Earlier this week, my eight year-old son and I headed to Washington, DC so he could participate in an educational event at the National Archives (their Learning Lab’s “Constitution in Action” class, which I would highly recommend to parents looking for a free activity to keep your children engaged in learning over the summer). My son was so… Read More Smithsonian’s “Food: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000” Exhibit
A good deal on a whole chicken at my local Food Lion + reading famed Charleston, SC gardener Emily Whaley’s “Mrs. Whaley Entertains” = delicious fried chicken for Sunday supper. Seriously, the hardest part about making fresh fried chicken from scratch was figuring out how to cut up the fryer (and I found a YouTube video to help).… Read More Charleston Fried Chicken for Sunday Supper
My favorite farmer’s market, Lakeside Farmer’s Market, had baby red potatoes and fresh corn this weekend, and I knew I had a bag of shrimp in the freezer, so why not make a shrimp boil? Seafood boils, otherwise known as Frogmore Stew, have a long and storied history in the lowcountry of South Carolina.… Read More Kinda Legit Lowcountry Shrimp Boil
School’s out, and in our household that means it’s high time for some historical adventures. See my parents weren’t the type to just be content with going to the beach every year. Oh no – from the time I was born until I graduated high school, our family vacations typically involved visiting historical sites up… Read More Virginia Summer Food History Events
Happy March! In our half-Irish household, St. Patrick’s Day is kind of a big deal, so I was interested to read Tom McLaughlin’s article “A Taste of Irish History.” We all know about the Irish food staples of potatoes, cabbage, corned beef and soda bread, but there are historical, political and economic forces at work… Read More Irish Food History and St. Patrick’s Day
Note – OK, so I’ve been super busy and haven’t gotten a chance to finish blogging my Memphis trip – sorry! I promise to post days 4 and 5 quickly, because I have a cool blog project on the horizon for the holidays. So read on for the rest of my Memphis blogs. “I went… Read More Day 4 in Memphis
“Now the world’s in a revolt because Dr. King is gone.” Otis Spann – “Blues for Martin Luther King” Saturday morning dawned gray and drizzly – the perfect opportunity to visit some of the sights of Memphis that are indoors. First on the list: the legendary Sun Studios. We headed a few blocks down Union… Read More Day 3 in Memphis
“I saw the ghost of Elvis on Union Avenue. Followed him up to the gates of Graceland, and I watched him walk right through.” Walking in Memphis – Marc Cohn As the National Pork Board‘s “Pork Passion Pursuits” sweepstakes winner, my mission in Memphis was to soak up the local culture and to learn… Read More Day 2 in Memphis
“Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded the plane. Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues in the middle of the pouring rain.” Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn Well it wasn’t raining when my husband and I landed in Memphis, but I was still excited. As the National Pork Board’s… Read More Day 1 in Memphis
Anyone who knows me knows I’m an avid sweepstakes enterer (if that’s even a word!). In a typical week, I enter 150 to 200 different online sweepstakes, and I’ve won trips, cash, shopping sprees and all kinds of other things (makeup, hair and skin products, video games and systems, etc.). Yes, I get lucky sometimes,… Read More Winning the Pork Board’s “Pork Passion Pursuits” Sweepstakes!
Dogwood Dispatches 