Bob and I stopped by the ol’ homestead on Saturday, to see the progress on the foundation. Look like the walls were poured, and things are starting to take shape. What I learned today: it is dangerous and dumb to try to walk on construction sites wearing flip-flops.

Ground level view, from the future driveway

It’s a bird’s eye view of the eventual Man Cave. You can almost smell the pizza and hot wings, can’t you?

Our project manager called last night to tell us that the lumber should be arriving either Tuesday or Wednesday, and they’ll start framing the house then. Almost time to start picking out new curtains!

First up: Boyer’s Butterscotch Peanut Butter Cups.

I was really intrigued by these; I love butterscotch and peanut butter

Verdict: Tasty, but ultimately disappointing. I was expecting a butterscotch bomb, but it smells more like butterscotch than tastes like it. And the peanut butter center just wasn’t peanut butter-y enough for me. Homemade pb cups are still the gold standard, followed by Reese’s in a distant second. Made by Boyer Candies, famous for their Mallo Cups.

Next: Candy Farm 3 Color Coconut Neapolitan Coconut Slice.

Again, intrigued. Coconut is one of my favorite flavors

Verdict: Blech. I actually spit this one out. I bit into the “strawberry” layer first, and was overwhelmed by the chemical and not-at-all-strawberry flavoring. Horrid. The chocolate layer was much the same. The coconut itself was fine and mealy; disgusting. Never again.

I probably shouldn’t be eating candy anyway.

After a bit more wrangling with the sale of our old home (don’t ask – just don’t ask), our builder finally called us to tell us they would be breaking ground on our new house. The project manager let us know that they started digging yesterday, got the footers poured for the foundation, and would be pouring the foundation walls after the holiday weekend. Big excitement!

During our Saturday morning errands, Bob and I decided to stop by and see what all was going on:

The view on the approach to the hole…

We are going to have a large basement!

Hard to think that in a couple short months there’s going to be a beautiful house here. More photos to come as construction progresses!

I made my way down to a local farmers market this Saturday – the Countryside Conservancy‘s market in Peninsula, OH, inside the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It was about a 35 minute drive from Twinsburg, but a really beautiful drive through Twinsburg & Hudson, and through the National Park into Cuyahoga Falls and Peninsula.

The market itself has about 50 vendors, and it’s situated in a spacious and picturesque meadow (Howe’s Meadow, to be precise) inside the park. The vendors are about what you’d expect: fresh produce and plants, baked goods, prepared foods, crafts, sweets, cheeses, meats, etc.

Lots of good stuff going on, including live music and food demos. Tons of great stuff, and the atmosphere was really festive and fun. People seemed to be having a great time and enjoying the beautiful weather (which some people have told me is sketchy around here?).

I did make one final decision for myself while sampling some of the vendor wares: I just do not like goat cheese. That’s it. I know there are people who will think less of me because of this, like I’m less of a food lover because of it, or say that I just haven’t tasted the right one…but I’ve tasted a bunch of goat cheeses over the years, and I never like them. Ever. They just taste dirty and funky to me. So, I’m officially done with goat cheese. I’m glad I got that off my chest.

I bought a few things from the market vendors:

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats by Baked Earth. Bella loves them, Quincy won’t even try them. She’s a cranky old lady.

Pierogies of Cleveland. A local delicacy! Apparently Cleveland is the pierogi capital of the US?

Almond Crunch from Sweets by Dilley of Cuyahoga Falls. It’s good, but I’m still a fan of my own Toffee Almond Crunch – my Christmastime gift staple and food swap favorite. Did I ever give out the recipe? No? Good.

Plus I also bought a blondie from a bakery, but that got devoured on the car ride home. Man, I seem to do that a LOT.

I’ll definitely be back to this market. Probably as a volunteer, as well. I need to meet people! Next up: the Countryside Conservancy food swap on Tuesday night.

Just past the Main Street, I finally found a place to turn around – a little brick plaza-type building with a Starbucks, a clothing boutique, some other things I forget, and a bakery called the Great Lakes Baking Co. So, I had to stop and see what that was all about.

It’s a cute little bakery, with cases of cookies and scones, wire baskets filled with loaves of bread, and pedestals covered with cookies in festive packages. Over to the left sits a a tall display case, which held four shelves of goodies, including the weekly cupcake special – devil’s food chocolate with raspberry filling. I did not choose one of these, though they looked absolutely delicious and they were only $3 each (they were pretty large). Also in the case was an assortment of their brownies – a few varieties, sold in four packs or in a brownie pie (which reminded me of those giant cookies we bought each other for birthdays in college).

