Good Press

I wrote this story in the fall of 2010, but I want to save it here. The Davis Brothers farm has morphed from being a dairy operation to agritourism in three generations. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal MASONTOWN — Someday the Davis sisters will be running Davis Brothers Farm. The Davis sisters — Julie Davis Mallow and Debbie Davis — are the daughters of Jim Davis, who still works the farm with his brother, Bill. Julie’s husband Jay Mallow and Debbie’s fiancé Rob Crawford help, as do workers Robert Gamble and Mark Smith. The Davis sisters are the third generation to work their family’s land in Preston County. While they are tied to the land, they are not set in their ways. They have had to adapt and innovate to keep the farm operating. Their latest venture is into agritourism. Read more ... http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=86146

I have written about this dear and enterprising man before. Here's the latest version. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal Glen Facemire Jr. is a ramp man like his dad. The elder Facemire dug the ramps that supplied the annual ramp feed in Richwood. That was many years ago when the event attracted far fewer than the 1,000-plus attendees it draws now. It requires about a ton of ramps — Allium Tricoccum, a member of the onion and garlic family — more than just one person could dig. He raised his children on ramps. “We would go back in the mountains,” Facemire Jr. remembered. “We would fish, and we would dig ramps. We would take a bunch of half-gallon and quart jars and a big tub. We would build a fire, and my mother would sterilize the jars and wilt the ramps. She’d put about a spoonful of salt to a half-gallon jar, and she would lightly tighten the lids and put the jars onto boil for 1 1/2 hours. When they were finished, they were ready to come home and put them in t...

Not exactly about local food either, but a local man is doing something to feed the world. I had the privilege of writing about him. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal Jake Harriman turned in his sword for a plowshare. The 36-year-old Preston County native and former Marine saw that he could fight terrorism more effectively if he battled one of its chief causes: Extreme poverty. While fighting in Iraq, he saw terrorists exploit poor people to do their bidding. He left the service, where he was a decorated U.S. Marine Corps Recon Platoon Commander in the Iraq War, and enrolled at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2008 with a goal to build an organization that would address terrorism by ending extreme poverty. Armed with an MBA in nonprofit management and backed by classmates, professors and Silicon Valley investors, he co-founded the nonprofit Nuru International. He serves as its CEO, spending much of his time working the program in Kenya. Read more ...

No you can't eat it but it is a part of our Appalachian culture, and you can buy the juice from its berries. Ginseng roots and flowers grow naturally in West Virginia. The number of people who dig wild roots to sell fluctuates based on a number of things — weather, a bad market and high employment. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal When Janet Hodge was a kid she couldn’t wait to get the list of which wild roots dealers were buying and how much they were paying. Today, although Hodge has taught her children to recognize ginseng, black cohosh, bloodroot, goldenseal and more growing in the woods, they’re not interested in harvesting it — no matter how valuable it is. “They know they can go out and dig X amount of pounds for X amount of dollars but they don’t want to,” Hodge said. “They know what these things look like. They know how to dig. But they’re not going to do it. There’s a lot of work involved. They’ll mow somebody’s yard before they go dig roots.” Many of their peers ...

Using coupons is not a new concept, but there are some modern ways to make sure you get the best deals. I'm still learning how to do this. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal MORGANTOWN — Shalane Koon sticks to a $40 a week grocery budget and for six months last year lived off a stockpile of products she bought with coupons. Stormy Matlick paid $1 for six body washes that will last her husband and son three months. Koon and Matlick, both of Morgantown, will tell you their money-saving reality differs greatly from what you might see on TLC’s show, “Extreme Couponing.” The cable program and the rising cost of goods are spurring consumers to use more coupons. ABC News reported that coupon use has increased 30 percent since 2008, when the country plunged into an economic crisis. In 2010, shoppers saved $3.7 billion using coupons. “My husband and I DVR ‘Extreme Couponing’ on TLC every week,” Koon said. “I love to see what people get for next to nothing. Pennies on the dollar, reall...

Photo by Cynthia McCloud The new Hershey's Air Delights aerated milk chocolate bar is honey-combed with thousands of tiny pockets where air bubbles used to be. I can't figure out why they made such a thing. Is it to make you feel like you're eating a full-size chocolate bar but actually consuming less? I don't know. I do know what it's like to eat: It's soft, spongy to the bite. If I bit into it unaware that it's supposed to be like that, I would assume the chocolate had gone bad. It doesn't taste bad. It's just different. I prefer a creamier chocolate on the tongue than this chewy one. There are supposed to be Air Delight Kisses too but I haven't seen those.

Photo by Cynthia McCloud Bethany Long (left) of Hometown Market in Buckhannon participates in a roundtable discussion on education and the local food system led by Chef Dale Hawkins/ Participants shared ideas about how the local food system should function and how policies and programs should contribute to and support it. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal PHILIPPI — Farmers, consumers, chefs and students brought their concerns for the local food system to the table May 4 at a roundtable meeting on West Virginia farms and food at Philip Barbour High School. It was the first step to gather ideas that will form a state food charter, a vision for how the local food system should function and how policies and programs should contribute to and support it, said Savanna Lyons, West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition program manager. “Roundtables are the opportunity to take a snapshot of what our challenges and issues and opportunities are in West Virginia to build a food economy,” Lyons...

