Although the title does not seem to apply to my recent mini-vacation excursion through mid and western Virginia and western North Carolina, it was during this trip that I came to embrace the spirit of these phrases. “Only an ogre… go away!” The online language learning site, Duolingo, includes a section for stories. As you read through the story, you learn the language and phrases by responding to questions, and making verbal responses. These two phrases are in one of my favorite stories, a pared down version of “Puss in Boots”, “der gestiefelte Kater”.

I think I was in my hotel room in downtown Asheville when I thought of the “only an ogre” “nur ein Ogre” which is said with a gruff ogre voice. This is just before Puss tricks the ogre into changing (apparently ogres are able to shapeshift) into a mouse, and quickly gobbling up the mousey ogre. “Geh weg” apparently is the standard ogre greeting to those that knock on his door. How appropriate is that for me;-?

My room was on the 5th floor of the hotel in downtown Asheville. It was an older building, but the room was clean, comfortable and quiet. Well, except for a loud motorcycle that revved its engine up about 6 am. I awoke from my sleep and it seemed that the room had actually vibrated from the bike, which I thought was part of early morning traffic on the other side of the hotel. *Later, as I walked out of the hotel entrance, I noticed a motorcycle parked in a reserved spot. I then thought that the morning hotel desk clerk might have ridden in on that cycle about 6am.

I had thought that I was going to walk over to Dobra teas which was a few blocks away, but as the day unfolded, I realized that I would probably check out of the hotel, go for a short ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, visit the WNC State Farmer’s Market and then come back to Dobra for some hot “Assam Bhramaputra” (with sweetner, this time). But after doing the first two items, I decided to “pass” on the morning tea.

I did however come back through downtown Asheville, and actually rode down Merrimon Ave. all the way through downtown Weaverville. I have a route where I then weave up through a residential area and eventually take a winding road up to the Parkway coming out by the visitor center near Hwy 70.

WNC State Farmer’s Market Visit

I parked outside of the Coates section and went inside. I walked up to the nearest end of the building to what I now know is “Cara’s Corner”. About the time that I saw on the far wall, a bunch of spices, I also noted Cara sweeping the floor. And, the dust did make me start to cough, but eventually she made it far enough from me so that I didn’t respond negatively.

---

I guess that I am looking for items and spices that I’ve not tried before. I saw a “Gumbo File” which apparently is finely ground Sassafrass leaves. I googled on how to use this, and found that it was an ingredient in gumbo (soup?). I bought some marjohram and some pearled barley.

As I walked toward the cash register, I noted some dried beans in boxes near the floor. I bought some Speckled butter(beans), Yellow eye ( a play on black eye peas I guess) and October beans. **I have since gone online to figure out how to cook these beans.

Above, I am cooking the Yellow Eye beans as I would Black Eyed Peas. The more they cook, the closer to the “look” of Black Eyed peas they become. But, they do appear to be plumping up larger than Black Eyed peas would. The peas were plumper, but I’m not sure of the flavor. But, with Black Eyed peas, they are usually better if you let them “sit” in the fridge for a day. They flavors meld and can become quite good. I am hoping these peas will do similarly… but I don’t think they will. *** The October beans, and the Yellow Eye peas seem to not have the distinctive flavors of more established beans & peas. I am guessing that white Butter beans, and Black Eyed peas have thrived because they were the most distinctive of their counter parts.

Cooking October Beans

I cooked a pot of October beans this afternoon, adding ham hock and chopped onion as they cooked. It took a little over an hour and a half, on stove-top for the beans to become completely tender.

---

I took some beans out and used the blender on them, returning the crushed beans back to the pot.

Their cooked texture and flavor reminds me of a Pinto or maybe a Kidney bean. And, look at the dried beans above. Some are red like a Kidney bean, and the rest become a solid brownish, with a slightly white interior when cooked. The cooked flavor is somewhat reminiscent of the refried beans that you can get at Taco Bell in their bean burrito. So, I would suggest flavoring the beans not with ham hock, and maybe adding jalapenos and maybe some Southwest Seasonings. Cilantro, cumin, paprika, sour cream, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese and sweet onion, hot sauce… ***I did blend the cooked beans and they are very good “refried beans”. But, since you can buy a can of refried beans fairly cheaply, I see no need to cook them from scratch.

