A Taste of Nova Scotia - IFWTWA Press Trip

Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture & Heritage



September 26 – October 2, 2010


Enjoy a Taste of Nova Scotia as IFWTWA explores its wonders. We’ll be traveling from Halifax, to the Bay Fundy, rafting, vineyards, Port Williams, South Shore, and Luneburg (UNESCO). Halifax via Mahone Bay and Peggy’s Cover will help you get a feel for the vibrant seaside city with its attractions and dining establishments. See itinerary for full details.

This trip is for IFWTWA members only. Please see the full itinerary and application on www.ifwtwa.org.

Maralyn D. Hill, President
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success With Writing Where & What in the World

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Traveling the Arkansas River Valley: Events Taking Place During May

The 32nd annual Altus Springtime Gala, set for May 1, is packed with activities. Sporting events associated with the gala are a 5K Run & Fun Walk and a bike tour. There will also be arts and crafts, kids' rides and attractions, flea market, music, games, 105th Army Band, Lawbreakers & Peacemakers Old West shoot out, prince and princess contests, and an antique and classic car and truck show. Phone 479-468-4191 for more information.

The 8th annual Wine Country Bike Tour on May 1 in the Arkansas River Valley offers several routes - 17 miles, 35 miles, 100K, 80 miles, and 100 miles. The tour begins and ends at Post Family Winery in Altus. Post offers participants refreshments after the rides. The entry fee is $40 with online registration and $45 the day of the event. Register at www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1794715. This event is managed by the Arkansas River Valley Circle of Friends Chapter of Arkansas Children's Hospital. All proceeds benefit ACH. Call 479-880-7193 for more information.

The CADDIS Fly Fishing Club hosts a fly-tying clinic on May 1 at the Lake Dardanelle State Park Visitor Center in Russellville. Participants will learn and practice techniques for tying flies. For more information about the club and meetings, visit their Web site atwww.caddisflyfishers.org or phone 479-967-5516.

Held on historic Main Street, the Old Timers' Days Arts & Crafts Festival on May 8-9 in Van Buren consists of more than 200 exhibitors from more than seven states. Six blocks of the downtown are closed to provide space for the event. There will also be food, entertainment, and a children's carnival. Visit www.vanburen.org or phone 479-410-3026 for additional information.

The 19th annual Atkins Picklefest is set for May 14-15 in Atkins. Festivities include pickle eating and juice drinking contests, arts and crafts booths, a tractor pull, rodeo, and parade. There will also be food vendors, including one known for its fried pickles. Admission is free. Phone 479-890-6421 for more information.

Held on the grounds of The Museum of Automobiles, the 13th annual Mustangs on the Mountain event takes place May 31 near Morrilton. All year models are accepted for this show and shine display of Mustangs. Located atop Petit Jean State Park on Petit Jean Mountain, the museum has more than 50 cars on display ranging in age from 1904 to 1967. The museum consists of 22,500 square feet of display space and a gift shop. Other auto-related collections on display are antique gas pumps and gasoline equipment, and license plates. The museum also has a small gun collection display and antique arcade machines, including a player piano. For more information, visitwww.museumofautos.com or call 479-489-5874.

Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism

One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-682-7606

E-mail: info@arkansas.com

Maralyn D. Hill, President
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success With Writing Where & What in the World

JULIE & JULIA and JEFF - A Florida Foodie's Tribute to Francochef Julia Child

JULIE & JULIA & JEFF - A Florida Foodie's Tribute to Francochef Julia Child

by Jeff Corydon

My daughter Lee and granddaughter recently spent two weeks chez nous, coming from their faraway roost in the Indian ocean island-state of Mauritius. A main purpose of the visit was to vet a few Florida college campuses where 17-year-old Camille might wind up pursuing university studies next fall. This done, they had a brief spell left to loaf with us in Tampa before their Friday departure.

On the Monday evening before D-Day, we took in the much touted film "Julie & Julia," about late, great queen of French cuisine Julia Child and her devoted fan Julie Powell. The latter had vowed, folks who saw the movie will recall, to serve up every recipe in Julia's classic French cookbook within a year, chronicling daily progress in her blog.

Like Julie, I greatly admired Julia Child--and had used her recipes for entertaining during years abroad in State Department's Foreign Service. I couldn't help being emotionally stirred by Hollywood's version of her evolution as a French chef, and Julie's busy year preparing her idol's menus as a self-imposed challenge.

After all, Julia had acquired French cooking expertise during her diplomat husband's postings in Paris and Marseilles, even as I was serving in Vietnam, Morocco and Tunisia, former territories of France, and, like her, developing a lust for Gallic fare.

So, setting the dinner table with French flavor zapped me as an ideal way to celebrate Lee's and Camille's impending sendoff to Mauritius. They, too, were both into French cooking. My daughter had married a French-Mauritian met in 1982 when visiting my wife and me in Mauritius, where I was American consul. And hadn't tiny Mauritius been a French colony for over a century before France lost it to Great Britain after the Napoleonic War? All stars seemed aligned to predestine such a banquet, meant to make their visit all the more memorable.

