Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Temperance in Ashe
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thinking of Fields
I'm getting ready to head to South Carolina for the weekend and already I'm thinking about the farmworker camps I'll pass. Driving down Interstate 40, I never used to notice the shabby worker housing tucked around the edges of vast fields. I never thought about how all the pesticides being sprayed on the fields affect the workers who pick those fields. I didn't value the food that comes to my table in quite the same way I do now...
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Monday, July 6, 2009
Homemade Ricotta and Summer Tomato Salad
- 4 cups whole milk (Today I tried low fat milk, and it worked just fine.)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth, and set the strainer over a large bowl.
2. Combine milk, cream and salt, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce heat to low, and add the lemon juice. Gently stir for 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture should start to curdle.
4. Pour the mix into the strainer, and let the cheese drain for an hour or so. Use the cheese right away or refrigerate it in an airtight container. It should be good for a few days.
Summer Tomato Salad
- 2 1/2 pounds tomatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks - various sized heirlooms work especially well
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- one 3-ounce chunk day-old country-style bread, ripped into small chunks
- 3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
- nice handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup ricotta
Mix everything together in a bowl. Serve it right away, or if you can stand to wait, refrigerate it for an hour or so. It definitely gets better with age!
Now if I only had my own cow...
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Celebration
And toasted to a night of catching up with old friends.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Rebuilding
This summer, Ed's working on rebuilding the mill foundation.

Watching all the rebuilding makes me think of the history of this place. We talk about all the meals that were once cooked in our outdoor fireplace. The old rusty horseshoes scattered in the woods carry images of farmers lugging their corn to the mill. We wonder if weary soldiers camped out by the pond on their way to another battle.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
In Love with a Reader
Noah is an avid reader. It's one of my favorite things about him.
On the best Sunday mornings, we go into town and grab a New York Times. Thick and juicy, we take the day to devour the treat. Throughout the following week, we spend mornings with coffee and the remains of Sunday's paper. The crisp sheets become crinkled and smudged...tell tale signs that stories have been savored. What I really love are all the pauses we take to share what we're each reading. Sometimes one of us just agrees to read a whole article aloud. Of course, discussion follows. Many great conversations have started like this.
In the past year or so, my parents have also gotten into the Sunday Times. Their back porch is a great paper reading spot. We like joining them for this.
I'm not even making this up: as I type this Noah says to me, "Hey baby, can I read you something?"
I turn my head toward him, letting him know that I'm all ears. He shares with me a little blurb about Angkor from the National Geographic he's been pouring over (see photo above). In just a few seconds my mind has opened a bit more, and I'm back to blogging.
What a guy.