What's for tomorrow's Sunday dinner, everyone? I will be grilling with some Girl Scouts lakeside. But usually I like something after church that's light so I can nap. If I'm having friends over after morning worship, I like things that are made ahead and just need assembled or serving so I don't keep hungry guests waiting. Those ideas include oven-barbecued ribs and scalloped potatoes or taco salad. Layered vanilla pudding, Nilla wafers and sliced bananas for dessert. What are you having for Sunday dinner? Leave me the recipes if you would.

I have to brag on my child, and maybe myself. It's a good feeling when the almost-8-year-old says, "What's for dinner? Roasted vegetables? Oooh! With hominy?! Yes!" I discovered this recipe when I was pregnant for her in a cookbook titled "Eating For Pregnancy". When she was old enough to eat baby food, I cooked this and pureed it and fed it to her. She has always loved fruits and vegetables, choosing them over other foods sometimes, and I've been grateful we haven't had to struggle to get her to eat them. ROASTED OR GRILLED MARINATED VEGETABLES from "Eating for Pregnancy: An Essential Guide to Nutrition with Recipes for the Whole Family" by Catherine Jones with Rose Ann Hudson Note: You can grill these also; I have yet to try it, but when I do I'll use my Pampered Chef Grill Basket! 1 medium red bell pepper, washed, cored, seeded, and quartered 1 medium (about 8 ounces) purple eggplant, washed and cut into 1/2-inch slices (see Cooking ...

Photo courtesy of C.J. Maggie's American Grill I discovered C.J. Maggie's American Grill when I was a freshman at W.Va. Wesleyan College in 1995. I loved the Easy Elmer (a ham sandwich) and the Bagwan's Grilled Vegetables sandwich, things that are no longer on the menu. Still on the menu are the 40 Miles of Bad Road Nachoes that my friends and I would share and still have leftovers. Here is a story I had the pleasure of writing this spring when The State Journal named C.J. Maggie's one of its 55 Good Things in West Virginia. CJ Rylands photo courtesy of the Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival C.J. and Jeannie Rylands founded the restaurant chain. By CYNTHIA McCLOUD For The State Journal BUCKHANNON — Restaurateurs C.J. and Jeannie Rylands have the recipe for downtown revitalization. The business model they use when scouting locations for new C.J. Maggie’s American Grill franchises has gotten them named one of the 55 Good Things in West Virginia. “The business plan that wo...

We like this "burger" recipe from "365: No Repeats" by Rachael Ray. I'm posting for my friend Elisha. I thought I had included this here in the past but I couldn't find it. ITALIAN SWEET CHICKEN SAUSAGE PATTIES 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken breast 1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1/3 palm full 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup tender sun-dried tomatoes 10-12 fresh basil leaves 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, plus some to drizzle 2 cubanelle peppers, seeded and sliced 1 medium onion, thinly sliced Salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 crusty kaiser rolls, split 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 deli-cut slices of Provolone cheese Mix chicken with half of the garlic, fennel seeds and grill seasoning. Pile the sun-dried tomatoes on top of each other in small stacks, then slice into thin strips. Coarsely chop the thin strips and add to the bowl. Stack the basil leaves to...

Summer makes me think of camp and camp songs and games. Remember Going on a Picnic? In that memory game, each player had to say "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing ..." and then fill in the name of a food that starts with a letter of the alphabet starting at A and so on. Before giving their answer for the next letter they had to remember all the foods that had already been named. In my version, I really am going on a picnic! And I want to know what you like to take on a picnic and any tips you have for taking food into the wild. You do not have to begin with the letter A. GO!

I have some leftover boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. Now before you get too excited, I don't have any Samoas or Thin Mints. I DO have Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs and Lemon Chalet Cremes if you prefer that kind. Now through Monday, June 13, if you follow my blog or make a new comment on a post, I will enter your name in a drawing to win a box of Girl Scout Cookies of your choice. The winner's name will be drawn by our resident Girl Scout. Please do not offer to buy my cookies -- the organization frowns on Internet selling. These cookies are extras that I purchased and this is for fun and to get more visits to my blog. Enter more than once as long as you have something worthwhile to say. There will be plenty of chances to participate, including new posts, throughout the weekend. Good luck! Here is a link to a Girl Scout Council's site that lists lots of recipes if you'd like to cook with your cookies instead of just eat them: Recipes using Girl Scout Cookies

When I was a kid marshmallows came in three flavors: plain, toasted coconut and fruity (Kraft calls them FunMallows). A couple of years ago I found Caramel & Vanilla Swirl and I wrote about it here . This winter I saw extra-large marshmallows and square flat marshmallows sized to fit perfectly on graham crackers and chocolate bars for s'mores. Kraft calls them StackerMallows. This spring the flavors of marshmallows have exploded like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man when zapped by The Ghostbusters (now that's telling my age!) In addition to plain, mixed fruit, strawberry and caramel marshmallows, there are chocolate royale, chocolate-vanilla swirl and chocolate mint varieties. A label on a shelf indicated Pina Colada should be stocked there but it wasn't. Stay Puft marshmallows have been licensed as a "Ghostbusters" collectible and sold as CAFFEINATED MARSHMALLOWS ! Kraft Foods, maker of Jet-Puffed Marshmallows says the new flavors will be around for a limited ti...