Food+Drink
Featured
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Time of the Season
Around Labor Day, when the first cool breeze rolls through the ancient mountains of Southern Appalachia, so, too, is the indication that fall is just around corner. It’s also the signal to harvest the bounty of another growing season. Read more
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The Delights of Dried Food
In my youth, and to a far greater degree one or two generations earlier, hardy mountain folks living close to the land relied heavily on curing, pickling, and drying to preserve foods. Read more
Courtesy of Jim Casada
Trout on the Table
One of the more frequently used quotations from 19th century wilderness wanderer, writer, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau suggests that “some men fish all their lives without knowing it is not really the fish they are after.” Read more
Jun 1, 2021
A Yearning for Yard Bird
In past generations, chickens were as much a part of normal mountain homesteads as bedsteads or corn cribs. Variously known as yard birds, preacher birds, and Gospel birds, as well as chickens, they had a myriad of virtues. Read more
Apr 1, 2021
Mountain Soul Food
Rich, filling, savory, and chock full of a myriad of blended tastes, a hearty stew, accompanied by a pone of cornbread or fresh-baked batch of cathead biscuits, offered food which filled the inner being and stirred the soul. Read more
Feb 1, 2021
The Wonders of Winter Squash
Traditionally, winter squash figured prominently in subsistence agriculture throughout the southern high country. Pumpkins and other “keeping” squash were grown in both fields and gardens. Read more
Dec 1, 2020
Makins From Maters
Along with corn, most consider tomatoes, usually just called “maters” in traditional mountain vernacular, the quintessence of foodstuffs from mountain gardens. Tomatoes are so versatile, so tasty, and come in so many varieties they are irresistible. Read more
Aug 1, 2020
Apple Time in the High Country
Two or three generations ago almost every mountain homestead had apple trees. Whether or not they rose to the status of meriting the term orchard, they provided welcome, indeed needful, additions to the family’s diet. Read more
Oct 1, 2020
The Bounty of Blackberries
Some of my fondest childhood memories center on countless days spent plucking the fruits of the good Earth. Foremost among these was picking what is far and away the best known of the wild brambles, the luscious and pretty much ubiquitous blackberry. Read more
Jun 1, 2020
Photo courtesy Mercier Orchards • mercier-orchards.com
Fried Pies
I’ve always held you can tell mountain southerners from all other southerners by the kind of fried pie they prefer. Read more
Apr 1, 2020
