Cleaning up my Act

Altered Notebooks

Go to http://www.artfire.com/users/OnTheBanks to order.

Making Pasta

Today was very busy and fun for me. My family and I went to the beach:) It was an enjoyable time. Instead of eating dinner at one of the wonderful seafood places we decided to come back to the lake and make fresh pasta.

Making Irish Soda Bread

I had loads of fun making this bread. It was absolutely delicious. My whole family enjoyed it.

Working with my mixer encouraged me to create some of my other favorites like fresh pasta.

Tune in next week when I will prepare fresh pasta with meat sauce.

Please email me with other ideas. Remember I am not a real cook so make sure it's a recipe even I can do.

I love playing in the kitchen.

Irish Soda Bread

Well, I did not go to the lake this week end but I did make the Irish Soda Bread. I had so much fun and I have to thank my good friend Julia for the recipe.

What was funny about creating this recipe was the fact that most of my cast iron pans are at the lake. I have just a few cast iron pots and pans at home.

I ended up creating my Irish Soda Bread in a cast iron wok:) It sounds strange, and it was, but the results were excellent.

Julia's recipe calls for me to mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and by hand. I just couldn't do that. I love my mixer and decided I had to use the mixer.

I simply loved the whole process. I felt like such a cook. Stay tuned and I will put up a video with a few snaps of the process.

Next week I will try to get down to the lake and I will prepare some pasta (from scratch) with sauce I will make in my cast iron pot. Now, that's cooking with cast iron.

Irish Soda Bread

A good friend of mine, Julia, gave me a lovely idea. Next weekend I will make Irish Soda Bread. Stay tuned and we will be back at the lake.... Cooking with Cast Iron.

See Ya Then.
Viv

Polly Pens

What's For Breakfast? Again?

This morning was beautiful at the lake. The birds were singing their lovely songs and the sun decided to shine brightly.

As much as I thought I would sleep in, I couldn't resist standing at the window and watching the beauty of a sunrise. It was not long before my little ones were asking for breakfast. They wanted pancakes.

I have done a pancake video before but they insisted I do another so I said, "Why not?"

I love pancakes too so it was not a bad idea at all. The recipe is not difficult and requires only one and one half cups of water. The best part of the recipe is shaking the plastic jar. I really have fun with that. Sometimes, however, there are clumps of mix and I don't like that so I sometimes pour the mixture into my measuring cup and mix it up a bit in there just to get the remaining lumps out.

I made these pancakes in my little cast iron pan. It was actually a present from a good friend here at the lake.

Chicken Recipe from Barbara

Well, we are back at the lake! How exciting it is to be here. There is a peace here that is good for the soul. Please don't misunderstand me. I LOVE the beach and one of the things I love about the lake is that it is closer to the beach.

We have a lovely view of the lake and it is hot enough to enjoy the cool water. Actually, I'm at the age where I enjoy watching others in the water. I don't even put my little toe in the water. I simply enjoy looking at the water. This will be strange to many but there are a few of you, I'm sure, who will understand what I feel.

We have been cooking. When I say we, I mean me. Let's be clear. I am at level zero when it comes to cooking so I do very simple meals. Fortunately, they appeal to my family and maybe they will appeal to yours.

I find joy cooking but I think I have the greatest joy playing in the kitchen with the gadgets and pots. I do have a love of cast iron pots. Many ask me why I like cast iron pots. The answer is simple to me but I'll explain. I hate things to break and things that are ruined easily. For example, when I was wed my mother gave me a very expensive set of pots (I asked for). I was soon dismayed and disappointed to find the expensive pots and pans peeling. It was as disgusting as it sounds. I threw the whole set away, I had no choice.

I actually went through several sets of pots. Some were more expensive than others. In any case, when I ran into cast iron pans it was not love at first sight. In fact I thought they were hideous and heavy. It took me sometime to actually buy one. I believe my first purchase was small cute frying pan. It was not expensive but if the truth be told, I think I purchased it because it was cute. I enjoyed it very much but it would be years later before I would actually start appreciating the joy of cooking with cast iron.

LeCruset pots and pans came into my life during a shopping trip to an outlet. I fell in love with the colors. I immediately started collecting the cobalt blue set. My appliances are cobalt blue and the pots and pans matched perfectly.

