Watts Consulting

More than you ever wanted to know about Alabama native Joe Watts

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Our Two Beach Trips

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Ann and I have been on the go the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, we went to San Destin for a work-related trip and then headed to Santa Rosa the following weekend with Ann’s mom for a short vacation planned well before we knew we were heading to Paris or to San Destin just the week before (the last trip was actually one of the items we “won” at a silent auction for Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama). Anyway, it was a great trip and very relaxing. Here’s one of the photos I took. I’m trying to use the photo I uploaded onto Flickr earlier, so we’ll see how that works:

Flower with Sand

My Friend Ben Burford’s New Book

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Friend Ben Burford’s hilarious–and painstakingly detailed–new book about Chevy 6–and a two disc music cd with loads of classics.

http://blog.al.com/aharvey/2009/10/chevy_6.html

By
Alec Harvey — The Birmingham News

Where were you the night of April 27, 1974? How about Jan. 7, 1989? Or Oct. 3, 2008?

Ben Burford can tell you where he was on those dates, plus about 2,655 others.

It’s all chronicled in “Chevy 6 – 35rpm,” a year-by-year look at the first 35 years of one of Birmingham’s most popular party bands.

Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama Newsletter Complete!

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This has been a hectic few weeks. The ALZCA newsletter is complete and off to press. Happy to have that one off my plate–though I think it turned out pretty good this time. Their big fall fundraiser is the first Saturday of November: Walking to Remember. Great way to help folks with Alzheimer’s and their families.

Anyway, here’s the newsletter:

 

Fried Green Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

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fried-green-tomatoes-1.jpgMade a surprisingly quick and tasty dinner last night.

Had a green tomato that I soaked in buttermilk before coating with a combination of Italian breadcrumbs, cornmeal and flour. I then re-dipped in buttermilk lightly and added a crust of panko breadcrumbs.

I chopped and seeded a fresh tomato (really beautiful one, at that) and combined it with a handful of chopped fresh basil, a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. (I let this sit for about an hour to develop flavor)

I added a handful of fresh arugula to a plate and drizzled it with sherry vinegar and the extraordinary Italian olive oil that our Parisian friends shared with us on our recent trip. I sliced some fresh mozzarella and added one slice to the top of the arugula.

Heated about an inch of canola oil (olive oil would be great, but didn’t have any) to high and added the green tomato slices. Cooked until nice and brown, about 8 minutes or so (turning a time or two).

Pulled out, drained briefly and immediately placed on top of the cheese. Another slice of cheese and then a final tomato slice. Topped with the chopped fresh tomatoes and basil. Very, very good!

Our Trip to Paris

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What a great time! More on the trip in the coming week, but I’ve posted some photos to flickr. Just visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/joewatts/sets/72157622180323164/. I really need to add a link to flickr on my blog. The trip was certainly fun–loads of it, to be honest, but it was also a great experiment in travel. Going to another country to experience their wayfinding techniques and fumble our way around in a country where we didn’t speak the language was a great way to gain perspective on people that might come to Alabama as tourists.

We saw lots, ate lots, walked LOTS and LOTS and took lots of photos. Between the two of us, we took 1200 photos (don’t worry, I won’t post them all!).