i found myself with a pumpkin that needed to be put to rest and a pan of hot bacon grease and wondered, can you fry up pumpkin seeds? the answer is definitely yes and that they are quite tasty in fact. just fry them until golden brown and add salt.

highly recommended!

– ryan

-next up, i’m going to see if i can make stove-top popcorn with bacon fat!

this year’s annual sterritt family chinese food pilgrimage took us to golden budda on clairmont road in decatur. the entryway featured this huge showcase filled with fake plastic chinese food entrees. they were each labeled with those awesome old plastic labels that my papa used to label everything with. they were pretty amazing in a really gross way!

the food ended up being decent. it’s uncle adam’s go-to place for chinese. it’s now our go-to place for viewing awesome fake plastic food.

– ryan & gub

golden budda

1905 clairmont rd
decatur, ga 30033
404-633-5252

we recently re-visited the hickory pig when we traveled up to north georgia for our christmas tree. we first tried it out for ryan’s birthday ‘week of bbq’ when it was voted atlanta’s #1 bbq. gub got take-out then, which we enjoyed at the drive-in, so this was the first time ryan had actually been inside the tiny establishment. phil treated us very well and insisted we try most of the goodies on the daily menu. he kept bringing out more food for us after we had received our order. everything was great, but the ribs were especially awesome.

this is the kind of no-frills, hole in the wall, real southern place we really love!

– ryan & gub

hickory pig

3605 thompson bridge rd
gainesville, ga 30506
770-503-5235

we tried some bacon from the kroger butcher recently and were quite impressed!

– ryan & gub

we picked all of the green tomatoes from our garden this year before the first big freeze and they finally ripened. now we have a bowl full of nice red tomatoes to enjoy!

– ryan & gub

we took a day trip up to the north georgia mountains a few weeks ago to pick apples. clem got to taste her first apple (just a lick!) and bring home a pumpkin for halloween.

– ryan & gub

reece apple orchards

9131 highway 52 east
ellijay, ga 30536
706-276-3048

we were recently in ellijay, ga for fall festivities and stopped by r&a orchards for some country apple dumplings. they were amazing to say the least! you can find their recipe below if you want to try it at home.

– ryan & gub

r&a orchards

5505 highway 52 east
ellijay, ga 30536
706-273-3821

country apple dumplings recipe:

ingredients:
2 large granny smith apples (peeled and cored)
2 x 10 oz cans crescent roll dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 12 oz can mountain dew

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 and grease 9″ x 13″ baking dish
– cut apples into 8 wedges each
– separate crescent roll dough, and roll each apple wedge up in the dough
– pinch the edges to seal and place in dish
– melt butter in a saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon
– pour mixture over apple dumplings and then pour mountain dew on top
– bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown

east lake farmers market offers a cooperative csa program you can join to help support your local farmers. they also sell extra csa shares at their saturday market for only $15, which is a super deal! we picked up an extra share last weekend that had basil, rosemary, greens, kale, egg plant, bell peppers, various hot peppers, radishes and more. it was a great assortment for the money!

we also bought some fresh local eggs at the market. it’s interesting how different the sizes and colors of local eggs are from the ones you get at a grocery store. ours were shades of green and brown, a little smaller and had more texture then you are used to.

we’ve had lots of fun coming up with meals incorporating our fresh, tasty ingredients!

– ryan & gub

east lake farmers market

2nd avenue and hosea williams drive
atlanta, ga 30317

saturdays
9am – 1pm
may – october

a co-worker brought in a box of sublime doughnuts this morning! how exciting!

– ryan

sublime doughnuts

535 10th st nw
atlanta, ga 30318
404-897-1801

we had a very nice red tomato from our garden! i’m glad the weather and squirrels are finally cooperating with us.

– ryan & gub