Daily Food: Scrumptious Pork Chop

  • Slow Foodie Bear

    Welcome to my food blog! I'm writing, cooking, and eating my way across beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia, documenting the great food I've tasted at my favorite local restaurants and the delicious recipes I've made at home. I’m collecting all of my pictures and recipes, not only for posterity, but also hoping that they will interest and inspire people to try similar dishes and to experiment with the ingredients their hometown has to offer. I love natural, simple, and nutritious foods grown or raised by local farmers and purveyors who care about the Earth, the well-being of their plants and animals, and the health of the people who eat their food. I've also adopted a Paleo lifestyle, which helps me to embrace local, seasonal, healthy foods and cooking styles. I hope you enjoy!

Foods from the Past: Tomato Ragu with Ground Beef in Ramekins

On the rare occasion that I plan my meals ahead and prepare extra for the coming week, I might come up with a meal like the following: Tomato Ragu with Ground Beef in Ramekins It is essentially ground beef and sauteed tomatoes, with added herbs, vegetables and tomato sauce.  I’m calling it a ragu in … Continue reading →

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Daily Food: Vermillion Snapper

If you’re looking for a restaurant-like meal that’s deceptively easy to prepare, I would suggest fish.  Some think it’s hard to prepare and easy to overcook, but I find it’s actually easier to prepare than beef.  At least with white fish, to properly cook it, you just wait for the flesh to turn transparent.  And … Continue reading →

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Daily Food: Steamed Mussels in Red Wine

I’ve always walked by mussels and clams while food shopping and thought, “those are so yummy in restaurants, but they seem so intimidating to make at home.”  The descriptions in restaurants are so simple and unassuming as well: mussels steamed in white wine with garlic.  Well, I’d like to suggest that it really is just … Continue reading →

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Daily Food: Mackerel Cakes (aka using leftovers)

I love to cook a meal from scratch at every meal, but that’s not really feasible in the middle of a busy week.  So I’ve been trying to get better about preparing things in advance and about making better use of leftovers.  This post is about how I used the leftover mackerel that I had … Continue reading →

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Daily Food: Mackerel and Cauliflower Mash

I’m back to blogging!  I’ve started my final semester at UVA, and I’ve entered a reflective period, re-centering myself after a hectic holiday season on what interests and activities are most important to me.  Especially with graduation nearing, I’m trying to brainstorm career ideas and to put more time into activities that might help get … Continue reading →

Filed under Daily Food, Main Dish, Paleo, veggies

Writing about Ace Biscuit and Barbecue

I’ve posted before about Ace Biscuit and Barbecue and their wonderful food and the funky vibe, but it wasn’t until this morning* that it struck me how special of a restaurant it is, especially in the larger scheme of American restaurants and American food.  We’re so spoiled here in Charlottesville to have small-scale, local restaurants … Continue reading →

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Swordfish with Summer Salad

I did a lot of cooking this summer, experimenting with new techniques, new foods, and new flavor combinations.  I had never cooked swordfish before, so one night, we decided to be adventurous and tried it on the grill.  Grilling was one of the typical ways I had heard of it being prepared (in fact that … Continue reading →

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What I’ve Been Up To!

I’ve been absent from my blog for much of the summer since returning from Italy, but I’ve been hard at work in Charlottesville, doing lots of work with food and photography and cooking and art and writing.  I think I’ve truly found my passions and what motivates me in life, and the great thing is … Continue reading →

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Clifton Inn Chefs in the Garden Dinner Series

Last Monday, the Clifton Inn hosted the second dinner of its Chefs in the Garden series where they invite additional chefs to join head Chef Tucker for a multiple-course dinner in the garden.  Each of the chefs dreams up and creates their own courses.  The most recent dinner featured Chef Joe Sparatta from Heritage (Richmond), Tim … Continue reading →

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Firenze Files: Photos

I’ve returned from Italy and have been back in the States for almost four weeks now.  I’ve had many culinary adventures already which I hope to being sharing again, and I’ve finally cherry-picked some of my favorite photos from Italy to share.  Please enjoy them below.  Hover over each picture for a short caption or … Continue reading →

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