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My car can hold a lot of stuff!

In the hatch: 4 foot round oak table with drop leaves, an oak occasional table with the coolest little porcelain casters, and a solid marble table top about 2×3 feet. Some other odds and ends were tucked in around and under.

Then in the back seat, more stuff, including a rocking chair, wrought iron 4-tier shelf with glass shelves, a few boxes of odds and ends, and (best deal, according to Larry) a pair of work coveralls. It’s a mess but we had a time getting it all in the car.

Then there were two leaded glass windows to put in too. One is in good shape, the other not so good but still nice. Somewhere hidden in here is a stoneware cookie jar, a Fenton amethyst vase, and …

yes, a set of sip n strip glasses–how weird is that. I listed these on eBay. It was an interesting evening at the auction; I did get some odd looks when I got these in a lot; not something a granny would buy! I hope they sell, though.

There were other good finds last week, and I’ll try to post them later. I hope your weekend finds were fine too!

simple supper-deep dish skillet pizza(0)

Last night manthing wanted pizza or pancakes for dinner. After some internet bantering it was decided that pizza was going to be it. Since I was not going to fire up the oven for a single pizza and my regular cookie sheet was dirty, I had to figure out just how I was going to make said pizza. After a minute or two of thought, it hit me! Why not make a deep dish pizza pie in the cast iron skillet. It came out quite splendid though it was more like a pizza pot pie than a pizza since I went a little bit crazy on the dough making.

I made it just as I would make any other pizza: dough, sauce, and toppings. The only difference was what it was cooked in and how it was cooked. After making the dough, I rolled it and put it in the skillet, just as one would make a pie with the edges hanging over the pan. Then I threw the sauce and toppings on ( a garlic sauce with oregano, onion, tomato, chicken, shrooms, broccoli n cheeses) and rolled the edges of the crust down around the edges.

To cook, I simply set the pan on the stove top with a few chunks of broken brick under it. This is to keep the bottom from burning and to allow the toppings to heat properly and cook. I then placed a lid over the top of the pan to keep the heat in and do its job. I do flat pan pizzas in the same manner but I cook all the toppings(but the cheese) prior to adding them on the crust since it cooks much quicker.

It took about 25-30 minutes of cooking time. The last 10 or so was ensuring the crust was cooked through. Like I said, the crust was a bit too much turning it into a pot pie looking creation rather than a pizza but it was still quite good. The bottom picture is what it turned into though it was not a greenish yellow. The lighting just made it look that way.

Total cost to make was approximately 3 dollars (though a rather expensive meal for us it is way cheaper than going to a pizza place or buying all of the ingredients to make one) and would easily feed four people. Had I made it on cookie sheets it would have made two pizzas rather than a single. Most of the toppings were from our own produce and leftovers from other meals. Total time to prepare and cook was under an hour and that was having to chop all the ingredients, make the dough and sauce, and cook.

tobacco time…(0)

Spring Trophy(0)

I had a couple of hours to spend in the spring gobbler woods, this morning. The whip-poor-wills were very enthusiastic; as I was leaving the truck. The turkeys were silent. I was walking up a small ridge, shortly after daylight and a ruffed grouse flushed; about 4 feet away. There were 7 eggs in the nest. I believe this is the first grouse nest I have ever seen. One interesting note about it was that it was maybe 10 yards away from where I found a woodcock nest last year.
I proceeded to stroll around on some log roads, waiting to hear a gobble. It wasn’t going to happen on this day. I walked right into a silent strutting gobbler. Moving to a different area, I found the trophy of the day. Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostereatus) are one of my favorites. I usually do not find many of these edibles this early in the season. The spring woods offer many enjoyable bounties for the observant one. I sat for about a half-hour, called a few times and walked back to my vehicle. Of course upon arrival at my truck, I saw several turkeys feeding in an overgrown field; within 50 yards of my vehicle. You have to love May in the spring gobbler woods. The best time of the year.

Posted by High Virginia Outdoors
Photos by High Virginia Images
(c) 2012 All Rights Reserved

Going Across the Mountains: Day 2(0)

From my journal, May 12, 2012:

It is 6:00 am in Hinton, WV. Birds have been singing for an hour, welcoming a day that has not yet dawned. A train whistle sounds somewhere downriver. Fog blankets the town, hiding the sheltering mountains that slope up and away from the mighty New, Bluestone, and Sandstone rivers.