Cooking Speckled Butterbeans

I did not add salt to the beans, and the seasoning meat was the same as used in the other two beans, but these appeared much saltier. It may be that the bean itself has an almost “acrid” flavor which seems to have heighted the salty flavor. They are distinctive in flavor, but perhaps with a slight butterbean aftertaste… that flavor you get from the inside, mealy part of the butterbean. During cooking the beans go from speckled to a solid, deep brown color. The “pot liquor” is delicious when hot. *I think there might be some other seasoning(s) or additions (e.g. dandelion greens) or serving these beans with rice or pastry. I fixed some chicken gizzards & rice at the same time, and ended up eating both together, and the bean/rice combo worked fine.

LYNCHBURG – Quality Inn

---

Note that I brought a Bigelow Raspberry Royale tea bag with me so that I could have a hot cup of tea in the location where I first was introduced to this tea. They didn’t have assorted flavors of tea this time, just one standard tea, but it was still Bigelow.

SALEM, VA – MACADOS – PASTRAMI REUBEN (RACHEL)

I did make it to Macados in Salem, VA for lunch on Wednesday. The sandwich was pretty good, but I’m not sure if it was Thousand Island dressing or Rye bread.

---

I bought the fixings to make a Pastrami Reuben at home. Rye bread, pastrami, Swiss cheese and cheap sauerkraut from Publix. I made the Thousand Island dressing at home from a recipe that I found online some time ago. It is simple and consistently good. Basically mayo, ketchup, relish, sweet onion, and hot sauce.

I first buttered the outside of each slice of rye bread and toasted them in the oven. I then flipped them and placed a slice of Swiss cheese on each and toasted that. I put some pastrami on one slice of bread, and then put the sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing on the other slice of bread. I added some sauerkraut and a dollop of dressing on the plate beside the sandwiches. The sandwiches were good, and I was surprised at how easy the process went this time. I think it was the toasting process for the bread. I did the buttered bread and the cheese toasting both in the oven.

TUESDAY – Seal Coating the Parking Lot

On Tuesday morning they were supposed to start seal coating the parking area at my apartment. The notice said we should all be out of the lot by 7 am, but as I left there were still many cars still parked there. I called and left a message asking if they were still going ahead with the paving.

I made it to Sticks and Stones Pizza in Greensboro before noon. I think I might have been the first customer, but others came in before I was through eating and left. Several years ago I think I heard about Sticks & Stones Pizza as being one of the top three restaurants for good pizza. This is probably my 5th or 6th visit, even having a group (the UNC-G Blackboard staff) that worked with me for the FSU Blackboard System, have a “wrap up” lunch when we transitioned over to Canvas at FSU.

I took some good photos of the inside of S&S, but I am surprised that I didn’t take any photos of the pizza I ordered and ate. They have a pizza titled, “To Be the One,” a Margarita style to which I added roasted peppers and red onion. The pizza was thin crust, and it was still a good flavored pie.

---

[NOTE 08/25/24]: All sorts of notes to make about the above article:

I was at “Sticks -n- Stones” in Greensboro and had my favorite pizza, and it just wasn’t as good as I had recalled. It hadn’t been as good the previous time either, and as I am driving back home the idea comes to me that “they probably have a new chef that doesn’t know how to make those ‘really good’ artisan pizzas… I probably won’t be able to get a good one there, ever again.” So, I don’t plan on making a special trip there for another “To Be the One.”

Once again, they were repaving some problem parking areas at my apartment, and Monday, August 20th (2024) was the day I needed to move my car by 8 am and so I decided to make a quick trip to Asheville. I was wrestling with either going to Asheville or Salem, Virginia, but finally decided on Asheville. *A good choice!

I thought I could get “the second best Pastrami Reuben” from the East Village Grille, as I had back in 2017 when I had “the best Pastrami Reuben” at Macado’s in Salem, Virginia. But when I arrived in Asheville, about 5 pm Monday afternoon, the waitress said they had stopped serving Pastrami some time ago. So, I ordered their Philly Cheesesteak with ‘steak fries’ and it was a good sandwich also. I first tried “Tiger Sauce” at the East Village Grille while eating one of their Cheesesteaks. *So, another mini-tradition comes to an end. No more Pastrami Reubens at the EVG in Asheville.

While visiting Cara’s Corner at the WNC Farmers Market, I saw a new (to me) type of dried bean called “Anasazi” so I bought a small amount. They were good, but ended up tasting like a kidney bean, so now I am 4 for 4 for not finding a new bean I like from Cara’s.

I had a really good stay at a Quality Inn on Tunnel Road. An old motel, very nicely renovated and still reasonably priced. I saw two black bears crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the next morning saw a couple of wild turkeys at the edge of downtown Asheville, near the downtown tunnel.

[end NOTE]