10th Mile High Kite Festival!

If you're still looking for something to do this labor day weekend, head over to Beech Mountain for their Mile High Kite Festival! The festival is an annual tradition at Beech Mountain and fun for the whole family! Don't have a kite? NO WORRIES. They will be handing out free kites to the first 300 children 12 and under. There will also be decorating materials provided for the free kites, and a contest will be held for the biggest, smallest and best decorated kite! Everyone is more than welcome to bring their own kite to fly, but there will also be vendors selling all sorts of kites. There is no charge for admission, so come out to Beech Mountain this Saturday and Sunday and fly a kite! For more information check Beech Mountain's website: 

http://www.beechmountainchamber.com/10th-mile-high-kite-festival

      With the fall season quickly approaching, we begin to see the familiar colors of the season. The deep red in the leaves as they begin to fall off their trees, the burnt oranges in jack-o-lanterns we carve for Halloween, and the deep chocolate browns that remind us of that cozy sweater we like to curl up in. Along with the fall season comes the haunting aromas that begin to tickle our noses and make our mouths water. Whether it's a warm and cozy sip of hot chocolate while your reading your favorite book, or a delicious bite of pumpkin pie, there's something about food in the fall that is just so comforting and inviting.
         Whenever I used to think about sweet potatoes, my grandmother's house would always come to mind. My grandmother, who grew up learning how to cook like a "real-southern woman" makes some of the best dishes I have ever been so lucky to taste. One of the dishes I will always remember is her sweet potato casserole she made for every Thanksgiving dinner. Technically, it was considered a "vegetable" since it was made with sweet potatoes, but with the amount of brown sugar and marshmallows she put in, it could have easily qualified as one of the desserts.
           As the fall begins, sweet potatoes seem to pop up more than usual. many people tend to forget that sweet potatoes can be prepared in more ways than our traditional thanksgiving casserole. Sweet potatoes are actually one of Earth's few super foods because they are so packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Aside from their deliciously sweet flavor, sweet potatoes are known to curb your appetite longer, and also help stimulate blood sugar. Sweet potatoes also only contain about half the calories of a regular potato, making them only around 95 calories each. Along with all these amazing benefits, sweet potatoes can be made in a countless number of ways, which are all equally delicious. So this fall, think outside the traditional casserole and give one of these recipes a try!

Sweet Potato Wedges: 
What you will need:

• 4-5 large sweet potatoes
• Olive Oil 
• Coarse Salt and Ground Pepper 
• Optional: Cinnamon Sugar

What to do:

1. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. 
2. Use a large knife and slice each potato into slices about 1/2inch thick. 
3. Lay the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet or a baking pan. 
4. Lightly coat the potatoes with olive oil and stir until they all equally covered, but not soaked. 
5. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over the dish. Add as much as desired. 
6. Place in the oven at 350 degrees and bake for 15-20 min. Stirring occasionally. 
7. Optional: before baking, add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to the potatoes, add a bit of sweetness.

For a quick snack...Sweet Potato Chips!

What you'll need: 

• 3 or more large sweet potatoes (add more or less depending on the serving size)
• Olive Oil 
• Coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. 
• Optional spices and herbs: cinnamon, rosemary, cumin, cayenne, etc.

What you do: 

1. Wash and peel sweet potatoes
2. Thinly slice the sweet potatoes as evenly as possible (Careful not to cut yourself!) 
3. Coat the baking sheet with a bit of olive oil. 
4. Place the sliced potatoes on the baking sheet and brush with olive oil (don't drown them!)
5. Sprinkle with sea salt and any other spices you prefer 
6. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (time may vary)
7. When the potatoes are golden brown take them out and let cool for 10-15 minutes. 
8. ENJOY! 

When you're craving french fries...Sweet Potato French Fries!

What you'll need: 

• About 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup of olive oil 
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
• 1/2 tsp paprika 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

What you do: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. 
3. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, and cut into strips about 1/2 inch thick. 
4. Place sweet potatoes in a resealable plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika, and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake until the fries are completely coated. 
5. Spread the potatoes out on the baking sheet in a single layer. 
6. Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes until slightly browned. 
7. ENJOY! 

