Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

Monticello. Monticello is located outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. It means “little mountain” in Italian and it was the home and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States. It was his home and pride and joy from 1770 until his death, in 1826. Thomas Jefferson inherited 5000 acres of land from his father, and this is the land that his beloved Monticello rests upon today. Thomas Jefferson is buried on the property that he loved so much as well. After retiring from public office, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Jefferson and his colleague John Adams both died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. 

Thomas Jefferson was very important man. He accomplished many things in his life, before, during and after his time as the third President of the United States. He was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father of our country, who served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second Vice President under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Great Britain and form a new nation; he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national levels.

As president, Jefferson pursued the nation’s shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies. Starting in 1803, Jefferson promoted a western expansionist policy, organizing the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the nation’s land area. To make room for settlement, Jefferson began a controversial process of Indian tribal removal from the newly acquired territory. As a result of peace negotiations with France, his administration reduced military forces. Jefferson was reelected in 1804. His second term was beset with difficulties at home, including the trial of former vice president Aaron Burr. In 1807, American foreign trade was diminished when Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act in response to British threats to U.S. shipping. The same year, Jefferson signed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves.

Jefferson, while primarily a planter, lawyer and politician, mastered many disciplines, which ranged from surveying and mathematics to horticulture and mechanics. He was an architect in the classical tradition. Jefferson’s keen interest in religion and philosophy led to his presidency of the American Philosophical Society; he shunned organized religion but was influenced by Christianity, Epicureanism,^[1] and deism. A philologist, Jefferson knew several languages. He was a prolific letter writer and corresponded with many prominent people, including Edward Carrington, John Taylor of Caroline and James Madison. Among his books is Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), considered perhaps the most important American book published before 1800.^[2] Jefferson championed the ideals, values, and teachings of the Enlightenment.

Today, Monticello is a National Monument. It is a part of the living history of both the State of Virginia and the United States of America. It is an absolute beautiful work of design and architecture, designed by Thomas Jefferson himself, and everything is pretty much the same today as it was back when Thomas Jefferson resided there, due to his meticulous notetaking and archives.

While the main house on Monticello was being built, believe it or not, this tiny house was the original house where Thomas Jefferson and his first wife, Martha, lived during the construction. Because of the brickwork on the house, this was considered a luxurious home in the day.

The first room you walk into at Monticello is decorated with gifts and artifacts from the explorers Lewis and Clark, from their western explorations.

Thomas Jefferson’s private apartment and sleeping quarters. He slept in what was known at the time, especially all through Europe, as a sleeping alcove. It was a bed that was fitted in a closet-like compartment of two adjoining rooms and closed off by either doors or curtains or both.

The parlor also served as the music room.

I think this was the first thermometer that Jefferson was working on.

The dining room is painted in this bright yellow, which was considered a luxury and was only found in homes of the very wealthy. Look at the open door right beside the fireplace. It is the dumbwaiter for wines that were brought up from the wine cellar. Thomas Jefferson was quite a wine lover and wine connoisseur and was one of the first to introduce wines and winemaking to the newly formed United States.

Like all the houses at the time, the kitchen was separated from the main house. It was located outside with all the other outside structures and buildings.

As you have already guessed, we are back home once again, and I am back to cooking in my own kitchen once more. The first night we got home, we didn’t feel like cooking at all after a long travel day, so it was a pizza night. We also used up the rest of our leftovers as well during our first few days back.

I had made some cod romesco before leaving Cod a la Romesco and had some of the sauce leftover, since my recipe made quite a bit. The beauty of a freezer …… Put things in the freezer until ready to use them again, and then pull them out when ready, saving lots and lots of time, especially when time is of the essence, or you just don’t feel like putting forth a lot of effort. I used my romesco sauce to top some pork chops that I served over rice and topped it all with a simple corn salsa for some puerca a la romesco. I served a warm, smooth malbec on the side.

