blooming. So far, only two purple irises have opened up, but many, many more are about to. I won't be surprised to have 40 or more blooms. We've already had about 15 yellow irises, and they aren't quite done yet. The purple irises far outnumber the yellow ones.

As noted earlier, these all came from my mom (Inez Watts) in Octagon, Alabama. I remember all the years of working in the flower beds and waiting each spring for these to bloom. They mean more to me now than ever before--by a long shot.

Another pizza. This one isn't my prettiest pizza ever, but it tasted good. I have picked up the habit of working to improve my dough again. I think I got it pretty perfect on this one. Of course, it may have more to do with the damp weather and humidity than it does with my efforts, but anyway, here's the recipe:

For the crust:
1 cup sourdough starter (alternatively, use 1 cup all-purpose flour with 1/2 cup water)
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups all-purpose flour
Mix these ingredients together. If using starter, let this sponge rest for 2-4 hours in a warm place. If not using starter, proceed to next step.

1 cup King Arthur white wheat flour
1/2 cup Italian style 00 flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 package active dry yeast.

Blend all these ingredients together and, using a dough hook or your hands, knead for 5-7 minutes or more. The dough should be pretty wet--this is a good thing. Remove dough ball (it will barely be a ball) and place in an olive oil coated bowl. Let rise for 1 hour. Divide into three balls.

Preheat the oven to 475.

For the toppings:

1 large onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (I used oregano, thyme and parsley)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large portabella mushroom, sliced
5 ounces or so of a package of shredded Italian cheese blend (this would be better with freshly grated cheese, but hey, I made the dough--that's enough work)
freshly ground pepper

Saute the onion and garlic in the butter and olive oil over low heat for about 30 minutes, until translucent and golden brown. Add the mushoom, herbs and freshly ground pepper. Saute for another 4 minutes or so on medium.

Stretch one of the dough balls out into the shape of a pizza (this dough was easy to shape, sometimes I need to use a rolling pin). Transfer to a preheated pizza stone and prebake crust for around 3-4 minutes. Remove and place on a pizza peel. Turn oven to 500 degrees.

Sprinkle about 1/3 of the cheese lightly over the crust, then top with onion/mushroom blend. Add remaining cheese and slide topped pizza into oven. Bake for 8 minutes or until toppings are golden.

I've been waiting all spring for these to bloom. We've got about 2 dozen more getting ready to bloom. These are all originally from my mom's house (Inez Watts) in Octagon, Alabama. Ann and I dug them over the course of several years after we moved into our house here in Birmingham, and have watched hopefully for them to bloom each year. Last year was the first year they bloomed. That was a year where I really needed them to bloom, too. I feel a little closer to Mama just looking at them.

Every day for the last week, I've gone out to count them and peek carefully to see if they were blooming. Last night just before dark, I took a look and nothing. This morning, this one and one more were looking beautiful.

Picked up some snapper at the fish market in Vestavia yesterday afternoon. Dusted it with some Parmesan cheese and flour (along with a little seasoning) and cooked it in a little butter and olive oil. Served on top of angel hair pasta that had been tossed with a little olive oil, green onions, fresh tomato, capers and fresh English peas. Yum.

Finished another newsletter yesterday. I actually finished several newsletters so far this month--the first half of each month seems to hold at least three newsletters and on some months six or more. In the issue of the Alabama Sierran:
River Action Day Success; Tom's Top 10 Hikes; Montgomery Water Festival; Alabama's Attractions; Scenic River Trail; And the Winner Is the Trees; Outings and Events; Contacts, and more. Download the newsletter on the Sierra Club's website (no, I don't do their website): http://alabama.sierraclub.org/statenewsletters.html

Also finished up several other projects yesterday:

• A series of ads for Underwoods Jewelers (a sister company to Birmingham, Alabama based Brombergs). There were something like 20 different ads with 4 sizes for each ad. Mostly just simple work resizing and correcting copy.
  
  
• Although I basically finished this project several weeks ago, we officially launched the American Mining Insurance Company's new website on Monday: www.americanmining.com.
  

• The Ala-Tom RC&D website. Located in Thomasville, Alabama, I've dealt with them before on the statewide annual report for the Alabama Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils. I've also worked with them on the Clarke County Development Foundation, and I'm continuing to work with them on the Southwest Alabama Tourism project: www.alabamasfrontporches.org. Mostly complete a few weeks ago, I finally got almost all the changes made. The site is now live: www.ala-tomrcd.org.
  

Okay, I admit it. I'm a little obsessive about these flowers. So far I've counted 21 individual iris blooms about to pop out. It will probably take another week or so for them to really start showing. This is up from about 15 yesterday--I think the rains last night coupled with the sunny day today have really helped the growing cycle.

