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There are people and groups in every community that are movers and shakers. They see something that needs to be done, and they enlist others to contribute their time, talent, and capital to make it happen. The final product is an investment in the community itself that engenders pride, becomes a well-loved asset, contributes to quality of life, and even increases the economic viability of the region. ...read more
Inspiration | Local Flavor
All
Did you know that North Carolina annually ranks between seventh and ninth in apple production for the entire United States? The top apple-producing counties are Wilkes, Alexander, Lincoln, Cleveland, Haywood, and Henderson, with Henderson growing 70%-80% of the apples harvested in the state. We reckon that sounds like a good reason for North Carolina’s Apple Festival to be headquartered in Hendersonville! ...read more
Local Flavor | Travel
Hendersonville
There are so many questions to wonder about these days. Like, who was the first person brave enough to eat a chicken’s egg? Or why do some people think cilantro tastes like soap and others can’t get enough of it? How did certain colors come to represent the Volunteers, Paladins, Hokies, etc.? Or a burning question that we like to argue about, who thinks the college conference re-alignment is a good idea? And that question can lead to so many other questions. ...read more
Local Flavor
Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Columbia | Greenville | Knoxville | Roanoke | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville | Winston-Salem
... Our favorite foods! Food is universal because everybody’s got ta eat! And the last two months of the year are filled with more than their fair share of family meals, work gatherings, special outings to favorite restaurants, tins filled with homemade cookies and fudge, and the anticipation of food traditions handed down from generation to generation ...read more
At Home | Recipes
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Even before we bought the Mast General Store, we were taken by the beauty of Valle Crucis. We’ve heard people describe the drive out Broadstone Road as traveling through a time portal. In the 1970s, fields in the river bottoms would be filled with tobacco, cabbage, or high with hay to feed cattle that were grazing in the summer pasture. ...read more
Local Flavor | Mast Family Favorites
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The lucky few who have seen the Earth from a different perspective – astronauts - all echo the same viewpoint upon their return. Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut and the first human to go to space, commented, “Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it.”
Behind the Scenes | Inspiration
All
Here we are about to put another year in the books. How can 365 days pass by so quickly? Wait, we're referring to 2020; it couldn't pass fast enough! With the New Year just hours away, it's time to take steps toward a year filled with good luck.
Let's start things off with the New Year's Eve countdown. In some ways, the night won't be the same without Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians. Here's a link to his last New Year's Eve broadcast from 1976-77. It was on CBS, and 1976/77 was the 48th year that his band played Auld Lang Syne via a broadcast, either radio or television, to welcome the New Year.
While you're listening to the band and the clock is striking 12, you'll want to open all of the doors and windows to let out any bad luck that has made your house its home over the last year. You don't have to leave them open long. It helps if you make some loud noises to hasten bad luck and perhaps even the Devil, rumor has it he doesn't like loud sounds, out of the house.
It's morning, a new day, and a New Year. Let's make sure to start it off right by shouting out first thing, "Rabbit, rabbit." Folklore holds that rabbits bring good luck and by making these the first words you speak for the new month or New Year, you'll have it the whole month/year long.
Time to begin working on the menu for the day. A traditional meal will include ham or some other type of pork, black-eyed peas or another bean or pea, and greens, which could be collards or cabbage. You might also want to add in some cornbread. Each of these is very important in order to have good luck in the coming year.
Pork is on the menu because a hog is always rooting forward – it doesn't dig or scratch backward like a chicken or stand still like cattle. Black-eyed peas or lentils look like small coins and grow when cooked, just like one hopes a financial nest egg will increase in value. Greens also symbolize economic fortune and resemble folding money or greenbacks. Cornbread represents gold bars, so eating it is another way to increase your wealth.
To help you get started with your meal preparations, we're sharing a recipe from one of our favorite cookbook authors, Sheri Castle:
1 1/2 lb. quick-cooking greens, tough stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
2 thick bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, if needed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 teaspoon granulated sugar or firmly packed light brown sugar
1 small dried hot chili or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Hot pepper vinegar, for serving
Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt per cup of water. Add the greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to immediately transfer the greens into the ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. Drain well and squeeze out as much water as possible. Use the cooked greens soon or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until it renders its fat and is crispy, stirring often, about 10 minutes. If the bacon does not render at least 2 tablespoons fat, stir in the olive oil. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sugar and chili and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. (The whole chili will give mild heat and can be discarded before serving. Crushed flakes are a commitment to heat, but the amount can be adjusted to taste.)
Add the greens and cook, tossing with tongs, until glossy and warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm with hot pepper vinegar on the side. Serves 4.
Watch for Sheri on a new show on UNC Public TV this coming year. It's called Cooking at Home with Sheri Castle. Each episode will introduce viewers to North Carolina ingredients and exciting recipes they can easily replicate at home. She also takes viewers throughout the state to meet farmers, growers, chefs and home cooks. Sheri grew up in Boone, NC and is a Southern food historian. We think you'll enjoy this series. We're not exactly certain when it will launch, so follow the UNC TV link to check it out.
Wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous New Year!
Originally posted December 2014. Updated December 29, 2020.