Ohio Wanderlust

Yesterday was the 7th annual Ramp Up Peninsula festival in Peninsula, OH. Ramps (also known as rampson or wild leeks) are a wild herb which grows in the Eastern US and Canada . They are available in the spring for a short period of time which lends to their popularity. Ramps have a rich onion and garlic flavor. Ramp Up Peninsula celebrates all things ramp with fresh ramps for sale, all sorts of ramp edibles, and presentations on CSAs and other wild Ohio edibles. The festival is outdoors and takes place along Main Street in Peninsula. This was our first time attending but throughout the day we heard from many regular attendees who were surprised about the nice weather (apparently this weekend is typically rainy and cold). The first thing we did was seek out ramps, all ramps at the festival are sold at $16 per pound, for several recipes to make this week. Check out Vegetarian and Cooking  later this week to see how we used our ramps. I'm hoping to make three to four recipes...

It's finally here! Cleveland's first cat cafe. Affogato opened on January 2nd and we made reservations for January 5th. Since our visit last week they have already made adjustments to the space (profile boards for each of the cats), have already celebrated some adoptions, and added new cats. Affogato is located in Tremont and occupies Lilly's Handmade Chocolate's former building. While walk-ins are welcome if there is availability, but at this time making a reservation online is probably the best way to ensure that you will have a spot. When we first arrived we selected coffee from their cat themed menu. Dave had a Tuxedo Cat (mocha) and I had a Catpawccino (with flavoring). And we ordered two macarons. You are able to bring coffee into the cat lounge and if your reservation starts before your coffee is ready your order will be delivered to you. Your reservation will get you one hour in the cat lounge and costs $12 for a weekend reservation. We enjoyed the styl...

Happy New Year! We spent the first weekend of 2019 enjoying the variety of things to do in our area. Friday night was devoted to attending First Friday in Canton, every first Friday of the month has a theme and January is typically Fire & Ice. First Friday is free and designated stops are clearly marked (you can also find this information on the Canton First Friday website). The weather on Friday was pretty good and our group arrived in downtown Canton around 7:00 PM and easily found street parking. Due to the DORA (designated outdoor refreshment area) in Downtown Canton we headed over to Basil to pick-up drinks. DORA allows you to purchase alcoholic beverages from participating establishments in a special cup and then walk around outside with them. It was the perfect addition to our First Friday and every restaurant we stopped at downtown was packed. There were still a few ice sculptors working when we arrived downtown but for the most part our night was spent walking ...

Last week we got a sneak peek of Stan Hywet's 2018 Deck the Hall. It's always a treat to visit Stan Hywet and extra special this year since we were married there in September 2017. The snow we received last Thursday added some holiday magic to the decorations around the hall and gardens although it was a bit chilly while we were walking around. If you visit, remember that you'll be walking through the grounds so you will need to wear good footwear and dress warm. Deck the Hall runs on Select Nights Only: November 23-25, 29-30, December 1-2, 6-9, 13-23, 26-30, 2018 Tickets vary in price depending on the day -- all of the rates can be found  here . This blog certainly doesn't capture everything that Deck the Hall has to offer and is merely meant to give a preview. We've attended Deck the Hall with out of town guests in past years and had a great time. The children's play area is turned into Gingerbread land for the event so between the lights and the pla...