Homemade Pizza

We had pizza last night. Mmmm.

I made the crust in my bread machine using equal parts white flour, wheat flour, and semolina. The sauce was made with yellow tomatoes from Amy's Garden and garlic from Fertile Crescent Farms. The pepper was a purple one from the Chester farmer at South of the James Market. I used home grown fresh basil (what little that is still surviving this heatwave). The sausage was San Miniato from Belmont Butchery. I picked up fresh mozzarella and parmesan from J. Emerson.

Go ahead have another look -

While waiting for the dough to be ready, I enjoyed some rose from La Vielle Ferme

And sipped Saldo while eating.

This Week at SOJ

The SOJ Market tempted us with tantalizing tidbits across the food spectrum. Bison flank steak, whole chicken, Boston butt, orange tomatoes, sweet corn, white potatoes, pale yellow and purple peppers, wild blackberries, verbena shortbread, blt's, Asian pork tako, Blanchard's coffee, and tea from Koralee Coffee rounded out our purchases. And we also bought a new CD from Markiss Blowfish, the Underground Blues Player.

Beautiful weather continued to bless us as we participated in our weekly pilgrimage/party/ritual.

If you have any local market pictures, post them here.

Could the Weather Have Been Any Better on July 2?

OMG! Yes, I kept remarking about how effing fantastic the weather was! I really hate hot weather. And a number of other things coincided to make Friday a truly awesome day. It was the beginning of a long weekend. My hubby was off. Work let out way early. I was able to eat lunch with hubby. We were able to eat lunch outside at CanCan - No Waiting for a table! We window shopped. We picked up State Fair sausage at Belmont Butchery and flat iron steak for weekend grilling. I took pictures. We stopped by J. Emerson to shop for wine (if you subscribe to their on-line newsletter, they have a kick-ass of a special for July).  I took a nap. We strolled over to Once Upon a Vine for the free tasting and picked up beer in preparation for making beer-butt chicken. For dinner we grilled State Fair sausages and enjoyed black-eye peas. What a great day. OMG!

Taking Advantage of a Cooler Evening

This past Thursday the weather provided some heat relief, just in time to visit Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in the evening. Members of the Virginia Opera seranaded the crowd in the rose garden. We strolled and thanked our lucky stars that we could be outside in July enjoying the weather.

We tried to eat dinner in the Tea House. Tables were available. A group of three were waiting to be seated. A waiter passed all of us by with no comment. After a few minutes wait, another person entered the dining room from the kitchen, took a look at the two parties waiting to be seated and turned around and went back to the kitchen. While I thought he would have alerted someone to at least greet us, I was mistaken. Another few minutes and still no one appeared. We took this as an ominous sign (would this be indicative of the service we would receive if we ever did get seated???). We left.

And we headed over to Tastebuds on MacArthur. Much better choice.

We ordered Ferraton, Rose, Cotes du Rhone, France, 2009  for $21.

Lovely.

To eat we had Carribean Spice Rubbed Shrimp, Papaya Mojo and Fresh Pineapple Rice Pilaf ($15) and Saigon Skewers - Sirloin & Shrimp Skewers, Fragrant Ginger Marinade, Brown Rice Cake and Stir Fried Vegetables ($14.50). Again, lovely.

And this time we indulged in dessert: Chocolate brownie wedges with mint mousse ($5) and Key lime curd with blueberries and cream ($5). Yes, you may drool, now.  

Anthony and George's

This past week I attended a Richmond Photography Meetup mingle at Anthony and George's Steakhouse on Staples Mill Rd.

A Mom and Pop survivor from the '60's or '70's. These were the type of places my family ate at on a Friday night way back when. The decor can now be characterized as retro.

The menu was quite extensive with different specials every evening. I ordered one of the nightly specials, lasagna which was accompanied by a tossed salad with house dressing (a nod to Greek-style dressing) and butter-garlic bread.

While nothing fancy, the lasagna was tasty and enormous. With over 30 meetup members in attendance spread out over numerous tables, the service was surprisingly good. And everyone was pleasant.

No wine. The only option was Corbet Canyon. Not going down that road. But cocktails were generally under $5.

On a photography note: The Richmond Photography Meetup Group would love to have new members and is made up of folks with a variety of photographic skills and interests. Please consider joining us. On August 6 at First Fridays, Art6 Gallery will be showing photographs from the group.

Happy 4th of July Y'all!

Yesterday at SOJ

Hot day! But the SOJ Market was still packed. We picked up leeks, garlic, blackberries, cherries, onion, red and yellow tomatoes, carrots, purple and yellow wax beans, fresh whole chicken, ground pork, fresh pasta, a BLT and Carnitas for breakfast, and iced coffee.

The colors of the market are spectacular this time of year.

Come on out next week and join in the fun.

If you have photos of any of the local markets, post them here.

Daylight Donuts

Richmond BizSense posted a piece on Daylight Donuts a little over a week ago. This is a new doughnut franchise that just opened on Broad between Gaskins and Cox. Part of their mission is to train and employ persons with disabilities.

Last week I picked up some goodies on the way to work. They were delightful.

I was particularly partial to the cinnamon roll.

North of the James Market

This week I finally visited the North of the James Market in Bryan Park. Hats off to everyone who braved the heat. At least Bryan Park offers some shade. While the market is small, the offerings are delightful.

If you have any photos, post them here.