Oberlin College Tailgate Parties!

Here ye all you tail gate fans! The John W. Heisman Club at Oberlin College has announced two remaining tailgate weekends this fall. The first one will be on Sat. Sept. 29 when Oberlin takes on Hiram and this also just happens to be Homecoming weekend! I'd offer a special deal for all you Oberlin Alums for that weekend but we are full with guests attending a local wedding. Sorry about that. The second tailgate is on Sat. Nov. 3 for the game against Kenyon College. The other remaining home games are Oct. 13 with visiting Earlhan College and the last game on Nov. 10 which is Parent's Weekend. So if you like college football, come on over to Oberlin and join in the fun. Kick-off time for home games is at 1 pm and they're all on Saturdays.

New Fruit Recipe

It's Sunday and the Cleveland Browns are losing to the Pittsburg Steelers! It's raining outside and the bugs are absolutely terrible. So while the game drags on and the bugs will eat me if I go outside, I thought I would share a new recipe that we served to our guests yesterday. It was completely devoured by all, so we deemed it a keeper. It's based on a Blueberry-Kiwi Fool recipe but I changed it to fit the ingredients that I had on hand. We now need a new name for it. Anyone have a suggestion?

Blueberry-Kiwi _____________________

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup frozen vanilla yogurt
1 T. sugar (optional)
3-4 kiwi, peeled and cut up (about 1 cup)

1. In a bowl, mash 1 cup of blueberries or puree in a blender.
2. Stir cinnamon into blueberries
3. Fold the frozen yogurt into pureed blueberries
4. In parfait glasses or other serving bowls (about 6-7 ounces), layer
yogurt-blueberry mixture, remaining blueberries, and kiwi.
5. Top with a small scope of frogen yogurt and one blueberry.
6. Garnish with a sprig of lemon mint
7. Serve immediately
Makes 4-6 servings

One thing about this recipe - looks best if served on a white plate. We started with a red service and the colors clashed! Enjoy!

What a way to spend a Friday afternoon!

Ohio wine is alive and well and being made right here in Lorain County! Oh how lucky we are!

Joe and I, and our 24 year old daughter Emily, just returned from a visit to Single Tree Winery at 12488 Baumhart Rd in South Amherst, Ohio just 7 miles and 9 minutes from Hallauer House B & B. Single Tree has been selling wine since Dec. 2004 and I'm wondering why we took so long to visit them! They are open Tues - Thurs. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Fri. and Sat. from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. with wine tasting daily. The driveway winds through the trees and opens up onto the drive in front of the winery.

We arrived about 2 p.m. and after tasting Apple Wine, a semi sweet fruity wine, Black Label Blend, a blend of their labruscas, and Cabernet Sauvignon, a red, oak aged wine that is rich in complexity and depth with bold flavor and taste, we chose to purchase a bottle of the Cab. We decided, since we skipped lunch, to get a cheese plate to go with our wine. Then out to the outdoor patio we marched to enjoy our bounty. Today is a hot, humid, windy day but we enjoyed sitting in the open air and sipping a super tasting bottle of vino. We may have to make room in our schedule to return tomorrow as the winery is having a special end of summeer bash with hamburgers, hotdogs, and corn on the cob at very affordable prices! Normally, they don't sell food, but you are allowed to take in your own food and you can even use their grills to cook it on! And while the food is cooking, sip some wine! And while you're eating the food, sip some more wine! But be sure you have your 24 year old daughter, who only likes Coke, there to drive you home!

So I now know that Joe and I will become regular visitors. And to think that what they call their 'Happy Days' are Tues., Wed., and Thurs., from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., where all glasses of wine are only $1.99! Why did we wait so long to visit!?

Our next idea is to put together a 'Winery and Bed & Breakfast Package' for our guests to enjoy. Stay tuned and come back to the Blog or visit our website to see the final details. If you have any ideas on what a good package would be, go ahead and email us. Let us know! We'd love to hear from you!

