RED, WHITE & NOT BLUE

Chevre on toasted baguette, with ripe tomato and basil.

RECIPE BELOW

CELEBRATE INDEPENDENTS

Nope, that's not a misspelling. Today, with more and more big box groceries, bookstores, and WalMarts, we consumers need to support our local, independent merchants now more than ever. Sure, you may have to pay full price for a hardback book, but in the long run, we all pay in so many ways. Keep the independents in business, and we'll have more diversity and a stronger, local economy. That's my 4th of July message!

T-Shirt from Sterling Bridge Dairy, Floyd Co, VA

CELEBRATE CHEVRE

So it's got a French name, but fresh goat cheese is All-American. Goats are such a trip. They can be "hired" to clear fields....they love kudzu! And climbing on cars. And at Caromont, in Esmont, VA outside of Charlottesville, Gail Hobbs-Paige's goats line up, in the exact same pecking order, every day, twice a day, outside of the milking parlor. www.caromontfarm.com

Here she's with some of her new kids, weaned from their moms so that their milk can be turned into mild and creamy cheese, some dusted with herbs, others with a layer of ashe, still others aged for a bit then washed in a local vinegar, produced from local wines, from Virginia Vinegar Works.

TASTY CHEVRE from NC

Ripshin Dairy, from Love Valley, is sold at the Watauga County Farmers Market. Love Liza's chevre with lemon, and with lavender. www.ripshindairygoat.com

Three Graces makes lovely chevre flavored with a variety of herbs. Look for them at Asheville's tailgate and farmers markets. www.3gracesdairy.com Also, Spinning Spider has been making chevre for quite a few years, with lovely aged cheeses, esp that I have enjoyed. www.spinningspidercreamery.com

Looking Glass Creamery, near Asheville, hopes to make the area "the Napa Valley of cheese." Jennifer Perkins was the "sheep technician" at the famed Blackberry Farm resort, where she tended the goats during the day and experimented with cheese at night. Now, she's producing a fantastic variety of aged and creamy cheese. www.ashevillecheese.com

One of the oldest goat dairies in the Piedmont is Celebrity Dairy, where you can also take a peaceful retreat at the Inn, built among the pastures where goats and chickens roam near Siler City and Pittsboro. Fleming Pfann's cheeses are exceptional, especially those aged and/or herbed.

At just about every farmers market throughout the Southeast, you'll find a goatherder and their cheese, or soaps. Indulge, and enjoy.

LACTOSE INTOLERANT?

Here's something to cheer up those of us who suffer from gas, bloating, or worse with cream, milk or some cheeses: Goat and sheep cheeses are more easily tolerated by our lactose sugar intolerant tummies. And, the harder the cheese, the better for us, too. Check out the explanation given by Barbara Kingsolver in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.

WAYS TO USE CHEVRE;

- Spread on toasted bread, then top with herbs, or tomatoes and herbs, or roasted sweet peppers

- Add to sauteed vegetables and pasta, while all is warm

- Crumble over spinach or variegated lettuces

- Drizzle chevre with honey, for a sweet treat, esp when served with fresh figs or peaches

In THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK, you'll find some outstanding recipes using chevre, like Roasted Beets, Rosemary and Chevre in Pastry; Warm Goat Cheese and Artichoke Spread; Fried Green Tomato Napoleon with chevre as one of the layers; and Tomato Ramekins with Goat Cheese.

Here's one I'll share from THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK that came about one evening at the beach when we were racing to prepare our sunset cocktails. I threw together what I had on hand....as lots of cooks do. The results were worth repeating.

Crabs and Goats Cocktail Spread

1 cup backfin crabmeat

1/4 cup bottled cocktail sauce iwth horseradish

1/3 cup chevre

juice from 1 lime

1 tablespoon chopped chives

salt and pepper to taste

crackers, crostini or toast points

Mix all ingredients together. Spread and enjoy!

THE HEAT IS ON!

