A popular lawn games these days is Corn Hole. For those unfamiliar, Corn Hole is a contest where pairs or single players toss little pillows onto a raised board with a hole in it. Whoever tosses more pillows in the holes wins. But what fun is a game where nobody ever gets hurt? Hardly anybody ends up going to the emergency room after a spirited round of Corn Hole. Corn Hole is strictly for … [Read more...]
Remembering Le Snail
We’ve lost a lot of good restaurants in Charlottesville over the years. The Gaslight, The Caravan, Barnaby’s, Lord Hardwicks, Tony’s Tavern, Happy Clam - they come and go. One of our favorite restaurants in the early years was Le Snail at 320 W. Main Street, beside what was the old Greyhound Bus Station. It opened the mid-70’s as memory serves. Nancy, knowing I had an affinity for French cuisine, … [Read more...]
Bring On the Lettuce
A head of Iceberg lettuce in most grocery stores continues to be over $2 a head. Usually less than a dollar, lettuce is now higher than the cost of a dozen eggs. Why? First, the weather. California and Arizona – two key lettuce producers – have endured extreme weather this year. Heavy rains, flooding and unseasonally high early temperatures have weakened harvests and there is not as … [Read more...]
Fish and Chips
Every now and then, the Brits will get something right. Fish and Chips is one example. Considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, Fish and Chips first appeared in the UK in the 1860s, when small shops began to pop up. It was one of the few foods in the UK not subject to rationing during the war years, which contributed to its popularity. The fish (usually Cod) … [Read more...]
A Visit from Snow White
Snow White stopped by our house last week. I didn’t see Dopey or Doc or any of her other Dwarf friends, but she was there in all her snow-white glory. I think my Snow White was an albino cowbird – at least it was the same size and shape as a cowbird. Interestingly, Nancy saw some grackles feeding that same bird a few days later. Cowbirds are notorious for laying their eggs in the nests of other … [Read more...]
Ribs and Rubs
Not long ago I was trying to come up with a different appetizer to serve guests. I remembered ordering ribs as appetizers at nicer Chinese Restaurants, so I picked up a rack of ribs, sliced them into individual portions, cooked them at a low temperature for a several hours and they were a huge hit. Everybody loved them. Since then, I have been cooking all my ribs that way. I pull off the membrane, … [Read more...]
A Mess of Crappies
Right now, is a great time to catch a mess of crappies (as seen from this Lake Orange catch). The fish are through spawning, they’re hungry and well spread out. A small minnow is your best weapon. The water temperature at Lake Orange has dropped from the mid 70-s back to the upper 60’s. Bass are cruising and catfish are biting nightcrawlers, minnows and chicken liver. Sprouting vegetation in … [Read more...]
The Early Kitchens
Kitchens have changed. A lot. Modern kitchens are larger than the entire first floor of the 1950’s starter homes. They have spiffy, stainless steel (gotta’ be stainless steel), double-door refrigerators, center islands as long as stretch limo with city streetlights dangling overhead, and enough cabinets to house all the fine plateware for the Queen of England. The counters, of course, are granite. … [Read more...]
Making Dumb Bunny Fudge
Okay, guys. Don’t let your wives see this article. They think we are a bunch of dumb bunnies and can’t cook our way out of a Kroger’s grocery bag. We’ll show ‘em. Ladies often go into the kitchen to make special stuff – jellies, cookies, cakes, candy and the like. They take out every possible pot and pan along with every spice in the rack to create their concoctions. We, of course, are thankful … [Read more...]
Signs of Our Times
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