After sniffing around a bit, I selected a lemon poppy scone and a six-pack of brown sugar chocolate chip shortbread cookies (for Bob. Sure). The scone was perfect, to me: dry but not crumbly, not too sweet, and topped with a zesty lemon-sugar drizzle. It barely made it out of the parking lot, so I never got a pic. And though I bought the cookies for Bob, I was forced to try one IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE. They were also great – perfect shortbread consistency,  not too sweet, with a caramelized-but-not-burnt sugar taste. I also thought I tasted some cinnamon, but it was not listed on the ingredients tag.

I am impressed with what I read on their website:

All products are baked on the premises from scratch. Depending on the recipe, either whole wheat flours or white enriched flours are typically used – never bleached or bromated flours. In recipes requiring a sweetener, Ohio honey or pure cane sugar are used – never high fructose corn syrup or any artificial sweetener, flavoring or preservative. Fats are added sparingly, if it all. When needed, fresh creamery butter or olive oil is used – never shortening, lard, or hydrogenated fat.

According to the chalkboard outside, they’ve got lunch-y type things, too, like pizzas and sandwiches. I plan to make a return trip to learn more!

Cookies sold in a package of six. Yes, there are only 5 in there. SCIENCE.

Chocolate Chip shortbread made by the Great Lakes Baking Co. in Hudson OH.

Things I plan to do over the next month or so:

• Visit the Countryside Farmers’ Market at Howe Meadow in Peninsula (inside the Cuyahoga Falls National Park)
• Attend a food swap (what up From Scratch Club! I’m keeping the faith!)
• Try a few new restaurants
• Review a few of the local grocery store chains
• Get up to Cleveland and check out the West Side Market and the Great Lakes Brewing Company
• Meet Chef Michael Symon (this is actually more of a long-term goal)

So far, our experience with Ryan Homes has been absolutely terrific and pleasant, though we had one teeny-tiny glitch: since Bob and I were in different locations during the selection process, it was difficult for us to know exactly what we were choosing for carpeting, flooring, and appliances. I was relying on model numbers, proprietary product names, and grainy photo texts to make our selections. For the most part, everything worked out fine – except the stove. I thought we had selected a stove similar to the one we had in our old house – a ceramic-top electric. Turns out we ordered a coil-burner electric, and our decisions were final – no changes allowed at this point. I was pretty upset, and felt bad about how vocal I was about my displeasure. Bob and I decided to let it go, and maybe buy the one we really wanted later on. It wasn’t ideal, but we could live with it. Heck, we had to give up my beloved refrigerator just to sell the house (a post for another time), so this wasn’t going to be a deal-breaker.

Today, I got a phone call from the sales rep, who told me she was able to pull some strings and get me the stove I wanted. Yippee!

Anyway, here are some photos of our little piece of Ohio – we should be breaking ground within a week or so (waiting for permits from the city and some other things):

A pile of dirt.

Our property, staked out

Our plot, and our project manager Mike

A view of our across-the-street neighbor’s house

It was actually not a bad trip – drove the entire length of Pennsylvania, which is actually quite picturesque. Aroundabout Williamsport PA the skies opened up, and I stopped for a bit a a rest area in Snow Shoe to…well, to rest. After a quick spin around the grassy area, the dogs and I were all soaked to the bone. That was the only unpleasantness we experienced that day. The rest of the time I listened to NPR, the dogs slept, and I watched as the patchy dense fog rose in majestic columns from the verdant Appalachian Mountains. Really pretty country.

598.1 miles later, I arrived at the apartment, where we’ll be living for the next two months or so while our new house is being built. I am beyond excited about our new house. So much so that I plan to document the experience here, mostly so my mom can see what’s going on. But also for posterity. And you, Gentle Reader.

My first few days here have been spent unpacking, buying food, stocking up on household supplies, telling the dogs to stop barking, and generally de-bachelorifying the apartment.

The apartment complex is great, and very pet-friendly. A few other people in our building have dogs (which Bella and Quincy barkedly remind us about quite frequently), and every building has a grassy area at the end, complete with a poop-disposal station (including a poop bag dispenser!). There are even several fire hydrants to entertain the pooches. It’s a nice place.

So many things to look forward to over the next few months. But I’ll start with tomorrow, when we have our initial meeting with our house’s project manager. Time for Mad Men, so good night.

According to C&H Sugar’s Facebook page, I’ve been asleep at the wheel for quite a while:

As you may be aware, the price of sugar on the world market has nearly doubled since the end of 2008.  [You can see the data here at the USDA site: http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/sugar/Data/Table04.xls ].

