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4B I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, October 20,2021
First-ever Sunflower 5K run at Faussett Farms
brings runners to Dawsonville despite rain
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Saturday Oct. 16,
the Dawson County
Chamber of Commerce
held its first-ever
Sunflower 5K and one-
mile Fun Run race at
Fausett Farms.
The race offered a 5K
run that started at 8:30
a.m. and a one-mile “fun
run” which started at 8:35
a.m. More than 120 run
ners of all ages signed up
to participate in the race.
Both the 5K and the fun
run wound through the
thousands of sunflowers
at Fausett Farms before
the longer race branched
off to take runners
through the fall scenery
in the woods and the one-
mile race looped back to
the finish line.
Dawson County
Chamber of Commerce
President Mandy Power
said she and chamber
leadership were pleased
with the turnout for the
race and hope to make it
an annual event.
“I think it went amaz
ing; they were registering
all the way up until yes
terday,” Power said.
“When you can run
through something as
beautiful as the sunflow
ers it’s amazing — hope
fully we can make it an
every year event, so we’re
excited.”
Power said that, with
the number of runners the
race brought to Fausett
Farms, she and the cham
ber hope to draw a little
extra business in to the
other fall attractions that
Dawson County has to
offer.
“It’s right here in the
thick of everything, so
hopefully they’ll stay and
hang out here, at Burt’s,
down at Uncle Shucks,”
Power said. “That would
be awesome to keep them
up here for the whole
day.”
Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News
Dawson County Chamber of Commerce President Mandy Power addresses runners at the beginning of
the Fausett Farms Sunflower 5K run on Oct. 16.
Runners leave the start line at the beginning of the Fausett Farms
Sunflower 5K run on Oct. 16.
troncalli
northside
A runner accepts his medal after completing the Fausett Farms Sunflower 5K run.
Some favorite Greek recipes
A *
ADLEN ROBINSON
Columnist
Hopefully all of you had
a chance to attend the
Greek Festival at Saints
Raphael, Nicoholas, and
Irene Greek Orthodox
Church last weekend. I
adore Greek food and cook
it frequently. Here are some
recipes that highlight Greek
cooking. Enjoy!
Skordalia is a Greek dip
where the main ingredient
features skordo, or garlic.
Serve this tasty dip with cut
up vegetables, crackers and
pita bread.
Skordalia
• 1 pound Yukon gold
potatoes
• 3 ounces blanched
almonds (or walnuts)
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup plus 2 table-
spoons freshly
squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 cup best quality
olive oil
Garnishes: sliced green
onion, minced parsley,
lemon zest from one
lemon
Cut potatoes into cubes
and rinse well with cold
water. Place potatoes in a
pot and cover with cold
water plus a few inches.
Add a tablespoon of salt
and bring to a boil. Reduce
heat and simmer for 15-20
minutes until potatoes are
very tender. Drain potatoes
and rinse with hot water.
Drain well.
In a small food proces
sor, combine almonds, gar
lic cloves, a teaspoon of
salt, lemon juice and olive
oil. Process until mixture is
as smooth as possible.
Mash potatoes in a large
bowl. Add the garlic and
olive oil mixture a little at a
time to the potatoes. Add
more salt if needed.
Garnish with green onions,
parsley, and lemon zest.
Chicken Gyros
• 11/2 pounds chicken
tenders
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Marinade:
• 1 cup Greek yogurt,
preferably from whole
milk
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine
vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon diy orega
no
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• Pinch of cayenne
Fixings:
• Pita bread, halved
• Tzatziki sauce (recipe
follows)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled and
sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper,
seeded and cut into
strips
• 1/2 red onion, thinly
sliced
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata
olives, halved
Combine marinade ingredi
ents. Place chicken tenders in
large plastic zipper bag and
pour marinade over, massaging
to thoroughly coat the tenders.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours,
but preferably overnight.
When ready to cook, heat 1
tablespoon olive oil in a cast
iron skillet. Shake off excess
marinade from chicken. Add
half of the chicken tenders and
cook undisturbed for 5 min
utes. Flip chicken tenders over
and continue cooking until
chicken is golden and cooked
through. Build your gyro with
cooked chicken tenders,
Tzatziki sauce, tomato, cucum
ber, bell pepper, onion, and
kalamata olives.
Tzatziki Sauce
• 1 cucumber, peeled and
grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, finely
minced (or use a garlic
press)
• 1 teaspoon white wine
vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups Greek yogurt,
preferably from whole
milk
Place grated cucumber in a
colander in the sink and toss with
the salt. Drain for 15 minutes
and then squeeze the cucumber
in a clean kitchen towel until
mostly dry. Do not skip this step
or your sauce will be too runny.
