Auckland and Waiheke Island – New Zealand Journal Pt. 2
Auckland Airport

Welcome to New Zealand…I mean Middle Earth! Yup, that’s a big Lord of the Rings Dwarf and a random guy who was camped out in front of it.

Ok, if the last post wasn’t enough to make you jealous, then this one could: the first appearance of wine! Oh and a little bit about Auckland. For the record these posts are in no particular order. The mountain phase in the last one was about 3/4 of the way through the trip. This post is all about our arrival, initial impressions, and day trip to “Wine Island”. (more…)

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Hiking in the Southern Alps – New Zealand Journal Pt. 1

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We have wanted to go to New Zealand for a long time but knew we’d need at least 2 weeks to really do it correctly. Last summer was ridiculously busy, being the first time we participated in farmers markets with the sausage business, so we promised ourselves a lengthy vacation this year before things started to get busy. Everything fell into place and we headed to New Zealand at the end of January for a fortnight of adventures.  (more…)

Shhhh…It’s a Secreto

Secreto

Way back in 2013 on one of our Spain vacations I was lucky enough to discover something on a menu mysteriously called “secreto.” With a mix of Spanish, English, and hand gestures our server told us it was a special pork cut hidden behind the belly. Hence its name. It is not a very common cut we see here in the US, making it even more mysterious. Even after all these years I think I’ve only seen it once on a menu here in Chicago, a city practically built out of pork. So what is it and where can you get it? I am glad you asked. (more…)

Return to Provence (Pt. Deux)
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Not THE Giant of the Luberon, but a giant of something.

Happy Christmas and New Year’s! As promised, here’s the rest of the Provence trip in photos to round out 2017. Proud of myself for getting more than one post in for the month. In other words, it’s nice to have down-time. (more…)

Return to Provence! (Pt. Un)

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In what is now an established Thanksgiving tradition for us, we journeyed abroad on vacation. Over the years we’ve found it is fairly easy to travel internationally during this time. Flying domestically can be quite a hassle with packed airports, but flights headed to Europe can be half-empty.  We like traveling in the off-season and since we promised ourselves a long trip after the farmer market season ended, we headed back to Provence. (more…)

I’m ba-ack! Smoked Boudin and Polenta to Celebrate a Good Summer

Smoked Boudin and Creamy Polenta

I know, I know, it’s been a while since I last posted waaaaaay back in March. Sorry, things all of sudden became very busy with our sausage business. It was right about then Cheryl and I were applying to local farmers markets for the summer. As delicious as they are, the sausages don’t sell themselves! (more…)