Blowing Rock Symphony Celebrates 25 Anniversary

This Friday, July 27th, the Blowing Rock Symphony by the Lake at Chetola Resort will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Billie Rogers, events director for the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce said this Friday's performance has been called, "the pinnacle event of the summer". In fact, Symphony by the Lake was voted one of the top 20 events by the Southeast Tourism Society this year, so why not come out and see this event! The event will begin with local favorites, the Harris Brothers, performing from 5:45 to 7:15. Then, the Symphony of the Mountains of Kingsport, Tennessee will begin playing at 7:30 until dark when the night will be concluded with a firework show. 

Tickets are $30 for adults and $12 for children under 12 and can be purchased through the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce or online at blowingrock.com/symphony. Guests can either bring a picnic dinner or can choose from three dinner options provided by The Manor House Restaurant at Chetola beginning at 5pm. You don't want to miss this event! 

What Are You Doing Tomorrow?

Looking for something to do in the High Country tomorrow? Why don't you check out The Blowing Rock Farmers market! Held on Park Avenue, off Main Street in front of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, it operates Every Thursday, May 17 through October 18, rain or shine from 4 - 6 pm. Here you can find the finest fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, flowers, dairy and whole foods such as breads and pastas, all from local farmers. For a complete list of vendors, visit http://www.blowingrock.com/farmersmarket.php. 

Special Offers!

Who doesn't love to save money? In our up coming editions of High Country Home Magazine, we will now feature a Special Offers page at the back of the magazine. This page will offer coupons from some our advertisers so that our readers can use the best services in the High Country at a great price! A hint of what is to come: One of our advertisers will be offering $1000 dollars of free assessments to our readers! We anticipate this Special Offers page to be featured in our upcoming edition. Stay tuned for more information!

We need your help!

Although summer just officially began, we can't help but get excited for football season! In honor of this, we are doing a spread on tailgating for our Fall 2012 issue and would love to know your tailgating secrets. We are looking for everything from food and drinks to games and set ups! If you have anything you would like to share with us for this article, email us at marketconnectionads@gmail.com!

           Today, everyone is connected. With dozens of social media sites, everyone knows what everyone else is doing at any given moment, and that’s what people want- to be connected to the world.  From “status updates” to “tweets” to “blogging”, everyone has a venue to tell the world about what’s happening in their life- their interests, their pictures, their new pet, their bad day, their favorite song lyrics- it’s all out there.

            With new social media sites popping up daily, an abundance of them don’t stick. Pinterest is one of few that have been chosen by the masses to make it to the mainstream. The purpose of Pinterest is to organize and share beautiful things that may have been lost in the depths of the Internet. Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo sharing website which allows users to create and manage their own image collections based on a themes such as events, recipes, hobbies, and much more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, and “re-pin” images to their own collections, called “boards.” Akin to Facebook, users can “like” others’ photos, “follow” users of their choice, and comment on other users’ photos.

            If you don’t already have a Pinterest, I would suggest getting one, if not for any other reason but to have another distraction from work. Here’s a quick tutorial for new Pinterest users:

Pin: the image you find, either from a separate webpage, from the Pinterest site, or that you upload on your own accord. When you sign up for Pinterest, they will give you a “Pin” button, which allows you to pin a photo onto the Pinterest page and will provide a link to the original image or webpage. You can “re-pin” anything you already see on Pinterest, if you want to save it onto your own board.

What to Pin: anything and everything. My favorites are yummy recipes so that I have somewhere to refer back to when trying to conjure up something for dinner. Pinning crafts are fun too for those rainy days and trips to Michaels. If you pin something on a separate webpage, it’s best to make sure it links to the original site to other users can read all about it and understand its origin.

Boards: where you organize and collect your pins. Each time you pin something, it will go to one of your boards, which you can name whatever you wish. Some examples are “My Future Home”, “Recipes”, “Fashion”, “Crafts”, etc. Your boards allow you to group your pins in like categories for easy future searching.

Followers: these are similar to Twitter followers, in that anyone you follow can see all your dirty little secrets- what you pin, as well as all you boards. Pinterest will suggest you follow people that you are already connected with via other social networking sites, but you can choose who you would like to follow or who follows you. 

              Pinterest's mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting" via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing. At High Country Home magazine, we recently started our own Pinterest page and we are pinning some gorgeous houses in the High Country, awesome recipes from local restaurants, and other amazing inspirations for your home, landscaping, and décor needs. So now that you know the lingo, follow us and re-pin some of our awesome pictures onto your own pinboards! See you there! http://pinterest.com/