Tonight somewhere in this country and i’m sure in every other corner of the globe, there is a band on tour in a van, they are dirty, hungry and having a ball. They get like four bucks a day and did i mention they are hungry? You taking them in to stay at your house is beyond appreciated and they will remember it for a long time. If you feed this gaggle of stinky, greasy haired musicians they will remember it forever.

Me and the boys traveled a long time sleeping on floors and we sometimes late at night talk about those experiences and revel in how great or bad they were. The ones where the people fed us are the ones that we always remember as the best or the worst. When feeding a band people tend to get card board pizza or cheap packaged spaghetti. Now don’t get me wrong, anything is so appreciated, but when you put a little thought and care in it things get remember and talked about. I know, i know its so expensive, but i have a fool proof plan to feed a band for under thirty bucks. Ready? Lets do this.

Aaron’s feed a dirty rock band meal 1.0:

1. 2 pounds ground chuck

2. 1 half small yellow onion ( diced)

3. 1 half green bell pepper (diced)

4. four pounds red creamer potatoes ( or i regular sized back)

5. kosher salt

6. black pepper

7. minced garlic four tablespoons

8. four ears of corn

9. 2 sticks butter (non salted)

10. chili powder (1 tsp)

11. three tablespoons worcester sauce

12. 1 can diced tomatoes ( 14.5 ounce can)

13. 2 cups quick cooking oats

14.  2 large eggs

15. 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

16. 8 oz. sour cream

k, in large bowl combine meat, eggs pinch of salt, pepper 2 tbls garlic, oatmeal, can of tomatoes, onions, peppers, worcester sauce, mix well and put in a cake pan

preheat oven to 375 and then bake for an hour

( this recipe is madam paula deen’s but i added a few things it rools!!!)

potatoes: boil all potatoes with skin on in salted water until tender, drain of water and mash the spuds together with sour cream, half stick of butter, and cheese add 1 tbls garlic and mix until desired consistency.

corn. take 1 stick of butter and melt in microwave with 1 tbls garlic, a pinch of salt a pinch of pepper and chili powder, grill corn husk of until slightly tender brushing with butter mixture periodically.

they will be beyond happy i promise.

I’m sure you’ve heard me dote about it. I bet I’ve even made your head hurt with my ranting. I would assume your so sick of me talking about it your ready to puke.

Nashville, nashvegas, country music city, the vegas of the south. However you want to put it, this town has a special place in my heart. I don’t just mean I kinda like it, this city embodies everything I love and to boot has incredible food.

I’ve never been one to be able to fully understand all the people who don’t like country music coming here and buying the “uniform” ya know the one, right? A pair of overly pointy cowboy boots, some bedazzled shirt, or maybe a strange bolo tie from that gift shop on broadway.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not hating on this, I’m making a point. Sink your teeth into some southern BBQ, or maybe the loveless cafe, or take your tired hungover bones down to pankcake pantry and try the carribean pancakes. They are perfect and fluffy, topped with cane sugar syrup and bananas and the ever perfect shaved coconuts. It almost like you can feel the suntan lotion inbetween your fingers.

I gues what I am saying is there are some places that draw you in. Some places that roll out the proverbial welcome mat. I challenge you come here, eat your way around. Try the watering holes, you’ll see the best musicians you’ve ever seen. Dip into the brewery, try jack’s BBQ, go to loveless cafe, the food taste like I’m At home.

Love each other, Aaron

It’s pomegranate season. Try putting these bad boys on cereal and yogurt. So so so good. This fruit also is proven to help blood circulation. Although tricky to open and prepare, they are so perfect for healthfully sweetening any dish.

Life is a sandwich, don’t trim off the crust

When i was a kid would go with my father every night to clearwater beach where i grew up and watch the sunset. My father would always say,”if you watch the sun just as it hits the water, you’ll see a green flash”. I never saw the flash, but i was always excited for what came next.

Dad and i used to ( against the law, mind you) go to the bait shop and buy discount bait shrimp and eat take them home boil them and eat them. Yep, you now think i’m a barbarian and have no idea what i’m talking about. Really though, we did this, not always but we did. Now, my dad knew the shop and where they got their shrimp, so it was safe. I mean you shouldn’t in a fit of poetic inspiration go out and get bait shop shellfish and have at it. I tell you this because it tugs at my southern, gulf coast heart and cause i think its a killer story to share, but mostly cause it explains me.

