Team Hammock

Hot Diggity Dog

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:05:08 -0600

On a sunny early-March Friday morning, we looked out the office window and saw the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile parked across the street (see previous post). By the time we made it downstairs, the wienermobile was back on the highway. So a group of us did the next best thing: We went to Nashville's Hot Diggity Dogs for lunch. Yum. Here's a Flickr set of photos from the hot dog day.

Wienermobile Sighting

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:49:20 -0600

Wienermobile sighting across from Hammock today. Lunch may be wurst.

If We Were Academy Award Voters...Hammock's Oscar Picks

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:04:23 -0600

With the Oscars on tap for Sunday, March 7, we asked Team Hammock members to give us their picks for best picture of 2009. In an apparent grab for bigger ratings and louder buzz (if that is even possible), the Academy Award pool expanded to 10 nominees this year. More Hollywood manipulation? Maybe. But the blend of huge, popular movies and smaller, niche films makes the prognosticating a lot more fun.

Our "Strategem" Missed the Mark

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:17:58 -0600

Although Hammock's spellers gave it a valiant effort, their hopes of winning the Nashville Area Literacy Council's Spelling Bee for the third time were done in by the word "stratagem," which the team missed by spelling it as "strategem." The error eliminated Team Hammock just shy of the final four teams, who had to tackle words such as "fermata" and "triskaidekaphobia."

Hammock Inc. Prepares for Spelling Bee

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:02:04 -0600

Team Hammock is preparing to compete in the Nashville Adult Literacy Council 16th Annual Spelling Bee Sept. 22. This year's theme is "music" to our ears, and everyone at Hammock Inc. wishes them the best of luck! I sat down with Megan P., Bill and Emily for a couple of minutes today to get their thoughts on the event. Note to self: Get a tripod.

Winding Down: Turning Your Summer Garden into a Winter Harvest

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:39:08 -0600

Summer gardening season is winding down, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy fresh produce through the winter, too. It's not too late to start planting your winter vegetable seeds (although, if you plan to garden this winter, you better jump on it quickly). Leafy greens, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, broccoli and cauliflower can all be planted now and harvested later this fall.

Don't Be Rotten: Attend the East Nashville Tomato Art Fest

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:21:44 -0600

If you enjoy celebrating local food -- certainly my favorite local food, by the way -- then mark your calendar for Saturday, Aug. 8 for the East Nashville Tomato Art Fest. (July 31 is the deadline to submit your tomato haikus -- see below for details.) So what exactly does one do at a tomato festival? Well, first off, don't expect it to be like La Tomatina, that gigantic tomato food fight that takes place in Spain every year. We have too much love and respect for the tomato to use them as projectiles.

Food and Film: Two Great Tastes

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:40:50 -0600

Ok, fine. So I don't have a garden like my green thumb colleagues, but I do love food. And film. That's why I feel it is my duty as a responsible food eater/film goer to point all of our Nashville area friends to The Belcourt's Food on Film Week June 26-July 2. The independent movie theatre is showing four new award-winning food-themed documentaries, including Food, Inc. (I hear you should eat before seeing this film; you won't want to after it's over!) See you in the aisles...probably with healthy snacks to share!

Fresh Sugar Snap Peas with Walnuts

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:57:35 -0600

'Tis the season for peas, so lately my weekly CSA shipment has been jam-packed with snap peas in addition to broccoli, cauliflower, peaches, lettuce and basil. Tired of snacking on raw snap peas before dinner, last night I started hunting around for a new recipe that would help me make good use of the peas. This is what I found:

Fresh Peach and Blueberry Crisp

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:43:43 -0600

You know that many members of Team Hammock are becoming locavores this season. We're shopping local farmers' markets, enjoying a bounty of produce delivered right to our front doors through CSAs, and growing a plethora of veggies and herbs in our own backyards. During a recent visit to the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market in Austin, Texas, I picked up some of the first summertime Texas peaches of the season. Juicy and sweet, they were just begging to be eaten in any form or fashion. I grilled a few, ate a few straight out of my hand, and turned a few into a yummy peach and blueberry crisp.

From My Kitchen to Yours: CSA Recipes

Wed, 20 May 2009 12:50:11 -0600

Eating locally sounds appealing, but it's not always easy to do. Especially when, like me, your CSA has produced nothing but lettuce for three weeks straight. Lots and lots of lettuce. Last year I discovered that if I didn't have tons of flavorful recipes on hand to use with my produce shipment, I'd start giving away everything I had once I got sick of it.

Ready, Set, Go: Country Music Marathon Is Here

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:34:59 -0600

Well, tomorrow's the big day. It's going to be an unseasonable 86 degrees for the Country Music Half Marathon, which my husband and I are running. It's going to be rough, so if you're out watching tomorrow, yell at me (and wish me luck). But I won't need too much luck. To prepare, I've been singing "Eye of the Tiger" to myself for about the last week. I think it's working. Tonight, I'll probably watch "Rocky." I'll check back in on Monday to let you know how it went. To all of you fellow Country Music Marathon (and Half Marathon) participants out there, good luck! UPDATE (Monday, April 27): I crossed the finish line! It wasn't pretty, but I finished. It was a very pretty day, but one that would have been better spent by the pool (and not running around Nashville). Here's hoping for mostly cloudy with a slight drizzle on April 24, 2010!

Start Thinking Local Food

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:58:35 -0600

We'll be sharing several "food diaries" here this summer.
Here is Rex's from 2006.

When we're not out running, TeamHammock is all into food. And we're especially into food that is part of the locavore movement. What's locavore? Well, for one thing it's a word so cool that the New Oxford American Dictionary selected it the 2007 "word of the year." To quote the word watchers:

"The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers' markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better."

Exciting News for Country Music Marathon Participants (and Fans)

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:28:40 -0600

With exactly 33 days until the Country Music Half Marathon and a long run of only seven miles under my belt, I need to start focusing on things other than how in the world I'm going to perform on April 25. That's why I got super excited when a course change was announced last week. Let's just say there will be a portion of the race where I'll be two-stepping, instead of running. That's right, this year we're going down Lower Broadway, past all the honky tonks! Anyone who's driven down Lower Broad in the daylight knows that the honky tonks blast music all hours of the day, so I can only imagine what they'll do when 45,000 people run, walk or two-step down the street. Race organizers say in addition to making the course more interesting and scenic, the change will help alleviate some of the congestion on the course up ahead. And I think it will probably bring out more spectators, as well.

Music We Can Move To

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:28:22 -0600

With less than seven weeks to go until the Country Music Half Marathon that Jamie, John and I are running (and probably walking for at least a few minutes), it's the perfect time to reflect on what motivates us to take that next step on a training run or finish our early-morning walks (and by our, I mean Kerri Davis'). For most of us, it's music. Here's what's on our iPods: