Skip to content

Category Archives: Food

The new girls come on line

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The easiest time of year to acquire chickens — at least in these parts — comes in the weeks before Easter. That’s when the local mills and Tractor Supply have chicks for sale. Spring chickens can be counted on to start laying in August. The new girls are right on time — maybe even a […]

Also filed in Sustainable living, The land | | Comments (6)

Not quite canary

Thursday, August 3, 2017

For the past few months, I’ve been rereading Winston Graham’s Poldark novels. I’m now on book 8. I would rate Winston Graham as one of the best novelists of the 20th Century, but that’s a post for another day. This post is about wine — dessert wine in particular. In the Poldark novels, the poor […]

Also filed in Culture | | Comments (2)

Why doesn’t it mold?

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Month-old commercial bread — no sign of mold A month ago I bought a loaf of commercial bread for my annual ritual of the year’s first garden-tomato sandwich. Today I found the leftover bread on top of the refrigerator. There is not the slightest sign of mold. The bread label boasts that the bread contains […]

Also filed in | | Comments (7)

Some speculations on Whole Foods

Friday, July 7, 2017

Whole Foods Winston-Salem, before the lunch rush It’s interesting how much buzz there has been about Amazon buying Whole Foods. Even people who’ve hardly ever been inside a Whole Foods and who don’t use Amazon (people like my brother) have been talking about it. Everyone seems to suspect that this transaction may be the leading […]

Also filed in Technology | | Comments (2)

Amazon buys Whole Foods??

Friday, June 16, 2017

This morning we learned that Amazon has bought Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in cash. What’s up? Information on Amazon’s plans for Whole Foods is in short supply at present, except that it’s known that Amazon wants to get into the grocery business, that Amazon was interested in a brick-and-mortar presence, and that Whole Foods […]

Also filed in Sustainable living | | Comments (4)

What the critters so generously leave behind

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Supper If I had ever really understood how much effort (and defeat) is involved in defending a garden, an orchard, and some chickens against all the hungry mouths that want to eat everything, I might never have had the heart to start. The hungry mouths come from everywhere — out of the woods, down from […]

Also filed in Sustainable living | | Comments (9)

Hoping for a peach crop

Thursday, April 27, 2017

The peach trees in the abbey’s orchard are loaded with young peaches this year. Last year, the entire crop was killed by a late frost. One of our friends who is a retired agricultural extension agent says that, unless you spray, you don’t get peaches. All sorts of insects prey on peaches, including fruit moths […]

Also filed in The land | | Comments (0)

Sourdough rolls

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Lately I’ve been making sourdough rolls. They’re almost as quick as yeast rolls, and almost as easy. It occurs to me that those of you who might like to get started with sourdough artisan breads, but who are concerned about the work and risk of “total bread failure” involved, might want to make sourdough rolls […]

Also filed in | | Comments (0)

Heritage supper

Sunday, April 2, 2017

I know I’ve blogged about vegetarian (vegan actually) hot dogs before. Every now and then you’ve got to have one. Last night’s supper on the deck, near the grill, we called “heritage night.” The heritage here, of course, is Southern white trash heritage. The vegan hot dogs come in a can. They’re made by Loma […]

Also filed in Culture | | Comments (2)

Carolina burger

Thursday, March 16, 2017

I had lunch today with my brother at Jim’s Grill in Boonville, North Carolina. He ordered a Carolina Burger. The waitress didn’t know what that is, so he defined it for her. A Carolina Burger is a hamburger dressed like a hot dog — slaw, onions, hot dog chili, and mustard. The more usual hamburger […]

Also filed in Culture | | Comments (4)