Fieldstone Common

I was interviewed by Marian Pierre-Louis of Fieldstone Common for her podcast series. Check it out here. Marian writes: "In this interview Eric and I talk about Charles Stratton, the successful man. It’s hard to call him Tom Thumb after reading this book and seeing him as a real person. This story will challenge all the preconceived notions you have of General Tom Thumb. He was smart, talented, entertaining and a leader in his community. We discuss, as well, the success of P.T. Barnum and the prejudices faced by little people later in the 19th century." It was a pleasure to talk with someone so knowledgeable about New England history. Marian (and others) have convinced me that podcasts are the wave of the future, and that radio is pretty much dead. Clear Channel and others have killed it - pretty much made it no different than listening to Spotify, etc. With some exceptions of course! We could look at it another way...after a narrowing of radio's impact and variety, podcasts have expanded the audio world once again, filling a real need.

Review of Afoot in Connecticut

A wonderful book review of Afoot in Connecticut by Chris Vola is up at the Small Press Book Review blog. It reads, in part: "Lehman has succeeded in crafting a moving, intricate ode to the inextricable bonds that bind person and place, a book that is, at its heart, a call to those who have not yet forsaken the sterility of the indoors for the soul-quenching of a good walking stick and a nearby trail, and a reminder for those who have already traveled to find a greater journey." Read the rest of the review here.

At the Mattatuck Museum

Amy and I enjoyed lecturing about A History of Connecticut Food at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury - it was cool to give a presentation in such an impressive art gallery. Everyone was so welcoming and excited to talk about Connecticut food that we were all starved by the end of it. Amy and I stopped at Big Frank's for some very good barbecue. (They are owned by the same guys who do Frankie's Hot Dogs, so it was no surprise.)

Connecticut Coyote Encounter


Well, we were snowshoeing in West Rock State Park yesterday, and came upon this bone in the middle of the trail. What is not apparent from the picture is that it had literally just been dropped there. It was a warm day and the snow was melting, but it hadn't melted around this spine/hip/leg at all yet. There were fresh paw prints heading off the trail, across a stream, and up the other side. Coyote paw prints.
 


They had heard us coming and ran off, leaving this old carcass they were carrying on the trail. I'm not sure what it is - very narrow pelvis. The coyotes left a bit of scat further down the trail - they were obviously using it as an easy way to get from place to place. This is clearly not dog scat - unless someone is feeding their dog animals with hair.


At any rate, we moved off a bit and ate our lunch, and then snowshoed back to the car. We didn't get a glimpse of our furry friends, but they were there, probably waiting to come back and get the bones, possibly in the patch of reeds close by, possibly in a stand of pines on the other side. But they had just been there, a few minutes before we got there. I have actually seen coyotes before, of course, but this was a fun little mystery, here in the forests of Connecticut.

Quail?


Had a delicious meal of roasted quail the other day, bought from the local international market and roasted in our oven. At least I think they were quail. People notoriously substitute pigeon for quail at restaurants, markets, and grocery stores. Not street pigeons (probably) but farmed pigeons. So, were these pigeons or quails? Who cares, they were delicious.

The Thai Salad Principle


I was reading a cook book called Pok Pok the other week at my brother-in-law's house. And I really liked the idea of Thai salad, which was essentially a cold stir fry. But I didn't have the book myself, and I was too lazy to turn the internet on to get 'authentic' recipes. This became a good moment to apply what I am now going to call the Thai Salad Principle. And that is, once you know the basic formula, you can simply experiment and taste. You know, like real chefs do.


So, in the case of this, we have several methods to adhere to. Cut everything (veggies, pickled veggies (I used gingered carrots in the bottom one and homemade pickled cukes in the top), fruit (I used Asian pear in the top), maybe meat (the first one above has strong dry sausage)) into small, bite sized pieces to be eaten with sticky rice or if you don't want carbs then with a spoon. A variety of textures is key. Then, "bind" everything together with a paste made with fish (or soy) sauce, lime juice, and heat (I used a chili-basil paste for these, along with coconut milk powder to soak up the liquid). Sweet, sour, spicy, salty, bitter, and savory. It's all there, and no cooking required. Delicious, quick, and almost healthy.

The point is, recipes are for suckers. If you want to be a good cook (or a good anything) you must learn the principle of the thing, and then apply it with your own creative power. Great chefs (or writers or scientists or...) do not become so by following rote formulas.

Old Saybrook Historical Society


Gave a presentation on Tom Thumb for the Old Saybrook Historical Society at the Acton Library, and had a lot of fun. I met a man (above) who graduated in the first class of the University of Bridgeport. He actually went to the Junior College of Connecticut, and it changed to UB during his senior year. Amazing guy, and still sharp as a tack.


Johnny Ad's Drive In


Stopped by Johnny Ad's Drive In in Old Saybrook for dinner the other night. The lobster bisque was so rich and buttery - maybe too rich!


The lobster roll, on the other hand, was not as buttery as some, so you could really taste the lobster.


The waffle fries were absolutely delicious - some of the best we've had. The cheese sauce they serve on the side is unnecessary.


The codfish tacos were also good. P.S. We took some of this home - it was a lot to eat! There is no skimping on the portions.

 
Will they make it into the next edition of Insiders' Guide? They are certainly a great candidate!

Newport Tower


Also known as the Touro Tower, the Stone Tower, etc. It is one of the great mysteries of early America. It was possibly built by Benedict Arnold the first, governor of Rhode Island, in the 1670s. However, it could be much older. It bears similarity to various Norse round towers and churches, and could have once sported a conical roof and a 'skirt' area. It has astronomical oddities that would make it unlikely to be a simple windmill, and a "Norman estate" is mentioned in Verrazano's observations of the area, long before Arnold and his ilk.


We had a chance to check it out recently, and it is definitely odd. If it was 17th century architecture it was nearly unique. The large stones near the base of the pillars are bizarre and not exactly smart, unless they were originally underground, or if there were flying buttress-like attachments to the rest holding it up.


In some ways it is slipshod and uneven, and in others so precise and astronomically centered, that it is hard NOT to be suspicious that Viking mariners built it long before the arrival of the pilgrims. I am no expert, but I understand why this strange building is at the heart of so many bizarre theories.


Skipper's, Niantic


Amy and I stopped in at Skipper's Seafood in Niantic on our way to the fabled Book Barn last weekend.


It bugs me that I never stopped in there before in all my trips to the book barn, because it serves a solid meal of New England seafood. The clam fritters (above) were particularly yummy.


Better yet, the prices were quite reasonable. The hot lobster roll was only 13.99, which is about right for one served in a hot dog roll. I've seen them at 17.99, and if it is served in a large sub roll that is fine, but for this amount of lobster that price is correct. Thanks, Skipper's!

Tom Thumb at the Middleborough Historical Association


Over the weekend I gave the first lecture for Becoming Tom Thumb at the Middleborough Historical Association. They are the proud curators of the Tom Thumb Museum, which has one of the largest collections of objects related to Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren in the world. It was my privilege to fill in some of the gaps in their story.

Saving a Tree



Today my friend Ryan, his son Hawk, and I used a rope to pull down a tree that had fallen into another, saving the live beech tree in my yard.

 
Then we sawed the tree into three portions and carried them up to the house for later chainsawing.
 
 
Hawk is a little young (5) to be able to help more than a little. But it was good to show him this sort of work. Now that his family has moved back from New Zealand I hope we can teach him more forest work. It connects us to the land and to our home. Which are the same.