Wandering

One of my favorite things to do is wander.

In New York, I would get on the subway and wander around the Upper West Side, or Lower East Side, or somewhere in between.

I still wander around the "tri-state" -  Iowa, Wisconsin & Illinois now (instead of New York, New Jersey & Connecticut).

A couple of weeks ago, St. Donatus, a small town (population 135 in 2010!) just north of Bellevue was having it's Sorghum Festival (sorghum is like molasses).

St. Donatus is home to the Gehlen Barn.  Built in 1839, it is supposedly the oldest building in Jackson County and was recently included in an article in the LA Times about Iowa barns.

And it is COOL.

Just up the street from the barn is the St. Donatus Catholic Church.  I am not Catholic (at all!), but the church is pretty.

 

Behind the church is an outdoor Way of the Cross, consisting of 14 stations winding up a hillside...

to the Pieta Chapel at the top.

After that little hike, I headed to Kalmes Restaurant to rehydrate.

After a quick stop to check out the renovations at the Old City Cemetery in Bellevue,

I headed south to Gravert's Apple Basket Orchard just south of Bellevue.

Then I wandered across the river to Savannah...

(I did NOT get a tattoo.)

After all that, I came home and made another macaroni & cheese recipe.  I think this makes three, but can anyone have too much macaroni & cheese?

Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

16 ounces elbow macaroni (about 3 cups)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 ½ cups milk, divided

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 lb cubed Velveeta cheese

8 ounce shredded Kraft Mild Cheddar Cheese divided

8 ounce shredded Kraft Monterrey Jack Cheese 

(I used a 16-ounce bag of shredded cheddar jack)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Cook macaroni until tender but not mushy, about 8-10 minutes 

Drain well and pour into a large mixing bowl

Melt on low the Velvetta Cheese and ¾ cup milk until melted (stir often)

Pour the melted cheese sauce over pasta and stir 

Add in butter, ¾ cups milk, eggs, 1 cup shredded cheeses, salt and pepper

Mix well and transfer to a 2 quart baking dish

Pour the remaining cheese on top

Bake until top crust is golden brown and casserole is bubbling, about 25 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Burlington

Last week, I attended the first ever Preserve Iowa Summit, held in Burlington, Iowa, to learn more about historic preservation and downtown revitalization.

This summit brought together architects, historic preservationists, tourism professionals (me!) and others interested in preserving historic buildings for historic or economic development (me again!) purposes.

Burlington was a natural choice for this meeting, as much of it's downtown has undergone significant preservation, such as...

the McConnell Lofts, Capitol Theater (photos),

and First United Methodist Church, which was almost entirely destroyed by fire, along with the First Presbyterian Church next door.

after

after

The summit was awesome!  I met some very interesting people - artists, architects, and people involved with economic development for the state of Iowa - right up some of my many alleys.

I didn't love Burlington (sorry Burlington), other than...

Luckily, the Burlington Farmer's Market was held one of the nights I was in town.

I could totally do this

Maybe this too

Not the original, but made me feel "at home"

Snake Alley in Burlington is actually the Crookedest Street in the world (not Lombard Street in San Francisco).

cute front porch with a great view of Snake Alley

I usually shun mosquitos but this little park is named for it's size, not its inhabitants.

So cute, with a great view!

Huffington Post was also in Burlington recently, looking for Iowa Style.  I'm not sure they captured it, but it's a cute story.

This week, I'm really enjoying the 3-day weekend, as opposed to the 1-day weekends I've had the last two weeks.  Hope you are too!!

Not-so-Goodwill

Did you see this?

It made me mad.

Then sad.

Then mad.



I'm not sure what to do now - this could seriously impact the future of "Goodwill Hunting".

Also disappointing?

Last night was the final episode of Rock Center with Brian Williams.

I love news magazines (and Brian Williams).

Buy Local!

The New York Times recently published this article about about the economy of small farms...
Small Farmers Creating a New Business Model as Agriculture Goes Local

Basically, for a variety of reasons, "local farm sales are becoming more stable, predictable and measurable".

And, " More predictable revenue streams, especially at a time when so many investments feel risky, are creating a firmer economic argument for local farming that, in years past, was more of a political or lifestyle choice.".

Hopefully someday (soon!) I'll be one of those people "who gets dirt under their fingernails doing the work."!

I'm not living in an RV, though...

Save the Barns!

The New York Times had an interesting article and slide show in the Travel section this week, about efforts to restore and preserve old barns in Iowa.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/travel/in-iowa-working-to-save-historic-barns.html?smid=pl-share

This is one old barn in Iowa I'd really like to preserve...

Mill Creek Farms