SOUTHERN PLENTY, 206 Main Street, South Boston, Virginia 24592

Dessert Island Sightings

2011-11-04T12:55:00.001-04:00

The Dessert Case on a Rainy Friday - November 4, 2011

See You Soon. Bring a Sweet Tooth!!

Southern Plenty's Day to Day Menu

2011-11-03T17:09:00.002-04:00

Please check our

"Southern Plenty" facebook page

for Daily Specials Wednesday through Saturday:

Thank You

and

Don't Forget to Leave Time

to Visit the Great Shops Up and Down Main Street SoBo!!

Photographic History of the Civil War

2011-07-06T14:43:00.002-04:00

For your consideration is a very good copy of the ten large quarto volume set of The Photographic History of the Civil War edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller and published in 1911 by The Review of Reviews in New York.

This remarkable work contains thousands of photographs, many previously unpublished, taken from 1861-1865 by Mathew Brady and by private individuals. The accompaning text contains contributions from over 39 distinguished historians and veteran officers of both Confederate and Union forces, many of whom wrote from their personal experience.

The ten volumes include 1) The Opening Battles; 2) Two Years of Grim War; 3) The Decisive Battles; 4) The Cavalry; 5) Forts and Artillery; 6) The Navies; 7) Prisons and Hospitals; 8) Soldier Life,Secret Service; 9) Poetry and Eloquence of Blue and Gray; and 10) Armies and Leaders.

As the Dictionary of American Biograph (DAB) states of Brady and his assistants, “Zealous in their work, often regardless of danger, and at all times handicapped by the vexing difficulties of the photographic process of that day,” Brady and his assistants “carried their cameras to every scene that promised an interesting picture,” capturing “scenes of actual conflict, others of places devastated by gunfire, of troops on the march or in bivouac, and of individual officers and men.”

Mr. Brady profited little from his epic Civil War photographs and died a pauper in 1896. Fortunately for us, many of his negatives survived to be included in The Photographic History of the Civil War that was not published until 15 years after his death. The set remains one of the cornerstones to any serious Civil War book collection and serves as a lasting tribute to art and photographic vision of Mathew Brady and all others that sought to capture the glory and horror of that great conflict.

The copy we have is the Semi-Centennial Memorial edition published in 1911 (the same year as the first edition). It is bound in the original blue cloth covers with gilt title on spines. Top edges are gilt. Bindings are slightly rubbed and there is slight foxing to the title pages. Still a tight set in much better condition than usually found. We have it priced at $500

The farmers market and our weekly specials

2011-06-26T16:06:00.000-04:00

As summer is upon us, so is the official season of the local South Boston and Halifax farmers markets! Yeah! Two years ago I spent the market season selling my canned and baked good. I loved getting to know the local produce farmers and learned a lot about growing things in my own garden.

I create our daily specials to follow whats being picked locally and try to deal with as many organic farmers as possible. Since we make our food fresh daily ..... when an item is sold out.... thats it. We cant just run to the freezer and open a commercially prepared, always the same product. When opening our front door you dont need to ask whats cookin'. You can smell it. Its truly a labor of love. Robert tastes every new thing Im working on and often helps me fine tune the flavor combinations. He also helps eat the leftovers on our days off! Check out our weekly specials on our facebook page. If you "like" us on facebook, you will get our specials posted on your facebook wall!

Brillat-Savarin's Handbook of Gastronomy

2011-06-23T11:33:00.001-04:00

For your consideration is a fine copy of A Handbook of Gastronomy: New and Complete Translation by Brillat-Savarin (Jean-Anthelme). This book was published by J. W. Bouton in New York in 1884 and is the First American Edition of this translation of Physiologie du Gout. It includes a preface and comments on Brillat-Savarin by Charles Monselet and consists on 516 pages, with title in gilt on the spine, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, and a frontispiece portrait of Brillat-Savarin plus 52 etchings by A. Lalauze. It is leather bound in 19th Century alligator that shows slight wear to the corners and edges.

The Publisher’s Notice, in this edition, states that all previous English translations of Physiologie du Gout were "curtailed or altered and that this edition is the first to offer English readers the book as it was originally written".

The first edition of Physiologie du Gout was published, at Brillat-Savarin’s oun expense, in Paris in 1825 in an edition of only 500 copies . An American edition was not published until 1854.

