A Papaya Adventure

First, it should be said that during spring, summer, and early fall, I can usually be found buying my fruits and veggies from the New Albany Farmer's Market or picking my own at Huber's. I find that the more I get involved with picking my own veggies, or learning about them from the local farmers the more I want to eat them. Plus, it helps out the local economy, and it tastes so much better than the stuff you get in stores.

This week I decided I was going to try out something a little different. At this point in the summer I have eaten more than my fair share, of peaches, watermelon, and berries so I decided to head to the grocery store for something different. I ended up with pineapple, mango, and papaya. I am pretty familiar with pineapple and mango, but I have only seen fresh papaya prepared on TV.

It was time to get acquainted with a real, non-TV edited papaya. I started off this adventure by watching Bobby Flay break down papayas on Iron Chef. It looked easy enough for him so why wouldn't it be easy for me too? The papaya I picked out was rather large and mostly yellow. I was told this is what a ripe papaya should look like. I cut into the papaya lengthwise which was pretty easy, in fact it was a lot like cutting through butter. The inside was filled with small, soft, black, seeds that I scooped out just like I would a cantaloupe of honeydew. I am pretty sure you can actually use these seeds for something, but I was a bit distracted by the fruit in front of me so I ended up throwing them away. The fruit is a nice pink/orange color. It is meaty, but pretty soft at the same time. My next project was getting the skin off of the papaya. The skin is not thick like a melon's skin, but thin, almost like that of a peach or nectarine. I tried to use a veggie peeler, but that failed almost immediately because the fruit was just too big and oddly shaped. I ended up carefully peeling it with my knife. After this I chopped the fruit up into bite sized pieces and mixed them up with the mango and pineapple. There is a reason why these fruits get paired together so often. The mango and pineapple are quite sweet so they go well with the kind of musky flavor the papaya offers. Not to mention each of them have a different texture which makes for an interesting fruit salad!

All in all the papaya made for an interesting retreat from some of the local produce, and it wasn't too difficult to handle! -Danielle

A Splendid Time is Guaranteed for All

Sage gnocchi is how it started for me and then I dragged the others into it. Charleston, South Carolina's restaurant Circa 1886, behind the Wentworth Mansion, and their special three course dinner. The gnocchi was a side with my lusciously sliced bourbon brined pork tenderloin, crunchy rainbow chard, and sweet caramelized shallots and it came in a palm-sized skillet on my plate.

I saved the sage gnocchi for last after everything else was eaten and my husband thought I did not like it. I told him that I was saving the best for last and proceeded to close my eyes and revel in it. It was soft, creamy, and so warm that I imagined myself eating it at home underneath my favorite blanket. I then knew that our love for eating needed to be shared.-Rose


Well, who can follow that kind of description? For me, it's all about making the food. I love making and baking then having my friends and family over to enjoy what I create. It's awesome how food can bring people together. Sometimes it is as simple as baking cookies or making a few appetizers, then having a little party. It usually ends in laughter, bad jokes, and plans for some other activity.

This blog isn't only about food, it's also about what's going on in good ole Kentuckiana. There always seems to be a band playing, exhibit showing, or someone driving the wrong way on a one way street. Hey, sometimes with a bad economy you just have to make due with regular everyday occurrences! Until the next everyday occurrence -Danielle


So, yeah I am the guy who is married to that first girl. I am one of those unfortunates who got dragged into this blog by my wife and good ole neighbor. I am one of those many college graduates who can't get a job because who would've guessed getting a teaching job would be a two year endeavor. I am now stuck in a crazy job trying to understand what married life is supposed to be like. I am a true lover of foods except for tomatoes. I also enjoy a good drink; not getting drunk, but enjoying the many different types of beverages that are out there.

Though the ladies in this blog are going to explain their views about food I am going to focus on the sweets, beverages, and the stuff that guys like - keep your mind out of the gutter!

So here I am enjoying a Newcastle thinking about the next adventure that I plan to embark upon. Will it be a new food, a new drink, or a new activity that will involve my fun interests of music, golf, auto racing, or any of those other guy things.-Shane