GAL Magazine - Business

Business

Star in Your Own Personalized Romance Novel

Written by Katherine M. Newbern

Newbern
I get to write about love with the man I love in a business that’s all
about promoting love. What could be a better job description?

When Fletcher and I started this business on the kitchen table of our
Manteo, NC, condo back in 1992, we had no idea where it would take us.
We did know it was a killer idea, and that we’d kick ourselves later
if we didn’t jump on it only to discover someone else had.

I’ve had some really great jobs - The Chapel Hill Newspaper, Duke
University News Service, The Charlotte Observer, public information
for Public Schools of North Carolina. But I’ve got to tell you, the
best possible job is working alongside my husband sharing the creative
process.

We’ve managed to combine two fields we love - writing and travel.

To paraphrase a favorite Thoreau quote: “Live the life you have imagined.” Except, quite honestly, even I never imagined my life would turn out this way - and I’ve got quite the imagination!

Because of my journalism background - and Fletcher’s own writing background - we also have, for the past 14 years, traveled the world on assignment as freelance travel writers, visiting places like Egypt, Tahiti, Barcelona, Fiji, London, Paris, Patagonia, Belize. In fact, this year alone, we've explored China - yes, we climbed the Great Wall - the Maldives, Dubai, the Baltic including St. Petersburg, Russia, and next are heading to the last continent we need to see: Antarctica.

That truly is a dream life for a girl from Hertford, NC. Yes, I started my journalism career as a writer, then editor of The Perquimans Weekly.

South Texas Restaurants Rely on Native Foodstuffs

Written by Greg Melikov

OST Restaurant

Long before immigrants set foot in the New World, civilizations nurtured themselves off the bounty of the land. Later they taught settlers to plant the holy trinity of Native American cuisine -- corn, beans and squash.

Those foods retain their importance today, especially in the Southwest, where tortillas and pinto beans dominate menus. Such cuisine may well qualify as the oldest U.S. regional style.

Prior to 1845 when the Spanish began to relinquish control, the entire area was part of Mexico. Not surprisingly, its contemporary cuisine bears a strong family resemblance to Mexican food. It still draws heavily on native foodstuffs, in particular corn, beans and chilies.

The word “chili” is Aztec in origin as are “guacamole” and “tomato.” Corn tortillas remain the essential Southwestern breadstuff. Pinto beans, stewed or refried, are a key source of protein. Tamales are festive food on both sides of the border and spicy salsas add zest to the meals.

JB’s Smokeshack is right on ‘que

Written by Kristin Hackler

From the road, the building looked closed. A large white sign with a pink-nosed pig indicated that we were parked in front of JB’s Smokeshack and a homemade wooden sign in the window read “open”, but I still had my doubts. Restaurants like this can go one of two ways; either the food is awful that they’re about to fold, so the company decided not to put any money into redecorating or the food was so good, that the business felt no need to bring in more customers by over decorating the front. Any worries that JB’s was the first of the two quickly dissipated when the first waft of smoky barbeque hit my nostrils. Mouth watering, I and my restaurant hunting companion practically ran through the sighing screen door to meet our meaty fate; the world-renown masterpiece barbeque of JB’s Smokeshack.

The first indication that we were in for a treat should have been the company’s motto painted across the sign in the parking lot, repeated again in another hand painted sign tacked to the side of the building, “The flavor’s in the meat, the sauce is on the side”. However, it took me until I actually saw JB himself cutting a block of cheddar into a bowl of steaming elbow macaroni to realize that this was a barbeque shack a cut or two above the rest.

Kidding Around at Jeremiah Farm

Written by Kristin Hackler

An asparagus growing looks just like an asparagus on your plate. Maybe that’s ignorant of me to say, maybe everyone knows that asparagus looks just like it does at the grocery store when it’s growing out of the ground, but, urbanite city dweller that I am, I was quite surprised.

“It looks like someone took an asparagus spear and stuck it in the ground,” I said to Casey Price, the owner of Jeremiah Farms whose vegetable patch I was standing in. She gave me an indulgent nod and, reaching down, snapped one off at the base and held it out to me. “Eat it,” she said, “I’ll bet you’ve never had an asparagus as good as this one.” Having never eaten an asparagus without it first being drenched in garlic butter and grilled, I was a little hesitant. “Aren’t they bitter?” I asked, but she just shook her head and gestured for me to take a bite; It was amazing. Sweet and crunchy, that first little nibble turned into two bites and the spear was gone. “How much for a bunch?” I asked and Casey just laughed.

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