eG Foodblog: Varmint - A Southern Stay at Home Vacation

[LindaJ]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. The pictures, the food and the family was all gorgeous. Every night, we sit down in the sunroom with our 8 month old daughter to share family dinner (even though she's only just smooshing graham crackers around). I think it's the very best way to pass on our values and love to our children. And where can I get the recipe for the blondies? They look awesome.

[handmc]

Varmit this blog, that pie, I'm still drooling, and your smiling family prove you are blessed. Thanks for bringing us along!

[Varmint]

My final meal of the official blog period was quite simple: fresh pasta with some homemade pesto, and some carrots and celery. After all the food I ate this past week, I was fairly full.

And inspired by jackal10's summer pudding, I decided to try my luck with a quickly prepared berry bread pudding. I had about 12 ounces of blackberry, strawberry and blueberry coulis left over from the buttermilk pie. I added that to a couple of beaten eggs and about a cup of cream. Some stale, leftover Italian bread was cubed and tossed with the liquids. After sitting for 15 minutes, I poured it into a greased bowl and baked it for about an hour.

It was quite nice -- tart and vibrant. Not a bad experiment at all.

[Varmint]

And where can I get the recipe for the blondies? They look awesome.

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The blondies came from a recipe in Cooks Illustrated. I've actually added it to RecipeGullet.

[SobaAddict70]

Dean's installment will remain open all day today (4 July 2005) until late evening. We'll close it down sometime around 11 pm.

Tune in tomorrow when we get acquainted with the "man behind the curtain", in Atlanta, Georgia.

Soba

[foodiehall]

I join the other eGulleteers above in thanking you for this yummy culinary trip of the last week. We just returned from a few days at the beach yesterday and as soon as I sat down at the puter, I went straight to your blog to see what I'd missed. While many of your dishes are the same sort of things I fix here at home, I'm only doing it for myself and hub (most of the time) rather than a family of 6 plus an assortment of friends, other relatives, etc. AND of course, I'm not photographing/writing about it as I go along. As much as anything, I stand in awe of your management/coordination skills and your apparent good humor at going after this task and seeing it through the end of the week. I agree with the earlier poster who said that this vacation will always stand out in the memories of your young Varmints. I could go on with the praise, but I don't want to get too sappy here ; suffice it to say, I've been truly impressed.

[JEL]

yep....great job...........

for those who haven't met the "varmint family", you are missing out on a beautiful thing..........

when i see families like that it gives me a real sense of hope for the future............

let those kids get a little older and you can send them down for some "real life farm experiences"..........with pay...........

best to all..........john

[little ms foodie]

Thanks so much for the great blog, I've definately picked up a few ideas. More about the boiled squash please? You cut it and then just pop it in the boiling water?? I'm trying that for sure. And I've got chedder bacon biscuits in the oven, my way of saying thanks!

[Varmint]

More about the boiled squash please? You cut it and then just pop it in the boiling water?? I'm trying that for sure.

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What I did was just a simple boiled vegetable -- something all of us have done. The key is to use some sort of stock and then enhance the stock's flavor. In this case, I just added some green garlic to the stock about 15 minutes before adding the squash.

Another common way to make squash in the South is to boil it whole. Once cooked through, you remove the squash and eat it sort of like a baked potato -- split down the middle with a bit of butter and salt added. That's how Mrs. Varmint loves it.

[Varmint]

It's a quiet 4th of July in the house, as our two older children are attending tennis and basketball camp this week, which for some reason started today. Very strange. Anyhow, my oldest has never played tennis in his life, but he may as well learn -- we do have a tennis court in our front yard (aka, the site of the pig pickin')!!

For lunch I had a BLT. I don't think there's a better sandwich on the face of the earth. In fact, it was so good that I had a second BLT.

For dinner tonight, we're having fish tacos and watermelon. Not the most traditional dinner for the 4th, but it's what was requested.

[foodiehall]

yep....great job...........

for those who haven't met the "varmint family", you are missing out on a beautiful thing..........

Loved those beautiful eyes on snaggle-toothed Benjamin. sigh... And in the beach photo, I thought Varmint and Mrs./Dr. looked kind of like big kids themselves!

[kayswv]

Dean, thank you for a most enjoyable week. Be sure to make a copy of the blog to share with your children in about 10-15 years. I'm sure it will bring back great memories for them and for both parents. Kay

[Varmint]

Loved those beautiful eyes on snaggle-toothed Benjamin.  sigh...  And in the beach photo, I thought Varmint and Mrs./Dr. looked kind of like big kids themselves! 

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All of our kids are pretty darned good individuals and each have their charm. But Benjamin has always found a way to wrap people around his little finger better than his siblings.

And Marcella and I are often referred to as big kids. Nothing wrong with that, right?

[Safran]

Your kitchen may be gorgeous, but it's your family that take one's breath away! Thank you so much for this blog! Wow!

[lancastermike]

Thank you, Dean. Wonderful food, even more wonderful family. I enjoyed reading very much.

[Young2Cook]

Another vote (after all, it is the 4th!) of thanks for sharing your family, food, kitchen and region with us all. The pictures of kids with the kids really got to me.

/Deborah

[Varmint]

Thanks to all of you. Your kind words have meant a lot to me.