#3 | VA Wine Month | Candy Roaster | Negronis
Hello,
and welcome to all our new readers this week!
What We’re Drinking: Stanley Tucci & Negronis
We had a few lovely fall days last week, and now temps are climbing back into the 80s, which leaves me feeling as if we are not truly into fall but are still just in the shoulder season—where summer still rears its hot head and fall quietly tries to edge its way past dawn.
You may or may not have heard all the buzz about Stanley Tucci’s latest book, Taste: My Life Through Food, but the reviews are in and are quite positive. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading it (I’m waiting for the audiobook read by the author to come out (who wouldn’t want to hear Tucci read a book to them?)), but reading the reviews made me remember this video, posted in the height of the pandemic, when everyone was fearful: shuttered in their homes, unsure of what lay ahead. Tucci’s wife recorded him making a Negroni. This cocktail is a wonderful drink to enjoy on a shoulder season day (aka an unseasonably warm fall day). Refreshing, yet with a depth the mules and juleps of of summer lack, the gin sings its quiet melody of herbaceous notes whilst the Campari rumbles in on the bass line, harmonizing with sweet vermouth. The orange peel opens and closes the drink lifting and lingering on the tongue…..Ahhhh…… Tucci will guide you through making this classic, or, if you’re hankering for whiskey (it is October, after all), you can make a classic spin and stir yourself a Boulevardier.
Events
Virginia Wine Month
Is chock-full of events! This weekend, wineries throughout our region will be celebrating the harvest with dinners, tastings, live music and other events. Head on over to Virginia Wine to learn more.
Apple Butter Festival at Wade’s Mill
This Saturday, Wade’s Mill in Rockbridge County will host their 25th annual Apple Butter Festival! A host of local artisans will be on-site selling their products, conducting demonstrations and performing for your entertainment. Watch apple butter be made the old-fashioned way—slow-simmered over an open fire— and take home a jar to enjoy slathered on toast. The grist mill will be in operation during the event. Discover the historical importance of grist-mills in Virginia and see a bit of history in action.
Harvest Farm to Fork Fundraiser
If you’re like me and like to plan ahead, mark this on your calendars and purchase a ticket! Anquino Baron Consulting and chef Troy Sheller of Lexington have partnered to bring guests a five-course dinner (with pairings) prepared by Sheller, sourcing local ingredients from the area’s farms. 50% of ticket proceeds will be donated directly to the Rockbridge Area YMCA. This will be a night of impeccable food prepared for an important cause.
Harvest Notes: Candy Roaster Squash
Originally cultivated by the Cherokee Nation in the Appalachian Mountains, this heirloom squash is a relatively rare cultivar (you won’t find it on a grocery store shelf) that has gained more attention with home-gardeners and bakers in recent years. Known for it’s banana-like shape (the biggest banana you ever will see), and sweet, nutty flavor that deepens with age, this squash can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months!
As it ages, the sugars in the squash concentrate. Roasted with a bit of fat the squash will caramelize, and the decadent smell of squashy goodness will fill your home. Perfect for pies, delightful in soup and a whopper,—often weighing in at 15lbs(!)— look for this squash at your local farmer’s market.
Unsure of what to do with a 15 pound squash? Check out these recipes!
North Georgia Candy Roaster Squash With Chanterelles, Basil, And Aji Dulce Peppers
Candy Roaster Squash with Sorghum, Black Walnuts, and Cranberries
Poem of the Week: All Bread by Margaret Atwood
A poem and a podcast! We will be featuring a sourdough baker in our upcoming winter issue. She was kind enough to share a recipe with us and I’ve been thinking about bread ever since our interview. Sadly, our sourdough starter still sits at the back of the fridge, unnamed and somewhat neglected. Since I have bread on the brain, it seemed natural to share this poem. I cannot recommend Poetry Unbound enough! It is a wonderful podcast that carries you safely to the heart of a poem. Even if you aren’t normally a poetry person, host Pádraig Ó Tuama eases you into this wild, un-tamed world with compassion, wisdom and no small amount of awe and appreciation. Give it a listen.
All Bread by Margaret Atwood
All Bread
All bread is made of wood,
cow dung, packed brown moss,
the bodies of dead animals, the teeth
and backbones, what is left
after the ravens. This dirt
flows through the stems into the grain,
into the arm, nine strokes
of the axe, skin from a tree,
good water which is the first
gift, four hours.
Live burial under a moist cloth,
a silver dish, the row
of white famine bellies
swollen and taut in the oven,
lungfuls of warm breath stopped
in the heat from an old sun.
Good bread has the salt taste
of your hands after nine
strokes of the axe, the salt
taste of your mouth, it smells
of its own small death, of the deaths
before and after.
Lift these ashes
into your mouth, your blood;
to know what you devour
is to consecrate it,
almost. All bread must be broken
so it can be shared. Together
we eat this earth.
Thanks for reading! Until next week
Be Well & Eat Well,
Lisa