Getting to Know Joe

Have been getting some great fish from Snapper Grabbers lately. Last night's black snapper was amazingly fresh and delicious. Simple preparation.

I learned a great trick from Cooks Illustrated--I should have thought of it myself, but oh well: sprinkle about 1/8th to 1/4 of a teaspoon on each filet of fish along with any spices to help it brown better in a skillet. The small amount of sugar caramelizes on the fish and adds a nice little crispness. This fish has a sprinkling of sugar and a bit of Cajun spice blend and was seared in a cast iron skillet with just a splash of olive oil and a bit of butter. Served over mashed sweet potatoes with simple steamed asparagus over that. Simple and tasty.

Wow. It has been three years. It seems forever, but also just yesterday when Mama was taken away. It somehow makes it that much harder that it is one week from her birthday. I miss her so much.

I've been going through old letters she sent (I promise not to continue to post them), and found the following one she sent me when I turned 25. It is VERY self-indulgent on my part to post, but Mama's not around to say such nice things about me anymore, so thought I'd put it out there anyway.

Here it is:

My dear Joe,

It seems impossible that you are to be 25 Saturday! How proud we were of that tiny bit of love--Dr.  Henry's "pea mite." Since then you have been my "raison d'etre." It has been our pleasure to see you mature--and with many uncompromising traits. Just thank you for being you, for showing tender love and true caring for your family. For whatever we have done, over protectiveness included, it was done in the name of love.

Have a happy birthday and please know that I love you with all my heart.

Mama

October 27

I Miss her so much. She really was such a wonderful person. If half the things in her letter to me were accurate, I'd be delighted. But it all came from having such a loving and caring family. Mama, you were the greatest!

Mama would have been 86 years old today. I miss her so much. She brought a lot of good into the world, including all 6 of us. Below is  part of a letter she wrote a few years ago just after her birthday. I wish I had inherited her letter-writing abilities (or at least took the time she always managed to find to write)...

Dear Joe,

It's 11:15 and can you believe that I have a few minutes to call my own! (It's because I've left the kitchen porch "as is" for the time being.)

It's so pretty here--the redbuds are in bloom, all the white bushes and the daffodils, plus the hyacinths are so pretty.

Billy Milstead just stood and looked around and remarked, "Everywhere you look you see pretty!" He also talked about so many pines in general everywhere else, but hardwoods surrounding us.

You want believe this, but it is now nearly two o'clock as I've had to stop at least a dozen times for some incidental thing, but for Papa it can't wait! For instance, "The mail came. Reckon my medicine is there?" A walk to the mailbox, of course I must get the scissors to clip the end of each piece of mail--mostly junk, but it must be taken care of!

I must stop now as I need to get ready to take Papa for a drive after he finishes lunch.

I love you,
Mama

February 26

Happy Birthday to the person that made me the person I am today (at least the good parts!)

May not be a big deal everywhere, but snow in Birmingham brings everything to a halt.

It was beautiful though--most snow we've seen in years!

Had to search through some old boxes for a book I needed to complete a project this afternoon. No luck with the book, of course, but did manage to come across a nice letter. Really reminded me of Mama. People do not send letters like this anymore. She managed to share a tidbit that might help me with our backyard, tell a cute story about racoons, remind me about Ms. Florence Mooring, inform me that my shoes (hastily forgotten on my previous visit) would arrive with my sister and that my niece had found a job. Oh, and she shared information about my dad. Oh, how I miss her.

Here is the letter:

Dear Joe,

Just today I went through a stock of papers and this backyard with fountain just happened to be among them. I thought you might get some ideas.

Guess what? Today I noticed some movement of the trumpet vine that remains on the side porch. Slowly, very slowly, there emerged three very small raccoons--getting off the roof onto the downspout. The mother was very patient. The coons were very cautious. I decided to call Florence and see if she could bring Ashley to see them. While I waited for them, I watched them climb down to the porch, explore everything on it, and then disappear before Ashley got here. How sad! I did fix her some cookies to take with her.

Did you hear more movement than usual when you were here? I don't know how, but I believe they've been in the attic.

Julia will bring your shoes when she comes for her doctor's appointment. I'm sure Stacy will be with her. She, too, has an appointment, I think. I understand that she has been accepted as Special Education instructor at the high school in Thomasville. She also interviewed in Grove Hill, but this will be easier for her--no travel.

I plan to go see Papa tomorrow. I went yesterday and things are about the same.

July 27

I love you,

Mama

How is it 2010? Why is time flying by so much faster than before?

These are questions I guess I'll never get a good answer to. Oh well.

January has been a good month overall--lots of things accomplished: several new websites and I'm transitioning several more over to WordPress, a blogging platform that also makes for much easier content management. I'm really excited to be learning more about it. It beats the pants of of Movable Type (which is what this site is built in), so anticipate a new look sometime in the coming months.

