Concert on the Green (from LAST week...)

A sign on Quechee Main Street near The Green says, “Free concerts Every Thursday.” I presume they mean as long as The Green is green. I made myself go last week, thinking that I’d kick myself when winter rolls around and there are no more concerts and I’d have never have gone to one.   Well, I attempted to go. I don’t really have a lawn chair to take and set up by the grandstand or a Quechee friend on whose blanket to sit. I called ahead to the Parker House Inn because I’ve seen that their terrace restaurant overlooks the Green. I inquired whether there’d be an intimate table for one in time for the concert. My first clue should have been that the British-sounding  maître d’ said, “What time would that be?”  I guessed 7:00.   (It actually starts at 6:30, so I walked over at 6:45 to see if they’d seat me early. )

They sat me early, but with the restaurant music going and people talking, I could not hear any of the concert (which is actually a dude with a mic, singing James Taylor songs on his guitar. ) The view of the river however was stunning as I watched the sun set over the Vermont mountains.  The Prosecco and gazpacho were tasty and I felt elegant and hardly conspicuous reading a couple articles by myself waiting for the food to arrive. Work articles on the stochastic frontier. (Sounds like a wild west adventure you want to go on, huh? ) It’s a model for analyzing world health organizations for heterogeneity and efficiency compared to each other. They plug in things like a country’s smoking rates and obesity rates to bunches of formulas like this:

yit= α + xit′β + vit- ui

and

  LogHealth = α + β1logExp + β2logEduc + β11[(log2Educ)/2] + β22[(log2Exp)/2]

       + β12[(logEduc)(logExp)] +  vit -  uit,

Honestly, who even uses Logs anything anymore? Then they add in a factor for the money you spend on health care and rank the 191 countries studied. With a “Government Effectiveness” measure, they tell us Japan is number 1 and USA is number 22 and then I’m no smarter.   I start to read the signs on the restaurant walls.

 ________Votre Brune 'Vilfort 40' _______

_____La Biere qui Reconforte___________

  Your Brown Vilfort 40- The Beer that Comforts.

 

The only word below that I recognized from my French lessons was champignons  (mushrooms.) The kids and I had practiced ordering omelets in French when we visited Quebec a couple summers ago.  I tried to imagine what the sign possibly meant to do with mushrooms.  It looked like someone had kyped the dented metal sign out of the forest,  like  a “Trespassers Will”  sign.

 ·        

_______Ramassage de champignons_____

______________INTERDIT___________

Collecting of mushrooms - Forbidden

Departing on foot, the moon had come out over the restaurant. It is about a 2 minute walk back to my apartment where I found this nice recipe for gazpacho. All the tomatoes and cucumbers are getting ripe in everyone’s garden and Judd and I can't keep up with recipes for all the neighborly gifts.

I made a batch at home.  Kelcy said, “it’s like eating salsa with a spoon.”

Well, it’s good salsa….

Fire-Roasted Tomato Gazpacho

1 can (14.5 oz) organic fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 ½ cups tomato juice

1 small cucumber, peeled, chopped (1 cup)

1-2 big fresh tomatoes, diced

¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

(the Parker House Inn added massive chunks of Maine lobster)

·       1In food processor, place all ingredients. Cover; process with quick on-and-off motions

·       until mixture is coarsely pureed.

·       2Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors before serving.

       Serve cold with extra diced cucumbers and cilantro sprigs as garnish.