My corn salsa is simple and made from just a few basic everyday ingredients; just the way I like to cook too. 🙂

Corn Salsa

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1/2 red bell pepper, diced fine

1/2 orange bell pepper, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1/4 onion, diced fine

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil 2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped fine, + more for topping.

1 jalapeno, diced fine and seeded, optional

Add your olive oil in a hot skillet and saute all the vegetables and salt & pepper together for about 5-7 minutes, or until the onions and peppers are translucent. You can also add jalapeno peppers if you like as well, but since I was serving it with a romesco sauce, I wanted the flavors of the sauce to come out more so than the corn salsa, which I was just using as an accent. You can use this simple corn salsa to add color and flavor to just about anything. It will liven up whatever dish you choose to use it with. I marinated my pork in some roasted garlic, olive oil and a little cayenne pepper for about 3-4 hours, then grilled it up. It was so juicy and tender and full of flavor.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Finally we arrive in West Virginia for the wedding. West Virginia was every much as beautiful as both Virginia and North Carolina. Again, it was very green and lush.

West Virginia is one of two states that was formed during the American Civil War. Nevada was the other state. Before the Civil War, West Virginia was part of Virginia itself, which was one of the original 13 colonies. It separated from Virginia when the state became sharply divided over the issue of secession from the Union and became the new state of West Virginia in 1863. Believe it or not, West Virginia was originally known as the mountain state, even though we have many more states that have much bigger mountains, one such state being my own state of Colorado.

I will not show pictures of the wedding itself, since I have not yet sent them to the bride and groom, and I think they should have first viewing rights to them. However, I will send pictures of the venue. Craig and Tonya have been together for a long time, and they actually got married last year, but were not able to have their big wedding as planned due to COVID.

Craig and Tonya chose a beautiful, actual working farm for their wedding and reception, called the Misty Mountain Event Barn. It was an absolutely gorgeous venue, situated on 6,000 acres. It was literally built on love. The owner had it built after looking at venues for his own daughter to get married in, and decided after seeing so many other places, he could build a better place. And what a beautiful place he built too.

The Misty Mountain Event Barn is located at 450 Misty Mountain Road, Fisher, WV 26818. You can contact them either by phone, (304)-851-3121, or online at mistymountaineventbar@gmail.com or on Facebook.

This is the “barn” area that is also used for receptions and gatherings of all kinds. It had two beautiful stone fireplaces and plenty of seating, with a gorgeous view of the property.

Regardless of what events are taking place, there are almost always a few uninvited, but very welcomed guests who show up too.

The inside of the facility was every bit as impressive as the outside. Upstairs, there is a large bride’s room and a smaller room for the groomsmen, each have their own bathrooms too.

And of course, the kitchen. You know I am always going to show you the kitchen if I can. I could easily work and play in a big kitchen like this. 🙂

I was a little too busy with the wedding stuff going on to take pictures of the food that was served at the wedding, but it was a lot more relaxed for the rehearsal dinner, so I was able to get pictures of that. The food was wholesome and delicious, yet simple Southern fare. It was catered in from a local restaurant, but I never got the name, though I asked for information a couple of times.

Individualized tomato-cucumber salads

Creamy, cheesey scalloped potatoes

Pulled pork sliders and coleslaw.

BBQed spare ribs.

And watermelon slices.

Everyone had a good time and ate a lot of good food, both at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding/reception. And we were all definitely in awe of the beautiful and gorgeous surroundings.

Larry is the youngest of 9. Here is all of Larry’s remaining siblings and their spouses, or the outlaws as we lovingly call ourselves.

The bride and groom are both big Star Wars fans, so the wedding was a Star Wars themed wedding. Ironically, and it was not planned at all, on the last day of our trip, while we were touring Fort Macon, in North Carolina, a Star Wars photo shoot was taking place, and we got a lot of fun pictures. May the 4th be with you.

We had another full day of driving through Virginia, after stopping in Roanoke for the night, before heading into West Virginia, where our nephew’s wedding took place. We drove a different route this time, getting off the Blue Ridge Pathway, to see other sights and views of Virginia. It was all very green and lush and very beautiful.