Last year, I think we had about 12 blooms (some of the stalks have multiple blooms on them, but I only count them as one flower). I was especially obsessed with the iris blooms last year, but so far, this year doesn't seem that different. I can really feel close to my mother when I'm outside looking at those green leafy blooms about to open. Purple was Mama's favorite color, so it is only fitting that most of my irises are purple. (For those of you who don't know, the irises, along with many of my other flowering bulbs and rhizomes have been dug in Octagon, Alabama over the past 3+ years at Mama's (Inez Hinson). It is especially exciting to see them growing--of all the plants I've dug from Octagon, Alabama, the irises have thrived most. We do have some day lillies that appear to be doing very well.)

Enjoyed a late morning drive down Highway 5 to Marion, Alabama this past Wednesday. Met with the Cahaba Trace Commission to discuss scenic byways and their possible interest in having a section of their route designated as a byway. We met over lunch at a restaurant (Lottties, I think is the name) right off the courthouse square in Marion. What a beautiful courthouse, too. The food was actually good: fried okra, cole slaw and grilled pork chops. No bread, though. I think the large crowd had them a bit off their game.

Had an opportunity to meet with Nisa Miranda of the University of Alabama Economic Development Institute briefly. We discussed www.alabamasfrontporches.com for a few minutes before she headed off to Camden and then to Ezell's in Lavaca (the cole slaw is much better at Ezells).

Here are two of the old family photos I found while at home in Octagon, Alabama last weekend. The first is dated March 1, 1888. This is my grandfather Hinson. The second isn't dated, but appears to be my grandmother Hinson.

Lots of good stuff going on with Alabama's Scenic Byways program. Yesterday, we met to review grant applications for five projects and rank them according to a combination of factors. Very exciting to see the projects we've been working on since 1999 taking root in the local community and moving forward. Byways have some of the best potential to generate quality tourism in Alabama, particularly in the more rural sections. We also approved a logo for the byways program. Similar design to what I originally did, but we added an additional pine cone. Interestingly enough, in doing research on branding destinations, I've found that the general consensus is that people spend the most time and effort on developing a logo and a logo is one of the least important features of community branding.

Today, I'm off to Marion, Alabama to talk to the Cahaba Trace Commission about their interest in a scenic byway along their route. We're up to seven state scenic byways and three national byways, now, so the pressure to build the program is still there, but not as great as it was when we only had one. While in Marion, I'll take advantage of the trip and do a little photography of some of the architecture and landscapes for potential use on the Southwest Alabama Regional Tourism website: alabamasfrontporches.org.

It is always fun to run across things on the web. I was searching for something that I did back in 2002 to use as a starting point for an article that I'm working on about Alabama's byways program. I found it online even though I couldn't find it on my hard drive--the power of Google.

Anyway, in the process of finding that article (something published in Alabama's Treasure Forests, a publication of the Alabama Forestry Commission) I also found the article linked below. We held a meeting in late February and I knew the editor of the Lookout View was present. We did have a good article in the Gadsden Times, but I never saw the article in the Lookout View. Glad to have found it.

Here's the first paragraph:

In late February the Lookout Mountain Parkway Association met in Gadsden to discuss how to move forward on an initiative that they hope will raise the profile of the mountain and draw visitors off nearby Interstate highways. They are exploring the possibility of creating a travel corridor similar to others in the state that have received the Alabama Scenic Byway Program designation. The program, patterned after the National Scenic Byways concept, will use community and citizen input to identify, protect, and enhance the resources along the corridor.

http://thelookoutview.com/archives/mar%2008/lookout4ourmountain.htm

Went home to Octagon, Alabama over the weekend. Among other things, I did a bit of rummaging for old family photos. I brought back quite a few--still many more to go through. I've only scanned a couple, but thought this interesting, and in keeping with the other family gathering photos I've posted lately. This one is unlabeled, but I'd guess a late 1920's date by the age of my mom.

Well, almost. The site is now in a final approval phase. We've cut it down a good bit for now, but there are plans to slowly roll out additional sections. This was built very carefully with upgrades and modifications in mind. Everything is tied to one template and the sidebars are served via php includes files. I used a similar method on an architect's website last year to what appears to be good effect. The point was to make this an easy website to upgrade and to make additions to.

A quick postcard for my friends at AccuPrint. I've been working with AccuPrint since 1998 or so. Maybe before then. I got to know them when I was working with the Cahaba Group of the Sierra Club. I've continued to use them for much of my printing work. They are typically very fast and always entertaining. Best of all, they really are a family-owned and operated business. The dogwood blooms are particularly beautiful. Photo taken along Highland Avenue (unfortunately, the dogwoods by our house didn't fare well during last summer's brutal drought, so they are just barely alive and certainly not blooming).

     I'm trying to understand the tourism industry a bit better. Seems as though reading the best books is a good way to do just that. This looks to be one of the better books out there, and I think it is next on my agenda. (And, if you buy it from this click through, I think I get a tiny amount of money. Not really sure how that all works, though.

Yesterday, I finished the monthly newsletter for the American Institute of Architects, Birmingham Chapter (www.aiabham.org). This morning, I'm preparing to finish up the monthly newsletter for CGH Insurance Group. Hopefully, I'll have it wrapped up by the end of the day. (I've been working harder on this one than usual--mainly because I've been trying to set aside more lead time for other folks.) More to follow...