MY MARKET GOODIES

Small, tailgate markets need our support in order to draw more farmers and more customers. So instead of heading out on Saturday morning to my town's bigger markets, I hit the North Raleigh market off Durant Road. I find about a dozen or more tables laden with organically-grown produce, pasture-raised meats, free-range chicken and duck eggs, and freshly roasted coffee from Muddy Dog Roasting Co. I also bought their bag of "roasted" yellow corn meal, which promises a more robust, nutty flavor. I can't wait to make some polenta or cornbread with it.

Thick, meaty pork chops from pigs who will soon have a portable pen, or "pig tractor," came from Little River Ranch near Hillsborough. Free-range eggs, Mountain-variety tomatoes, a great head of lettuce, and yellow squash got me real excited. So did the fingerling-style potatoes - red, purple and creamy white. And the first of the season peaches! Cling peaches will be in by next week, I understand.

Grilled squash, 'mater sandwiches, a frittata, pork chops with the potatoes, peaches sliced on my granola, and a heavenly-fresh lettuce salad are what's on the menu at our house this week. Can't wait!

CHARD, ARUGULA, SPINACH taking the heat.......

Up in the cooler ranges of the Blue Ridge, markets are still featuring some of the cooler weather greens, like rainbow chard, collards, or spinach. I expect you better grab some fast before the hot weather does it in.

Last week I was in Galax, VA at the town's Book Festival sponsored by Chapters Bookshop. I found some gorgeous rainbow chard at the market, so for my demo of a recipe from THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK, decided to do May Greens Farmer's Market, a recipe shared by Shiloh Avery of Tumbling Shoals farm, who sells at the Watauga Farmers Market in Boone.

Just about any green can be sliced into ribbons or a chiffonade, then sauteed with onions, mixed with feta and hot pasta. It's a simple and easy dinner, fast food, if you will!

RECIPE

1 package spinach linguine or other fresh (or dried) pasta

salt

splash olive oil

1 bunch (4 to 6 cups minimum) chopped rainbow chard or other green

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 bunches green onions

5 to 6 ounces feta cheese

freshly ground pepper

1. Cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water with a splash of olive oil. If pasta is fresh, be careful not to overcook. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, separate the stems from the chard leaves. Coarsely chop the stems. Stack the leaves on top of one another, roll them like a cigar, and coarsely chop.

3. Heat the 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large,heavy skilet. Saute the onion and chard stems (not the greens!) in the oil for about 6 minutes or until getting just tender.

4. Add the chard greens and salt. Cook until wilted.

5. Add the drained pasta and the feta cheese and continue cooking for another minute, until the feta begins to melt. Add ground black pepper and serve.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

recipe copyrighted

TWELVE BONES, Asheville

The First Couple choose their first meal in Asheville to be at Twelve Bones. Ribs, Mac & Cheese, greens, corn pudding . . . which sounds like a fine Southern meal to me. I love Twelve Bones' Blueberry Chipotle sauce on ribs, and the jalapeno cheese grits grits are to die for.

Seems President Obama liked his first visit to Twelve Bones so much that he had to take the missus there while on their honeymoon-like getaway. See the video for yourself, HERE

A second location for Twelve Bones has been opened in Ayden, down Hendersonville Rd, and is open for Sat lunch. As you can see from above, the old service station draws a crowd looking to fill up.

SANDHILLS FARM TO TABLE COOPERATIVE is a marvelous organization bringing boxes of farm fresh food weekly to members in the Southern Pines vicinity. You will enjoy their newsletters chock full of ideas and recipes for dealing with the season's bounty, written by an old newspaper buddy and excellent writer, Jan Leitschuh. To get the newsletter, email Jan HERE.

FARM TOURS .....

Charles Church, of Watauga River Farms, is one of my favorite farmers. He's been farming on land that butts right up to the river there in Valle Crucis since he "could drag a bucket across the fields." Ever resourceful and innovative, he gave up farming tobacco and learned to produce potatoes, beans, squash and "you name it" organically. He's also raising pigs the old fashioned way, on pasture, and produces beautiful chops and terrific sausage.

