I rediscovered black walnuts this summer while on a trip to Colonial Williamsburg, of all places. After a walk around, we stopped at the Shields Tavern for coffee and a little live music from period-clad minstrels. On the menu was black walnut ice cream. I was skeptical, thinking they would probably be English walnuts. But [...]

It wasn’t like I didn’t have enough to do yesterday, leaving most everything to the last four  hours before my Thanksgiving guests arrived. I started early, about 8 a.m., and cooked right up to dinner time at 2 p.m.
But somewhere in the middle, between scrubbing the Yukon golds and chopping herbs for the stuffing, I decided [...]

After I pack up what’s left of the hacked-up, once beautiful Thanksgiving turkey, I have little desire to reheat it. The idea of turkey curry, or turkey soup, well, for some reason, it turns my stomach. I guess I don’t really like turkey much, come to think of it.
But in the interest of being a [...]

When most people think of African-American contributions to cooking, they think of greens, fried fish and black-eyed peas, in short “soul food.” But a newly-discovered cookbook may begin to change that image.
Library and culinary historian Jan Longone discovered Malinda Russell’s “Domestic Cook Book: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen” and discovered [...]

The packing and washing house at Five Penny Farm in Floyd this week became the scene of the annual local foods “Meet-and-Eat,” a networking day for local growers, grocers and chefs.
As a farmers market groupie and known food lover, I was lucky enough to be invited for the second time. Sponsored by the Blue Ridge [...]