Single best thing we've done this month is to go see our friend Ben Burford play the Big Bopper in the Buddy Holly Experience at the Virginia Samford Theatre. He's doing a great job, as is the whole cast. It only lasts through this week, and tickets are going (or gone) fast.... Seeing him in a leopord print snuggie is worth the price of admission alone. The music is great and the acting, from a local cast, is wonderful as well. Back to work.

How has half of this month already slipped by? Seems as though I've been working constantly, but not getting enough accomplished. We've certainly been eating well, though.

One of my new favorite dishes (that I have yet to snap a photo of) is coconut shrimp with spicy basil. We've been avoiding salt pretty religiously for the past month, so I've been trying to change my cooking style. I have made this at least twice:

Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Basil Leaves

1 tablespoon canola oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 bell pepper sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
red pepper flakes to taste
1 15 ounce can light coconut milk

1 tablespoon oil
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper (I didn't use salt)
1 fresh lime, juiced and zest from half the lime
handful fresh basil leaves (cilantro also works)
handful fresh green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Heat oil. Add garlic, onion, peppers. Cook over medium heat until onion is tender (about 5-8 minutes). Add coconut milk (you may not want to add the whole can--I used about 1/2 to 2/3). Reduce heat and simmer.

Heat remaining oil in a cast iron skillet. Toss shrimp with salt and pepper and additional red pepper flakes. Add shrimp to skillet, a few at a time. Sear for 1-2 minutes per side. Add half the lime juice and stir. Remove to plate.

Add basil, green onions and remaining lime juice to coconut mixture. Increase heat, add cornstarch and shrimp. Stir and remove from heat. Serve over rice.

Wow! 2009 has been a pretty great year, overall. I've gotten to work on some fun projects, meet some interesting new people, reconnect with others and basically have a lot of fun.

Some of the projects I've spent a great deal of time on in the last few years are finally starting to show some real progress: notably the Alabama Scenic Byways Program. The 10 year anniversary of the creation of the program is this spring and we now have 10 scenic byways in our state, including the brand new nationally recognized Coastal Connection, named a National Scenic Byway in October of this year. I'm really proud to have played a small part in seeing that project move forward! (Even got interviewed on the radio about it--not a big fan of hearing my own voice, much to the shock of anyone who has been in a car with me--but it turned out to be less painful than I thought.)

Other projects include the following:

Some fun work on the Lower Cahaba River. We've installed signs in several locations pointing out the many attractions in a four county region (Bibb, Dallas, Hale and Perry Counties). A website  has been developed to highlight the attractions and to bring the many resources together into one location--www.lowercahaba.com.


I continued to work on the Alabamafrontporches.com website and some brochures to go along with it. The most exciting part of this in 2009 has been the great Ghost Stories work done by Linda Vice and some filmmakers. (I did a brochure to go along with the videos.)

And, of course, the fun trips friend Ben Burford and I went on down into the Black Belt to take photos, eat the food and see the area from the eyes of a tourist.

Christmas 2009 in Octagon. Got to see my very photogenic great niece along with my sister and her grandmother Julia.

This has been a busy year. Perhaps a look back is in order, but not today. Today, I'm putting the finishing touches on another newsletter, this one for my good friends with the Alabama Sierra Club. After more than three years of doing a newsprint, large format newsletter, we've shifted to a web only format. Cheaper, more environmentally friendly (though we did make the extra effort to find recycled newsprint) and much more flexible in terms of schedule. Take a look: http://alabama.sierraclub.org/chapternews/

I'm heading out to meet with another client, the Alabama Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects to talk about their website (considering transitioning it into a wordpress style site). Lots to do, but at least I've gotten our shopping done--oh, wait, I've still got to go to the grocery store.

Spent all day last Friday riding around and going to a variety of locations in Bibb, Hale and Perry Counties to unveil the signs for the Lower Cahaba Heritage and Recreational Corridor. Good day and a great project: www.lowercahaba.com.

Well, I must admit that, although I love to talk, I'm not sure I've ever been crazy about hearing my voice once recorded. It was with a great deal of reluctance that I went to Montgomery a couple of weeks ago and took part in a radio interview with my friends Joey Brackner of the Alabama State Council on the Arts (the instigator of this whole interview) and Colette Boehm of the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Visitors Bureau (who I worked with on Alabama's Coastal Connection--the byway that was recently named a National Scenic Byway).

Anyway, here's a link to the interview. The first half is me talking about the Alabama Scenic Byways program, what it is about and a little history. The second half is Colette talking about the Coastal Connection.


http://alabamaartsradio.blogspot.com/2009/11/alabama-arts-radio-podcast-joe-watt-and.html

Thanks to one of my sisters for sending this photo of Mama (front row second from left). Linden High School, Linden, Alabama.

I've been working on this project for several years, now. We're in the process of putting together a website, we'll be erecting several signs throughout the area and this small rack card (hopefully, several additional brochures in the next few months as well) will be distributed to rest areas and other locations. So many things to see and do in the Lower Cahaba--from the Cahaba lilies and canoeing down the river to touring Brierfield and Tannehill--and, of course, one of my favorites Old Cahwaba. Check it all out! Website should be up and working in about 3 weeks.