Chef Dan & I had a lovely evening last night (Aug. 27, 2022) at the J.Q. Dickenson Saltworks in Malden, West Virginia (Charleston), at their “BBQ & Bluegrass” event. There was live Bluegrass music by Kanawha Tradition, & a whole local hog was smoked by Chef Mike Moore of Uncle Read more
This year’s garden wasn’t perfect, by any means, but the hot peppers- all of them in pots on the front patio of the Elkhorn Inn this year- did great! When October arrived, and frost was imminent, with the pepper plants still covered in peppers, as they always are, Dan did Read more
Thanks to being a member of Tryazon, the great sampling program, I was selected to do a Facebook Live Party for the Vasta Vegetable and Fruit Sheet & Noodle Slicer! The Vasta is an inexpensive, fun, and easy-to-use kitchen tool that enables you to make “sheets” from both fruits and vegetables, as Read more
Wine! Food! Penguini! As many of you know, I am a “sweeper” and a contest-junkie. While my friends are playing Candy Crush and Farmville at 2a.m. on Facebook, I am often entering sweeps and contests… LOTS of sweeps and contests! And while the downside is I get 1000+ emails a Read more
Add caption Happy Purim! This year the Jewish holiday of Purim (see below for links to the history of Purim and how to celebrate it) was Feb. 9 -10, and I decided that, for the first time, I would make Hamantaschen! (Or Hamentaschen, depending on how you choose to spell it!) I think Read more
Jalapeno Popper Mummies! I now have a series of posts I am calling “Recipes That Work!” because when I find one that does, with minimal adjustments, I get ALL excited! Others in this series are my posts on making Apple Roses, Zucchini Roses, Tamales, Vietnam Summer Rolls, and Tamarind Paste. The Read more
TAMALES When Dan and I were on a cruise that spent a day in Cozumel, we took a wonderful cooking class, with a market visit, at Josefina’s Cocina Con Alma: https://www.cozumelchef.com/ After we returned to West Virginia (and added several of the dishes we learned to make to the Elkhorn Inn Read more
Tamarind Pods… Make Tamarind Paste! First, let me state that I love, love, love tamarind! Its unique, tangy, sour-but-with-a tinge-of-sweetness taste is inimitable, and whenever I find anything with tamarind sauce or tamarind glaze- or tamarind anything- I order it! It’s Asian, it’s Israeli, it’s Caribbean, it’s Mexican… everyone loves Read more
Vietnam Summer Rolls! After Dan and I returned to West Virginia from our last trip to Vietnam in 2015, having taking a number of cooking classes and “foodie” tours all across the country, I sourced seeds for Vietnamese herbs online, and began growing them in our garden at the Elkhorn Read more
My 5 faithful readers may recall last year’s post on making Easy Apple Roses: https://southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com/2018/09/easy-puff-pastry-apple-roses-for-rosh.html I made them for Rosh Hashonna (Jewish New Year) last fall, and they were a BIG hit with our Elkhorn Inn & Theatre dinner guests- you don’t have to be Jewish to love Apple Roses! LOL This Read more