Categories
savannah

Gratitude Circle: A Weekly Place Of Grace

savannah square gratitude circle

GRATITUDE turns what we ALREADY have into ENOUGH.
-Melody Beattie

Joanne Morton is the founder of the weekly Gratitude Circle here in Savannah. Every Wednesday at noon, Joanne gathers people at one of the 22 public squares in Savannah, form a circle and say what they are grateful for. Some gratitude statements are about family and friends; some are about nature and art. There is no competition. Every gratitude is equal in the circle, just as every person. On October 7th, Gratitude Circle will be celebrating its 100th consecutive week. I have been living in Savannah less than three months, and I go to it every Wednesday. Gratitude Circle is a weekly meditation of the abundance we all have.

Categories
art savannah

Andre 3000’s Exhibit at SCAD Museum of Art

Nerves of Still

Children Of The Cornbread

I have been a fan of the hip hop group  Outkast for over twenty years, ever since I heard  “Player’s Ball”.  Songs like “Rosa Parks” and “Bombs over Baghdad” are my favorites. When the double album Speakerboxx/The Love Below came out, I listened more to ‘The Love Below’ which is Andre 3000‘s side of the double album. So I was really excited to see his exhibition, “I Feel Ya” at the SCAD Museum of Art.  Andre Benjamin created black jumpsuits with poetic, quotable phrases that speak to his experience and his Southernerness.  I was reminded of what he said when Outkast won Best New Rap Group at The Source Awards in 1995, “The South got somethin’ to say.”  Coincidentally, The Bitter Southerner is now selling T-shirts, The South Got To Something To Say.

Check out my album of photos from the exhibit on Flickr. The exhibit is at SCAD Museum of Art until September 13th.

Categories
business savannah

Maven Makers: A Place To Create, Make and Play

Tim and Ty of Maven Makers

 

Maven Makers  is a new maker space that will open this month at Creators’ Foundry.  Founders Tim Cone and Ty Donaldson are encouraging the residents of Savannah to create, make and play. Maven Makers will have a professional wood shop as well as other tools to make things. They will offer classes to instruct people how to use tools properly and safely.  Equipment usage is granted to those who have been through all equipment training classes meaning they have access to all the equipment in the shop.  Membership levels start at $75/month.

I wrote about Maven Makers in the July issue of Well FED Savannah.

Maven Makers was one of the thirteen teams who competed in the 2nd Annual Mattress Dash on Sunday, October 18th.  The Mattress Dash is a fun fundraiser that supports green initiatives in Savannah.

 

 

Categories
food restaurants savannah

Trout Bruschetta At The Florence

Trout Bruschetta

The Florence, a restaurant owned by noted chef Hugh Acheson, is part of the cuisine scene in Savannah.  The Florence has been open a year and it is a go-to restaurant in the artsy Starland area of Savannah. I am on a budget, so I can’t afford a full meal there. However, I did order the trout bruschetta which was generous and delicious.

The trout bruschetta had radicchio and a tiny potato chip on top. It reminded me of the brandade I would have at Sidecar, a  restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  The trout bruschetta also reminded me of the  brandade-inspired casserole that I judged at  Emily Farris’ 5th Annual Casserole Cook-off.  I am not sure if it was trout or cod in the casserole, but it potatoes, onions and cheese.

Inspired by the trout bruschetta and memories of brandade, I made a salmon casserole.  I cooked new potatoes with Vidalia onions and shallots in butter in a large ramekin.  Then I added heavy cream and parmesan to the vegetables and let roast for about 30 minutes. Lastly, I drained one can of salmon and dumped the salmon on top of the cheesy veggies and stirred with a spoon to be well combined. Then I put back in the oven for 15 minutes.  It was delicious. I could have added more cheese. Next time, I would also add capers.

 

Categories
food home cooking savannah

Home Cooking: Rustic Sweet Potato Thai Mash

Sweet Potato Thai Mash

What to do with my Local Farm Bag bounty is a cooking challenge that I will gladly accept. This week I got a couple of sweet potatoes and decided to make something savory with one of them.

