Developers have been salivating over the land for decades, but thankfully the city will have first opportunity to buy and develop it into an oasis of community learning and enjoyment – not too far from the community Rec Center. If done properly, it could really be an amazingly attractive area of the city.

This will take a bit of time and there will be snags along the way, but in the long run the wisdom in this move will become evident.

 
It’s a beautiful piece of land. Hopefully they don’t ruin it by using the same design sense they employed when designing the Rec Center facade. blech.

Read more about this story here.

It’s cold outside!!! Stew is always a great dish in this weather. Here’s a recipe handed down from my great grandmother. Of all the sea kitten recipes I found in that dusty box in the attic, this is the one I just had to share publicly.

Enjoy!

Grandma’s Sea Kitten Stew Recipe

Ingredients:

* 6 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cup of white onions (chopped)
* 2 large cloves of garlic (chopped)
* 2/3 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
* 1 cup of fresh medium tomato (chopped)
* 2 teaspoons tomato paste (unchopped)
* 8 oz of clam juice (or shellfish stock)
* 2/3 cup beer (hopped)
* 1 1/2 lb white sea kitten fillets (chopped)
* Touch of oregano leaves, red chile pepper, thyme, pepper
* Salt

1.) Heat olive oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté 4 minutes. Add parsley and stir 2 minutes. Add tomato, tomato paste and cook 2 minutes longer.

2.) Add clam juice, beer, and sea kitten. Simmer until sea kitten is cooked – less than 10 minutes. Add seasoning. Salt to taste. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

I was just talking to my friend about Polka Dots in Spearfish yesterday. Fond memory… I guess, from a business perspective, it was a good place to build an office building in that part of town, but I still miss it.

The Northern Hills Drive-in was another fun memory from childhood. The one in Belle Fourche survived a little longer.

Deadwood isn’t the Deadwood I remember as a kid, of course. That quaint run-down old west atmosphere is gone, except in hidden corners here and there. I’m just glad I got to see it before it changed. They really sanitized it and painted it up (Disneyfied it) to look more polished than it ever really was. I like the new Deadwood too, don’t get me wrong. It just isn’t the same without the dangerous boardwalks, run-down streets, JC Penny store, and that taffy shop…

Condolences to the friends and family of Ryan.

This tragic event is a reminder to PLEASE double check your own house to be sure you have fire alarms and other fire safety devices in place.