When people find out I’ve lived in so many places, without fail, they ask, “What’s your favorite?” But “favorite” doesn’t really matter, even if I had one… which I don’t. They all have their merit, and I had my reasons for leaving each of them or sticking around for a while. I could love the scenery, but the cost of living is unrealistic. I could love the culture and opportunity for outdoor adventure, but it’s far from family and friends. Opportunity for community and meeting people is another factor, along with whether I like the rural or urban area or am willing to put up with the weather. No place is perfect, nor does it check all my metaphorical boxes for an “ideal place to live.” But over the years, I tried to live by the words of Chris, John Corbett’s character in Northern Exposure. (I had a phase where I thought I would go to Alaska, but I went to SC instead.) “It’s not about how long you stay in a place; it’s about what you do while you’re there. And when you go, is that place any better for you having been there?” I never went to any place thinking that I’d only be there for a short while. Even with FoodCorps, when I had a term limit, I knew I could like the area well enough to decide to get a full-time job and stay. I didn’t know what would happen, so I wanted to go to each place with an open mind, hoping to give as much to the area as I got from it. But I did move to and from six different states for a reason. So even though I don’t have a favorite, I do have plusses and minus to share.
When I first left Oklahoma in 2012 to go to South Carolina, as I described in “Quality Time with Mom,” I was “part way running from, and part way running to.” I needed a change from Oklahoma. South Carolina had new people, diverse geography (beaches and rolling hills/ mountains near North Carolina), culture, and history. It was also a comfort that I was close to family in Georgia. However, my time in South Carolina wasn’t always easy, and I thought about moving sooner but stuck it out longer. Then, after three years of teaching, I needed a change. The giant bugs (Palmetto bug, anyone?), humidity, distance from home, and my desire to change careers led me to a needed location change.
I visited Colorado for the second time the summer before I knew I’d be moving there. (Two friends and I visited a small mountain town for my 27th birthday, and I climbed my first “fourteener.”) Then, in the spring of 2015, I started looking for jobs at Christian camps, and Colorado was a natural choice. I wanted to go somewhere with less humidity; mountains and snow were a plus, and even though it was 11 hours away from home, it was closer than the 16 hours to North Charleston. 😅 I loved Colorado. I have since been back once after moving from there, and I have another trip planned in November for a reunion at the camp where I worked. The people were fun and welcoming - co-workers at camp, friendly faces in town, and urban “granola” types I’d encounter in the Springs, Denver, or Boulder. I signed on as a camp intern for 15 months. However, during my time there, the camp was bought by a larger organization. Thinking I wanted to stay around longer, I applied for and accepted a full-time position. But, into the summer, I knew I wanted more culinarily than the camp could offer me. Over my 1.5 years at camp, I saved money while working and living on camp property. Because of that, I pulled out my childhood dream of being a “cake decorator” from the back of my mind and started looking into culinary trade schools. Thankfully, I found one where I could start in the spring semester instead of waiting until the following fall because I was ready to leave. Other than snow in May and June - truthfully… it snowed two feet both times! - Colorado, as a whole, was great.
There could be snow piled high, but my co-workers and I would work outside in t-shirts in the afternoon because the sun was shining and temperatures warmed up. There was easy hiking access out of our backyard living on the Rainbow Trail in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and I learned how to bake at 9,000 feet! I cannot comment on the cost of living since I never researched living off camp property, and even if I had, the market has changed in the seven years since. One frustrating thing about living in Colorado was how long it took to heal. During my first fall, I got a cold, as one does living around other people, and developed a sinus infection that progressed into bronchitis. I was coughing from October through December! I’m convinced I only healed or healed as “quickly” as I did because I went back to Oklahoma for Christmas, so I was below 8,000 feet for an extended period.
After Colorado, I made my way back through Oklahoma to Arkansas to go to Brightwater Culinary School. I looked at schools closer to my parents so I could save money while paying for school by living at home. However, Brightwater had the best program in the area that allowed me to start mid-year in January, so I would be moving two hours away.
Northwest Arkansas is culturally diverse (i.e. not only chicken farms) with world-class restaurants and museums. While I came to Arkansas without any plans for the future, just looking forward to learning all I could at school, in the back of my mind, I didn’t think I would be staying past graduation. The state served its purpose for me at the time, and nothing came up that was a reason for me to stay. So when the opportunity to serve with FoodCorps in the northeast presented itself, I took it with wanderlust excitement that I had come to know like an old friend.
