Spring's Done Sprung: Potatoes and Pawtini

Ah, that lighter feeling to the air, the buds popping up; the windows opening...is there anything better than the arrival of Spring?  Spring kicked off with one last snowstorm a week ago, but the last of that has slowly melted away. My head's devotion is somewhat divided in its devotion to this season: the creeping onslaught of allergy season has me on alert, but my mind warms with the temperatures, and with every step into a sunnier climate, Spring looks brighter every day. Speaking of said steps, we have enjoyed several lately.  The K-Man woke the grill up for the first run and we so dug that first grilled fresh salmon seasoned with Dizzy Pig's Raging River Rub that we picked up from beloved hometown store The Greenhouse. This rub is made with maple-sugar, peppercorns, lemon and orange and it makes for

seriously killer salmon. Served up with grilled asparagus dusted with lemon pepper, it made for a light and tasty welcome to the season.
Yesterday was another windy but warm Spring day and a thoroughly packed day to boot.  After a night of local theater at Paradise Playhouse where we sipped libations (Grey Goose for me; something called Big Bamboo Love for Keith...yikes), nibbled on crab salad and watched a very funny play seemingly written for me called "Bathroom Humor". We spent the night at Kiko's home in the country.  We got up the following day and helped Kiko plant the first seeds for Nature's soon-to-be-bounty.  Kiko's home is an idyllic setting where her love of animals is on abundant display throughout, including the 9 dogs running wild around the yard. A century-old barn is the stately centerpiece of the farm and the field behind the barn is where Kiko's gorgeous three horses graze.  Keith tilled the vegetable garden and I prepped some potatoes for planting including some that I called the Confounded Cook's Mutant Red Potatoes.  Yes indeed, these were the X-Men of potatoes.  Be careful spending time with me.....one could be choke on mere geekiness.  We later had  some righteous hash browns at classic Ray's diner, we hit up beloved local popcorn haven Bobkorn to check out their latest flavors.  We were first thrown by the "Umbrella Corporation" vehicle in front of Bobkorn that Kiko recognized from "Resident Evil" movies and she had that confirmed by the vehicle's driver, a new Bobcorn employee who clearly is a Resident Evil fan.  Of course, the good folks at Bobkorn, didn't disappoint with their excellent new tastes like Dill Pickle and Cherry Limeade.  They are even working on a partnership with Boulevard, and have created a wow of a new popcorn taste utilizing Boulevard's Dark Truth Stout.  There really is no stopping Bobkorn these days.

Finally, that night, it was out of the grubs and into the suit and tie for Pawtini, a benefit night out raising moolah for the Great Plains SPCA, an animal-welfare organization our friend Charlotte is part of.  The event was held at Sporting Park, home of KC's soccer team.  The Posse ladies all looked gorgeous; dressed to the nines.The theme was Vegas Vacation and there was live music and pole dancing (I'll chalk this up to the Vegas theme) and lovely young ladies resembling a cross between showgirls and roosters (crowgirls? I'll chalk that one up to the animal theme).We nibbled on offerings from various food stations meant to represent Vegas casinos such as lobster empanadas, veggie samosas and hummus, Thai noodle salad and the Elvis-inspired kickers, mini peanut butter and banana sandwiches and fried pickles.  The dessert table offered up chocolate-covered strawberries and interesting cotton candy mousse.  There was a silent and live auction where lots of money was raised as folks bid on marvelous items like farm

and field dinners with Jonathan Justus or Michael Smith and bottles of the highly-touted beverage marriage Coffee Ale, by Boulevard and the Roasterie. It was a lovely dinner made even better that the weather was so balmy we could stroll outside under the starlit sky.

Welcome back, Spring.  I have missed you so.