Our first stop was yet another gorgeous waterfall.

Sadly, the history board was riddled with bullet holes. I just don’t understand why people feel the need to destroy things so much.

As expected, we saw many more beautiful things along the way into West Virginia, as well as more historic sites. As you all know, I LOVE history.

Apparently, there is a fairly large Amish community in Virginia as well. We did see some Amish people, though not many, but this sign was an indicator that they definitely have a large presence.

We were going to stop here for lunch, but it was a very big, heavy lunch, that we just weren’t ready for. We are trying to eat lighter. So even though we did not stop in for lunch, we still walked the grounds.

A tobacco barn. Up until fairly recently, tobacco was one of the main cash crops for the state of Virginia.

This mill was also the general store. It was filled with unique items that are found in the area., including a whole bunch of Virginia wines.

Virginia ranks #5 in the US for wine production.

And of course there were so many gorgeous and colorful flowers. The irises were blooming beautifully everywhere we went. I love irises. They always make me think of my mother since they were her favorite flowers.

Love was all around, which was perfect since we were en route to a wedding.

Stay tuned. Next stop, West Virginia.

When we are traveling, we have no choice but to eat out and so often we come across some really fun and interesting restaurants and ideas. I try my best NOT to go to chains when traveling, because I love experiencing all the different foods and flavors from abroad. Our first night in Virginia we dined in Roanoke at a place called Food Fanatics Kitchen. Yet again, it was another tasty decision and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

This particular Food Fanatics Kitchen is a Roanoke Neighborhood Restaurant serving rustic Italian Cuisine with a twist offers a daily changing menu or grilled meats and fish, wood-oven pizzas and house-made pasta. But the concept of Food Fanatics goes way beyond just this one location. It is a movement of food people and culinary experts who share their love of food to inspire business success across the country. Places like this are popping up all over. Currently, there are 54 Food Fanatic Chefs working their culinary magic around the United States, and the numbers are quickly growing too. It all begins with the culinary leadership of our chefs. Every day, their passion for innovation shines through as they develop new recipes and applications, infusing the latest trends into their creations to provide you with the recipes for success. “Try these food recipes and menu ideas sourced from our culinary teams, Scoop and Food Fanatics Magazines to refresh or put a new twist on your own offerings. Our chefs’ ever-evolving, always on-trend ideas can help breathe new life into your menu.” Interestingly enough, many moons ago, this is how I started out too, long before it became an ever-growing trend in the restaurant and culinary industry. Who knew I was a trend setter way back then? I still love to cook this way today too. In fact, it is actually my favorite way to cook. 🙂

There were inside and outside dining options.

We love dining al fresco, and it was such a beautiful evening, that of course we chose to dine outside.

Because we like to try so many different foods, we often share meals or get an appetizer and a meal to share between us. We started with curried scallops and paired it with the chicken tikka pizza. Great combination! I love all three – pizza, Indian foods and curry, but I had never thought of combining pizza and Indian food together before. We LOVED it!!!!! I will have to make some chicken tikka pizza here at home home of these days.

The pizza was cooked in the wood fired oven.

All the food was fantastic. We loved every bite of it. Thank you for introducing us to these fabulous combinations. 🙂 What an absolute treat.

As I said, this is one of many such restaurants. This particular location was in Roanoke, Virginia, located at 551 Marshall Avenue, SW. You can call them to see what’s cooking at (540) 204-4767 or visit the Food Fanatics website for more ideas and locations at http://www.foodfanaticskitchen.com.

After our delicious lunch at Switzerland Cafe Little Switzerland we continued along the Blue Ridge Pathway for another hundred or so miles, which took us into Virginia. Virginia is another beautiful Colonial state, abundant with a rich and colorful history. In 1607 the London Company established the first permanent English colony in the New World in the Colony of Virginia. The colony was nicknamed “Old Dominion”. The nickname was earned by the loyalty of Virginia to the Royalist cause during the English Civil War and afterward, during the English Commonwealth. Virginia’s state legislature was established in 1619 and is the oldest continuous law-making body in North America.

