Caprese Crazy

Last night, we had dinner with friends. Cool outside, sweltering inside -- no A/C! -- these folks are old school. The body adjusts. After awhile you don't notice that you keep wiping your forehead on your short sleeve, your wife has a sweat-bead mustache, and the hostess is drenched when she straightens up from shoving the salmon fillet under the broiler.

The main diversions: a bit of wine, good conversation, and a delicious antipasto of Caprese Salad, that subtle combination of thick-sliced tomatoes, just-picked basil, and "freshe mozzarella" (as the guy at Christians Pizza used to say).

Anyway, our hostess gave her Caprese a sweet-wet twist by adding a round slice of watermelon to the stack. You didn't see it at first, but then the melony wetness busted through. Very nice, very beat-the-end-of-summer heat.

Shameless Promotion Department
Tomorrow, at beginning at 3:00 PM, at our pickup location at Martha Jefferson Hospital in town, we will be offering Caprese Salad fixin's for cheeeeeeep!

Heirloom Tomatoes, 2lb bags, $5.00
Slicing Tomatoes, 3lb bags, $4.00
Basil Bunches -- Purple or Green, $2.00

While supplies last. Cash and checks welcome. Hope to see ya!

Last of the Peaches

No, it's not the unpublished first draft by J. Fenimore Cooper -- it's the story of your favorite locally-grown stone fruit! As we approach the end of August and the beginning of school days, we say goodbye to local peaches with another pick-up spot 1/2 peck special!

Today, beginning at 4:30 PM, at our pickup location at on 250 West -- across from The Boar's Head Inn, we will be offering 1/2 Peck bags (about 5-6 lbs) of fresh, juicy -- and local! -- yellow peaches for the low, low price of $6.00! -- only while supplies last. Cash and checks welcome. Hope to see ya!

Food Inc, Asks, Retail Relay Answers

It may be tough to watch in some spots, but Food, Inc. is a thought-provoking film that raises questions everyone should consider. Playing right now at Vinegar Hill, it connects the dots between industrial food production's treatment of animals, workers, farmers, the land, and ultimately our own health.

Shamless Commerce Dept:
At Retail Relay, our Virginia's Bounty collection of farms offer you a direct from the farm way to bypass industrial food production. Check out just two of our farms, Wolf Creek Farm and Wild Oats Farm, which offer the best in humanely-raised, grass-fed, and tasty beef, lamb, and pork products.