Good weekend

Watching Julia Child talk about potatoes reallyreallyreally makes one want to eat potatoes.



Shredded potatoes mixed with 4oz. cream cheese, one egg, some diced cheese, and a splash of cream. It might not look like much, but once it finally sets up and you flip it over, like hashbrowns, it's delicious.

Our rainy Saturday evening was spent watching highlights from the first season of The French Chef with Julia Child on DVD. Fascinating, and shocking how every cooking show ever since relies so heavily on the same format. More food please!



Sunday we had a brunch date with Heather at Rose's Berry Farm, after which we stopped at The Old Cider Mill in Glastonbury. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the DONUT ROBOT (Mark II)!



They had cider, but they also had a tiny shack in the back that was busy producing apple cider donuts, pumpkin donuts, and what they called apple fritters, but what looked like this...



Delicious, but not the apple fritters I grew up with. There were also baby chicks and chickens, and goats as cute as puppies! I kid you not!



Well, maybe not as cute as puppies, but pretty cute for a goat. There was also some other equipment besides the Donut Robot (Mark II), so we had to take the tractor photo op.





Bethany was a good sport about it, but she was also holding all the bounty of the mill, which we were all pretty excited about.



We ended up with some sweet sweets and a perfect afternoon in Connecticut. Thanks Old Cider Mill!



On our way home we explored a bit and located the former brownstone quarry in Portland that has been turned into the Brownstone Water Park. This is but one small section.



According to Val the Public Historian/Librarian, this quarry was internationally "known for it's stone" back when brownstone was all the rage for building fireproof buildings. Many of the Boston and New York brownstones were sourced from here, and even the James Flood Mansion on Nob Hill in San Francisco came from right here in Portland, Connecticut. That dude was rich.