I had a query about what the hell it is that Chuck Miller distills at Belmont Farms. Simple, really. Moonshine- White Lightning- is fresh whiskey made from a combination of corn, barley, rye or wheat. The grains are ground up and mixed with water, then cooked, mixed with yeast and malt and left to ferment. […]

On Belmont Farm they grow their own corn, then they harvest the crop at this time of year, and store it in their two silos. When ready to handle it, they grind the corn and then they distill it into whiskey. You can’t miss it, and I was kicking myself about not going sooner. I […]

“Vic, W and I made the below on Tuesday. It was most excellent. -Marlow” (Part of the crowd at Willow, for Buffalo Night. Photo Socotra). We are going to up the ante this morning and provide a cooking challenge with several moving part. I am going to do that partly because I don’t have time […]

(Amru al-Absi, a non-moderate member of the Syrian opposition). Here is some news you can use, as opposed to the usual recipe and hysteria update. I offer this in the context of Secretary Kerry’s remarks about combating the cheerful fellows who have established what they call the Islamic Caliphate in the lands that used to […]

 The rains were supposed to come in late in the day, and I had some business over at JBAB- pronounced “Jay-Baab”- which is what used to be Bolling Air Force Base and Naval Station Anacostia. It is much more efficient: the DoD harvested savings of literally nine syllables in saying where you don’t want […]

I am a little late on this one- forgive me. Stuff happens. Culpeper historian Clark B. Hall nailed it on the sesquicentennial last week- the anniversary of the last raid by Union forces on our County. Hall claims Culpeper was the “most fought over” jurisdiction in the course of the war. Some of my friends […]

Fall arrived last night shortly after I retired, exhausted after doing nothing all day. With the breeze in the late afternoon, I decided to wear a light jacket when I went out, and on the voyage of exploration this morning, I found the temperatures settled down into the 40s. Imagine that- wearing a jacket in […]

It was the last full day of summer, 2014, and a school night, but the invitation was far too attractive to pass up- dinner with Tom and Claire and a stimulating cast of dinner companions. I could tell you about the table talk- some of it touched on ancient mysteries and secrets that some people […]

An alert reader flagged the article in the Washington Post for my attention. He knows I am a part time foodie- his family is as well and are regulars at the farmer’s market around the region. They keep up with trends in American cooking- one of which was picked up in the Post article about […]

(The line for the SRO crowd to enter the Old Chapel at Fort Myer, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. Photos Socotra). I was holding an early glass of sauvignon blanc on the third-floor balcony of the new Army-Navy Country Club House. The new structure consolidated all the separate functions of several older structures at the […]