And he'll be among the ten farmers featured in this year's High Country Farm Tour by the Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture on August 7 and 8th from 2 to 6 pm. That's gorgeous country folks, and a beautiful way to spend a summer's day.

Also check out the Asheville area's Family Farm Tour sponsored by the ASAP on June 26 and 27 from 1 to 6 HERE. It's a huge tour, with over 30 farms included, in some of the most bucolic scenery in the world!

RHUBARB QUEEN........

Susan Boylan of Otus Branch Farm near the gorgeous rural community of Todd, NC, shared her recipe for Rhubarb Mint Chutney for THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK. When we tested the recipe, we served it with grilled salmon, and it was an unusual and absolutely delicious relish. Spicy yet balanced with a bit of sweetness. Ditto with roasted pork. I must admit I had never had rhubarb unless in a pie sweetened with lots of sugar and strawberries. This chutney is marvelous!

This past weekend, Susan helped man a booth at the Watauga Farmers Market sponsored by the Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, who welcomed both me and my cookbook. An intern from Appalachian State, Kristen, made up several chutney batches and served it on top of slices of baguette from Stick Boy Bakery in Boone, and slices of Ashe County Cheese, also featured in my book. Along with samples of Apple Spice Cake, we drew a taste-ful crowd!

Here's Susan's recipe, as printed in THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK.

RHUBARB-MINT CHUTNEY

2 to 3 stalks rhubarb, finely chopped

1 small chili pepper, seeded and minced

10 to 15 leaves of mint, preferably spearmint, chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons raw or brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine rhubarb, chili pepper, and mint. Gently stir in sugar and salt.

Allow flavors to mellow for at least 2 hours, then adjust sugar and salt to taste. Can by made 1 day ahead and will last up to 3 days in the fridge.

Strawberries....need I say more?

GRILL, BABY, GRILL

I have fallen head over heels for grilled strawberries. I thought the sensuous combo of chocolate and strawberries would always be my true love, but now.....what can I say other than the caramelized stripe of charred sweetness transport a strawberry into a totally different realm?

Last summer we grilled peaches. Grilled pineapple slices remain a favorite. But strawberries? Never imagined that until I tasted one at the Asheville City Market at their weekly demo and tasting booth, which featured this Saturday Knife and Fork, a new restaurant in Spruce Pine.

EAST DOES IT

Recipes for grilling strawberries usually call for them to be wet, then rolled in sugar and then grilled. Many called for balsamic vinegar, so I decided to give that a try. Granted, my balsamic vinegar is not the real thing that costs as much as the price of a fancy dinner out for just one small bottle. Which means that the cheap balsamic I buy is mostly caramel-colored vinegar probably sweetened with brown sugar, which means a perfect coating for grilling strawberries!

I heated up my grill pan, since my outdoor gas grill was indisposed. I dipped the berries first in the balsamic vinegar, then rolled them first in white sugar. (I bet you could place the berries on a skewer, and roll them in sugar all at once.) The result with regular sugar and the balsamic vinegar was pretty good. When I rolled the berries in brown sugar, however, there was more caramelization going on in the grill pan, and the taste was oh so marvelous! I found that only a minute of heat on either side was more than enough.

The result? The berries pooled their sweetness into the plate. The berries are softened just a tad, with a somewhat crunchy bit of caramel on the grilled stripe. Which made me want to just stand there and fill my face rather than save any for tonight's dessert. I'm going to make a shortcake of some sort to serve them with.

SHORT SEASON

From the mountains to the coastal plain, there will be a short season of strawberries this year, due to the weather. Mainly the fault is with the rain, which is not a friend for strawberries when they are ripening in the fields. In fact, I should have known better than to purchase fresh, local berries this morning, what with our recent heavy rains. They were very soft and had a watered down taste, not as intense as those who roast in the dry sun, and I wound up being able to use only half of the basket.

