European Farmers’ Market: Rammelsbach

European Farmers’ Market:  Rammelsbach (Kusel)

I like farmers’ markets anyway and this was a huge one.  Something like 1200 vendors and over 30,000 eaters, drinkers, music lovers and shoppers came to sample fare from all over the Euro-world.  As in every other fest I’ve visited in Germany, this was orderly, friendly, and wonderful.  No fights.  No drunks.  No police presence.  Just happy people, including an abundance of families who came to enjoy a beautifully sunny day, with temps in the mid 80s.

We got there about 2 p.m. and the party was in full swing.  Matter of fact, as we learned, the Champagne stall had already sold out.  So, we settled for a very excellent Sicilian white wine and some Finnish planked salmon and coleslaw.  The planked salmon, pink and juicy, was roasted close by a wood fire.

Near by, a Hungarian stringed trio brought the sweet sounds of their homeland, while not too far away, in huge tent, a German oompah band serenaded hundreds of beer swillers.

All that music competing for your ear?  No.  Not at all.  The market was that large, sprawling though the old city streets and diverging down side streets before trailing into the nearby countryside.  Even an amateur band, featuring pop and jazz had a wide space to itself, blasting away without fear of contradictory notes.

Not interested in salmon?  The inviting aroma of grilled sausages filled the air, drifting along on delicate clouds of smoke.  Fried potatoes?  Oh yes!  Whiffs of hot grease.

Fancy some Trdeinik from The Czech Republic?  I call it cylinder bread, with flavored dough wrapped around iron molds and flame cooked over a wood fire.

Who can resist the lightly delicious scent of French crepes, being prepared especially for you by women in traditional garb and men in berets.  C’est entendu!  Fresh fruit perhaps to flavor your delightfully thin crepe or a soupçon of homemade jam?  Need to top that off with some rich French whipped cream, n’est pas?  You haven’t tasted cream or butter until you’ve slathered the French versions on your crepe.

But, the best part of any gathering is the people. Always.  In this case, her name is Beatrice, a pretty, American woman with a very interesting background.  She’s also a delightful conversationalist.  Her father emigrated to the U.S. from Germany after WW II and in time joined the American Army, serving for 28 years before retiring.  Beatrice’s mother is French.  So does Beatrice speak English, French, and German?  Mais, oui!  Na sicher!  Of course!  Does she have an accent in English?  No way! Raised in California, but has lived in Germany for a number of years.  Has a German boyfriend.

What else did this expat have to say?  “I love America for its extreme convenience and now that my parents are in their declining years, and I spend a lot of time taking them to hospital appointments, I appreciate the cleanliness of American hospitals.  Fortunately, because he is retired U.S. military, I can take my parents to American military hospitals here in Germany.”

My experience is different from those of Beatrice, but my visits to German clinics and hospitals have been limited and far less extensive than hers.  Also, she lives in a much more rural area.

Let’s get back to the good stuff, like the Sicilian white wine.  In the Sicilian stall, the offerings included not only wine by the bottle and glass, but also jars of pesto and sweet pistachio paste.  Tasted both and liked what I tasted.  But, it was a hot day folks!  Both bottles of wine were very cold and delicious.  I felt like a cast member from Oliver!  “Please, sir, may I have some more?”

Craftsmen galore offered one-of-a-kind curved wood furniture, and cutting boards.  Other booths had homemade jam, or fresh bread from wood fired ovens, or colorful oil paintings.  Yes, a true feast for the eyes and a bane for the pocketbook.  My friends found wrought iron fixtures for their garden.  Another friend found soap and old-fashioned wooden handled brushes and packets of dried herbs.

Now it’s time to get back on track, grab that bottle of Sicilian wine I rescued and review some photos of Rammelsbach’s huge Farmers’ Market.  Care to join me?  I’ll share, but bring your own straw.

FOR ANY ARTISTS WHO ARE INTERESTED:  You are welcome to use my photos to paint from. 

Hint:  There’s more to Rammelsbach than a one-time market.  I’ll tell you more about the town and its fascinating history tomorrow.

Another Walk in the Woods

Another Walk in the Woods

A waist high ant nest

I would never call myself an outdoorsman or a woodsman.  Camping, with the smell of smoke on my clothes and grit under my nails and the choice between a cold wash-up in the creek and smelling like an exhausted racehorse is no choice at all.  And, sipping burnt coffee from a tin cup can never replace a dry martini in a well tended bar and a comfortable leather club chair.

I don’t hunt or fish, although plenty of my friends do.

But, I do enjoy solitude, which is a rarity indoors, with washing to be done and housecleaning and doorbells and financials that can’t wait, along with emails pinging and iMessages chirping and someone nearby who promises “This will only take a minute.”

So what’s an ‘only comfortable with comfort’ person to do.  I say choose both:  Outdoor strolls, then back to the comfort of home.  So, I take walks in the woods.

