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.