At Wades Mill in Raphine, I watched George Huger, chef and owner of The Southern Inn, turn some oversize cucumbers into a smooth, refreshing summer soup. George, a wonderful teacher, peeled a dozen or so cucumbers, seeded them, and whirled them with a plunge mixer, along with a huge pile of cleaned and torn [...]
Archive for the ‘Dining’ Category
Cold cucumber soup
Posted in Dining, Local people, Virginia food on August 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Fresh summer cooler
Posted in Dining, Local people, Virginia food on July 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
When I’m in Culpeper, I always stop and see Jessica at the Raven’s Nest Coffee House on Davis Street. She’s a wonderful cook, and makes baked goods, soups and breakfast and lunch specials from scratch, using fresh produce in season from the Culpeper Farmers Market. I worked there all day using the fast internet connection [...]
A Sweet Dip for a Humble Hot Dog
Posted in Dining, Local people, Virginia food on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Mark Heim
Robin Vance of Highland County has cooked hot dogs like this ever since he was a kid, helping his grandfather, Lohr Vance, at the fire. First, the hot dogs are cooked in a kettle of Highland County maple syrup diluted with Highland County well water. Once saturated with the maple flavor the hot dogs [...]
An exotic sauce for simple greens
Posted in Dining, Virginia food on June 17, 2008 | 2 Comments »
It’s still looking good in my garden, long after the other greens have gone bitter and limp. This is the first season I’ve grown Swiss chard, and for each leaf I’ve picked, two have grown back. I think it’s pretty, with its bright red stalk and deep green leaves. When the leaves are cooked, they [...]
Fast food five: first bite
Posted in Dining, health on April 4, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Which would you choose?
Health magazine chose five restaurants to honor for making fast food a little healthier. While on the road this week, I had a chance to try a couple of the magazine’s selections. At Au Bon Pain (in Washington’s Union Station and other locations throughout the city) hungry travelers can choose between more than a dozen different [...]
Bobby Flay on heat and balance
Posted in Dining, Virginia food on March 6, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Bobby Flay blew into Norfolk last weekend with a stiff March wind, but everything about the famous food network chef was sunny and calm. Behind the scenes at Norfolk’s scope, there was a shortage of poblanos, tomatillos and tortillas, but the show went on after a Farm Fresh manager opened up the nearest store and delivered Flay’s signature southwest ingredients.
Flay had [...]
