From there we were off to Bath County, VA to enjoy the riches of the Virginia countryside along the banks of the Cowpasture River. I t has become something of a winter tradition to bring out the Highland County leg of lamb for the event. It was as local a meal as you could imagine in the dead of winter that included some parsnips from the Walatoola garden. 
Yesterday we had lunch with Ed and Wynell at the Irondale Cafe. It is this cafe that was the inspiration for Fannie Flagg in her lovable novel and equally lovable movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. The place was humming around 12:30 yesterday afternoon. Folks coming from Church, coming by twos coming by tens ... some in overalls, one lady in a fur coat ... all were lined up cafeteria style to pick their "Meat and 3 sides." I chose fried chicken (dark), collard greens, fried okra, and, of course, fried green tomatoes.
Look at this feast for under $40.
There was also peanut butter pie (a bit like eating whipped Reese's Peanut butter cups) ... fried chicken livers, creamed corn and meatloaf, and don't forget the Colbert County sweet potato pie.
THE QUEEN OF THE TABLE ... FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
We are on a road trip visiting friends in the South.
We are enjoying all things Southern. For example, at this roadside restaurant in North Carolina, we found the lunch special of Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy. Instead of bread, we had a plate of warm hush puppies brought to our table. And the side we had to choose from were black eyed peas, collards, fried okra and turnip greens to mention a few.
You just drive in, load up with beer in your trunk and drive out the back.
On the drive along route 17 south toward Savannah, I saw a sweet grass basket stand. I have always wanted a sweetgrass basket. They are woven of sweet grass, bull rush and pine needles. The woman who was selling these baskets was Ida Bennett. She had learned the craft from her grandmother and was teaching it to her own daughters and daughters in law.
I was very pleased with my purchase.
And it wouldn't be Florida without citrus. We visited Davidson Brothers in Daytona Beach and loaded up on Honeybells and grapefruit. We will be tossing them out of the sleigh as we work our way back north.
Then Anne and I took on the task of trimming the dead leaves off of the Washingtonia palms. They are lined with spines ... ouch !! 
A CART FULL OF DEAD PALM FRONDS
Monday turned into a balmy 60 degree day, so I took advantage and headed out to the potting bench to pot up the amaryllis. This little puppies are all but neglected by me during the summer. If I really wanted to give them a healthy summer field experience, I would be more attentive to weekly fertilizer. But, alas, I toss them in a trench along the fence of the vegetable garden with a little composted manure and leave them to fend for themselves.
I put five of the smallest in one pot.
Meanwhile, my Christmas cactus is ablaze in pink flowers.
And the tree awaits its turn
the deck furniture has been taken to the shed
the outdoor grill is wearing its winter coat
the apple trees have a deer fence around them
the mothballs are under the shed to ward off the skunks
the shed has been locked
the brush pile is over flowing
and the garden is resting peacefully
I cannot remember where I found this recipe. I THOUGHT it had been on the inside lid of an oatmeal box, but since there is no oatmeal in the recipe , I doubt that was true. It melds tart and sweet in the form of apples, cranberries and raisins. But the fun part of this pie is that I use little leaf shaped cookie cutters to cut out the top crust.
CAPE COD OCTOBER PIE
Pie and squash ready to go to T-giving dinner
