Literally translated, pappa al pomodoro, means “mush of tomato” in Italian. In this country, we know it as Tuscan Bread Soup. Tuscany is in central Italy and has an inland geography much like our own. The region is noted for its grilled meats and hearty soups. This is the area that produces pecorino cheese and [...]
Entries from August 31st, 2008
Pappa al Pomodoro
August 31st, 2008 · 2 Comments · From the Garden, recipes
Tags:pappa al pomoro·recipes
Listening to the Fog
August 30th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
It was foggy out this morning. I sat on the porch with my coffee for an hour or so listening to the sounds in the fog: the startling bray of one of the miniature donkeys on the farm next door; the lowing of a cow across the way; the caw-caw-caw of a crow. Each sound [...]
Blackberries, Part Deux
August 29th, 2008 · No Comments · From the Garden
My friend John stopped by yesterday. A visit from John during harvest is like fishing at the beach when the Blues are running. It can be a very bountiful experience. John, and his father Fred, operate a 1,000 acre farm in Bland County. In one fell swoop, I have more produce to deal with than [...]
Tags:blackberry syrup·jelly
Hallelujah! The Ol’ Man is Snoring…
August 27th, 2008 · No Comments · photos
It’s been raining for better than 36 hrs., and man did we need it. Things were starting to get a little dry. We had to cut back on watering the garden, because our water comes from an underground spring, and the water level was getting low. I spent an hour or so on the porch [...]
Going Green…..or, Puce….whatever
August 24th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
One of my pet peeves is the way my groceries are usually bagged at the checkout counter. It doesn’t matter which grocery store or where the store is located, ever since stores started using plastic bags, my groceries have gone to hell in a…well….plastic bag. When I was a teenager, I worked for The Great [...]
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Homicide: Life on the Creek
August 23rd, 2008 · No Comments · photos, wildlife
This year, I’ve allowed Galena Creek to become overgrown, partly because I wanted to see what would happen with no human intervention, and partly because I’ve been concentrating on other things around here. Recently I took my trusty brush cutter down to clear a path thru the wildflower meadow to the Creek, and found this: [...]
Tags:homicide·photo image
Goin’ Buggy
August 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment · wildlife
It’s a funny thing about blogging. You don’t always end up writing what you started out to write. In my case, I planned to do a foodcentric blog about Southwestern Virginia with a little music and folk art thrown in for good measure. And I still plan to do that. But for various reasons I [...]
Odds and Ends
August 20th, 2008 · 1 Comment · flora and fauna
Our largest sunflower, which we have dubbed Audrey II after the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors, seems to be taking forever to bloom. We’ve been waiting and waiting……… Ok. Good winter or bad winter? I haven’t a clue. And despite everything the Ol’ Wives and the various almanacs have to say, I don’t [...]
The Country Store
August 19th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Sources
I have always loved country stores. Both of my grandfathers operated country stores, and though I have only the vaguest memories of them, I’m sure that’s where my love affair began. After I got out of the service in the early ’70s, I went back to college. To supplement the GI Bill, I had a [...]
Tags:country store·Sources
The Birds and the Bees Do Lunch
August 18th, 2008 · No Comments · flora and fauna
Tags:flora and fauna