Brillat-Savarin is considered the father of all modern writing on food and on the arts of cooking and fine dining. He was born on the first day of April, 1755 in Belley, in the Ain. He was a lawyer and politician. As Mayor of Belley, he resisted the bloody revolutionists in 1793, and was forced to flee the country, first to Switzerland and then to America. He returned to France in 1796, was reinstated as a honorable citizen, and was appointed judge in the Court of Appeal in Paris. He earned his living as a lawyer and politician but he earned his fame by putting his pen to paper, over a thirty year period, and producing Physiologie du Gout (Translated in this 1884 American edition as A Handbook of Gastronomy and in later translations as The Physiology of Taste).

Whatever the translation title of Brillat-Savain’s book, it remains one of the most stimulating, enjoyable and quotable works ever written on the subject of the senses and their pleasures.

Who is not aware of Brillat-Savarin’s aphorism (as its phrased in this 1884 Handbook of Gastronomy), “Tell me what thou eatest, and I will tell thee what thou art".

A fine copy of a scarce book that we have priced at ~~$350~~.

No Longer Available - Sold September, 2011

We are always interested in purchasing fine books and we hope to sell a few .

We are particullary interested in 20th Century First Editions, Art, Architecture, Dance, Gastronomy, Music, Photography and Southern Literature.

Dolly Cakes

2011-06-16T22:37:00.003-04:00

For about 5 years I have been a part of an online group of women (and a few brave men) who initially met up talking about food and recipes but as in real life... quickly gave way to discussions of books, films and family. When Robert and I started thinking about the new shop and what exactly we would be doing , of course I would post ideas for feedback from this group of wonderful thoughtful people. They happen to live all over the world and have given great insight. The past few weeks I have been thinking about an item I wanted to create for the pastry case at Southern Plenty. Not knowing about my search, an online friend, Megan (from California) posted the first recipe her mom taught her to make at age 6. She mentioned it originally came from Sunset Magazine which happened to be a welcome read in my house while growing up in Southern California. To the recipe I added cocoa powder to the batter, macadamia nuts and cinnamon sugar on top. When I asked Megan what her moms name was she said everyone called her Dolly. I knew that would be the perfect name for this new creation. It was inspired by a loving mom who inspired her daughter who inspired me. Thanks Dolly, thanks Megan.

Mineral Springs of the U.S. and Canada

2011-06-16T21:56:00.001-04:00

For your consideration is a nice copy of The Mineral Springs of the United State and Canada, with Analyses and Notes of the Prominent Spas of Europe, and a List of Sea-Side Resorts.

This book is a Third Edition by George E. Walton, M.D. published in 1883 by Appleton and Company of New York and consists of 468 pages plus 20 pages of advertisements and 4 tipped in maps. We have a nice copy priced at $125.

Dr. Walton's book was an effort to document the analysis, properties and descriptions of all the mineral springs of the United States and Canada plus the prominent spas of Europe.

Virginia is well represented in Dr. Walton’s book with listings for the following springs: Alleghany, Bath Alum, Blue Ridge, Botetourt, Buffalo Lithia, Burner’s, Capper’s, Church Hill Alum, Cold White Sulphur, Coyner’s, Dagger’s, Eggleston’s, Fauquier White Sulphur, Grayson Sulphur, Healing, Holston, Hot, Huguenot, Jordan’s White Sulphur, Montgomery White Sulphur, Orkney, Pulaski Alum, Rawley, Roanoke Red Sulphur, Rockbridge Alum, Stribling’s, Sweet Chalybeate, Variety, Warm, Wolf Trap and Yellow Sulphur.

Many of us in Southside Virginia have memories of Buffalo Lithia Springs and Buffalo was one of the few springs to sponsor a full page ad in this 1883 book. Their ad. proclaimed “Buffalo Lithia Water...For Bright’s Disease of the Kidneys, the Gouty Diathesis, Stone of the Bladder, Nervous and Acid Dyspepsia, etc. (the ad included testimonials from 3 Doctors...interesting to speculate why one of the testimonials was from a “late” doctor.)

My family lived about 1 mile from the Springs from 1940 until 1960 and we, like many others in the neighborhood, made a weekly trek to the Springs to fill containers with drinking water. (Many families still do so.)

Little remains to remind us that a thriving Buffalo Lithia Springs Hotel with a golf course and many other amenities once graced that part of our community.