I love Thai food, but now that I am allergic to peanuts, I try to steer clear of dishes like pad thai. My pantry staples are garlic, coconut milk and ginger. Plus it just so happens that I got some fresh cilantro from the Farmers’ Market.

All the ingredients for Rustic Sweet Potato Thai Mash were right in front of me. I never made this dish before but I knew all the flavors would come together. [Note: This recipe is for one person or two servings. Double the recipe for more people/servings.]

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp of coconut milk
1/2 of garlic clove
A couple of sprigs of fresh cilantro
A little of freshly grated ginger
dash of black pepper
dash of salt

Instructions:
Peel one medium sized sweet potato and chop into chunks. Put in a sauce pan and cover with water. Boil potato until soft. Drain water. Place potato chunks in a bowl. Use the same pan to cook chopped shallot, garlic, cilantro and coconut milk. Add the chopped potato back into the sauce pan and use a wooden spoon to stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash the potato with the spoon, but not too much. The goal is to make them look a little rustic. Enjoy!

Categories
food

Local Savannah Artisan: PERC Coffee

PERC Coffee is a local, Savannah-based roaster. Last Saturday, they opened up their office to the public.  Every Saturday morning, you can stop in and get a caffeinated start to your day. Saturday retail hours will be from 10AM to 2PM. Philip Brown is the founder of Perc Coffee and started the business in 2010. Now, PERC is available locally at Foxy Loxy and Coffee Fox as well as Whole Foods.

One of the unique products that PERC Coffee sells is their Nitro Cold Brew. Cold Brew has a lower acidity than regular iced coffee, and it’s great to drink in the summer.  PERC has taken cold brew up a few notches with nitrogenated cold brew. It’s cold brew that is served on tap, and it looks like beer.

If you are a coffee enthusiast, you may have heard of Craft Coffee. Craft Coffee is a subscription service where you get different coffees delivered to you each month.  I met Michael Horn, the founder of Craft Coffee years ago when I lived in New York. PERC Coffee is one of the coffee roasters that is available through Craft Coffee.

Categories
business

Creators Foundry

Creators Foundry

The Creative Coast, an organization and workspace for creative and tech start-up businesses in Savannah, opened Creators’ Foundry last fall. Creators’ Foundry is a HIVE, “a home for innovators, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs”. As a newcomer to Savannah, I would describe Creators Foundry is as an entrepreneur space and event venue. It is located on West Boundary in an old railroad building and conveniently near Georgia State Railroad Museum.

On Wednesday mornings,  1 Million Cups happens at Creators Foundry. 1 Million Cups is a weekly gathering where local people present an idea or business.  1 Million Cups is kinda like a cross between Pecha Kucha and the New York Tech Meetup. People their pitch ideas and afterwards, there’s a question and answer session. Some of the presentations for projects that are going to be crowdfunded and some of the presentations are about marketing or expanding existing businesses and getting feedback from the audience.

This fall, the Creative Coast will host GeekEnd, a conference for creatives,  entrepreneurs, gamers, techies and the like. The event will be October 15-17th.

Categories
people savannah

ManiFest

ManiFest

Savannah is a city where an event can spontaneously erupt. There are twenty-two public squares and several public parks, so there are a lot of open areas for people to gather. It is also a place where people organize and people of diverse backgrounds come together. Matthew Duplessie planned and organized ManiFest, a holistic event, at Morrell Park which is never River Street. It was an afternoon where people came together for storytelling, music, yoga, gratitude circle and more.

Categories
savannah urban gardens

Metro Star Urban Garden

Metro Star Urban Garden

Located near the Starland District, the Metro Star Urban Garden is a small garden on 38th Street and Howard. It is one of the urban gardens that is part of the Savannah Urban Garden Alliance (SUGA). SUGA is a group that connects and educates fellow gardeners in the Savannah area.

Categories
food restaurants

Burger At Betty Bombers

betty bombers burger

Betty Bombers is an all-American restaurant located in the back of the historic American Legion Post 135 which is on Bull Street. The burgers are delicious.  I ordered a hamburger with blue cheese and had buffalo wing sauce as the dip for my French fries, so it was like having the flavor of Buffalo wings without the chicken or the celery.