At first, the scenery from North Carolina into Virginia is not that different. But as we continued, we started noticing more and more subtle changes along the way.

We even saw a few deer in the woods.

This is one of many old and historic bridges we came across.

When we needed a potty break, we stopped at this old historic mill.

Isn’t this just an idyllic scene? It is so peaceful and serene.

From here, we kept driving until we reach our hotel for the night. We are still heading towards West Virginia, where our nephew and his bride held their nuptials.

The driving tour continues. …

All that driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains gave us an appetite. We stopped in this cute, little quaint town called Little Switzerland, population 46, known as the jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Don’t let the small size of the town fool you though.  It embodies what western NC is all about and promotes the region and all that it has to offer. Little Switzerland is off mile marker 334 and is about an hour away from Asheville, NC. If you are a motorcycle fan and/or rider, there is the Diamondback trail that goes along for about 12 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway and ends in Little Switzerland. The area is also a hiker’s haven with plenty of back trails just waiting to be discovered.

We stopped and ate at the The Little Switzerland Cafe. It was packed, and for very good reason too. The food was fresh, delicious and made in house. They also have a little shop adjacent to the restaurant, for your shopping pleasures while you wait to be seated. The shop is filled with unique items and local artwork.

Since we were in bear country, it was only fitting to have a picture of a black bear in the restaurant too.

We did not get to sit at this table, but I just had to take a picture of it it. I heard it was reserved for a special customer.

If you wanted to wait outside, there were some interesting “farm animals” to look at too.

This is the ONLY kind of snake I like.

And now the food. Larry was hungry for some good Southern style BBQ, and he definitely got some here. He ordered the pulled pork plate, which was overflowing with goodness. I had a little bit too and it was DELICIOUS! It came with baked beans, cornbread, coleslaw and he ordered 2 kinds of BBQ sauce to go with it as well.

I wasn’t all that hungry, and I am trying my darnedest to lose weight (a lot of weight), so I ordered something a bit lighter, though it was every bit as delicious. I ordered the chicken salad made with apricots and almonds with fruit on the side and a strawberry lemonade to help wet my whistle. Some fresh, homemade bread was on the side too. I could have easily eaten the whole loaf of bread. Everything was so good and fresh.

Switzerland Cafe and General Store is located where highway 226A and the Blue Ridge Parkway meet in Little Switzerland, NC. The restaurant offers a wide array of “delectable sandwiches, soups, desserts, pastries, specialty items, coffees and imported cheeses.” You can contact them either by phone at (828) 765-5289 or on the web at either info@swizterlandcafe.com or http://www.switzerlandcafe.com. Either way, next time you find yourself driving along either 226A or the Blue Ridge Pathway, it is well worth it to stop in to the Switzerland Cafe and General Store for a bite to eat and some fun things to purchase as well. We thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a sub-group of mountains from the Appalachian Mountain Range and extends for 550 miles. They go through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. The Blue Ridge Mountains are noted for having a bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the “blue” in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere. This contributes to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive blue color. We started our Blue Ridge adventure in North Carolina and continued through a lot of Virginia.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are also home to the highest mountain west of the Mississippi, at 6,684 feet above sea level. I laugh at this though, because we are at 5,480 feet and we are just at the base of the foothills. Some of our mountains are over 14,000 feet. We call them the 14ers. I think we have 54 that are over 14,000 feet high here in Colorado. But as I mentioned in my post yesterday, these mountains are just as impressive and beautiful as ours, only in different ways. The Driving Adventures Begin – The Blue Ridge Mountains

We are standing at the gravesite of Elisha Mitchell, the scientist and mountain lover who set out to prove this peak was the highest point west of the Mississippi River. He is forever looking out over his beloved Blue Ridge Mountains.

This is the view from afar, but up close, there were plenty of beautiful, colorful flowers and flowering trees all around too. Some of the flowers and trees are the same ones we have here, but there were many others that were very different.

