My wife and a group of her early morning exercise friends meet periodically for breakfast. Sometimes they go to a local restaurant and sometimes they meet at someone’s home. A couple years back, they came over to our house and I volunteered to cook for them. One of the dishes I served was a blueberry cobbler, sort of. The girls called it “blueberry stuff”, but they loved it and ate every morsel. … [Read more...]

Deer season is fully underway and hunters are reporting better results than last year, though the jury is still out on the final harvest numbers. Venison, of course, is especially healthy meat, leaner by far than commercial beef. It is delicious when cooked properly, but not so much when overcooked or under seasoned. Sherman T. Shiffllett, a CvilleBuzz contributor, offers this recipe as a … [Read more...]

Sometimes you have to eat stuff that’s good for you, otherwise it’s “Blimpsville” for your waistline. But sometimes, you want to eat stuff that’s good for you because it tastes terrific. I enjoyed such a dish recently called “Confetti Chili.” Sue Overton of Skyline Graphics rustled up a big batch and it was healthy and delicious. If you try this turkey-based chili, you may never want ground beef … [Read more...]

Virginia Saltwater Dr. Ken Neill, III   Small rockfish are pretty much everywhere. More fish over 30 inches are being caught. Some of the better catches are being made in the York River, at the James River crossings and at the CBBT. Larger fish are on their way with fish to over 50 pounds being caught a bit to our north this week. A little more of the cooler weather will have more of … [Read more...]

Sunday is often the night to chill out at the Brewer house. Many times we have entertained or have been entertained over the weekend and we want a simple, Sunday night meal. For Nancy and I, Sunday is a great night for pizza. But that presents a problem. Both of us are watching our weight and pizza is not a very accommodating dish when it comes to shedding calories. The opposite is true because … [Read more...]

Sometimes it’s not what you put in the pot that makes a terrific dish. Sometimes, it’s the pot you put the food in that makes all the difference. Cooking oysters, for example. It’s hard to screw up an oyster. They’re even good if you drop one on the floor and scoop it up quickly and eat it raw. They are not so good, however, if you try to fry them and you put too many in a pan, or if you don’t … [Read more...]

When I eat chicken – with the exception of a half a box of Kentucky Fried Chicken – I lose weight. Naturally, I try to eat chicken as often as possible, but in as many different ways as possible – so I don’t get sick and tired of eating chicken. Chicken recipes, fortunately, don’t have to be fancy to be enjoyable. Last night I did a simple chicken casserole dish with a twist, I had some … [Read more...]

There once was a pot called a pressure cooker which had a propensity of putting more food on the ceiling than on the plates. In our family, when Mom got out her infamous pressure cooker, all the kids headed for their bedrooms. Better to study American History than to pick shrapnel and lima bean bullets from various parts of your body - in case “she blew.” But pressure cookers are no longer the … [Read more...]

Twice a year, four of my buddies and I head for Cliff View Inn in Alleghany county where we fish, play golf, tell old war stories, harass each other unmercifully and have a great time. Probably too good of a time. For this biannual gathering, I serve as the cook – every meal. The prime reason for this personal sacrifice is that if I didn’t do it, and didn’t buy the groceries, we’d likely eat … [Read more...]