Entrepreneurial Doubts

29 June 2012


Doubts are strangling me at the moment! I want to start a freelance photography business, so I'm busy improving my photography skills...but I come to a standstill when I begin to think of names for my business. My last name was Knapp before marriage, so I thought the name Snap would be great...however that name has been taken. 


Now I am leaning towards "Heart Prints" for a name, but I wonder if it is too sweet. "Light Marks" or something like that could be a possibility. My business will focus on the following types of pictures:

But I also want to take pictures of young people dressed up in magical costumes. I am inspired by the website "Fairyography." The photographer takes pictures of children in woodland settings who are dressed like princesses, fairies, and pixies. I want to make the photo shoot into a fun experience, and since fairies and princesses are such girlie subjects...I'm thinking of superheroes or dinosaurs or something for boys.


So perhaps my business name should be oriented in that direction. It is just difficult to know at this time. I will have to think about it for a while.

Enchanted Rock

I recently visited Enchanted Rock, a huge granite dome that rises 425 feet above the surrounding countryside. The Tonkawa Indians believed it was enchanted because it creeks and groans as the minerals expand as they heat during the day and contract as they cool at night. It has even been called crying rock.

The rock is an exfoliation dome of PreCambrian granite, that was exposed as softer rock was eroded away. It formed as magma slowly hardened underground and formed a batholith. As the rock was exposed to the air, and weather, the granite weathered in layers which then fell away...leaving the dome-shaped formation that we call an exfoliation dome. Enchanted Rock is one of the largest in North America.

In the picture above, people who have climbed to the top appear as small dots.

Why climb a mountain?

Look, a mountain there.

I don't climb mountain.

Mountain climbs me.

Mountain is myself.

I climb on myself.

There is no mountain

nor myself.

Something

moves up and down

in the air.

Nanao Sakaki

The fascinating details make me think of Henry David Thoreau's words:

The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools,

but the gentle touches of air and

water working at their leisure

with a liberal allowance of time.

Water fills depressions in the rock, creating tiny areas for algae and insects and other small creatures.

As the rock decays into soil, plants grab a site to live...and help break down the rock.

This place inspires me because of its natural beauty...but also because of its history and its mystery.



Homage to Strangers: Littig, Texas

Tugged by the tiny sign, I made the turn to the Littig Cemetery. I pulled over and noticed that the gate was closed and chained, so I walked along the fence to see what was inside. I was curious, and looked more closely at the chain and noticed there was not lock, so I opened the gate and entered the hallowed space.

At first glance, the cemetery looked like many other small, rural Texas cemeteries, surrounded by lush blackland prairie fields. There were trash cans strategically placed around the grounds, and even a plastic chair for people to sit with their loved ones. Silk flowers decorated many of the grave sites.

I was soon drawn into the lives of many people I had not met.Take for example the Carters.

Notice the dates on their headstones. Jane was born in 1840 and Benjamon was born in 1834. The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865. Since the people in this cemetery were African Americans, Jane and Benjamon were most likely born into slavery. Maybe they moved to Littig after being freed. Littig was created when a freed slave, The town of Littig was created in 1883 on land donated by a former slave, Jackson Morrow. A railroad ran through town, so the town was named for an official of the railroad company.

According to Wikipedia, by 1900 Littig included a general store, two cotton gins, three churches, and 168 residents. There were three one-teacher schools for black students and one one-teacher school for white students.

During the 1930s, the population declined so that by 1940 the population was only 35. The population has remained about 35 since then even though it is only 18 miles east of Austin.

Charles Morrow and Marshall Johns were children during the civil war. I wonder what their lives were like, most likely born into slavery, then experiencing the war, then being freed. Maybe Charles Morrow was a son or brother of Jackson Morrow. His sophisticated headstone suggests that he was relatively prominent in the community.

The following headstones really touched my soul with their stories. Of course I can only guess what was happening as these headstones were created, but my best guess is that people wanted to make sure that their loved ones had proper headstones, and lacking money, they had to pour their love into the task of making their own headstones. 

More recently, when someone couldn't afford a headstone, more mundane solutions were found with cinder blocks and the funeral home markers.

But, perhaps the most interesting resting place is marked with blue boots. What was Sylvester Lewis like? I think the boots give us a clue.

More recently, the headstones contain pictures of the person.

By the time I left Littig Ceremony, my heart was full of affection for the Littig community and its history that I discovered through the cemetery. 

Fennel: A Mainstay of Sicilian Cooking!

Finnochio, or fennel as it is known in English, plays an important role in Sicilian cooking. Ancient Greeks and Romans knew of fennel because it grew wild in the Mediterranean basin during  their times.  The ancient Greeks called fennel "marathron"which means to grow thin and the great ancient Battle of Marathon was given its name because the field where it occurred was filled with the revered plant. According to Greek myths, knowledge was delivered to humans by the gods at Olympus in a fennel stalk filled with coal. 


The Greeks and the Romans used fennel for its medicinal and culinary properties. Roman men ate fennel to maintain good health and Roman women ate it to manage their weight. Pliny recommended the herb for "dimness of human vision" because the Romans believed that serpents sucked the plant's juices to improve their eyesight.