In order to offset our cost increases, we have had to raise our price per pound of sugar. In order to keep the cost per bag of sugar down, many retailers converted their store brand product from a 5-pound to a 4-pound bag. In an effort to maintain affordability we decided to do the same with our C&H® brand sugar. The reduction in size, however, is not enough to offset the cost increase in the remaining four pounds of the product. That’s why you’re seeing the price go up and the size go down at the same time.

That post was dated February 18, 2011. Guess I don’t buy sugar that much, or I am that woefully unobservant shopper that all food companies are hoping for – the ones who don’t realize they’re paying more for less.

An old bag.

Much like Starbucks and In-N-Out Burger (which we don’t have around here), Panera Bread has a secret menu that’s only available to those in-the-know. Now, consider yourself in the know.

The menu, completely sanctioned by Panera, is only available by telling an associate you’d like to order off the hidden menu. They’ll then hand you a menu card, from which you’ll be able to choose from tasty-sounding options such as:

• Power Breakfast Egg White Bowl with Roasted Turkey
• Power Mediterranean Roasted Turkey Salad
• Power Chicken Hummus Bowl
• Power Steak Lettuce Wraps

These menu items are not served on bread, with bread, next to bread, or inside bread. Just veggies and proteins, finished with herbs, lemon juice, and olive oil. In bowls. Just not bread bowls.

Why don’t they advertise it? They claim that there’s no room on their wall menus or counters, and also that it creates a sort of “secret club of people in the know”, but my guess is that since their name is Panera BREAD, and since the hidden menu items contain  “limited processed carbs”, promoting such a thing might run counter to their overall marketing strategy. Or maybe it’s just a neat way to test-market some new menu items.

Whatever the reason, this is a great option for people who have been eschewing Panera because all of their menu offerings are seemingly overflowing with carbohydrates and/or gluten. You can now enjoy breakfast or lunch with friends or colleagues and not have to worry about falling off the Paleo wagon.

In the interest of science (I always operate in the interest of science), I visited the Clifton Park Panera for dinner this evening, and decided to see if the associates there knew about the Hidden Menu. I stepped up to the counter and said “Do you have that hidden menu by any chance?” The cashier said, “As a matter of fact we do!”

I was waiting for her to pull out a menu card, but instead she started to read me a list of the hidden menu items. I ordered Power Chicken Hummus Bowl (did you expect something different from me?), and then asked if she had many people ordering from that menu. She told me that she actually had only heard about the hidden menu the day before. And that I was only the second person that ordered from it, at least at her register. Cool.

(What’s in the Power Chicken Hummus Bowl? Chicken, cilantro jalapeno hummus, baby spinach, cucumbers, diced tomatoes, red onions finished with fresh squeezed lemon & fresh chopped cilantro)

The guys making the food seemed to be taking an awful long time making my order (lots of people who had ordered after me and collected their food before me), so I asked them if they had seen many people order this particular menu item. They said no and told me that they had never even seen a picture of it so they didn’t even know what it was supposed to look like (the CP Panera is apparently one of the few in the area testing out the new menu items). They brought it over to show me asked me if it looked right – I said sure (it actually did look pretty good).

But – how did it taste? Awesome. I love love love their cilantro jalapeno hummus, and these ingredients just go together so well. The lemon juice (from the looks of it, an entire lemon squeezed over top) was perfect. The only issue I noticed was that some the cilantro looked a little browned. Just a few pieces; not enough to turn me off the salad. A suggestion for Panera: a sprinkling of Feta cheese would not be a mistake here. A really healthy and tasty option that I’m sure I’ll be ordering again. You know what would go nicely with it? A hunk of baguette. Kidding. Sort of. Cost: $7.69 plus tax.

If you do go to Panera and order off the Hidden Menu, let me know about it. OR – if you’ve ever ordered off a secret menu anywhere, tell me! I’d love to collect and share your stories.

Tickets are $25, and proceeds will benefit the Bennington Free Library. Kimball will sign copies of the book, and dessert will be served as part of the event (I’ll bet it’s going to be awesome). Kimball (one of the nicest guys ever – he was a regular guest on the radio show I used to produce) lives in southwestern Vermont, so this cause is likely near and dear to him. Purchase tickets by calling the Bennington Free Library at 802-442-9051.

Not familiar with Chris and his bowtie? Lots of ways to enjoy his wit and expertise: Cook’s Illustrated magazine and online, Cook’s Country magazine and online, America’s Test Kitchen (which is a TV show as well as a radio show/podcast), and he’s an occasional guest on public radio’s The Splendid Table. Quite a little empire he’s got going on. Kimball is extremely entertaining and knowledgeable (as well as stodgy and puritanical) , and this promises to be a fun evening.

Bennington is not far from here at all – road trip, anyone?