Scott recently had a tonsillectomy, a relatively simple surgery with a tough recovery for adults. He was on an all-liquid diet for 10 days and it was several weeks before he was eating (almost) normally again.
During this same time, I was working on this issue of About — our food issue.
Again this year, we selected 10 amazing dishes from Stark County restaurants to feature in this issue, everything from breakfast and bar food to entrees and desserts. Delicious.
So we’re sitting in the hospital the day after Scott’s surgery and I get a text message from Julie, our lead photographer for About. She was at Jojutlas in Jackson Township for a photo shoot. She said the food there looked and smelled amazing — and would look great on our cover.
I shared this information with my husband across the room in his hospital bed, and he scowled — and growled. Jojutlas is one of his new favorite places, and short of pureeing one of its dishes to the consistency of water, he wasn’t going to have any for quite a long time.
This is where the paybacks come in. I couldn’t help but think back to when I was in the hospital in labor with our first child almost 10 years ago. It was a particularly long labor and of course I wasn’t permitted to eat. At one point, maybe 15 hours into it, Scott left and went to a fast-food restaurant nearby — unbeknownst to me. He brought the food back to the room with him and proceeded to eat it in front of me, telling me how good it tasted because he was so hungry.
I’m pretty sure I did more than scowl before I kicked him out of the room.
So back to this moment where our roles were reversed, I couldn’t help but relish telling him about all of the food at the photo shoot (unbelievably yummy fish tacos) and some other mouthwatering must-eats we already had tasted and photographed for the issue.
Evil, I know. But deservedly so, right?
You’ll find more about those fish tacos — and our other must-eats — in this issue.
It’s OK if you drool a bit.
About Your Home
Located just outside Stark County’s borders, the quaint village of Zoar takes you a step back in time.
The village, settled by German separatists in 1817, clings strongly to its deeply rooted history and still operates a portion of the town as a historic site. Many original Zoarite buildings have been restored and are open to the public. Our home tour in this issue of About Your Home features the Zoar house No. 22, the cobbler shop (story starts on Page H-8). The 4,000-square-foot building owned by Sandy Worley is now run as a thriving bed-and-breakfast.
Take a look for yourself. The 25-minute drive down I-77S to Zoar is definitely worth the trip.
Blessings,
Darla A. Brown