Fennel was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo-Saxons, and in 812 CE Charlemagne declared fennel essential in every garden for its healing properties.

Medieval Europeans hung fennel from the rafters for good luck and stuffed it in keyholes to keep ghosts and evil spirits out of their homes. They also chewed the seeds during church services to stop their stomachs from rumbling.

I decided to make a dish with fennel, zucchini, lemon, onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. I sliced the vegetables as you can see on the right, then mixed them with the olive oil. I put them in a pan and warmed them in a 300 degree oven.


Fennel is an good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, folate, and molybdenum, niacin, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. 

I heated the vegetables just enough to warm them and allow the flavors to blend.


Fennel has a sweet, mild licorice taste, and combined with the salt, pepper, onion, and citrus...the dish was quite delightful. 

My Sicilian Roots: Semolina Bread!

My blood flows with remnants of many lands, but my heart longs for Sicily. My mother's father's parents immigrated from Sicily in the early twentieth century and settled in Tampa, Florida.

Their journey fascinates me, from a craggy island rich with the remnants of ancient civilizations, across the vast Atlantic, through the crowds of Ellis Island...then finally settling near Tampa Bay. What fears did they have as they left the familiar semi-arid, rocky, volcanic land of tradition, and settled in a sandy, humid, lush land. At least both lands caressed them with a warm climate and and fertile seas.


Durum wheat, which yields semolina when milled, produces well in semi-arid regions such as Sicily. It is a hard wheat with a very high gluten content and a high ratio of protein to carbohydrate. Semolina makes pasta as well as a flour with a distinctive nutty flavor. Semolina bread, a staple in Sicily, was brought to America by the immigrants.


Recipes for Semolina bread can be found at the following:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=28217
http://www.ciaoitalia.com/mary-anns-blog/snow-bored-let-s-bake

The Omelettry: An Austin Tradition!

This weekend I met with friends at this popular Austin restaurant. We arrived for breakfast fairly early ... so we had plenty of space, but we had to left we had to navigate the crowd when we left.


The star of this unpretentious cafe is the egg.  We know that omelets were eaten during the first centuries of the common era because Apicus left us a written recipe. 

By concentrating on simple recipes and common ingredients, the owners have created a friendly gathering place for quick, inexpensive meals. The sense of humor shown in the murals delights the eyes as people wait to delight their tastebuds.


The image above shows the poor egg, captured in the frying pan as the flame licks the pan and the cruel chef looks on. Fresh vegetables view the scene from a cart and veggie-people dance around.

Perhaps the best mural is around back, where an egg is busy meditating on a mountain-top as other eggs walk along mountain roads. 

The other side of the building is the garden site, overseen by a vigilant egg in a police uniform. He looks like he has been through quite a battle, but he's persevering with strength.

Inside, an art gallery greets customers. As I walked in, a woman was walking out with an art purchase. The food was plain, but good...and the wait staff does not mind if you occupy a table for a long time. I hope sometime you have a chance to visit Austin and eat breakfast at the 

Omelettry!

Frito Pie: A Texas Tradition!

May in Texas...wildflowers scattered about, sunshine and breezes, mild days scattered among the hot ones. Sunday was one of those perfect, mild Texas days and the Texas Hill Country was gleaming after a nourishing rain...water so sacred during this time of drought!


On the porch of the historic Wimberley Cafe in Wimberley, Texas...basking in my springtime bliss...I spotted it staring up at me from the menu, a true Texas icon, the Frito Pie! I had never tried it so I ordered one, along with another Texas staple...sweet iced tea.

Soon, I was looking down at the concoction you see on the right. The "muffinette" on the right side of the bowl was made with sweet potatoes and spices. It looked safe, so I began with it as I admired the fritoes and gained enough confidence to try their chili coverlet.


The taste of the Frito Pie was actually pretty good. It is quick and easy to make...just put a layer of fritoes in a bowl, then pour canned chili over them, top it with cheese, then pop it in the oven to warm it up a bit. I was pretty impressed with my delicacy. It was a bit heavy on my stomach...but my taste buds were delighted. Of course, my taste buds are always delighted by food that punishes my body with a gazillion calories and artery clogging trans-fats! They are called my taste buds, but they are definitely not always my buddies!


This morning at work when I shared my Frito Pie story, I found out that Frito Pies are common at sports events here in Texas. The vendor opens a small bag of fritoes, then pours canned chili over the fritoes and tops it off with cheese, and maybe onions or jalapenos. You are given a small plastic spoon, and you have a simple, no muss, no fuss snack to keep your mouth and stomach happy as your favorite football team struggles in the field below.

Well, I had to see one of these snacks for myself, so I googled "Frito Pie" and found on Wikipedia this lovely image of one served in a bag. 


As I investigated further, I found out that Fritoes were "invented" in San Antonio, Texas. National Public Radio has an excellent post called "The Birth of the Frito" from 2007. It has delightful historical images of Frito advertisements, recipes, and the "Frito Fleet." You can even listen to "The Frito Twist!"