Exploring North Carolina with KathieyV

July 26, 2018, is Watermelon Day at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh North Carolina.  I love watermelon and the farmers market so I decided to go.  According to the flyer, the event would include a "Largest Watermelon" contest with cash prizes, free watermelon slices, and recipes, and the NC Watermelon Queen would even be there.  First off I stopped to enjoy the free watermelon slices that were being handed out to the visitors. The watermelon was sweet and delicious. I decided to do an informal survey.  I was curious as to who likes to put salt on their watermelon.  Everyone I asked said they enjoyed salt on their watermelon.  I do too.  I wonder if that is a southern thing.  My dad was from TN and loved salt on his watermelon.  My mom was from PA, and she found the idea disgusting.  I found a quote on Baking Bites as to why some of us like salt on our watermelon.   "Salt makes watermelon taste sweeter by creating...

My first experience with  La Farm Bakery  in Cary NC was several years ago.  My daughters decided to take me to La Farm for a Mother's Day adventure. Here is a review of our experience. We drove up to the parking lot and it was packed. A full parking lot is always a good sign.  The bakery is lovely.  It has a welcoming rustic feel. They provide indoor and outdoor seating. Everything looked so good.... Here is a quote from their website "The La Farm Family welcomes you into our shop and into our kitchen,  where we take pleasure in sharing our recipes and our secrets.  Watch us in forming dough, toasting granola, decorating tarte aux fraises.  Then taste our artisan breads, tarts, pastries, sandwiches and  specialty products and experience the taste hundreds of years of French cuisine." You walk up and order your selections at the counter and then they bring the food to your table. Just what is B...

Guess what I received for my birthday?  A wonderful gift from my daughters.  They bought tickets to a   Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tour. Here is a description from their website, Welcome to Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours! Come experience North Carolina’s best restaurants and food shops in the most unique way. Go behind the scenes to chat with chefs and artisans, and enjoy their delicious food. What better way to get to know Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill/ Carrboro, Hillsborough, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Charlotte, and Asheville than on a walking food tour? Join us for the tastiest tours in North Carolina!  We decided to take the Hillsborough tour.  I was so excited to go on my first ever food tour. We met our tour guide,  Jessica , at the entrance of Saratoga Grill. FYI: Jessica is the perfect host, she was great company plus well informed about the venues and the history of the area.  Although Saratoga Gill was not p...

ZenFish Poke Bar 9924 Chapel Hill Road Morrisville, NC  27560 Their Moto is "Guilt-Free, Healthy, Fast-Casual Dining" ZenFish "And when we say  good , we mean our ingredients are sourced from local farmers  as much as possible and everything we use is compostable -  so you can feel great about what you're eating."  ZenFish First off what is a poke bowl?  It would be a good thing to get the pronunciation right.  It looked like poke, so that is what I said: "Poke."  The correct way to say the word is "POH-keh." I looked up the  definition and here is what Wikipedia had to say... Poke  (Hawaiian for "to section" or "to slice or cut") is a raw fish salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine, and sometimes as a main course. ... Increasingly popular ahi  poke  is generally made with yellowfin tuna." At ZenFish they do have raw protein options and they have many cooked options as well....