Do I mean hikes with a forty pound backpack, and plodding up steep, rocky hillsides?  No, I do not.  For me, it’s a three quarters of an hour stroll through the forests, my trusty camera at my side, hearing the music of the wind rustled leaves, admiring the serene beauty of nature, hearing birds chirping in the trees and watching wild ducks gliding through the water, the bright, careless beauty of wild flowers, the mystery of trails leading to other trails, and most of all, the complete lack of human contact, while only mild hills tax endurance.

The pleasant silence gives a body time to think and plan and figure out what’s important. Strangely, washing and mowing the yard doesn’t make the list.  You can mark out those five-minute jobs and grocery shopping, also.

On this trip through the woods, I got all I asked for and more.

Northern Pintails

A grass snake, about the size of a No 2 Yellow pencil

Relaxing, but not yet martini time.  Guess I better get started on the washing, pick up a few things at the grocers, clean out that closet and see if I can get the &Y^%$# computer to reboot.

Even the beauty of serenity doesn’t last forever.  But, now at least I’m rejuvenated.  Enjoy the rest of the photos!

Apothic Red, California Wine

Apothic Red

I am not a wine connoisseur.  But, not quite as bad as: if it’s wet I’ll drink it, although as the evening wears on, my standards go down like the setting sun.  I did pour a wine out years ago and still harbor regrets.

Still, even a casual inebriate has favorites and I’ve written about a few.

A Blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, Apothic Red may be the richest immediately satisfying wine I’ve tasted in years.  Beautiful nose, and the flavor is ripe with berries and a very noticeable spot of vanilla. 

Alcohol content is 13.5% and it is a dry red, but dry can mean so many things.  Many, dry reds are so heavy on tannins, the first swallow is as if your throat just got a sandpaper massage.  Not so with Apothic Red.  Full flavored, yet so silky smooth and mellow on the finish.

You’ll be happy to know Apothic Red is priced from $6.50 to $9 per bottle.  At those prices, stock up for backyard parties and buy a few extras to tuck under your arm for dinner invites.

But, you’re bound to ask, what’s with the name?  Apothic?  My guess is it has the same roots as apothecary, or chemist, or what we in the U.S. call a pharmacy.  E.J. Gallo, (in Modesto), California’s largest wine exporter (and producer of Apothic wines) claims it was a mysterious 13th Century place where wine was aged.

The bottle I drank was 2015, and not what I think of as an aged wine.  But, these days when subdivisions carry names like Nine Oaks, with nary an oak tree in sight, or you live on Beaver Trail Road, where the closest beavers are two hundred miles distant, modern names apparently don’t have to be authentic, as long as they sound very cool and classically rich.  “Just moved into my home on Scum Pond View.”  Nope, doesn’t tantalize the dream of moving up in the world.  Better to call it “Walden Pond Estates.”

Apothic makes various styles of both red and white.  Tonight I also tried Apothic Dark, which is dry enough to make you dig a well with your bare hands in a desperate search for water.

It will also stand up to roasted wild boar that is still pissed about being roasted. Don’t mean to offer my taste buds as proof of what you should drink.  I do have friends who like to feel the dust on their tongue after a couple of swallows. Apothic Dark will do the trick.

But, let’s take a step back and talk about grapes. Did you realize there are upwards of 10,000 varieties of the delicious fruit of the vine?  I’ll give my three faithful readers a break and worship at the temple of brevity, to talk about only the grapes in Apothic wine and even then only enough to provide polite cocktail party conversation.

Heard of Noble Grapes?  Those are the varieties most planted in wine regions around the world.  I’m told there are only eighteen of these, and Apothic wines blend three of them:  Syrah, Merlot, and Cab.  What about Zinfandel?  Zinfandel (and Primitivo) are similar to Grenache, also a Noble Grape.  All of these are varieties of red grapes.

The value of wine is in the tasting, so I won’t go into the specifics of what you can expect of each variety of grape.  I’ve had Primitivos that were heaven on the tongue, while others were lacking.  Zinfandel?  Sweet, right?  Depends on when the grapes are picked and whether or not  the juice is ‘aged dry’, meaning left to ferment until the last bit of sugar is transformed into alcohol. 

Here’s a primer for you:

White wines, can be both sweet or dry or in between and sometimes white wines are produced from red grapes, what the French call Blanc de Noir, or white from black.  Wine skins and seeds give the wine it’s color.  Separate the juice right away and you have white wine.  Yes, I know some grapes are white, but typically, juice for white wine is not fermented with the skins and seeds.

Rose wines, are left with the skins for a short time.

Red wines?  You guessed it!

Areas where Wine was produced in antiquity

Back to Apothic.  Buy some, try some.  I love what I call the romance of wine. As early as 6000 BCE/BC people have fermented grapes!  You can drink it and talk about it and delve into the intricacies of temperature and soil and regions and types of grapes and wine’s history!  Knowing about wine is a full time job.  Now open that bottle of Apothic and get started!

Helping Your Child to Read

Helping Your Child to Read – Hey, this is for grandmothers, aunts, and close friends, too!

Football season is upon us!  The roar of the crowd.  Tailgating until your belt’s too tight.  Downing beer until neither you nor your buddies can even drive a tricycle.

