Last Thursday was Maryland Governor O'Malley's Buy Local Cookout. Sarah was there with her Black Ankle wine, Tracy Kirkman came from Cherry Glen, and I was there with tons and tons of stuffed grape leaves. Mostly I will let the pictures speak for themselves. I hope that they give you a sense of the charm of Annapolis and the festive mood of the day. It was a fabulous experience.
The process of getting ready for the cook out was fascinating, and I learned a few things.
Thing 1 - If you make 397 of something, you will get better at it. Although this was my first stuffed grape leaf experience, by the end of the process, my system was efficient and I had learned how to fold the grape leaves just so to make sure that they would hold as much filling as possible without tearing or leaking. And sitting in my kitchen, listening to music, doing the same thing over and over and over and over was actually quite pleasant.
Thing 2 - It really does take a village: Anita lent me a tent; Travis produced a grill, grilling implements, even propane; Mary brought flowers and helped throughout; and it was so good to work side-by-side with Kathy again. Olivia took many of the pictures for this post. Gabe washed more dishes than a person should have to and kept things humming at home. And, of course, Sarah and Tracy supplied the ingredients as well as lots of moral and practical support. The whole experience reinforced the sense of community that "buying local" fosters.
Thing 3 - Our governor is a super guy. He went from booth to booth and tasted all of the food. Maybe this is to be expected of him because he is a politician, but there was a lot of food, and yet he made it around and said very nice things (he loves grape leaves, maybe because of his Greek heritage! and he thought Black Ankle's syrah was delicious). And, long after the press had left and the cameras had been put away, he offered our children and their parents a tour of the inside of Governor's House. Two tours to accomodate all of us, actually. He genuinely seemed to enjoy the children and engaged them in conversation, maybe because he has four children of his own.
Thing 4 - This is a great time of year to buy local, and Maryland is a great place to do it. We have seafood, dairy products, produce, and many varieites of meat. I'm sure this is true of most states, especially at this time of year when the produce is so bountiful. So if you're not already hooked on the idea of buying local, take Governor O'Malley's challenge and eat one thing from a local farm each day this week.
wow. fun!!! glad it turned out so well.
Posted by: laura | July 27, 2009 at 09:07 PM
AWESOME!
Posted by: Chronicles of Momnia | July 28, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Keep on writing, great job!
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