Today I’m sharing our September Mountain Moments. This is a recap of what happened in the month of September, in and outside, of our mountain kitchen.
Long shadows. Crickets chirping. Dwindling light. A chill in the air. Yes, fall has arrived! I’m not sure how time has passed so quickly. Since I’ve been working from home most of the week now it’s gotten even faster. I can hardly keep up with the days of the week. Until Friday, of course.
September was a fun month for us. Here’s little about what we’ve been up to. Here are our September Mountain Moments:
LABOR DAY WEEKEND DOVE POPPERS
On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, David was excited to go dove hunting with his Uncle Wayne in Farmville, Virginia. Spending time with Uncle Wayne means the world to him, especially when they are hunting. Besides the memories they shared that day, David came back with 12 dove breasts for us to enjoy.
What a treat it was to be able to eat some Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Dove Poppers again! We had forgotten just how good the recipe was.
I tell ya, now every time we see a dove on our birdbath we start drooling and envisioning dove poppers in our head.
We enjoyed them as an appetizer with mojitos while our Bacon-Wrapped Hickory-Smoked Pork Loin smoked on the smoker.
LOCAL HANGS
Like all the other 8 months of 2020, we’ve been enjoying time at our local wineries and breweries. One of our favorite breweries Pen Druid has moved and is opening up in a brand new space on October 2nd.
Labor Day we took a drive over to Sperryville, for one last beer at the old location. Due to 2020’s challenging times, we had to sit outside to drink our beer. The Thornton River babbles beautifully by the old building, but I have to admit it made me sad. What a shame it was that we couldn’t go in and sit at the bar one last time.
I loved the old place because it reminded me of hanging out in my daddy’s farm shop. The chill that was always in the air, the surface of the concrete floor, the smell of the wood heater in the corner, but replace all the tools and farm equipment with a bar, taps, kegs barrels, and beer!
FAMILY REUNION TIME AGAIN
This year was the 9th year David’s family had a reunion to celebrate family. We had a really good turn out this year. It may be the best yet. The weather was good although a little windy, but I guess that’s a good thing given today’s times.
David, his cousins and Uncle Wayne got up at the butt-crack-of-dawn to cook a pig and two briskets. All of which were GONE by the end of the day!
All I have to say is I’m starting to worry about my husband’s love for pork…
OOPS! THAT ISN’T THE BEACH!
David and I took two extra days off after the reunion in hopes that maybe we could go down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina to see, smell and taste anything that swims and live in the ocean. However, there was a storm offshore causing gusting winds, high tides, beach erosion (bullshit).
Obviously, we would not be able to enjoy the beach, so guess what we did?
Yep, we drove west on Highway 58 once we got back to Virginia and drove until we saw mountains. We drove for 5 hours or so and ended up in Roanoke, Virginia where we stopped to stay the night.
While in Roanoke, we found an amazing restaurant called Table 50. We chose this restaurant from the hotel list the concierge provided because we visited the restaurant called Table 9 in Morgantown, West Virginia. We had such a good experience at Table 9, we figured it couldn’t hurt to try Table 50. They had the best food!
tasso ham gravy, crab meat, white cheddar grits – The best shrimp and grits I have ever had!
Afterward, we visited the popular tourist attraction called the Roanoke Star that overlooks the city of Roanoke. The city down below was beautiful!
We highly recommend if you every in the area to visit both!
WHERE WE MAY ROAM
We took our time going home. We drove through the Shenandoah Valley and part of Skyline Drive.
Gosh, I forgot how much we loved to roam the blue ridge. All that roaming around brought back so many memories of wanting, wishing, and praying for our mountain home.
Perhaps we’ll make it to the beach next year, making it 10 years since we were last there. We haven’t really missed the beach for the last 9 years. What’s another year?!?
MORE VIRGINIA BREWERIES
On our way home, we visited a couple of breweries we had heard of but had never been to.
The first was Devil’s Backbone. Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company started life as an independent craft brewer in its 15,000 square foot production facility and taproom in Roseland, Virginia, just outside of Lexington. It’s now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, but the beer is still good!
Next, we made a stop at Blue Mountain Brewery, a craft farm brewery that grows their own hops in Afton, Virginia. This is quite the happening brewery, especially on a Monday afternoon. We were surprised to see them so busy. Does anybody work anymore?
We didn’t have any growlers on hand but we were able to get bottles to go and enjoy in the safety of our own home when we got there.
TOP RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Pesto Baked Chicken Breasts With Fresh Tomatoes
COMMENTS OF THE MONTH!
“This looks pretty good. I made Cowboy Candy with my jalapeños and the spices are a little different; turmeric, mainly. My recipe didn’t call for water either. At any rate, they are spicy and sweet. Too warm for the hubs but I like them on crackers smeared with cream cheese and topped with the “candy”. It’s fun to preserve the food we grow, in my opinion!”
Paula (Comment & 5-Star rating on Pickled Jalapenos)
“This is a excellent recipe.. thanks for sharing”
Jeff (Comment on Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Meatloaf)
“Thank you for the recipe by the way. I’m making some for my family, getting ready for that last stretch of summer.”
Laura (Comment on Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles)
‘TIS THE SEASON
The Best Apple Crumb Pie Ever
Take a bite into fall, with the best apple crumb pie ever! Made with crisp fall mountain apples baked under crumbs of buttery, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Smoked Brisket Chili
This smoked brisket chili is loaded with smoky beef, a medley of chiles, onion, and beans, smothered in a silky tomato chili sauce. A great crock-pot recipe!
AROUND THE MOUNTAIN
We’ve been trying to soak up every little last drop of summer on our deck and porch. We’re going to miss it when winter arrives. Let’s just hope we will get some snow this year…
SEPTEMBER MOUNTAIN VIEWS
That’s all of the September Mountain Moments. See ya next month with more moments from the mountain.
Thanks for reading!
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