three boys and a thousand hills: Gotta get me some that SPOON BREAD!!!

...now, I know you don't have music in your head when you see that phrase...

But, I do...

I can hear these two college guys with guitars...

singing this anthem...that the Berea Chamber of Commerce, I'm sure, still doesn't know existed...

SPOON BREAD...gotta get me some of that...SPOON BREAD...

I won't completely set the scene...(it involved some portable potties and tents, etc.)

But I can't help but sing it when I see this

and this...

Oh...wait...

you're probably asking,

"What the heck is spoon bread?"

Well, the short answer is eggy cornbread.

The long answer is- it's the dish that Boone Tavern Hotel is the most famous for. I'm not totally sure, but it may have originated there. And, Boone Tavern is the now five-star hotel located right on Main Street in Berea. Opened in 1909, the hotel was the brainchild of the college president's wife.

And from this eggy-cornbread dish came the idea for yet another festival in Berea, Kentucky. The 14th Annual Spoon Bread Festival happened right here in my little corner of the world. And, it sentimentally marks the anniversary of my move to college from Alabama. The first Spoon Bread Festival was held just a couple weeks after I unpacked my bags here for the first time.

(side note: my family treated me: my first night ever in Berea was spent at Boone Tavern Hotel. It was also the night that Princess Di was killed in that car accident. The next day, I moved into a dorm room for the first time.)

OK...I know...

Move on...

the only semi-decent shot I managed to grab while keeping my hoodlums from hoodlumming somebody. Four adults is just not enough for three boys...

ANYWAY...

the above shot I got on Friday night. There's one shot that's missing: my mom and I walking the Spoon Bread one-mile fun walk. We came in last...dead last...behind a 3-year-old. (I took a photo to prove it: my mom walking, with the lights of the police cruiser just behind her to escort the fun-mile caboose up Chestnut Street. I don't know what happened, but the image was completely blown out!)

The other photos I got on Saturday, while boys #1, #2 and #3 were at our friends and we were out on a date.

Yep, that's exactly what you do on a date in Berea, Kentucky. You go to the Spoon Bread Festival (or one of the other 500 festivals we've got going on here) and get some spoon bread- that costs a whopping $3 a cup!

We thought that was a little steep. So today, I made my own flippin' spoon bread. I'll share the recipe pretty soon. I wanted to try it out first before I photographed the process. I must say, it was pretty good for an Alabama girl, but we are pretty darn good at cornbread.

And you don't make this stuff in an iron skillet. They have a spoon bread baker, made right here in Berea, that they sell at the Boone Tavern gift shop. (in that Tater Knob Pottery slideshow, it looks like a deep pie dish) I don't have one. I've always wanted one. I just made mine in a casserole dish. I know, can you believe I don't have pictures of it.

So we wrapped up our date night in the Sonic Drive-Thru and a little jaunt to the dollar store.

I know...we're really livin' the life!

The last date night was at our place. I love date night. Even when it's not our turn to go out on a date (and spend some big money at the dollar store).

Our friends' kids are just sooo good with our boys. The boys just love them. When it's our turn, most of the time, we just sit around while they do all the work entertaining our kids. It's kind of nice :-)

Here some scenes from a couple weeks ago.