food

Having grown up a southerner, comfort food means mac & cheese, pot roast, meat loaf, mashed potatoes and all the like.

Yet, now, my comfort food is a big bowl of curry chicken rice noodle soup from Pho Que Huong.

How do these things happen?

A weekend without Twisted Root may just become a weekend without. The short story is that it was cold, cold and more cold. But enough bike riding that I could spend time with friends for eating, drinking and merryment guilt-free! And, yes... I did get to go to Twisted Root for a burger...

If they interviewed me, I'd be the "I always order the Western."

If you haven't gotten Twisted, there's no time like now.

Grits. Liver mush. Fried chicken livers. Fried okra. Fried chicken. Collard greens. Black-eyed peas. Liver and onions. Pan fried pork chops. Corn bread. Biscuits. Pork BBQ with vinegar sauce. Hot cider.

Bluegrass. Sitting on the porch swing. Hounds. Pickin' guitar. Barn cats. Pickup trucks. Grandma's quilt.

Mountains. Fall colors. Dogwoods. Clear mountain streams. Peach trees. Starry nights. Just up the holler. The peaceful silence of snow covered pines.

It's amazing the trouble we relocated Southerners have to go through just to find the food — the easy stuff on the first list...

"Southern" isn't a place, it's a way of life, but it's tough to have one without the other.

So my mother-in-law sent me out to buy some wine last night. While I was gone, a Christmas present arrived at the house - apparently the focus of a little discussion I missed out on...

Cornish Hens. Fabulous stuff. Some rice, broccoli and a lovely salad of greens and asparagus.

This afternoon, Amanda and her mom were putting together a batch of fudge and several loaves of apple bread.

And then there were the peanut butter balls.

Yessiree... It's a darn good thing I'm a cyclist. Guess I'll be gearing up and going out for a ride later on. The road shoulders are still covered in snow, but the roads are clear. It may even warm up a bit late in the afternoon. Currently, it's 22 degrees... I think our neighbors across the street still don't have power.