I remember from my 4-H days, when I planted 100 plants for my growing project. The first year, I was required to pinch off the white blossoms, which meant no berries that year. (They don't do that anymore, I understand.) The second year, I'd go out to my berry patch with my bucket and plunk myself down and eat all within reach until I was almost too sick to pick any more!
STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE TART

So, this gorgeous tart is one of my all time favorites. Chocolate and strawberries, what could be better? Serve a little framboise with it, and yum! You'll also find the recipe in THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK: Recipes & Traditions from NC's Barrier Islands.

I've increased the filling to fit my tart pan a bit better. I like to use a removable-bottom tart pan for its ease in serving, and follow the sweet pastry dough recipe given by Julia Child in THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING. If the strawberries are large, slice them in half. Or use just small, whole berries placed bottom up.

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces

4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 9-inch pie crust, baked

1 quart (4 cups) whole,fresh strawberries, hulled (large ones halved), rinsed and dried

2 tablespoons strawberry or red currant jelly (not preserves)

1 teaspoon water

confectioners' sugar,sifted

sprigs of lemon verbena or mint

1. In the microwave or a double boiler, slowly melt chocolate and butter together, stirring frequently. When thoroughly melted and mixed, stir in cream and beat with spoon until combined.

2. Spread mixture into the baked tart shell.

3. Immediately place small berries with bottoms up, or large ones sliced in half with rounded side up, starting in the center, in a patterned circle covering the chocolate.

4. Melt jelly and water together in the microwave,stir, then brush the tops of each strawberry with that mixture so that the berries will glisten. Be careful not to allow jelly mixture to pool on the chocolate.

5. Refrigerate for about an hour or two, or up to six hours. Remove from fridge about 30 to 45 minutes before serving so that the chocolate layer can be sliced. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over the top of each slice, and garnish with the lemon verbana or mint.

CRABS HAVE AWAKENED!

BEAUTIFUL SWIMMERS, Callinectes Sapidus, or how 'bout Carolina Blue Crab? They're awake, after spending the winter buried in the mucky muck of the sounds. When the water warms, they emerge, stretch their legs and hopefully, land in the crab pots constructed or repaired all along NC's coastal villages during the winter and which are now being set out in the Pamlico and Albermarle sounds. Because they're rather hungry and rather randy after their long sleep, they're easily lured into crab pots baited with fish, chicken necks or "jimmies" that the females are quite interested in!

On a quick, unexpected trip to a NC beach a few days ago, we scored my first pound of freshly picked crabmeat for the season. I felt like a kid at Christmas who had to wait to ride my new bike until the rain stopped....and I could hardly wait till dinner to warm some in butter. It beats lobster, hands down, any old time. Sweet, tender, bursting with the flavor of the sea, it was divine.

My seafood buddy in New Bern, Ray Hautch at J & B Seafood on HWY 70, tells me that NC crabbers are expecting a rather sad season. Some folks have given up crabbing altogether, he says. Up in the Chesapeake, however, they're expecting a bumper crop. Why's that? I'll have to check it out, and I'll let you know.

CRABMEAT PANNED IN BUTTER

It seems almost foolish to give this as a recipe, for there's nothing as simple as spooning cleaned, picked-through crabmeat into melted butter!

I love to serve this as a main course, with perhaps a green veggie, esp. asparagus. You may also ladle it over pasta, or a toasted slice of baguette. For appetizers, I like to fill small puff pastry "bowls" with the crabmeat. You'll find them in the freezer section of your grocery.

1 pound cleaned crabmeat (preferably jumbo lump)

2 to 4 tablespoons of butter (depending on how sinful you'll feel using butter)

1/2 lemon

sprinkle of chopped chives and/or fresh thyme, chopped

sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning, if you like

1. With your fingers, pick through the crabmeat and remove any pieces of cartilege you may find.

2. Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat.

3. Add crabmeat, and allow to simmer for just 2 to 4 minutes, until warmed through. Gently stir in the juice of the lemon half, the herbs and Old Bay.

4. Serve immediately.

RAMPS!