Combine the dried cucumber
with garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt,
white wine vinegar, olive oil and
Greek yogurt. Cover and refrig
erate for a few hours, or over
night. Stir before using.
Greek Oreo Casserole
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded
and chopped
• 3 cups baby spinach
leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon crushed red
pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons tomato
paste
• 1 cup uncooked orzo
pasta
• 1 (14-ounce) can fire
roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and
diced chicken (or you
could use canned chick
peas)
• 2 1/2 cups chicken or
vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup Feta, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill,
chopped
Preheat oven to 400-degrees.
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven
and cook onion until soft, about
8 minutes. Add garlic and red
bell pepper and cook until soft,
another 5 minutes. Add spinach,
oregano, crushed red pepper
flakes, salt and cook for 5 min
utes. Add tomato paste, orzo,
canned tomatoes and juices, and
chicken broth and bring to a
boil. Reduce the heat to a sim
mer and cook 15-20 minutes,
until orzo is soft. Top with
crumbled feta and fresh dill.
When twilight comes
Sometimes in the
twilight of a fading
day, I sit for a spell
on the back porch.
Occasionally, I read
but often times I just
watch and listen.
I am entertained
by the cats, full of
complex personalities, that dart
around while the dogs lounge on
a red gingham pillow and survey
all that over which they are mas
ters.
It is the spring, the summer and
the autumn I enjoy most as the
birds sing in different melodies
and squirrels scamper up trees
that are colored in varying shades
of green. Have you ever noticed
how many shades of green the
trees and shrubs are? And how
they blend together in perfect har
mony?
Sometimes from the pasture of
the Rondarosa, I will hear our
miniature donkey, Sweet Tea, as
she bays out a greeting. She is a
Jerusalem donkey, a breed said to
be descended from the one that
Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Her
gray shoulder blades and back are
marked with a delicate black cross.
The horses munch quietly on
patches of sweet grass and will,
occasionally, take off in a loud
gallop toward the creek where
they plunge into the cool water
and enjoy the shade of the tower
ing maples and oaks.
Tink named one of the horses,
Rondy. Not after me but after a
horse said to have been one of
General U.S. Grant’s favorite
horses. Though I did say when he
pulled that stunt, “You can’t name
a horse bom in Corinth, MS after
one of Grant’s horses.”
Sometimes when I see the hors
es lounging in the creek under the
trees, I think of General Grant
then I think of Stonewall Jackson
and what were supposedly his last
words, “Let us cross over the
river and rest under the shade of
the trees.”
As the dusk of day moves gen
tly into the gloaming, I listen to
the stillness as the wildlife settles
down and tucks in while the fire
flies prepare to emerge and join
the stars to light the night.
It is then I think back to similar
nights of my childhood when I
came racing out of the house, the
screen door banging shut behind
me and one of Mama’s glass
mason jars clutched
in my hand.
Barefooted - I was
always without shoes
in the summertime -
I danced through the
yard, gathering light
ning bugs in a jar as
my dog ran with me.
Then, I think of the stories. All
the stories told from the porch
swing and rockers and how I’d sit
on the steps, examining my trea
sure trove of lightning bugs,
while the grownups told stories.
Sometimes simple. Sometimes
complex. Sometimes Southern
Gothic, a phrase that I didn’t
know existed when I was five.
Southern Gothic would become
one of the defining colors of my
childhood. It was the painted trim
work of my growing up.
But always I listened and
always I remembered.
“I stopped by Ransom’s store
today.”
“Yeah? How’s Mr. Ransom
doin’?”
“Fairly well. His son’s home,
‘cha know that?”
“You don’t say? Home from the
chain gang?”
A head would nod in a silent
bob. “Workin’ behind the counter.
Just as pleasant a person as you’d
ever know.”
In Southern Gothic stories like
the ones of my childhood, there is
often a pause in the thick, honey-
suckle-smothered air. My
Appalachian folks always know
how to stretch out a story and
give it heavier meaning.
“I remember her as such a pret
ty girl,” someone offered. “Didn’t
she win a beauty contest once?”
“They buried her with the
crown in her casket.”
Another long pause. Always in
these stories, there is a moral. A
line of wisdom that sums it up.
“A hot temper can be the ruin
ation of a good man.”
In the gloaming, I remember
these tales. And, I am grateful
that I was a child with big ears
who liked to listen.
I still like to listen as the twi
light falls.
Ronda Rich is the bestselling author
of What Southern Women Know
About Faith. Visit www.rondarich.
com to sign up for her free weekly
newsletter
RONDA RICH
Columnist