I found myself on Tuesday morning rummaging through my foodie files in hope of locating the right recipe for this project. The one I eventually turned up was perfect-- a yellowed Washington Post clipping of a Julia Child column from 1971 giving her classic recipe for what the headline called "Good old boeuf stew."

Of course, I realized this would be my challenge. While Boeuf Bourguignon, or Beef Burgundy, was among Julia's signature dishes, I'd never prepared it precisely as she directed. Besides, the movie had highlighted the disaster of Julie's first effort to execute this recipe of Julia Child's. After hours of prepping necessary ingredients, she was so weary she fell asleep at oven-side. When she awoke, she found her concoction cooked to a crisp--Beef Burned-gundy, so to speak. Still, I was determined to triumph where Julie had failed.

By Tuesday afternoon I was out buying a two-pound top-sirloin roast,a pound of thick-sliced bacon, beef broth, pearl onions and two bottles of 2002 Santenay red Burgundy. Once home, I spent a couple of hours trimming the sirloin of fat and gristle, cutting the meat into 1-1/2-inch cubes, and slicing 1 x 1/4-inch strips of bacon to approximate lardons French chefs use making sauces. As Julia recommended, I also put the sirloin scraps to simmering in water and spices that would add zest to my gravy.

On Wednesday I shopped again for other ingredients-- new potatoes, fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and garlic. Then back to the kitchen for chopping, slicing, peeling and other grooming of these vegetables. I also floured and browned the beef chunks in olive oil before leaving them simmering slowly in our Dutch oven with two cups each of broth and wine, tomato chunks and an herb and spice bouquet. In a bit over two hours the beef at last reached the softness I was after.

Lee, Camille and my wife were by now as excited as I about my project. When taking it on, I hadn't realized what gigantic efforts making Beef Burgundy from scratch entailed. Well, chapeau to Master Chef Julia for always managing to smile as she labored in her kitchen. I'd simply have to work longer and harder than ever before to create tomorrow's farewell dinner for four, I mused. So far it had been anything but "Child's" play-- an ironic thought which re-energized me for what I still had to do.

Final cooking and composing of my "boeuf stew" started at noon Thursday and took all afternoon. Further tasks included processing and cooking onions, carrots, and mushrooms, all separately, before stirring them in with the previously cooked beef and blessing the pot with touches of lemon juice and fine French cognac. Oh, yes, and boiling and peeling the potatoes-- a customary side dish--plus assembling the traditional accompanying salad verte with vinaigrette. After testing the sauce for strength and seasoning, and adding more splashes of broth and wine, I thought my masterpiece was ready for the taste test.

Suspense peaked as we gathered around the table. To my delight, lifting the Dutch oven's cover liberated a sensuous aroma that put everyone at ease. Before long we were digging in with passion-- most thankful that Julia Child had been so at home in her Cambridge kitchen, and willing to educate average Americans like me to feel at home on the range in French.

Lee and Camille offered warm compliments for the feast, convincing me they would long remember this special evening. So many pieces, from our personal pasts to a touted film production, and from Julia's inspiration to my dogged faith in her teaching, had combined to carry the day. This tribute to daughter and granddaughter, and to Julia Child's legacy, was a success!

Having no blog to report to, I filed this tale away in Memory Lane, ready for sharing as the future might allow. Alors, bon appetit!

2010 Travel & Words www.travelandwords.com

Save the Date! Saturday, June 26 for Travel & Words 2010 Summer Seminar

Courtyard Marriott
1515 Commerce Street
Historic downtown Tacoma, WA
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Pacific Northwest destinations, attractions, historic sites and all-season recreation are hot topics in travel publishing. In this one day seminar for freelance travel writers, journalists, photographers, editors, and travel and tourism industry professionals, participants will:

1. Attend workshops and seminars on marketing freelance articles and photography to both print and online publications in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
2. Gain timely information on changes and trends in the freelance writing world, particularly the use of social media in managing and marketing one’s brand and developing income-producing web sites related to travel writing.
3. Make valuable connections with editors and travel and tourism industry professionals who highlight Pacific NW destinations, including Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia.

Program Highlights:
- Convention and Visitors Bureau exhibitors from around the Pacific Northwest
- Regional Magazine Editors Panel addressing new trends in freelance marketing and publishing – in print and online
- Keynote Speaker
- Marketing and Social Media workshops for freelancers
- Networking session for writers, editors, CVB representatives and other travel industry professionals
- Refreshments and lunch are included

About Us
We are a group of freelance writers, journalists, editors, and travel and tourism professionals who live and work in the Pacific Northwest. For more information and planning team bios visit the About Us section of www.travelandwords.com.

Register Today!
Early Bird registration $125
After June 18th $145
At the door, June 26th $155

Register online at www.travelandwords.com or send by U.S. mail to:
Travel & Words 2010 Summer Seminar
P.O. Box 2007
Fairview, OR 97024

The Source - from Bellingham Whatcom County WA Tourism

A monthly newsletter from a proactive destination marketing organization. A great resource for travel writers, including press trips.

Taos, New Mexico: The Writer's New Haven

Writer's New Haven
This July and August, hundreds of writers from all over the US will flock to Taos to participate in dozen of seminars, workshops and retreats.... Read Here