Yes, ramps stink. These "Easter onions" linger on your breath longer than raw garlic. Kids used to be sent home from school because of their bad breath after eating a "bait" of them. Put a sliver in your ice chest, even wrapped multiple times in plastic, and you'll still have to bleach the lingering smell away.

No matter. Ramps are one of those special foods that are so wrapped up with the culture and terroir, and, they add a terrific flavor to what could be blase´ foods.

Mention ramps to older folks in the Appalachians, and they'll wax rhapsodic. Ramps are one of the first harbingers of spring, a welcome green sprouting from winter's grasp. Gathering ramps up in the hollers and ridges was and is a time-honored ritual, as much a part of the Appalachian culture as growing apples or making moonshine. Traditionally chopped and fried up with "Irish" potatoes, or snipped into scrambled eggs, or just eaten raw, they are considered by those in the highlands a true gourmet delight. And chefs across America are jumping onto the ramp bandwagon, with ramps being served in LA, Chicago and NY city. (In fact, Chicago got its name from a Native American word for the "stinking onion.")

A recent TIMES magazine article suggested that "the Church of Ramp is one of the fastest-growing denominations in the religion of seasonality." Maybe ramps are the new arugula, it asks. Then the article goes a bit too far, quoting David Kamp, author of The Food Snob's Dictionary. "For food snobs.....ramps are overcelebrated and overly scrutinized, like the first ballgame played in April, even with 161 more games ahead."

Tell that to the folks in the Blue Ridge, who worship the ramp at several time-honored communal festivals.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A RAMP?

A member of the Allium genus, the lily family, it's akin to wild leeks and wild garlic. During late March through early May, their tender, broad green leaves shoot up from the ground, leaving the bulb hiding below. They like sandy soil in buckeye flats or under the bare branches of poplar, oak, or sugar maple trees in the hollers and valleys above 3,000 feet.

As with morels, the tasty wild mushroom that pops up about the same time, folks can be rather secretive about where they find ramps. Others nourish their patches. Some obtain permission from the national forests to harvest ramps.

With many chefs featuring wild ramps on their seasonal, spring menus, there's been a higher demand for wild harvests. And that has made some folks angry, because some ramp hunters have depleted entire patches. Folks are being encouraged to select the tender leaves and just a few bulbs, and some sow the bright red seeds back in the wild to enable patches to be replenished.

RAMP EATING CONTESTS

Note that no ladies took "the bait" at last year's Ramp-Eating Contest at Whitetop Mountain Ramp Festival near Mount Rogers, VA, held annually the third Sunday in May. The deal is to see how many bulbs you can wash down with the bottle of water provided. It seems the trick is barely chewing and swallowing quickly without choking. The winner "ate"57. His prize? A bottle of mouthwash.

During the afternoon, several bands played wonderful old-time mountain and bluegrass music. On the improvised wooden dance floor laid under a grove of huge old trees, folks clogged by themselves or waltzed or two-stepped with partners who didn't mind the smell of ramp breath.

This sweet little lady was 94 years old, and loved to dance. Her husband, her dance partner for 70-some years, had died the year before. It was touching to see the young men in their twenties, and older men, who took turns asking her to dance.

FUNDRAISING DINNERS

Ramps fried with white potatoes accompanied the barbecued chicken tended by the community grillmasters. Each year, money raised at this Ramp Festival helps to support the work of the Mount Rogers Volunteer Fire Dept. and Rescue Squad.

RAMP FESTIVALS in NC and southern VA for 2010:

April 24 - 25 Ramp Dinner & Appalachian Dinner/Concert at Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville, NC

April 24, Buladean Fire Dept, near Bakersville, NC Annual Ramp & Soup Bean Dinner at 11 until the food runs out. 828 688-4322

April 25 Kana'Ti Lodge at Max Patch Mountain, 3 pm Trout & Ramps Fish Fry and Foraged Forest Greens Fundraiser 828 622-7398 At 11 am, there's a guided mushroom hunt.

