Hungry Times Two

Earlier this summer our friends J&C (aka Ditch Chicken ) invited us to head up 1-40 to Winston-Salem, NC for a leisurely Saturday trip. "Chocolate Factory tour and winery visit. You available?" they asked. "Yes, please," Scott and I answered. They picked us up in Charlotte and 90 minutes later wheeled into the parking lot of Black Mountain Chocolate . We killed a little time before our 11am-ish tour and walked around the area near Trade Street. As a former Statesville, NC resident during my high school years, Winston-Salem was a larger city that often lured my friends and I there for shopping and restaurants. Sadly most of this occurred not in W-S's now bustling downtown but the Hanes Mall. Yes, I was a "mall rat," buying way too many cargo jeans and oversize flannel shirts and logo sweatshirts at Old Navy and the Gap (Hey, it was the mid to late '90s.) I also knew W-S from annual trips to Old Salem for Christmas shopping, a ritual wit...

My favorite milk glass windowsill vases have been kicked to the side. They had such a good run early in the summer, holding herbs and flowers from our yard.  Instead, today we visited our community garden plots and HELLO LOVELIES. Our first two Brandywine tomatoes are nearly ripe and we found nearly 2 pounds of San Marzanos ready and waiting.  The windowsill is crammed today with these fruits. Yes, a tomato is a fruit. Tomorrow I'll find a small batch recipe for tomato sauce for the Marzanos. Food in Jars is typically a resource for that. This will be my first rodeo making sauce to can, so if anyone has tips, please share!