These trees were so fragrant and beautiful, particularly those that were in full bloom.

For this portion of the trip, we drove through North Carolina through the Blue Ridge Mountains and into Virginia. Coming back, we followed the coastal route, but more on that later. We literally covered the whole state, and what a beautiful state it is too. I would go back again in a heartbeat.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

As I mentioned in my post First Stop – Charlotte, North Carolina we drove all over North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. (We left just in the nick of time too. Had we stayed just one day later, we would have been in a real bind. We left the day before the pipeline hack that left much of the country, including the states we were visiting, with very limited gas supplies.) After a stopping at Parker-Binns Winery and dining at Dat’s Cajun Cafe in Hendersonville, More Stops on Day One we were ready to let our driving adventures begin. We decided to take the scenic route and drove across North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway that runs through the Blue Ridge Mountains. WOW! It was a gorgeous route. Even though I live in mountain country, (we have our beautiful Rocky Mountains) the Blue Ridge Mountains are totally different and offer a completely different kind of beauty and charm than the mountains we have here at home. But before embarking upon the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped at this beautiful water fall.

Driving along the ridge.

This is the view we had for most of our journey from North Carolina into Virginia. Isn’t it gorgeous?

We even got lucky enough to see a momma bear and her cub out enjoying their day too.

This is momma making sure all is well for her cub to come out.

He was a little shy and was busy playing in the woods, being a typical kid.

The bears all over are just now coming out of hibernation, and they love their dandelions. The dandelions are a good food source for them, especially after just coming out of hibernation, plus they also get them a little intoxicated as well. We learned this from our travels across the Yukon from Alaska into Canada quite a few years ago.

This is just the first of our adventures too. I have plenty more. Stay tuned.

Stay well and stay safe Everyone. ‘Til next time.

After leaving Parker-Binns Winery First Stop – Charlotte, North Carolina, we still had more driving to do and stops to make before calling it a day. We continued to drive for about 2 more hours before stopping in Hendersonville for dinner.

Hendersonville is in the heart of small town America, located 22 miles south of Asheville. It is a beautiful little town bustling with restaurants, street performers, fun and beautiful murals and artwork, colorful flowers and local, one-of-a-kind shops, as well as a Civil War museum. Hendersonville is on the list of the 100 Best Small Towns in America and also rated as one of the best places in the country to retire.

After taking a stroll through town, we found a cute little Cajun restaurant for dinner. We dined Cajun style at Dat’s Cajun Cafe.

The symbol of the fleur-de-lis is a legend in itself – a lasting emblem of royalty, power, honor, grandeur, faith and unity. It is written that an angel descended from heaven with the Holy Ampulla in the shape of a fleur-de-lis when King Clovis of France was proclaimed. It thus signified the French kings’ direct link to God, and has symbolized the crown of France for 1000 years. The fleur-de-lis is still used all over New Orleans today, in honor of its French connection and history.

The owners are originally from New Orleans and brought the Cajun flavors and fun of New Orleans to Hendersonville.

Larry ordered the etouffe and I ordered the shrimp Creole. Both were amazing and very filling. We also got some of the breaded shrimp and a salad that we split between us, because you know, we just didn’t have nearly enough food. NOT! We didn’t finish what we had, but it was all so good and tasty, and we just had to try as much as we could. Sad to say, we did not leave any room for dessert. Maybe next time.

The chef and one of the owners said he learned how to cook while out on the shrimp boats with the fishermen. I’d say he learned his lessons very well indeed. Everything was fantastically delicious.

Dat’s Cajun Cafe is located about a block off the main street, at 133 East 4th Avenue. They are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but are open Wed-Fri from 11-9, on Saturdays from 11-10 and Sundays from 11-7. You can always call them to see what’s cookin’ too at (828) 595-9811.

Next time you are in Hendersonville, definitely stop by and say “Hi Y’all”. You will feel like you are in New Orleans, right in the middle of the French Quarter and off of Bourbon Street.