May 2 Waynesville NC Ramp Festival, NC's largest ramp festival with food, and country and bluegrass music 800 334-9036

May 16 Whitetop Mountain Ramp Festival (VA) 11a - 6p 276 388-3422

Foodie Feastivals

Recipe at the bottom!!! FRESH PINEAPPLE, CARROT AND WALNUT CAKE

Spring is my favorite time of the year. Seeing bud break, the first violets, redbuds, daffodils and bluets means that in a very short while the farmers markets will be brimming with fresh produce, greens and fruits that my taste buds are aching for. The chickens will be laying once again, goats and cows will be sharing their milk, and livestock will move to greener pastures.

Ramps, the harbingers of spring in mountain hollers, are slower to bulb this year, due to this year's mean, cold winter, says Palette Butler, co-owner of Veranda Cafe in Black Mountain. She shared a recipe for Rampalicious Chicken Soup for THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK, which will be available next week!

In the meanwhile, April brings festivals for foodies to enjoy:

CUPCAKES FOR CURES (www.cupcakesforcures.com), Saturday, April 10th,

1 to 4 pm at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. For a donation, you get to stuff your face

with creative cupcakes made by competing professional bakers or amateurs, who hope

to earn bragging rights and fantastic prizes. In keeping with the true spirit of Asheville,

categories include Best Beer Cupcake, Best Gluten-Free Cupcake, as well as best holiday

or birthday or local foods cupcakes.

THE BLUE RIDGE WINE FESTIVAL, (www.blueridgewinefestival.com)

April 15 through 18th, Blowing Rock. Join winemaker dinners, watch an Iron Chef-like

competition, Fire on the Rocks, join house tours, champagne brunches, and a chance to

taste many of the fine wines made in the Blue Ridge area of NC and VA. I'll be there to

Meet and Greet on Friday afternoon, and under the Big Tent with all the wines and

gourmet foods, when THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK makes its debut

appearance.

Down east, the little town of Grifton will hold its 40th SHAD FESTIVAL also on

April 17th & 18th along the banks of Contentnea Creek. EAT MO' SHAD as in fried

or in a delicious traditional fish stew and enjoy the carnival-like atmosphere of kiddie

rides and other fair food. www.grifton.com/shadfest/

The largest sustainable farm tour in the country is the annual PIEDMONT FARM

Tour, April 24th & 25th, sponsored by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Assoc. and

Weaver Street Markets. In Orange, Chatham and other counties, you can visit buffalo,

a third-generation beef farm, see the work that goes into producing organically grown

veggies and fruits, and the efforts behind getting chevre and other cheeses to the

market. It's a chance to expose your kids, and your friends, to the world of farming.

Get your tickets in advance at Weaver St Markets and area farmers markets.

For $25 per car, you can visit up to 40 farms, although usually only 3 to 4 in one good

day! www.carolinafarmstewards.org

PROMISED RECIPE?

Dessert for our Easter dinner! Since cream products bother my kids and me, I cut back on the cream cheese in the frosting, and fiddled with the cake batter, too! It was a winner!!

FRESH PINEAPPLE, CARROT & WALNUT CAKE

adapted from Ina Garten

For the cake batter:

2 cups sugar

1 1/3 cup canola oil

4 medium/large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons gorund cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 pound carrots, grated

1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple

For the frosting:

1/2 pound (1 large package) cream cheese, room temp

2 sticks (1/2 lb.) butter, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

About 1 pound confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans, then line with parchment paper, then butter again and dust with flour.

2. Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in a large bowl, using an electric beater. Beat until light yellow. Add the vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and slowly mix just until all is moist.

5. With a spatula, fold in the raisins and walnuts, then the carrots and pineapple, mixing well.

6. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for about 1 hour, more or less, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans over a wire rack.

8. With an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter and vanilla. Gradually add the sugar until you've got a spreadable mixture.

9. Place one layer of cake on your serving dish, and spread its top with the frosting. Place the second layer on top, and spread the frosting on the top and sides. Wipe the edges of the plate clean. Lick your fingers and your spreader.

10. Place in the refrigerator under cover.