Cooking in the LeCruset pots and pans was a dream. I have had them for years now and I can't tell you how much I love them.

The rest is history I suppose. So what you see here in my online magazine are simple recipes I prepared with them.

I sent letters to people who I thought could cook, asking them for recipes. My dear friend Barbara called me and told me a chicken recipe. It was so simple that I didn't write it down. I was very excited to make the meal. In the video I share this experience with you. I do hope you enjoy.

Duplin Winery

Beef "N" Beer

This is the first recipe in the book, The Cast Iron Way to Cook by Sue Cutts. I enjoyed preparing this recipe. I did not have any difficulties.

After preparing the recipe and putting it in the oven, I was finished. It cooked all afternoon. I picked up my daughter from school on a rainy afternoon. I stopped by the bakery and picked up some crusty bread and we enjoyed our dinner.

The only thing I would change next time, and this is only because of our personal taste, is not adding so many carrots. We are not carrot people.

What I did find amazing was how tender the meat was. I told my friends about this recipe and how tender the meat was. My friends have been cooking with beer for a while and agreed that beef cooked in beer made it very tender.

All in all it was a fabulous experience. I don't have pictures of the final dish. Next time I prepare this meal I will take a picture with the food plated and the crusty bread on the side.

Cast Iron Cook,

Viv

The Cast Iron way to Cook

Yesterday I went to my favorite store. I went to the Le Creuset store where they sell everything Le Creuset. I had the best time. I purchased the above book, The Cast Iron way to Cook. I flipped through it and I can't wait to get started. Next, I came up with a less than original idea.

Julie and Julia, the movie, was a wonderful story of how the passion for food and cooking affected two women of two different generations. I enjoyed the passion these two women had for food and cooking. I really thought it was a wonderful tribute as well as memorial to Julia. It was also a fabulous inspiration to me. This is where my idea comes in.

I thought, I could not only write about my experience cooking, I could actually show you, via video how I cook the recipes from my new cookbook. It ties in very well with my Cooking with Cast Iron show as well. Now, I won't cook every night from the book as I have not only a full time job and husband, I also have full time dependents to care for as well. My thought is to present my cooking show on the weekends. It all sounds so exciting to me. I can't wait to get started! Join me if you like and write me to tell me about your experiences too.

I will follow the recipes as written and in order presented in the book. In my book, the first recipe is Beef 'N' Beer on page 14. So get your french oven out and let's do this!

Hush Puppy!

I had fun making hush puppies today. I looked up the history of the hush puppy and I came up with all sorts or theories. One theory that I like was the one involving puppies.

According to several websites, cooks of old would cook fish and the puppies and dogs would go wild with desire for the fried fish. To hush the pups the cooks would make a simple fried mixture of cornmeal and water. They would then throw the ball of fried corn meal to the puppies and say, "Hush puppy".

I guess "hush doggies" doesn't have the same kind of ring.

What's For Breakfast?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I know that but I don't always live like it is. On the weekend I have more time to slow down and make a wonderful breakfast for my family. Unfortunately, sleeping in, just sounds like a better idea.

When I surface from my slumber, I do enjoy making a lovely pancake breakfast. My daughter could eat pancakes for breakfast and lunch everyday if I let her. I enjoy great pancakes too and I have since I was a little girl.

I don't have any reason to reinvent the wheel. There are so many pancake mixes out there on the grocery store shelves. Hungry Jack is a favorite of mine when I can get it. Today, I had some and was delighted to make some for my hungry family.

Let's go have our morning coffee and then cook some pancakes. It'll be fun!

Off to the Flea Market

Today was a great day! We had an early breakfast and then drove about 40 miles to a flea market. Along the way we saw all sorts of vegetables growing. Corn is doing great and so are soy beans. Other crops seem to be having a great season too. Let's see, the tobacco is plentiful around this area and the turf farms are as green as ever. I also noticed trees are a very popular commodity as well. I wonder when they are going to pick those?

Now, this was no ordinary flea market we went to today. This flea market had everything you could imagine, even animals. Growing up in New York, I went to my share of flea markets on Saturday mornings. They were a fun and inexpensive way to get toys and such. So when I entered this flea market, I didn't go in as a novice, or so I thought. I would be proven wrong, quickly.

