Snowy Grits Considered. A Tale of Varying Richmonds, Snow, and Off-Grid Adventure.

In Richmond, our daughter has a new friend on the block. There are many reasons why she is already beloved, but I will start with her sunny demeanor, enthusiasm for books, and willingness to try new things… including Richmond.

A recently graduated Texan, M. *thought* she was applying to a job in the next town over, but was hired not for that Richmond, but Richmond, Virginia. What do you do? “Hey. I’m 23, ready to get out on my own… WHY NOT?” Thus, a new job acquired, she left her small town for a far-away city, and loves it, loves our street. And we love her! We have all enjoyed getting to know her; she is quickly a part of our gang.

This week she texted, saying she had a book for me. I assumed she would loan one of the novels we had all discussed on our last urban walk over the holidays. But no, it was a gift! 

“I was at the thrift store and found this, and it reminded me of you. It just seemed like this would be something you would like…” I gasped: she had NO idea that for *years* I have collected vintage Time Life Cookbooks! Yet there it was: a Time Life Cookbook volume on the Pacific Northwest, one I did not yet have in my collection!!!!

Back on the farm, I enjoyed poring through M.’s Pacific Northwest volume she had so presciently gifted. I just could not get over it! How did she KNOW? Chapters in, I knew which recipes I’ll play with, and bookmarked the pages. Thank you M. for noticing my love of vintage cookbooks!!!

Before I could even *think* about going to the grocery store to try my hand at pickled salmon and congealed crab salad, it snowed.

From the cabinets OUT came the vintage snowflake dishes!

What shall we make today? I started with a basic southern breakfast of soft-boiled eggs, (chicken) sausages, pan-fried onions, and made a large pot of grits.

After a morning of conference calls, it was time for a quick hike. We traced one of our creeks to its source, dropped a pin on Google Maps, and considered building a spring box. The snow was now falling wet, and starting to soak through our coats. As we tramped through the woods, the dogs raced up and down ravines, dashing back and forth through brush, then led the charge ahead.

Trudging back to the house tired, cold, soaked… then opening the energy-efficient prefab home’s door to a blast of HEAT and COMFORT always reminds me of years past, the children at all ages and phases, but with the continuity of being soaked, freezing, then hit with a wall of heat as you enter, the cook stove humming, and usually a pot of stew on the stove ready just as we realize we’re, after hours of sledding and riding and racing in the snow: starving.

Addictive Southern Cabbage:
Today I didn’t have stew ready, but I had a cabbage slaw - a southern twist on New York’s “Addictive Cabbage.” From the pantry, grab the mortar & pestle. 

With the pestle, smash up some garlic cloves to paste. Add in the same amount of sesame oil, and the same amount of toasted sesame seeds, then mix that in with the pestle. Instead of sake, dash in a splash of bourbon. Instead of brown sugar, drizzle in some molasses. Spoon in chicken bouillon (so funny, I never purchase it, but Christoph loves it in the pantry, and today I was happy to have it!). Once it’s all mixed up, drizzle that sauce over chopped cabbage and toss until it’s nicely coated, then let it sit a day in the fridge. It reduces, so if it’s too strong you can add in more cabbage, if it’s not as potent as you like, make more sauce. (I like it potent, probably no surprise to anyone here.)

Richmond VIRGINIA Chicken & Grits Dumplings:

Heat a pan, add a dollop of Duke’s, slide it around, then chicken thighs. When one side of the chicken thighs are brown, flip them and put on the lid. After a few minutes, after the chicken cooks through and creates juice, take a spoon or spatula and slice pieces of this morning’s now-congealed grits and add them to the pan. Turn and drizzle the thighs with a favorite mustard. Leave the lid off and let the “grit dumplings” and chicken cook and absorb the flavors, turning both as needed.

Leftover grits are a blessing. Let’s talk about grits more. When I lived in New York’s East Village I’d get so excited a “Southern” restaurant was opening, would enter with anticipation, look at the menu, and immediately dismiss: what the heck are they doing to their grits???? NO. Not in the south, the Virginia south, would you consider adding jalapenos or cheese to grits. Sacrilege! But in Richmond, TEXAS you would... I considered M. and her Richmond TEXAS roots, and how grits with cheese and other savory items would be normal. For the first time ever my body was saying, “Copeland, put some cheese in those grits! You have that leftover cheese dip from the Super Bowl and it would be great with this!” No. NO, I CAN’T DO IT!

But here’s how I did it: I put a dollop of Caper Cheese Dip on the plate. Now your fork can pick up a little grits dumpling, a little Caper Cheese Dip, and all is well in my Richmond VIRGINIA world!

Caper Cheese Dip:
Earlier we spent a *lovely* Sunday watching the Super Bowl at our dear friends’ farm. They were serving crab cakes, and I thought celery served with a spicy (vegan for alpha-gal) cheez dip would go well. I mixed vegan cheddar cheez (the best you can find) with Duke’s, hot sauce, minced raw onion, smoked paprika, chili, and capers. Delicious! The leftovers went great with the chicken and grits dinner.

It has been snowing since before dawn. Now, late afternoon, the 3ish inches on the ground have not deepened. Suddenly the grey sky shifts, the wind picks up: sleet. A wave of the hand as Oz’s witch muses into the crystal ball - a sudden sharp edge and drop in temperature, your mood switches to razor awareness: be extra careful.

Even cozy, off-grid, we ride through storms with prudence. It’s all careful fun and games until the cell towers go out, surrounded by hundreds of wooded acres, with heavy ice snapping trees like gunshots, as dusk descends into night. There now is no phone signal to call 911 in any emergency. 

Too early, it’s just best to go to bed and hope dawn brings warmth to melt the wood’s branches, that the big oaks don’t fall on the house, that fences are still standing with horses safely in the field. If anything happens now, it could be death to address in this moment.
So sleep.