TUFcation Musings and Marvels

happy june!  school's out, new science teaching job on the horizon, loose ends tied up, ready for new adventures in frolic and farmlife.  we decided to take a quick jaunt down to the coast for some beachery (debeachery?), and wound up first in corpus christi, then port aransas, boat drinks in hand.  thanks to sara and tim for fledgling farm-sitting!  it is lovely to know that weekend getaways are still possible, even with zillions of pets, thanks to generous friends.  i thought i was being pretty cool when i said, hey, keep any eggs you find!  but they were already farm-sitting for another friend with some 20 chickens, and had already collected a dozen from this way TUF-er TUF!  they are good totally urban farmers themselves, with some lovely tomato and pepper plants growing bushy in the back yard.  i am thankful for the people i know.

we stayed the first night with some dear old friends who are in the process of opening a restaurant in corpus, and then we drove up to port aransas for a lovely evening spent right near the beach.  by chance we found a fantastic motel with an aviation theme; the inn-keepers were pilot people, and each well-kept room referenced a moment in the history of  aviation.  we stayed in the Women Pilots room, which featured pictures of many lady aviators (who were COMPLETE BADASSES) from the early- and mid-20th century.  of course there were some pictures of the most famous Amelia Earhart, but she had her very own-themed room!  these two women caught my attention the most--i may need to do some more research.  such. badasses.

The motel also brought free breakfast to our door in the morning, which consisted of some locally-concocted apple fritters, coffee, and juice.  i highly recommend The Harbor Inn if you're ever in port aransas!

we also ate at The Venetian Hot Plate, where i partook of an incredibly fresh-tasting, locally caught fish called a 'triple tail.' this mahi-mahi-esque (ha!) fish came grilled with a roasted corn and tomato relish, which wasn't very italian until i got to the wonderfully garlicky risotto.  and the bread/olive oil RULED.  as did our whole little seaside vacation!  i didn't even get sunburned this time, and the swimming was soothing.

on the way to and from the gulf coast, i found some new amazement in the vast fields of crops that line highway 37.  of course, anyone who's ever been on a road trip has seen, and even may have dozed off to, the miles and miles and acres and acres of fields of food crops.  but for some reason, even thinking about the care and time that goes into small-time vegetable gardening makes me gape at these huge fields.  they are both awesome and terrifying: who and/or what harvests all that produce?  who/what keeps it pest-free and weeded?  how much water does it take, what waters it, and where does all that water come from?  i realized i didn't even know what crops i was seeing as we passed by.  i am reminded of the reason why i started all this TUF business--i want to feel less removed from food.

so now we're back, and i'm ready to devote some time to becoming TUF-ier.  next post will feature some new cooking conquests, like zucchini muffins!  i still want chicks!  stay tuned...