As described previously, Connecticut was the northeast adventure I wanted. While I had visited the Boston area, even driving up to Maine, the year prior on a trip for my 30th birthday, living in the region would give me the more rounded experience I wanted. I get to know the area better and can enjoy more of what each season has to offer by planting roots, even if they’re temporary ones. Since my friend and I didn’t stop in Connecticut, my knowledge of the state was from YouTube travel videos and wisdom shared by current FoodCorps service members. Real-world Connecticut was foreign to me. (I say “real-world” because Gilmore Girls and any TV show or movie set at Yale University show a “Hollywood” version of the city and state.) The real Connecticut was full of fast and loose drivers who quickly became impatient when I only went the speed limit or five over. I had to learn that a green light did not mean “Go,” it meant, “Wait for the next three to four cars to run their red light so you don’t get in an accident even though it’s your turn.” (No exaggeration. Every time.) I did love that places were so close together, and I could drive through multiple states in one day. One Saturday, I drove across the border just to go to a New York bagel bakery, then I explored further by driving to West Point (no random visitors allowed).
I loved that northeast cities are melting pots of culture represented through people, arts, and food. There was always something to do or see. I wish I had taken more advantage of the museums while I was there. And I know I didn’t eat enough of the local cuisines. But, I do know that everyone has their own opinion on the best pizza, which I’ll share more about in the future. Another aspect unique to the Northeast is the accents. I don’t know that I ever became used to different peoples’ accents. New Haven accents are different from other parts of Connecticut. Connecticut is different from Massachusetts, which is different from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. People had a way of talking that I couldn’t (or didn’t want to) imitate, but I became used to hearing it so much that I missed it when I left. A downside of the area, though, (besides feeling like I may die on one of those highways) was the cold and snow. Out of the city, the snow is beautiful and picturesque - a Hallmark movie set in New England come to life. But in the city, the snow is a gross nuisance. Once it hits the street, it becomes dirty sludge that will pile up and fill parking lots when plowed. Drivers don’t slow down in inclement weather, either, so when schools and businesses did close, it was a favor to us all since fewer people were on the roads. When it was time to decide what to do next, as my first term with FoodCorps was nearing an end, I looked into working at a bed and breakfast. That was my plan during culinary school before venturing into the world of FoodCorps. I frequently browsed a B&B job listing website, and I even had a phone interview with one B&B in Pennsylvania. But, a lot of the advertisers were either looking for someone with in-keeper experience (my stint at the camp in Colorado did not qualify), or they were looking for a couple that could fill multiple roles. At that time, I wasn’t serious enough to continue pursuing that path. When I browsed the FoodCorps listings and saw Montana available, I thought I’d give my original dream destination a shot. I knew that working at a B&B could always be a retirement gig, but teaching and working with kids is a “now” thing… something I didn’t want to have to come back to for a third time down the road. I was given that passion/ desire/ gift, whatever it was, for a reason, so I should continue pursuing it. The Northeast was fun, but my sights were now set out west. I’d have to come back to explore more another time.
I didn’t know that Montana would be my last nomadic location for a while (never say, never). Although I hadn’t visited the state before moving there, that wasn’t the first time I moved somewhere blind. I always researched ahead of time and talked to people who lived there currently, but I still had surprises in store. The vibe was similar but different from Colorado. There is more open space in Montana since 60% of the state is open grasslands. Additionally, once a person gets out of trendier populated cities like Bozeman, Missoula, and Great Falls, the people are less granola and more salt-of-the-earth ranch-types. In Livingston, the town where I lived, the people were a good mix of both. As much as Montana had going for it - great people, beautiful scenery, fun adventure - some less desirable factors helped me to decide to move elsewhere. One factor that helped me decide to move was the fact that the cost of living continued to rise as home prices went up. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle recently reported that median house value is more than half a million dollars. No way would I be able to afford that, and rental prices for homes and apartments were also expensive. The housing market was affecting cities and small towns alike. That was always a topic of conversation with the city council - how to make housing affordable for young people. For me, proximity to family and friends became a major deciding factor. While I had friends in Montana, I wanted to be closer to my Oklahoma friends and family, which included my three-year-old niece. I didn’t want to miss her growing up more than I already had. Oklahoma provided familiarity, a more realistic cost of living, more opportunities to meet people (Livingston was mostly retirees or young families), and more job opportunities. I knew I wanted to get back into teaching, and even if I got one of the few teaching jobs available in Montana, it couldn’t support me as well as if I moved somewhere more affordable. So, even though I thought Montana would be the end of my nomadic life, in a way, it was because I was going back home.