Out of my window I see the black-and-whites pull in; an officer gets out of one, punches a code and enters the city building. I wonder what mischief occurred in the night or if all was merely routine patrol in this small river town. A car clatters over the brick street; a truck towing a boat heads out, perhaps for a day of fishing. Across the street a Halloween banner hangs on gambrel-roofed house that once sported a two-story front porch. The porch has been replaced by a one-dimensional deck, leaving double doors on the second floor open to nothingness. A knockout red rose blooms wildly in the yard beside a patriotic flag and a mossy cut-stone wall.

On the opposite corner a neatly trimmed hedge edges the street for a short, undefined distance. I wonder who keeps it maintained so squarely because the hedge seems to start and stop with no apparent relevance, but then I see that once it edged the entire corner until a handicapped-accessible curb was built. Poison ivy struggles to take a stand in the hedge but it too is regimentally trimmed to a rigid box shape.

A train’s engine rumbles louder and louder; a freight moving through? Where is it going and what is it hauling? Yesterday an Amtrak train passed us like we were sitting still although we were traveling about 60 miles per hour. This train sounds like its load is a heavy one, perhaps coal from the mines not far away. Mines are never far away in southern West Virginia.

Quiet descends when the train has passed. The highway below me, Route 20, is not busy at six o’clock on a Saturday morning. The town still sleeps. I, sitting in the curving bow window on the second floor of the Chestnut Revival Bed and Breakfast, watch the day begin 200 miles from my own bed yet I feel completely at home. Behind me Larry sleeps in the tall four-poster bed with downy blankets drawn to his chin. Floorboards creak with age but not human weight.

I look out at a church steeple, a tall pink brick building with an elevator room jutting from its roof, at Bluestone Tire not yet open for the day’s business, and at turn-of-the-twentieth-century brick homes with dark windows. An early walker startles me. She is an elderly woman in tan slacks, white cardigan. She passes quickly, one hand on her hip as if that side is painful and needs the comfort of a touch. Her gray hair disappears around a corner. A truck passes. Larry stirs. Another truck, this one towing a boat, a large pontoon boat the conjures visions of a lazy day of floating on the rivers. Down the street the bright orange-yellow school buses are still. This is a day of rest for them.Yet another truck towing a boat passes, a sleek racing boat. The waters will be busy on this fine day.

The fog lifts slowly and deep green hills emerge, their tops oddly but softly flattened by the still dense fog. Downstairs I hear pots hitting steel stove burners. Breakfast is being prepared. It is time to shower, dress, eat and begin. I see a glimmer of sun escape the hovering fog.

Going Across the Mountains, Day 1(0)

Goin’ cross the mountains, oh fare ye well,
Goin’ cross the mountains, oh fare ye well…

Lines from an old Civil War song fit our weekend journey quite well. We traveled across the mountains to the southern part of the state to the home of our friends Ron and Wendy Perrone, who operate the Three Rivers Avian Center high atop Brooks Mountain in Summers county. It’s a beautiful drive, passing stunning scenery like this:

and this:

We wound up the gravel road to their home, passing swaths of pale blue wild foxglove.

The view from their home

is worth the drive:

After an evening cookout, we headed for the bed-and-breakfast in Hinton called The Chestnut Revival. This is the place we laid our heads on this first day of our weekend trip:

More tomorrow about this place and early morning in Hinton, West Virginia.

Please forgive my absence(0)

Hello Faithful Readers,

I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get another post up. I’ve been fighting a three month battle with chronic migraines and I’ve had some difficulty sitting down to write. Now that I have that sorted out, it is time to catch up on my writing. I have been cooking and I will have posts up as regularly scheduled starting again next week.

I’d like to thank you all for reading what I have to say! I didn’t think that four months in I would have 613 page views and readers from the US, Canada, England, Australia, Germany, Russia and points beyond. You are all awesome and I’d love to heard your feedback on my recipes. Also, your suggestions are always welcome. I love trying new recipes. If any of you would like to be a guest author, you can always email me at emptyjade@gmail.com. I’d love to see what shortcuts you use in your kitchen!

Best,

Heather

silent sunday(0)