Hey, I’m as big a fan of college football as anyone I know, with the exception of my nephew whom Nick Saban calls for advice. Forgive me a very slight exaggeration.

But, my biggest passion is not football, but reading.  Reading ‘bout football? you ask.  Reading ‘bout anything! Sometimes I have a couple of books going at once. Fiction and non-fiction.  I’ve been told I can even keep reading while my wife tries to get my attention.  Turns out she can handle stovetop fires herself.  Possibly, in time she’ll get over it.  I have faith in her.

Matter of fact, I call reading the most important skill, bar none, surpassing even foreplay and lying with a straight face.  Yes, in the title to this article, I wrote, “Your Child,” but maybe it’s your grandchild or a neighbor’s child, or helping out in a classroom.  No limits to gently coaxing children to read and enjoy reading!

Dear heart, not only is it the start of football season, but also classroom season!  From the youngest ages not yet ready for school, and up until they become rebellious middle schoolers, you can help them learn to read and appreciate reading by reading to them.

But, so as to not strain your patience and dreadful lack of attention, let’s specifically address children from infancy through third grade. Why third grade? Stats show that children who don’t read well by the end of third grade are either going to have to fight their way through the challenges of high school, or learn to play football.

Now, it’s only fair to add a few notes before asking you to swallow the words from this oracle of inebriation and seasoned reader.  Pick one.  I can’t do both at the same time.

My mother was a second grade teacher with a master's degree and taught in a style that was well before her time.  My wife has taught every grade through middle school and upwards to GED.  She’s also been a reading specialist and has a master’s in reading.  So, does that make me an educator or reading expert?  Please don’t ask.  I am simply a humble dad who asked my mother and wife a lot of questions and read to both my sons up through the sixth grade.  Both of them are excellent readers, says their dad with pride.  Besides, experts complicate everything.  Just ask a watchmaker what time it is.

So follow this humble dad's simple and stress-free suggestions for helping your child to read.

1.    Keep It Fun

Quiet, tranquil, comfortable for the both of you.  Sit close enough for everyone to see the pages. Make it a quiet and calming expression of love.  I have great memories of warm, pajama clad babes cuddled close, with a book in my hand.

     

2.    Follow your Child’s Interests

Some children like to read about picnics and some about trucks.  I have sons of both varieties.  Path of least resistance! Read what interests them. Children’s minds are open to exploring the universe.  Let them explore.  Harry Truman, our 33^rd President said it best.  “The only way to influence your children is to find out what they want to do and encourage them to do it.”  My wife had a child in 3^rd grade, a poor reader until she found out he was hungry for airplanes and space.   She shoved those books his way and he suddenly developed a passion for reading!  Even made presentations to the whole class.

3.    Read Consistently

Start with very simply written picture books for the pre-readers. Your child will let you know when it’s time to move up a level and that may come sooner than you think.

My brother was a soccer coach and at one coaching symposium he came back with this jewel:  “As a coach, don’t you decide how much your players can learn.”  Note:  To me, teacher and coach are synonymous.  Same with player and student.

Read with your child everyday, building up to 30 minutes a day by 3^rd Grade.  Your child will adore that perfectly calm time with you, when the two or three or more of you share stories from a book. Easy to check Google for suggestions about age appropriate books.  Also, I’ll bet your local librarian would love to help.

      4.  Discuss What You Read

Time to open up your child’s imagination and sense of discovery. Best way to develop your child’s vocabulary and fan the flames of natural curiosity is to discuss what you read. Encourage questions. Lead the way and express your own questions:  I wonder why…..?  Who do you think was the bravest?  Which dress did you like best?  (Pointing)  I like the red dress. Do you like the green one?

5.    Children Like Repetition

After you’ve read a few books, let your child pick out favorites.  Don’t be surprised if she picks out the same book fourteen times in a row. Go with it. Repetition is how children learn to read.  Ask him to tell you the story.  Remembering and expressing the story in his own words is the first step toward reading and understanding what he is reading. You may want your beginning reader or pre-reader to tell his grandmother or someone else about the book.

6.    NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS (which I realize is a negative comment)

Negativity will turn off learning faster than whispering, “WHAT WAS THAT STRANGE NOISE IN YOUR CLOSET?”  Comments such as “You’re just telling the story, you’re not reading it!” will soon make your child anxious.  Stand by for a lot of “I don’t feel like it.”

7.    FIRST and FOREMOST KEEP IT FUN and FOLLOW YOUR CHILD’S LEAD!

Reading each day should be a wonderful time for both you and your child and a very special way to build fabulous memories for both of you!

Made it through the whole article?  You get a gold star and a second and maybe even a third wine.

Now for some famous and not so famous quotes:

“If you cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”

- Oscar Wilde

“The more things you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”  - Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

“I find television very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” – Groucho Marx

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

“Don’t just teach your children to read….teach them to question everything they read.  Teach them to question everything.”  - George Carlin

“A child who reads, will be an adult who thinks.” – unknown

“A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.” – Chinese proverb

“Reading is the boat that will sail you to the far shores of knowledge.” – I know, but I ain’t sayin’