I remember tagging along with my Father to the auction that marked the end of the Buffalo Hotel and Springs in the late 1940s. I remember it being a kind of circus atmosphere with music, food and lots of people milling around. Later, Mom accused Dad of being “carried away by the music” after he was the winning bidder on a few acres of land along Route 58, the contents of the Buffalo Springs chemistry lab, and the books from the library.

Dad stored those Buffalo Springs books in an upstairs room along with mysterious trunks that our Uncle Elmo shipped home from time to time from exotic (to me) Merchant Marine ports of call. I can’t speak for my sister and brother, but for me, nothing was sweeter in my youth than stealing away to that upstairs room, locking the door, finding a cozy spot surrounded by Uncle Elmo’s trunks, and reading about Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, Robin Hood, Little John, Maid Marian, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Jim, Becky Thatcher and wrestling with Ambrose Bierce’s Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories. Guess you could say that Buffalo Lithia Springs started me on a lifetime addiction to books.

We are always interested in purchasing fine books and we hope to sell a few on occasion.

Desserts for a Friday at Southern Plenty

2011-06-03T14:43:00.001-04:00

Desserts for a Friday prepared by Mary (from top left to bottom right)

German Chocolate Muffins

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peach Cake

Raspberry Shortbread

Apple Caramel Cake

Strawberry Tart

Strawberry/Rhubarb Cobbler

Cream Cheese Muffin

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Orange Chocolate Scone

Ginger Scone

Lemon Curd Tart

Chocolate Mint Cookie

Caramel Brownie

Bring a Craving!!

Oh yes, there is also Macadamia Nut Pie that we could not fit into the case.

Mrs. Mary Randolph's "Virginia Housewife"

2011-05-25T15:49:00.006-04:00

We have what we beleve is a decent selection of collectable African-American, Architechture, Art, Craft, Dance, Fiction, Gastronomy, Music, Nautical and Virginiana books.

We plan to list at least one book each week on our Blog and believe it appropriate that the first book be The Virginia Housewife or Methodical Cook by Mrs. Mary Randolph.

Ms. Randolph is widely recognized as the author of the first distintly southern cookbook.

She was a cousin by marriage to Thomas Jefferson. She and her husband, David Meade Randolph lived the earlier part of their marriage in relatively well-to-do circumstances but a change in their fortunes forced them to move to Richmond, Virginia where Mary opened a boardinghouse that featured her well regarded meals.

The first publication of Virginia Housewife appeared in 1824 and found a receptive audience that supported many printings over the years. Mrs. Randolph’s approach to maintaining a kitchen and family remains pertinent today...as she stated in her preface, “The government of a family, bears a Lilliputian resemblance to the government of a nation. The contents of the Treasury must be known, and great care taken to keep the expenditures from being equal to the receipts."

(What a quaint idea that the Government take great care to keep expenditures below receipts!!)

We have a nice 1855 edition in the original marbeled boards that has been rebacked in leather. This copy was published by E. H. Butler & Co. of Philadelphis and consists of 180 pages plus 12 pages of advertisements. It is in good condition though a few pages show food spots not affecting the text.

No Longer Available - Sold September, 2011.

the new arrival

2011-05-21T22:49:00.000-04:00

The new products are now on the shelf and we are ready to open this Wednesday! Finally! We had a sneak peek at Third Thursdays and we met some very nice new friends as well as many old friends.

beautiful day in the neighborhood

2011-05-11T21:01:00.000-04:00

It was a treat to watch as Mary pulled the brown paper from Southern Plenty's windows a couple of weeks ago and to be able to look out at our neignbors on Main Street. All that was missing was Mr. Rogers to lead us in a little, “It’s a beautiful day in the Neighborhood”.

One of the primary reasons we chose to open a shop in South Boston was the tremendous commitment that theTown, the Downtown business owners, and the Citizens have shown in their revitalization efforts in Downtown SoBo. We look forward to being a part of that.

As Mary says in her telephone message, “You have reached Southern Plenty in South Boston, Virginia and we are “fixin” to open soon". (I know none of the dictionaries list "fixin" and that dictionaries claim that "fixing" is a noun but I remember my Mother "fixin" dinner in Buffalo Springs and my sister, brother and myself "fixin" to do the chores.)

