The Pit

Last Friday, Andrew and I went to Raleigh to pick up Jamey from the airport (Jamey is going to be working as John Irving's literary assistant this year, true story). Before we picked her up, we drove to Raleigh for lunch and to visit the NC Museum of Art.

The NC Museum of Art was ok. There were some Andrew Wyeths and a Georgia O'Keefe, but much of what I wanted to see (the Egyptian collection and the ancient Greek collection) were closed for renovation.

The highlight of the day (other than seeing Jamey!) was going to The Pit in downtown Raleigh. Located in the warehouse district, this restaurant serves the downscale cuisine of Eastern Carolina Barbeque in an upscale setting. (Fortunately, the prices at lunch were not upscale- the entree prices ranged from $7-11). We arrived at 12 to a line that would become longer throughout the next hour. We gave them our cell phone number, and spent only about fifteen minutes walking around the warehouse district before a table opened up. 

While the restaurant was crowded, it was also huge, taking up about three big rooms. They had decorated with local artwork and track lighting, which made it seem a little more yuppie than you would expect for a barbeque place. The crowd wasn't too yuppie though - very diverse. 

I ordered the chopped eastern style barbeque plate, while Andrew got the plate that had both chopped barbeque and fried chicken. For my sides, I got green bean casserole and sweet potato fries. Andrew got macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes and gravy. We both got biscuits and hushpuppies.

Our meats were amazing - the barbeque was moist but not soggy, and not drenched in vinegar, though there was the option of using vinegar based barbeque sauce (we both preferred the darker, sweeter sauce). Andrew said that his fried chicken was great, which almost made me wish I'd gotten that instead, except that well, the barbeque was damn good. 

The sides were good, but the meat was definitely the highlight. The green beans were definitely fresh, though they could have been cooked a little longer, I think. The sweet potato fries were good too, though I wonder if they could have used a little more cinnamon and a little less brown sugar as a topping. The biscuits were good but not buttermilk, and the hush puppies were wonderful, though Andrew thought they were too greasy. 

What I also liked about the restaurant was that they get their meat from local free range farms. As such, they do use less meat on the plates. Neither of us left feeling less than painfully full though, so unless you are a competitive strength eater, you should be fine.

Definitely worth the trip. 

Blueberries

Need to know where to go to pick blueberries or any other vegetable that might be in season? This website is an incredible resource for picking your own fruits and vegetables. Not only will it give you info on local websites for self harvest operations, but it will also tell you what is in season in your area, where you can find local farms, or even how to can what you've picked.

My mom and I went blueberry picking in Opelika, Alabama a few weeks ago. We picked four quarts of blueberries, and made several pints and half pint jars of jam from this. I would highly recommend the recipe on this website as opposed to the one found in the Joy of Cooking. Usually, I stand firmly behind Joy. In this instance, however, it called for no pectin and too much sugar, making the jam much more runnier than we would have liked. The instructions on the pick your own website are easier than they look, and you can produce a whole lot of jam from this.

Picking your own fruits and veggies is really a great way to get good, cheap produce, and get some exercise in the process. It's a great group outing, and I would also recommend it as an activity for kids. My mom took us berry picking a lot when we were little, and we always had a lot of fun. I also think it's good for kids to know where their food is coming from, so I think farm visits make great field trips, too. 

Also, my mom took that picture. So, I'm giving her credit for it. Thanks, mom. 

Note: If you are in the Opelika area and would like to visit the place where my mom and I picked our blueberries, here is the info:

Billy Allen - Blueberrries
3046 Lee Rd 391, Opelika, AL 36804. Phone: (334) 745-7686. Directions: I-85 exit 60, go south, take 1st left on Old Columbus Road, go to 4-way stop, go straight, farm approx. 1 mile on left. Open: June 1-August 10, 7 am until dark, 7 days a week.

Of Cats and Men

This week, my family had to say goodbye to a very dear friend. We had Cleo (bottom picture) in our lives for almost 13 years, to the day. While not a particularly sweet cat, she was loyal and a good companion. It's been a very difficult week, and I keep trying to remind myself that cats  live this long (short, I think) because they truly are companions.

Cats have been used as companions (and mousers!) since the ancient Egyptians. My cat, Loretta (top picture), was adopted for this very reason. I love old houses. I also love cats. It seems that these two loves come hand in hand. In the first old house that I rented, I had a mouse problem. Though I have recently upgraded to a nicer apartment, I realized (to my chagrin) that I still have a mouse problem. Loretta, my cat, has been on hot pursuit, and my hope is that she will scare the mouse away. 

I got the cat because I don't like the ethics of mousetraps or poison. Don't get me wrong, I have purchased and used mousetraps, and I'd rather have a dead mouse than a mouse running rampant. Preferably, I'd like to have a terrified mouse that isn't coming back into my house. I see the use of a cat, however, as being a little more natural. Also, because I adopted my cat from the animal shelter, it meant one less cat would face euthanasia. So the moral of that is: adopting pets is good. Spaying and neutering is good, too. 

This also reflects my beliefs about food and factory farming. I eat meat. I love barbeque. Sausage biscuits are probably the greatest breakfast foods possible. What I do not love, though, is the way that we abuse animals so that we can overproduce them. We simply do not need as much meat as we are consuming, and what's more, that same high amount of meat is detrimental for our health. So, the moral of that is: buy meat from ethical, free range, non-antibiotic using farms. This is more expensive, yes. So, buy less of it! Supplement your diet with meat substitutes, nuts, beans, and tofu for your protein. This is a good way to cut down on your cholesterol and also increase your fiber consumption. 

The previous recipe for possum also is a reflection of this belief, albeit not quite a serious one. Well actually, I am sure people have used that recipe seriously - that recipe is based on several from cookbooks, particularly those dating back to the early and mid twentieth century. In those days, particularly before the baby boom, Americans didn't depend on factory farming. (Check out this book for more information.)

 So, what this blog aims to do is to explore ethical farming and the delicious cooking that can come from the products of ethical farming. 

How to Cook Possum

1. To catch a possum, I would recommend putting a have-a-heart trap under your house, and baiting it with fish that has been dead quite a while. According to North Carolina folklore, one must catch a possum by looking for it on the dark of the moon. I don't quite know what that means, so I do not how to tell you to go about it, but if you figure it out, let me know.
2. Catching the possum is the easy part. Once you have gotten it into the cage (see picture above), you must then keep it in this cage or another cage for a week, feeding it only milk or cornmeal. For my personal taste, I think milk would be best, but I supposed cornmeal would work well too. This is so that the possum might have a chance to clean out his digestive system.
3. Probably, the best way to kill a possum is to whack it over the head with something.
4. Though, you do have to be careful that it is not actually playing possum.
5. Once you are sure it is dead, you must skin it. Again, I don't know how to tell you to do this as the last time I skinned something was the cat in my 12th grade zoology class, but probably you might be able to contact a local taxidermist for suggestions.
6. Once you have skinned the possum, either use a recipe, or prepare as you would rabbit.
See, not too hard (However, I have never done any of this. Just a suggestion.)