After meeting my Lexington housemates and unpacking I
secretly left to explore the city. The first thing I noticed were the abundance
of beautiful homes built in the 1940s. Then I noticed that everyone here is
obsessed with University of Kentucky the same way the rest of America is
obsessed with Penn State. Blue and white everywhere. Blue and white everything.
There is a store called Cat Couture devoted to designer clothing to rep the UK
colors.
My first stop was Old Kentucky Chocolates. I was alone with shelves of gourmet chocolate and the cash
my mom forced into my hand as she left me at the airport. The candy woman asked if I needed any help/if this was my first time
here. I learned that the candywoman’s name was Susan, and Susan learned that I
was Steve from Philly who just moved to Lexington 90 minutes ago. As a new
comer I was obligated to try something delicious. This morsel was the Black Forest
Bourbon Truffle. I’ve never had bourbon before, but this creamy dark
chocolate was wonderful so maybe I’ll like it. After discussing my upcoming job at Lexington Children's Theatre I was offered a chocolate covered potato chip sprinkled
with pink sea salt. You can try this but then you’ll die because you won’t want
to eat anything that isn’t chips engulfed in chocolate and pink sea salt. Susan
told me that people gift giant flat slabs of pink sea salt ($100 minimum) as a
cooking base. You lay it down then cook your meat on top of it. This salt is
good and good for you. Then we talked about sea salt lamps.
The stinkbugs are green.
As a first day of fall treat I went to Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen
and purchased a harvest kale salad (sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, craisins,
chicken, quinoa) and pumpkin lemonade. This was consumed in the sunshine in
Triangle Park. I had twenty minutes left on my lunch break so I went to the
Starbucks (across the street from the back door to the theatre God bless us
everyone) with the intent of purchasing a pumpkin spice latte, but came out
with a toasted graham latte. It was like a spicier white chocolate mocha. I returned to
Starbucks several hours later and got a coffee with several pumps of pumpkin
spice in it because it was the first day of fall and I have needs.
Daily Offerings Coffee Roastery makes a variety of unique vegan and lactate/gluten-free protein shakes with a banana base. The namaste is an excellent blend of chai and coconut milk, and luckily they made a little too much so I got an extra tiny cup of it to take with me. My second fall day continued as I returned to Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen for more pumpkin. This time it was a bowl of their pumpkin bisque. I will be back for more.
My first kitchen experiment of this contract was banana whip. Bananas used to make wild things happen in my stomach and people's bathrooms, but after experimenting with them last year I found that the problem was no more. I first chopped up two medium sized bananas, put them in a tupperware container in the freezer, then went to bed. After a full day I came home, pried the banana pieces apart, and threw them into the blender with chocolate chips and brown sugar. I had to manually mix up the bananas ??? times, and I thought the oatmeal like goop would never turn into an ice cream texture, but then it did! And then I lit a candle and ate it all.
I flew here with two
suitcases and a backpack, and the only décor I packed was a nature’s wick
pumpkin nutmeg candle, tiny fake foliage from A.C. Moore (both of these were
Secret Santa gifts from different shows,) a set of jack-o-lantern LED lights,
and a print of Bold And Brash by Squidward Tentacles. I’m hoping to make a
stick wreath for my side of the bedroom soon. When the leaves start changing I’ll
make a leaf wreath for the front door. I feel like my trick to this vagabond-esq lifestyle is making inexpensive
decorations that I won’t mind getting rid of later. I’ll only be here a few
months, but I want to come home to something festive every day.
The third day of fall was pumpkin spice latte day.
Farmers markets are a regular (and at certain times of the year daily) event in Lexington. On the fourth day of fall Jess and I went to the market at the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion in the center of town and were welcomed by enormous tomatoes. And rocks? Next to the tomatoes? Agate is the official state rock, and each slice is priced based on its pattern/polish. There were an abundance of peppers on sale. I purchased banana peppers because I didn't want full blown spicy in all of my meals. While searching for something sweet I overheard that this was the last week peaches would be on sale at the market, so I decided right then I would purchase and do something crafty with them (Martha, help me.) I kept my eyes open for other things I could buy to help with my decorating crafts, and while the fifteen stems for $5 sale on gourds was tempting, I decided I would purchase these next week or the following week to ensure that the gourds would last through the end of my contract. Another decoration Jess and I found were hedge apples. When I was in elementary school we called these knobby, green, softball-sized-fruit-nut things "monkey brains" and we threw them at each other. I got hit in the face once during Christmas Carol rehearsal and it hurt a lot and I could have either laughed or cried so I laughed so it wouldn't be awkward but oh my face. While they are edible, I learned that people usually buy them as a decoration/spider repellent. You just sit them out and the spiders are like "nah."
I tasted a lot of cheese at this farmers market. I walked out with two blocks from Boone Creek Creamery. It's lactose free! I bought the Kentucky Derby (cheddar infused with Kentucky Bourbon) and Mama Mia (mild herb encrusted Italian flavor.) Jess and I spent a lot of time at the Green Acres of Paris stand tasting beer cheese. I chose the Windy Whey Winery Wine Cheese to use at the inevitable cast/intern wine and cheese night.
My first kitchen experiment of this contract was banana whip. Bananas used to make wild things happen in my stomach and people's bathrooms, but after experimenting with them last year I found that the problem was no more. I first chopped up two medium sized bananas, put them in a tupperware container in the freezer, then went to bed. After a full day I came home, pried the banana pieces apart, and threw them into the blender with chocolate chips and brown sugar. I had to manually mix up the bananas ??? times, and I thought the oatmeal like goop would never turn into an ice cream texture, but then it did! And then I lit a candle and ate it all.
 |
| Whip |
The third day of fall was pumpkin spice latte day.
Farmers markets are a regular (and at certain times of the year daily) event in Lexington. On the fourth day of fall Jess and I went to the market at the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion in the center of town and were welcomed by enormous tomatoes. And rocks? Next to the tomatoes? Agate is the official state rock, and each slice is priced based on its pattern/polish. There were an abundance of peppers on sale. I purchased banana peppers because I didn't want full blown spicy in all of my meals. While searching for something sweet I overheard that this was the last week peaches would be on sale at the market, so I decided right then I would purchase and do something crafty with them (Martha, help me.) I kept my eyes open for other things I could buy to help with my decorating crafts, and while the fifteen stems for $5 sale on gourds was tempting, I decided I would purchase these next week or the following week to ensure that the gourds would last through the end of my contract. Another decoration Jess and I found were hedge apples. When I was in elementary school we called these knobby, green, softball-sized-fruit-nut things "monkey brains" and we threw them at each other. I got hit in the face once during Christmas Carol rehearsal and it hurt a lot and I could have either laughed or cried so I laughed so it wouldn't be awkward but oh my face. While they are edible, I learned that people usually buy them as a decoration/spider repellent. You just sit them out and the spiders are like "nah."
 |
| Normal tomatoes (right) big ass tomatoes (left) |
 |
| Tastes of home. |
I tasted a lot of cheese at this farmers market. I walked out with two blocks from Boone Creek Creamery. It's lactose free! I bought the Kentucky Derby (cheddar infused with Kentucky Bourbon) and Mama Mia (mild herb encrusted Italian flavor.) Jess and I spent a lot of time at the Green Acres of Paris stand tasting beer cheese. I chose the Windy Whey Winery Wine Cheese to use at the inevitable cast/intern wine and cheese night.
 |
| I spent $20 on cheese and $20 on everything else. |
