In the next week or so more folks will think of eating Irish than at any other time of year. They’ll buy their Guinness and boil their potatoes. Corned beef and cabbage will grace many a table and fish and chips will be ordered in many a pub. But once St. Patrick’s Day has passed,Continue reading “Eating Irish”
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For the Love of Chocolate
In this week when all of us turned our attention to chocolate, I’m taking a moment to talk with you about a book — and now a podcast — that have captivated me since they hit the shelves and airwaves. The book is Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love by Simran Sethi. It’sContinue reading “For the Love of Chocolate”
Mushroom Adventures
It was about this time of year, several years ago, that my husband and I decided we were ready to take on a new botanical project. The garden was winding down and the season of dreaming of spring was nearly upon us. Maybe a catalogue came in the mail? I’m not sure what our inspiration was. ButContinue reading “Mushroom Adventures”
Celebrating the Season
For my family, this week began with Halloween, continued with two kid birthdays and will end with back-to-back parties on Friday and Saturday. And, as we all know, it only gets crazier from here. I have, pretty much every year, dreaded these busy months of travel and connections, of events and hosting, of anticipation and tears andContinue reading “Celebrating the Season”
Cookbook Review — 100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous
When I flip through Lisa Leake’s second cookbook, “100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous,” I can’t help but think of my own kitchen, my own cooking and my own website’s stash of favorite recipes. Like in Lisa’s house, there are no natural flavors in my cabinets, my family knows which snack crackerContinue reading “Cookbook Review — 100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous”
Magical Metalwork
I recently posted about Virginia’s rapidly expanding Artisan Trail Network. It was an piece about why these trails are important and how to use them. But I have so much more to share from my time on the Smith River, Monticello and HeART and Soil of the Shenandoah Valley trails. So today, a longer look at one artisan studioContinue reading “Magical Metalwork”
Encountering Art
This week, I want to let you in on a little secret: The corner of Virginia that I live in, the one with rolling mountains and gorgeous sunsets and dozens of shades of green, well, it boasts some incredible artisans as well. I’m talking time-honored blacksmiths and renowned potters, award-winning brewers, cutting-edge vintners. Yes,Continue reading “Encountering Art”
A Hankering for Honey
Right around mid September in these parts the heat of the summer winds down, and for those who keep bees, it’s the perfect time to gather that golden elixir they’ve been nurturing for months. So the beekeepers haul out their equipment and prepare for a sticky weekend of cutting open portions of their hives — not too much, mindContinue reading “A Hankering for Honey”
A Peek Inside
It’s not done. But let’s be honest, it might never be done. So come on in and have a look. After six weeks of dust and nearly a month of moving back in, I present to you, ladies and gentlemen … my new kitchen. This is where we started … This was (shudder)Continue reading “A Peek Inside”
Wisdom from the Flock
It’s been about a year now since a quick stop at the hardware store to pick up some, you know, duct tape and grass seed, turned us into part-time poultry farmers. Not that I blame my husband. Those little balls-of-fluff are enough to melt any man into a can’t-say-no-kind-of puddle. And those downy cuties madeContinue reading “Wisdom from the Flock”