hungry honey bees

Apiculture has always fascinated me. I find bees very intriguing, and honey is a favorite of mine.

I have a pear tree in my backyard and a few pears have been gathering on the ground around the tree. Bees, hornets, wasps and the like have been all over them. Somewhere I've read that honey bees will collect the fruit juice fromfruit they encounter.

Bob Steffes, co-founder in charge of apiary operations for Burghbees, tells me that his bees were particularly hungry this fall. Bob thinks that this season's nectar was very poor this year. He finds it unusual for his bees to go for fruit, but, whatever it takes to stock,he ponders.

As I take all of this in, and of course basing it on my limited apiculture experience, I wonder if this is only more encouragement from nature herself, to have more gardens, farms, and parks in the city.

Golden Hill Farms

Many of you have probably heard all kinds of things about the current situation with the beef that we find at the grocery store. Most of it is corn fed, and who knows what else has been fed to these poor animals. Don't get me wrong, corn is a symbol of pride in this country and it has many uses, some very delicious, but all must know, cows don't like corn!

That's probably the shortest explanation you've ever read. I'm not saying any more about that either. OK, maybe I'll say that what's killing Americans is not the amount of beef we eat (other countries eat more beef) but what's in the meat.

A cow is a herbivore and a ruminant. It likes grass. These animals eat grass and it turns into healthy delicious beef. Think of it as another miracle of nature.

I grew up on grass fed beef. I know what's good for me and my family.

There are a few grass fed beef options around the Pittsburgh area. Golden Hill Farms is, perhaps, not one of the closest. It's about an hour and a half drive northwest of Pittsburgh. Long drive, but it was a beautiful fall drive.

The farm sits on acres and acres of luscious green grass. The cows seem so happy with it, they don't even care about your presence.

Bob and Saundra Rose have owned and operated this farm for over forty years. Nicest people you'll ever meet.

Bob and I talked about cows, beef, farming in the area, cattle rotation for best grass use and much more. Bob is very proud of his cows. I learned many things about the grass fed industry. Things like, dairy farmers selling their day old Jersey/Holstein dairy calves that have been fed milk replacer, and then they are put to pasture and hay for two years. In this period of time and because these cattle don't have as much muscle mass as the beef cattle, they only weigh around seven hundred and fifty pounds. The quality of the beef is poor and at best only good for hamburger.

We went inside the house where we met Saundra.

The farm house is tastefully decorated with many of those farm items, like pickling crocks, we city folk don't know what they are for. We were told not to remove our boots when we went in. "This is a farm house," Bob said. But, trust me, everything was kept very clean.

We sat at the kitchen table and had a slice of pumpkin roll while we talked about the life at the farm. I felt like I had known the Roses for a long time. They made us feel very comfortable. The Roses are very customer oriented, and they won't let you go home with a cut of meat you don't have use for.

On our way out, cheese graters made into light fixtures edged the walkway. It is indeed a special place, this farm.

We could really tell how much they care. We'll be back.

You can contact them at:

Bob and Saundra Rose
20405 Lauderbaugh Road
Cochranton, PA 16314
(814) 425-7063 home
(814) 720-5864 cell
info@goldenhillfarms.com

Good Vietnamese food in Pittsburgh

Few months ago I had a bad experience with a Vietnamese restaurant in the Strip recommended by my friend Brian. He describes his culinary inclinations by saying "I like flavor." I don't know how or why, but this place had no flavor. The food was prepared badly and the portions were incredibly small, maybe in order to limit all the things that were so wrong about these dishes.

On a recent Saturday morning, Laura and I drove to the Strip as we often do. As we drove around looking for parking, one of the multiple places we passed by was another Vietnamese restaurant, Mỹ Ngoc. I notice its unpretentious sign every time we go to the Strip. And every time I've wondered what goes on behind that old facade, and what has to offer.

Maybe wanting to give the Pittsburgh/Vietnam connection another chance, Laura and I made Mỹ Ngoc part of our lunch plans.

Outside the restaurant, Vietnamese folks sat behind a cart. A cart like many that can be seen on the streets of Hanoi. French bread hoagies, yes, the Vietnamese make excellent french bread, but, I don't think this bread was made by them. On the other hand, the different and very interesting filling combinations for the hoagies were definitely theirs. Although they don't have as many toppings as you would find in Hanoi, we found it very appealing.

We decided not to go for the hoagie and instead we went inside the restaurant. First table of the day for lunch. Is this a good thing? We'll see.

"You sit here!" an older, smiley Vietnamese man tells us. He also informed us that he was helping today, he's retired from a "handy man" business, even though he still works at it for a few hours per week. In the same breath, and always with a sincere, almost child like smile, he shares the thought of buying this restaurant. He puts two glasses of water on the table and walks away.

We start to look at the menu. This is a long menu, but we narrow it down to a salad like dish and a noodle bowl. He takes the order back to the kitchen and we are left in a dark dinning room, only lit by the outside light and a few small lights on the walls. It's kind of romantic. We noticed an Asian man sitting motionless with a cell phone to his ear behind us. I watched him intrigued. Is it calling in an order? Why is he so quiet? I waited to hear a conversation, but he quickly blended into the decor.

We could hear the echos of our food being prepared in the kitchen.
Our smiley handy man returned to the table with our lunches. Both dishes had a simple presentation. My Tom Rang Muoi (salty shrimp) sat on a coarsely chopped bed of iceberg lettuce. Laura's Bun Ga Cari (curry chicken with rice vermicelli) had a clean curry broth, and the noddles were cooked perfectly. The shrimp came shell on. The light coating and seasoning now flavored my fingers as I peeled the shrimp.
Handy man returned with water and showed honest concern about how we felt about our food. We had nothing bad to say. We enjoyed it very much. Soon after this he was telling us how to repair a fridge. He even gave us a home made business card with his phone number and the promise of repairs for a very small fee. Afterwards I noticed that his name didn't appear on the card. I'm disappointed to this day I didn't ask him, but if I ever need an appliance repair, I'll be looking for my nameless smiley handy man's card.
I licked my fingers once more, after eating the last shrimp. We got up and paid at the front desk. Two ladies standing behind the desk and our handy man had a short discussion about how to handle our check, or that's what we thought anyhow, since our Vietnamese is not up to part. After they all seemed to agree, they gave us our change and said a warm, polite, always respectful good bye.
We walked out to a bright sunny afternoon. The taste of our great meal was in my lips and mouth. I was in need of a palate cleanser, but at the same time, I thought to myself, this place has flavor.