As I entered, I heard the sounds of vendors haggling over prices and neighbors catching up with each other. Suddenly, I heard a rooster. It was loud and clear. I looked up in surprise but no one else shared my surprise. The people around me went on as usual. So, I pretended like roosters crowing was normal for me too. Then I heard a loud noise. It was so loud it shook the ground. I thought for a second that we were experiencing an earthquake. Was it some sort of stampede? No, it was the pigs being unloaded from a huge truck. It was all so incredible to me but others around me seemed to think it the norm. All I could say was, "Really?"

This particular flea market had its humble beginnings as a stock market. Eat your heart out Wall Street. Anyway, this flea market was where people came to purchase live stock. Slowly the merchants began to trade things. Well, one thing led to another and it grew to something really big. Vendors, vendors, are everywhere, as far as the eye can see. All willing to make you a great deal on wares that are sometimes just shy of being, new.

I love the camaraderie found at this flea market. It's also a wonderful place to walk and see lovely sights. As I get older, I feel like I am walking down memory lane as I pass tables and tables of what they say are antique goods but are objects I recall growing up with. Surely, they can't be antiques because that would mean, well, I won't finish that sentence.

Now, I am going to tell you something. I use to think flea markets were filled with other peoples junk, and it is, but sometimes I find other peoples junk exciting. If you can't use it anymore maybe someone else can, seems to be the overall motto of this flea market. It's true, another persons junk my be your new treasure.

Cooking

Low and Slow Country Fried Chicken

Entertainment

Ray Chew

Meet my talented cousin. I am very proud of him and his accomplishments but mostly I'm proud of him because he is a kind person who cares. If you would like to know more about this man and his work go to http://www.raychew.com/#

Cooking

Cooking with Cast Iron

This is my cooking show. I cook delicious food in my treasured cast iron pots and pans. Join me and be entertained and informed.

Poetry

Dream Don't be afraid to dream. Embrace the love. Don't be afraid to love. Embrace your faith. Do have Faith. Your dream will come true with love and on the wings of faith.

What's Your Passion?

Do you have a passion? I have and it's been with me since I can remember. In fact I have several passions.

I have a passion for life. It sounds cliche but I really love living. Each day brings a challenge I didn't have the day before. Sometimes I feel good about the challenge and other times not. What I know is true is that if I stay in the process we call life, I will grow for the better.

I have a passion for all things in the field of theatre. Theatre is Life! Theatre is My Life! I was born with this passion and it only grows when I nurture it, when I take time to acknowledge it. I do and will continue because if I don't, I turn my back on a beautiful and unique gift given especially to me. There will always be others better, so what. I can just be me.

I have a passion to protect the weak. They can't protect themselves. They need to know someone cares. I really do care. If you don't care, don't pretend like you do. You just get in the way. I'll let you in on something, we who care know those who don't.

Yes, you will run into those people and challenges that will try to weaken your will. That's what they are here for. That is their purpose in life. But stand tall, stand strong, stand still, and I promise you that you and your passion will be standing when it's all over.

Have faith in your passion.

Elwell Ferry

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I had the wonderful opportunity to ride the Elwell Ferry yesterday. I didn't know until now exactly what I was riding. It turns out I was aboard a large piece of history that is over 100 years old. The Elwell Ferry is one of the last three cable ferries operating in North Carolina, one of the twenty four in the United States and the only cable ferry on the Cape Fear River. The ferry can only carry two cars at a time. You are allowed to get out of your vehicle while it makes its journey across the river. It's free to ride.

The Russ family started the ferry back in 1905. It was not long before the North Carolina Department of Transportation took ownership of the ferry. Unfortunately, Mr. Walter Russ was the first person to die on the ferry and it was due to an explosion in 1942 that ironically Mr. Russ warned about. A year later another ferry was built.

Fortunately modern technology has built in safety features that prevent other deaths, like the ones of the past, from occurring. For example, we no longer have to worry about cars and trucks slipping out of gear and falling into the river or people pushing over sized cars on the ferry as had been done in the past.

There is no danger, at this time, of a bridge being built to transport people and vehicles across the Cape Fear River. The cost of building a bridge to replace the five minute ride across the river in the cable ferry is too steep to justify.

For now we all can enjoy the nostalgia and convenience the Elwell Ferry gives.

If you have the opportunity to travel to this part of North Carolina, I hope you will visit this piece of history.