Atlanta Underground Market - September 2012

As you may have read a couple months back, the Atlanta Nosh market has been cancelled. The organizer suddenly announced it "closure" and left many of the vendors wondering "what's next?" Luckily a former vendor has stepped up and had continued to operate a market with many of the same vendors. As a matter of fact, it is being operated as The Atlanta Underground Market, the original namesake of the original market we first started our Atlanta venture under. For more info on that check out the last post.

Our Signature Smoked Sausage

For the return to the AUM format we have switched up our approach a bit. We are doing housemade sausages and a Cured Plate. All the sausages will be served on H&F Bread Co. buns. For every market we plan to offer up our Signature Smoked Sausage. It is an all pork sausage with several spices that is smoked with an Apple and Pecan wood-blend. For the market we offer it in a simple and classic way, topped with yellow mustard and diced onion (Vidalia when in season). We will also offer these in take-away packages so you can enjoy them at home!

Something sweet: Jalepeno Jelly

Believe it or not, I've made something not meaty. I will admit I do it fairly regularly. But since this is a preserve and it's done in an artisanal way, I thought it merited being shared with you guys. I love preserving. I know it's not very manly, but it helps offset all the extra testosterone built up from my smoking and braising! In my past posts I have talked a lot about my growing up and why I like meat so much. But I haven't yet talked about my paternal grandfather, Grampa Joe. We was an airplane mechanic in the Army Air Corps, was part of The Civilian Conservation Corps under FDR's New Deal, and even later worked for the postal system with my maternal grandfather. But two of the biggest things I remember him for now, and always will, are his hobbies. He was an avid carpenter/handy man. He is the one I credit for my ability to build, fix and create. He had a huge "wood shed" with all the necessary power-tools and he was always more than happy to take me out there and show me how to do something. I would look forward to having a reason to have him teach me a different technique or use a tool I had not yet seen. I took advantage of this when ever I had the chance.

But it was his other hobby that I think most other people cherish most in their memories. He was an avid gardener. Their property on the west side of town was over an acre, and at one point it seemed that half of it was a garden. I imagine his green thumb came from his time with the CCC. These young men made our National Parks what they are today, beautiful, safe and accessible. And this definitely carried over into his later years. Unfortunately for me, I was never really into gardening or eating vegetables. I remember my cousin would come over and head straight to the tomato plants, grab one, come inside and devour it with a little salt. I preferred to use the garden as a back drop to my target practice with grampa's pellet gun he'd let me use. As he grew older the garden grew smaller and the dust in the tool shed got thicker.