One thing Montana had going for it was snow… if you like that kind of thing. I happen to like snow, as I referenced in “Snow Days Across the Country” and “Chilly and Cornbread.” (Well, snow, yes, windchill and cold temps - not so much.) When I moved to Montana at the end of July 2019, I was not prepared for snow less than two months later! My first snow in Montana came on September 28th. So, as good farmers do, my boss with Farm to School and I were watching the weather. She decided we should go to the schools Saturday morning to pick the tomatoes before they froze in the cold temperatures and snow. When I heard her son was tagging along, I talked the two kiddos of my MT family at the time into going with me.
(Their dad was always great at motivating them for something that may seem like work. An excited tone and a positive spin, and kids will go for a lot!) I loaded them in my car, and we drove to two of the school gardens to pick the tomatoes on the plants. Since summer starts late and ends early in Montana, most of the tomatoes we picked were still green, but they continued to ripen in the high school kitchen once picked. It was fun to pick the tomatoes with the kids while the snow fell. The air smelled like winter and anticipation, even in September. Everyone was excited to find each tomato among the green leaves, feeling proud of ourselves for saving food that would otherwise be wasted. I did get to save a few for myself, though, and instead of letting them ripen, I took advantage of the unripe texture to make a green tomato pie, as suggested by my boss.
I had never heard of it before when she mentioned it, but then I remembered a cookbook on my shelf with a Spiced Green Tomato Pie listed. I made Ken’s version to share at the next garden team meeting, and no one was disappointed! It sounds unusual, but the green tomatoes that are still firm bake into a mealy apple texture, and with added sugar and spices like an apple pie, it’s hard to distinguish the two. This pie definitely deserves a regular rotation, especially if waiting for tomatoes to ripen takes too long, and you have an early snowfall.
If you have ripe tomatoes, Ken has plenty of recipes for those as well. There are Savory Shortbread Thumbprints with Tomato Jam. These were a delicious savory/ sweet appetizer topped with goat cheese. Tomato Jam Pizza with Caramelized Onions also uses goat cheese and Ken's recipe for tomato jam - a sweet sauce with warm spices made of diced, cooked tomatoes. "Tomato Breads" is another pizza-like recipe, but they're small appetizer-sized rounds topped with pesto, tomatoes, and cheese. I liked the added step of brushing the edges with eggwash that baked to a golden glow.
Five pies in The Harvest Baker include tomatoes. The first is a Fresh Tomato Pie with Garden Pesto (recipe here), which is similar to Tomato Slab Pie (recipe here) except with the addition of a creamy, cheesy topping layered over fresh pesto. Then there was a Cherry Tomato, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Tart and a Roasted Tomato, Corn, and Cheddar Cheese Quiche. The cherry tomato tart layered each ingredient in a whole wheat tart shell, while the quiche was made colorful by roasted plum tomatoes and cheddar cheese. The last tomato pie was the mentioned Spiced Green Tomato Pie, which was popular with everyone who tried it.
Lastly, two galettes deserve inclusion. The Potato, Arugula, and Tomato Galette may be one of my favorite recipes in the book. I love the simplicity of a galette with a flaky crust and delicious filling without the worry the sides may collapse in a pie pan while blind baking. Then, an honorable mention is the Swiss Chard Galette. No tomatoes, but I have another vivid memory of saving Swiss Chard from the snow and freezing weather, too. Save all the veggies!
There are several positive aspects about each state I've lived in through the years. I didn't leave any of them for any one reason. But as I finished writing this while holding my best friend's newborn baby, I knew moving back to Oklahoma was a good decision. And good food can be made anywhere. Even though my nomadic lifestyle led me to believe the grass is always greener, or in some cases, the snow is always whiter, for now, it’s nice to be settled.
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