Good food is where you find it, and often, some of the best fried chicken comes from the most unlikely places. Road food, it’s called. Like at a filling station or a country market. Like Brownsville Market near Old Trail. Far and wide, Brownsville Market has developed a reputation as one of the best fried chicken joints in Central Virginia. The chicken is fried perfectly, and because of the … [Read more...]
Towhees: The Loveliest Sparrow
I saw him out in the driveway early this week, just sitting there as if to say, “What am I doing here?” It was an Eastern Towhee, the first one I’ve ever seen in or near my yard. Some of my friends in Orange and Louisa have towhees, but we have not been so fortunate. Towhees are members of the sparrow family and are easily the loveliest and most colorful with a cluster of orange, … [Read more...]
Taco Meatloaf
I saw a recipe that caught my attention. It was for a Taco Meatloaf. Since I have been cooking – or attempting to cook – more Mexican dishes, I decided to give it a try - my version, of course. I never follow recipes. That’s why I flunked Chemistry Lab. Instructions are really important when mixing chemicals but not so much for meatloaf. I started with 2 pounds of ground chuck. If you’re going … [Read more...]
What’s For Dinner? Violets?
Last year, I became interested in the many common wildflowers and colorful weeds we see growing along the roads and in our fields and yards. I am still interested, and I noticed that one of the first flowers to bloom in our yard is a wild violet, a weed, actually. They are lovely, and as are many wild plants, they are both edible and have many medicinal purposes. The new violet … [Read more...]
Naming Names
Like Lazarus coming forth from the tomb, our goldfish have emerged from the depths of our little pond after a winter hibernation and are now most active. Quickly, I took an inventory and discovered that we lost 5 of our 7 large goldfish (I suspect a raccoon raid), but the little ones born in the pond last summer all seem present and accounted for – but I’m not really sure. I can’t get … [Read more...]
Road Trip to Weldon
Some of the most exciting fishing on the East Coast is coming soon at a North Carolina town called Weldon – “The Rockfish Capital of the World.” That’s because rockfish, stripers, will be there by the hundreds of thousands as they begin their spawning run up the Roanoke River. The Roanoke River, begins, or should I say ends, in the Albemarle Sound. From there, the Roanoke climbs its … [Read more...]
Game On
The striper bite is on back in the sounds at Nags Head. Offshore boats are returning with good catches of Yellowfin, Wahoo and Mahi and surf anglers are beaching pups, specks and blow toads at Hatteras. It’s game on in saltwater. Capt. Reece Stecher of Beach Bum Fishing has picked up on the good striper fishing in Albemarle Sound where he left off, when the water got cold. There are … [Read more...]
The Miracle of Spring
A couple weeks ago, I filled four small rows in my garden with sweet peas left over from a bag of Wetzel seeds I had stored in the shed. They may have been two years old. I was foolish to have risked planting them, but I couldn’t just toss them out. A week passed by and no peas. A few days later I saw the most incredible sight – several little pea sprouts peeking through the soil. To me, this is … [Read more...]
Sam’s Scores Again
Almost every time I go to Sam’s Club, I run across something new and exciting and always great values. A few weeks back, I wrote that Sam’s now has Wagyu beef, similar to the famous Kobe Beef of Japan. I bought some, made a half-pound cheeseburger and gained 2 pounds the next morning. The reason the beef is so tender and so tasty is because it is loaded with fat. But it was an … [Read more...]
(Almost) Gold Finches
After being a drab olive for six months, my male goldfinches are beginning to put on the Ritz, molting into a new suit of bright gold feathers. I always thought the birds’ feathers changed colors, but they don’t. The birds grow new and entirely differently colored feathers. The goldfinch is the only one in its family to undergo a complete, not a partial molt. Even the females get a … [Read more...]
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