Hiking and Great BBQ

Last week the Foodie Daughter and I took a trip to Ohio to 

Hocking Hills State Park.

I had visited this beautiful area once as a child and wanted to visit again, this time to take photos for my photography business, Photoscapes by Marilyn.  The Foodie Daughter was kind enough to go along with me so that I would have a traveling companion and a hiking companion.

 All of these photos were taken on my iPhone.

 The lower falls at Old Man's Cave.

 The Foodie Daughter poses in one of the small caves in the
Old Man's Cave area.

Old Man's Cave is named after a hermit who lived in the area during the Civil War.

 

 The upper falls and the stone bridge at Old Man's Cave.

 

 Cedar Falls.

 Another view of the falls.

In all, we hiked nearly six miles along four trails including the one leading back to Ash Cave, Ohio's largest recess cave.  The cave stretches 700 feet across and is nearly 100 feet deep.  It is 90 feet to the top of the cave, where a seasonal waterfall spills over the ledge into a pool below.

We didn't get a chance to see everything during this trip and hope to return, perhaps in the spring time some year, when the waterfalls will be at their best.

While staying in Logan, Ohio, we ate at a local BBQ place called Millstone BBQ.

The online reviews were good and it was just down the road from the hotel.

The place was busy when we arrived on Monday evening.  Despite that, we were promptly seated and given menus to peruse.

It took us a while to decide what to have as so much on the menu looked good.

 I finally opted to have the Big Bad Wolf with sweet potato fries.

This was a delicious sandwich, but the bun either needed to be toasted longer, or it needed a heartier bread, as the bun fell apart after two bites and I ended up having to eat the sandwich with a knife and fork.  It was still the best tasting beef brisket I had ever eaten, though.

The Foodie Daughter decided to try the Texas Trio, an assortment of sandwiches, along with sweet potato fries.

I've had BBQ in Texas, but this far outshone anything I had there.

I'd go so far as to say this was the best BBQ I have ever had.

Composing a Beautiful Cheese Platter

You are having company over and you want to impress them with your food and hostessing skills?  A simple place to start is with this beautiful cheese platter, composed a la Ina Garten, of Barefoot Contessa fame.

Ina suggests placing large green leaves on a platter or cutting board, then arranging three cheeses, one hard, one medium, and one soft, on the leaves.  Here, I used a red-leafed lettuce as it complimented the color of the grapes.  Finally, scatter grapes or other fruit around the cheeses, allowing them to flow naturally on the platter.  If you do have mixed fruit, remember to keep like fruits together, as that makes for a more pleasing presentation.  Provide a knife for each cheese, set a plate of assorted crackers nearby, and your guests will be amazed at your culinary prowess.  And you didn't even have to cook a thing!

I'm Back!

After a long hiatus, I have returned to blogdom.  These past few months have been extraordinarily busy for me; as I have been President of the University Club at our local Big 10 University, I have recently started my own business, Photoscapes by Marilyn, and I ran for County Council. 

My tenure for office as President of the UClub is in its last days, and I was defeated in the Primary for County Council, though I am remaining active in local politics (politics: poli - meaning many and tics - meaning blood sucking arachnids).  I am still working on getting my business off the ground and am trying to turn admiration of my photographs into sales.

Now you are caught up with what has been going on in the Foodie Household.  It's good to be back!

Peonies from my garden.