I grew up and still live on central florida’s Gulf coast where your either an angry native or a “snowbird”. Well, i guess maybe you could be a spring-breaker, but then we are not mad at ya, we just wanna take you money. Well not me, the cities ( hell, relax its only commerce)

The food here is unreal, maybe i’m biased and rightfully so, but at least i admit it. There are so many family owned fishing businesses that hock their wares daily from our warm gulf waters. Shrimp, crab, mullet, stone crab, grouper and of course real southern style bbq.

Bbq is a dang touchy subject. Is is brisket? Is it pork? Is the sauce vinegar based? Is it tomato based? Every region of this country has an opinion on what is right when it comes to meat and smoke. i’m sure somewhere right now there are two large men in white tank tops fighting it on on whether texas or north carolina bbq is best. God bless those two men, i dunno if there is a right answer or not.

For me there is a right one. Bbq is pork butt or pork shoulder cooked slow as possible over a hard wood fire and then chopped to bits slathered with sweet tomato based sauce and placed on bread, then served with sweet, smokey baked beans and some stewed to death veg, that has probably been soaking in a ham hock.

Every time my band underoath gets together to rehearse, we go to lunch or dinner first at a place called, “first choice bbq”. This place is a small store front join that daily smokes up the most succulent, tender bbq possible. They have baked beans that are so sweet and wonderful they taste like Christmas. The atmosphere is so lackluster it could be a gas station. They don’t need atmosphere, they have the whole town eating in their establishment. We all sit there enjoying the smokey, sweet and perfect bbq, hoping that next time we get back to first choice its still there.

I wanna know about your home, your local food gem. Hold onto them, preety soon we will all just be writing about what once was. If we keep eating and telling maybe it’ll last forever, who knows?

What is California cuisine? I guess that depends on you. If your driving across this state in a band van living on five dollars a day, you prolly eat the delicious, ethics filled chain that is in and out, or maybe your a del taco guy or gal?

For me this state has the most unreal southwestern/ Mexican fare. I have has the priviledge of going to mexico for a few days and I really feel like southern California really rivals the food of that region.

When I was younger and we would beg our parents for money and drive our poor selves out to corona Cali in effort to play the showcase theater and the infamous chain reaction. For me I was stoked about the shows, but I would be lieing if I told you I wasn’t dreaming of the melty, salty, unfamilair fast food tast e of in and out burger. The thing with this place is: no dehydrated onions, no frozen mystery meat, no frozen potatoes. Just real world, thrown back to the 1960’s Burger stand delicious.

Northern California offers so much of a melting pot I can’t wrap my brain around it. San francisco has possibly my favourite china town in America, not to mention they have a large seaport so fresh fish in prevalent. Thier close proxemity to wine country spawns load of food savy peeps coming in to whet thier palates on something fresh, different and fun.

Hollywood however terrifies me. I could never nor still can’t wrap my southern mind around what goes on in this town. The food is all about fusion, people opening restaurants only to close six months later. I think this is because thier proprietors set out to do something different and in the process forget about the food.

Yesterday I had the priviledge with my buddy jay to cook on, ” that morning show” on e! It was rad. The thing i never really wrap my head around is how fast it all goes. We had six minutes to make our food. To say the least I was stressed, I accidently left a pan on and then poured bacon grease on it much o my white, smoking dismay. It was fun man, real fun, and it’s airing all weekend on e! Check it!!

Here’s what we made on e:

Aaron’s weekend breakfast Sammie:

1. Toasted multigrain ego waffles

2. Six large eggs

3. Six slices havarti cheese

4. Six slices pancetta ( Italian bacon)

5. Salt

6. Pepper

7. Garlic powder

8. 1 half small white onion

9. Eight or so leaves of clean, dry spinach

K, in large bowl crack eggs add salt, pepper and garlic powder, whisk and set aside

In skillet crisp pancetta and save the grease

In large skillet sweat onions in reserved bacon grease add eggs and cook until finished

Build sandwich between two toasted waffles in this order: eggs, bacon, cheese and spinach

Get crazy!!