Poprocks in Paradise

 
One of our favorite vacation spots is in Mexico, on the Caribbean ocean known as the Mexican Riviera, near Playa Del Carmen. While we feel a bit guilty that this is not a spice mission vacation, many factors seem to lead us back to this same spot. We have enjoyed many Caribbean Islands and worked spices in as a factor, Jamaica for allspice and ginger, St. Lucia had an artisinal cocoa plantation. Grenada in particular was a wonderful education on the growing of mace and nutmeg and we thoroughly enjoyed our day visiting the nutmeg cooperatives. In St. Vincent we took a three hour drive, each way, to visit a tiny arrowroot plantation.  Yet it is pretty much an all day affair to reach these islands. Cancun is a very brief 3-1/2 hour trip, another 45 minutes south we reach our destination, the water is beautiful, the golf is world class and we have an all inclusive hotel chain which we enjoy called Iberostar. So, while we really enjoy the spice seeking vacations, sometimes we just really take a vacation that is not work related, sorry to disillusion anyone!

When a seed begins to sprout -

Two summers ago I fell in love with the city of Madison, Wisconsin,  while attending a governor's conference for Slow Food. While Chicago hosts no shortage of fine farmer's markets, I was blown away by the Madison farmer's market, held in a square anchored by the glorious capitol building. One of my twin nieces is attending college there and she has a strong interest in environmental sciences. While we had lunch, I tried my best to coerce her into joining the University of Wisconsin chapter of Slow Food. We had all agreed at the conference meetings that it is extremely important to the future of the Slow Food movement that its vision is embraced by these young students, whose vibrancy and energy will lead to the dedication to continue the cause. At the time I tried to view my suggestions through her eyes, the intellectual college student listing to her aunt, most likely humoring her. I figured that my suggestion probably got lumped into one of those categories of helpful advice like “If your room was neat and organized, you would not believe how much easier it would be to concentrate on your homework!” So I was delighted to receive an email the following year (a seed takes awhile to sprout) saying she was going to a Slow Food potluck that night.

Cherry Picking

Three Spice House staffers (myself, Desi, and Roxanne) took last Sunday off to drive up to Door Couny for a day of cherry picking.  This is an annual trip for me, to stock my freezer for winter pie making, but it was fun to have company this year.  We left right after work Saturday, still smelling of spices, and spent the night in Manitowoc before driving into Door County to look for orchards.  I've gone to Choice Orchards in Sturgeon Bay before, so we headed in that direction, but we found Cherry Lane Orchard just over the Door County line and went there instead.  It's a gorgeous little orchard run by a friendly, helpful gentleman who set us up with pails and belt clips and sent us out into the trees. 

Visiting A Farmer's Market on Vacation?

I admit, it might seem a bit strange to seek out a farmer's market while on a hotel based vacation. The reason you go to a farmer's market is to buy the fresh produce and food you are planning to turn into delicious nature-inspired dishes over the next few days. Really fresh food requires only the slightest of preparation, nature delivers things that are pretty darned tasty when they are first harvested! So what is point in admiring food you are not actually able to cook with? A good market is sooo much more than just what the vendors are selling. It is about the connection to the land, the farmers, the food community that enjoys the market, the tastes, the musicians, the children and even the dogs. The people you intermingle with in a market community  will usually give you the best tourist experience a city unknowingly offers. You all have something in common, and it is easy to get the folks here to share stories, and cooking tips.

Blogless in Jamaica

Being a small business owner, for us, means you are intimately connected with your business, you live and breath it. Add a spouse business partner, and you are really fully submerged. When you go on vacation, it seems crucial to take the laptop so as not to be out of the daily orb of activities. We connect with many special people in the food business, but these communications often come via email out of the blue. “I am going to be in town for a food network show, and I am trying to get them to use your store for a location shoot, are you available next Thursday?” So we always have this debate about taking the laptop, after all it is supposed to be a vacation, which should translate as leaving work behind.