In the meantime - think Ohio Wine. You know you want a glass or a bottle! Visit the Single Tree Winery website at www.singletreewine.com or check them out on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/singletreewine

Artist Recital Series for 2007-08

Oberlin College Conservatory has just released the 2007-08 schedule for the Artist Recital Series and it looks like it will be an absolutely fantastic year of incredible entertainment. So mark your calendars with the following dates and plan to attend one or all of the 10 performances. All performances will be at 8pm in Finney Chappel at Oberlin College.

Wednesday Oct. 3 begins the series as Chanticleer, the Grammy award-winning men's chorus takes the stage. The group is made up of 12 men who sing everything from Gregorian Chants, to jazz, to gospel, to pop. Their sound has been reviewed as "Precise, pure, and deeply felt singing." Check out their website at www.chanticleer.org/Tour.cfm.

Next up on Thurs. Nov. 1 is one of the great's from New Orleans, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and, in accordance with the jazz tradition, there is only open seating so it's first come, first served! Get there early! Some of the bands members have been playing since the early 20th century. Will definitely be standing room only for this performance!

The Imani Winds quintet takes the stage on Tues. Nov. 6. This Grammy-nominated group performs works by African, latin, & American composers and combines percussion & folk influences to the wind quartet sound. A real fusion of urban & classical music will make the sound really exciting!

Two weeks later on Tues. Nov 20, one of the top 10 orchestras in the world returns for their 206th performace in the Series. And that would be our own fabulous Cleveland Orchestra! Jayce Ogren will be conducting a program that will include Mozart's Symphony No. 34 & Brahms Synphony No. 1. This is a great treat and another 'Can't Wait' performance!

The Takacs Quartet will be performing on Fri. Dec. 7. The quartet,now in it's 31st season, brings the sounds of clarinet, violins, viola, and cello together to play Haydn, Bartok, and Mozart. What a great way to get ready for the holidays!

The series winds down a bit after Dec. but gets back in full swing on Tues April 1st when Edgar Meye, playing double bass, and Amy Dorfman on piano, take the stage. The actural program has yet to be announced but it should be very innovative and will appeal to all age groups. Stay tuned!

Angela Hewitt will perfom twice with each concert ticketed separately. One performance will be on Fri. April 4th, the other on Sun. April 6 and both will feature the music of J. S. Bach.

Appearing together on Thurs. April 10 will be classical violinist Hilary Hahn and singer/songwriter Josh Ritter. In 2001, at the age of 21, Hahn was named "America's Best Young Classical Musician" by Time magazine. Now she is one of the most popular artists on the concert circuit. Josh Ritter is an Oberlin grad, class of '99 and has been compared to a young Springsteen or Leonard Cohen. They will be exciting to hear!

The seasons last performance will take place on Wed. April 23 when award winning mezzo-soprano, Anne Sofie von Otter appears on the Finney Chapel stage. She has been called one of the finest performers around, having appeared in opera houses around the world.

Buy a subscription package to all 10 concers by Sept 14 and save lots of money!
Previous subscribers: Buy 1 subscription-get 1 at half price
New subscribers: Buy 1 subscription-get 1 FREE
Oberlin Students: $53.00 a person
Oberlin Family: $129.00 per person
Seniors over 55 $129.00 per person
General Public $159.00 per person
Single tickets available after Sept. 16.
(Check out the Oberlin College artist recital webpage, www.oberlin.edu/arseries/, for the complete details.)

So there you have it! Some great ways to spend some quality weekday evenings! Who said there is nothing in Ohio! Just come to Oberlin and attend all, some, or even one of these fabulous concerts! Come early! Have a fabulous dinner in one of our fabulous restaurants! Take a walk through our fabulous town! And why go home immediately after the concert? You know you don't want to drive home late! So come and stay at Hallauer House Bed & Breakfast. Come in late. Sleep in a fabulous bed and then have a fabulous breakfast in the morning before driving home. We'd love to have you! We might even see you at the concert! Visit our website! www.hallauerhousebnb.com.