Stop and Smell the Roses (make that.. Blueberries)
“To pay homage to beauty is to admire Nature;
to admire Nature is to worship God” (author unknown)
As we spent the first part of summer on the go (we don't sit still well), we decided to slow down a bit this Wandering Wednesday and stop and smell the roses... except the roses were blueberries. Our day was filled in awe and wonder of nature's gifts. (Check out our photos at the end of the blog!)
Our first stop: The Swift Creek Berry Farm to pick blueberries. This family run farm has been growing blueberries for 25 years and the size of their bushes is proof. They were huge! An hour and a bucket full of the sweetest berries later, we headed to their farm stable to check out. Owner Kathryn Goode was a delight and happily shared her family's favorite blueberry pie recipe:
KENS FAMOUS BLUEBERRY PIE 9″ Deep dish pie shell. (uncooked)add 3 cups of fresh blueberries Mix the following in a bowl and pour over berries in pie shell:
--1C sugar
--1/3C all purpose flour
--1/8tsp salt2 eggs
--1/2C sour cream Mix the following until crumbly and scatter over pie:
--1/4C soften butter (not melted)
--1/2C sugar
--1/2C flour Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Sometimes a few more minutes to get a nice golden brown color. Pie tends to drip so place something beneath it as it bakes. As the theme today was "all natural", our next stop (Thanks to Leah McGowan) was Country Food and Furniture-- Powhatan's very own Mennonite Grocery. This unique little store has been in business since 2003 offering fresh eggs from free roaming chickens, homemade breads, cakes, pies, cookies, jams and homemade cashew brittle, plus handmade rugs and wood furniture. We, however, were in search of one special item that gets rave reviews there: their homemade pimento cheese! (My husband is a pimento cheese fanatic and he thought it was amazing!) The kind staff there also tipped us off to another one of their specialties: homemade whoopie pies. They come in chocolate and pumpkin, so had to bring some of those home too.
On a side note, we stumbled upon an interesting site: "Carol and Ed's Car Museum" on Mt Herman Road in Powhatan. We were not sure if this was a private residence or if the public is allowed in, but it sure looked interesting. Given the number of garages on the property, it appears they have an extensive car collection. Anyone have any info on this place??? (Check out car photo at end of blog post)
Our last stop of the day, the James River for some rock jumping and tubing at Pony Pasture. After all, Richmond won "Best River Town Ever" in Outside Magazine for a reason. The rapids at Pony Pasture are considered Class II, though they river is down now due to the lack of summer rain, making it super safe for kid swimming. I realized that while we hike and canoe/kayak on the river, my kids have never spent much time actually "swimming" in the river before. So spending a lazy afternoon ON and IN the river was the perfect way to both soak in the sun and nature's beauty, and to slow down and relax. As William Shakespeare said: “I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.” And so we did this Wandering Wednesday...
16716 Genito Rd. Moseley, VA 23120
Country Food and Furniture
1901-D Anderson Highway (Rt 60)
Powatan, VA 23139
Pony Pasture
Photo credit: Paul Diming
