Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Kitchenique's Pizza Class on Monday night was taught by a charming arm-flailing guy, Philip McDonald, Head Chef of Table Five. The highlight for E was learning how to make oven-dried cherry tomatoes and eating the VERY THIN crusts of the pizza (tho some of the toppings were far far from her faves--arugula and pesto BOTH = aiiiyyyy). We were persuaded to swap semolina flour for corn meal as the glide-facilitator on the peel (less corny aftertaste, yes!). And one of the helpers handed out silicone pot holders for us to place between our butts and the slippy stainless steel stools: voila, balance restored.


Tuesday we attended our second ACT Walton meeting (community organization encouraging eating/buying locally). Let's just say that Walton County is still a long ways away from having the kind of CSA we've had the luxury of being a part of in Alabama. So we've decided to capitulate and sign up for organic veggies from Off the Vine, which at least promises that the food will be grown within an 80 mile radius of, you guessed it, Rosemary Beach. And we do (and will) have our own veggies, grown in the waist-high box right in the back yard; so far we've had a couple of yummy salads of the greens, and you can see the radishes starting to swell.


Tuesday night we went over to Santucket (NOT a typo), one of the Old Florida Cottages near Goatfeathers, to have dinner with Canadians Hank & Lynn, who rented B-A-R last winter. Phil & Karen from next door were also in the party. The food was swell, and the company pretty amusing. For the first time we saw the infamous Yellow Line, the path which the lowly folks who live on Mary St. must keep to as they make their way to the deeded beach access the rich folk have been forced to allow them.


Thursday brought Tom & Jess and Friday Mike & Petra to B-A-R for a bit of poker and Wii and beach walking and stitching and reading to polish off Alabama's Spring Break. Culinary highlights included E's Chicken Wings Africana, her smashingly good coconut ice cream and her tried & true pecan pie. Pepper whomped up a stunning tortilla soup and 10,000 fish tacos, and Sandy redeemed one very salty marinade by serving up potato pancakes and spicy Deramus sausages for breakfast this morning. Now the sheets are whirling in the dryer, the towels wait patiently in the washer, and we gear up for the next round of company, arriving Thursday & Friday, S's brother Al and her cousins Gretchen, Anna & Robert. Looking forward!