Snack Pies

 Mrs. Redd's Pies - "Real fruit filling."

There is not anything that I can say about these pies that this site has not adequately coved, if you read the comments. It seems that you like them or you don't. I enjoyed all of the ones that I photographed, except for the pudding. 

Cherry

Pudding

Apple

Berry

Lemon

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission.

No Excuses

But, neither is there a post 

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission.

Saint Patrick's Day

 Don’t miss out – let’s eat, drink & be lucky!

It said that, "Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day", which falls today this year. But, some of us may be a little bit more Irish than others, due to actual ancestry. That could include me. I'm really not sure how much Irish is in my family tree, if any. 

Family lore maintained that we had Irish heritage. The belief is that my maternal great-grandfather, Newton Isaac Collins was biracial. His mother was a slave and his father was her master, an Irishman. However, my DNA analysis indicates that he may have been more Scotch than Irish. 

However, I do like to observe this day by eating soda bread, and perhaps having a sip of whiskey or Irish Stout.

 

Éirinn go Brách!

Note:

I tend to take much of DNA analysis with a grain of salt. Is someone with whom I share just 0.42% of DNA really a relative, or is it merely statistical noise?

But, 23andMe says that I have a great-grandparent who was 100% French. This totally jibes with another of my family's stories. So, there is that. And, it is a good excuse to go all out on Bastille Day.

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission.

Just Good Food: Burgers

Hamburgers and Cheeseburgers I Have Known (Eaten)

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission. 

Reading Log: February 2025

 The books I read in the month of February 2025

February 2025 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Of Ice Packs and Men," Rick Bass

"Orange County," Gustavo Arellano

"How to Change Your Mind," Michael Pollan

The paucity of books this month can be chalked up to my trying to put a dent in the weeks old pile up of the "The New Yorker" magazine.

No Parking (Any Time)

O, reason not the need! 

No Parking: photo by Cliff Hutson

The distance between these signs is about twelve feet. I guess this space must have some importance to somebody.

Presidents' Day (USA)

Presidents Day is an opportunity to remember presidential history 

Cherry Pie: photo by Cliff Hutson

Presidents’ Day is observed annually on the third Monday in February. It is a federal holiday in the United States that was originally established in 1879 to commemorate the birthday of George Washington, the first President of the United States. Since then, the holiday has evolved to recognize all presidents who have served the needs of the country. I have previously written about that.

Powerful Tool?: photo by Cliff Hutson

This year it might also be a time to contemplate what future lies before us as our current president and the people who support him, chiefly out of selfish interests, work to undermine our democracy. "Checks and balances" seem to have been subverted, if an administration chooses to ignore the law. The pen may be no longer mightier than the sword when the media capitulate to threats. 

On a historical note, one president who infamously ignored a court order ended up on our twenty-dollar Federal Reserve note.

Reading Log: January 2025

The books that I read in the month of January 2025

January 2025 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"50 States, 1000 Eats," Joe Yogerst

"¡Ask a Mexican!," Gustavo Arellano

"Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny," Garrison Keillor

"Altatude," Alta Journal

"Mapping California," Susan Schulten

"Believe," Jeremy Egner

 

National Carrot Cake Day

A Foodie Holiday

I can not find a reference on how it got started; but National Carrot Cake Day is celebrated annually on February 3rd in the USA. One can only hope that the practice is not declared "woke" and that it can continue in the future.  

Enjoy a slice of carrot cake while you can.

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission.

Burritos

¡No más!

I finally have to admit that all my burrito photos look pretty much the same. This could be due to a failure of imagination or that once they are rolled up it is next to impossible to know what is inside. In any event, this should be my last post to social media for those which I make at home. Those that I eat in restaurants may still be fair game. (See below) 

One of these is not like the others:

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr). is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year.

This year, it being January 20th after a presidential election, it is also Inauguration Day; leaving me less optimistic about his legacy and the fate of my nation than ever.

Reading Log: 2024

A Year of Books

A Book: photo by Cliff Hutson

Here’s my annual list of all the books I read the previous year. (For comparison, this is the one for 2023.)  I read 48 books of fiction, science fiction and nonfiction. While it was two sort of my goal, that seemed like a decent total. But, it is said that; "Comparison is the thief of joy". Thus I felt a bit down when I saw that David Allen, whom I have been measuring myself against for the past few years, read 55.

However, this morning, when The Guardian saw fit to print a headline proclaiming ‘I read 35 books this year!’ I perked up a bit.

Anyway here is my list:

1. "The Hammer of God," Arthur C. Clark

2. "My Gun Has Bullets," Lee Goldberg

3. "Dead Space," Lee Goldberg

4. "The Left Hand of Darkness," Ursula K. Le Guin

5. "A People's Guide to Orange County," Gustavo Arellano et al.

6. "Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team," John Steinbeck

7. "Lives of Weeds: Opportunism, Resistance, Folly," John Cardina 

8. "Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories," Elmore Leonard

9. "The Seed Detective," Adam Alexander

10. "The Secret," Lee Child and Andrew Child

11. "Basketball for Dummies," Richard "Digger Phelps, et al.

12. "The Big Goodbye," Sam Wasson

13. "Ten Birds That Changed the World," Stephen Moss

14. "Shock Wave," John Sandford

15. "Basketball (and Other Things)," Shea Serrano 

16. "Movies (and Other Things)," Shea Serrano

17. "The Four Foundations of Golf," Jon Sherman

18. "Sacred Mounds," Jim Metzner

19. "The Talk," Darrin Bell

20. "Unnatural Habitat," Craig Stanford

21. "Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging," Sebastian Junger

22. "The Last Rose of Shanghai," Wein Dai Randel 

23. "Four Fish," Paul Greenberg

24. "Farewell Amethystine," Walter Mosley

25. "Wildlife Preserves: A Far Side Collection," Gary Larson  

26. "Eats, Soots & Leaves," Lynne Truss

27. "The Perfect Protein," Andy Sharpless and Suzannah Evans

28. "The Invention of Prehistory," Stefanos Geroulanos 

29. "The Bogey Man," George Plimpton

30. "Golf in the Kingdom," Michael Murphy

31. "Golf Dreams," John Updike

32. "Up on the Woof Top," Spencer Quinn

33. "A Farewell to Arfs," Spencer Quinn

34. "Paper Lion," George Plimpton

35. "The Silk Roads," Peter Frankopan 

36. "Outside Lanes," A.J. Stewart

37. "The Waiting," Michael Connelly

38. "Football for Dummies," Howie Long, John Czarnecki 

39. "Women," Charles Bukowski 

40. "The Backyard Bird Chronicles," Amy Tan

41. "The Downhill Lie," Carl Hiaasen

42. "Hoops," Walter Dean Myers

43. "Falling Is Not An Option," George Locker

44. "Black Ball," Theresa Runstedtler 

45. "Tooth and Claw," Craig Johnson

46. "Big Jim and the White Boy," David F. Walker, Marcus Kwame Anderson

47. "The Breaks of the Game," David Halberstam

48. "Evergreen," Naomi Hirahara 

Does anybody care to share what they read last year?

Reading Log: December 2024

 The books that I read in the month of December 2024

December 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Tooth and Claw," Craig Johnson

"Big Jim and the White Boy," David F. Walker, Marcus Kwame Anderson

"The Breaks of the Game," David Halberstam

"Evergreen," Naomi Hirahara