We are indeed working towards opening our Cafe/BookShop/Gallery but there are still a couple of items that need to be approved before we throw open the doors. We are hopeful that we will be able to open before the end of this month.

(In any event, we plan to open the Gallery and Book Shop portion for this month's Destination Downtown's Third Thursday celebration. We hope to see you next Thursday evening and often in the future.)

first impressions of the place I call home

2011-01-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

Moving to a rural southern town, I was taken back by many new images and colors. I wanted to create a visual diary of my early impressions. This is still one of my favorite pieces that was created 10 years ago. The images have to do with family, seasons, planting, harvesting, land and sky and the energy between.

the beat goes on...... and on

2011-01-29T13:51:00.000-05:00

After many set backs we actually seem to be making progress on the shop. Here is a quick peek of the food service area! This is the back room where I will have pre made sandwiches, coffee, my baked goods, sodas in the "coke" colored fridge and gourmet items for sale. The knob on the left is the staircase to upstairs. Im standing in front of the back side door.

A shot a bit to the right. The door leads into the 2 butt kitchen!

And a bit more to the right. The doorway leads to the front main room and the table seating.

Looking behind the counter. Im thinking this is the one and final layout as I can't move another heavy piece of furniture. ( Im finally posting these photos as Ive taken the day off with a stiff neck from o' haulin'. ) I seem to remember after our move from California to Virginia....... I told Robert we werent going to buy anything else unless he could lift it up, over his head by himself. I should have listened. Really, this is going to be our best adventure yet.

A view of the old timey yellow lino and one of 4 red metal tables. (The others will be for outdoor seating at the front of the shop.) Arent they cool?

Here is one end of the kitchen and the 3 convection ovens purchased from the Cold Stone ice cream shops in Richmond. Our youngest, Audrey, was working there at the time and somehow knew her mom just needed these! Thanks Auds! Who would have thought back then we would be opening another business that included food! Certainly not I!

"on the wall, off the wall"

2010-10-03T09:34:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy couple of weeks. For the last two years I've been co- curating and hanging shows at MacCallum More Museum and Gardens. We try and show local artists, changing the shows every 5-6 weeks. I also have taken on the job of sponsoring and preparing for the artist receptions. This is a link to photos of the current show. The painter is Hallie Farber, my sister in law and the sculptor is a friend Terry McHose. We both have a studio at Convergence Art Guild in Halifax, Virginia. They both have a great style and thought process about each piece. Part of the fun in hanging a show with Hallie is that we seem to laugh a whole lot but magically things all come together. http://artingaroundinsova.blogspot.com/2010/10/showtime-at-maccallum-more-museum.html

soiree, southern style

2010-09-18T20:41:00.001-04:00

Here I am at the wine festival Soiree held in Vernon Hill, Virginia on the scenic, rolling hills of Greenwood Vineyards. We were fortunate enough to have a booth and be able to drink their robust wines (yes, right here in Southern Virginia) and taste the over the top appetizers from Halifax's own Molasses Grill.

We hauled some of the things I have been working on. It was hot as hell so I forgot to take photos once we set up and the corks were o' poppin'. ( They gave us our own lovely little wine glass which were well used!) The space actually came together nicely for our first festival! Southern Plenty means plenty of clothes line and clothes pins! We had a fun, successful night and met many wonderful folks from Halifax County Virginia.

honey, honey

2010-09-15T14:05:00.000-04:00

This Spring we harvested just one of our two bee hives. (its a long story that involves a few bee stings) So if your interested, this is about how much honey we got from one level of 9 frames of comb. What I'm wondering is : How many flights does this pile represent? Can the bees taste the quality of their honey? Do the bees get sticky and if so do they groom each other? What is the wax created from and what do the queens do when they get a break from laying eggs? We havent harvested any of the Fall flow. This Spring was considered excellent as far as nectar available to the bees. Im wondering if the Fall honey will be darker in color and how different it will taste. Its all really quite wonderful.

a new old bag

2010-09-15T10:23:00.000-04:00

Here is one of a new series of bags I've been working on. Woops! This interior shot was suppose to post second! I guess the term repurpose might be what I am doing. I purchased remnants from an upholstery manufacture that were headed for the rag picker and am having a great old time making it into things. My friend Darren has pointed out that I bought about 1/4 of a ton of fabric. Can you ever have to much fabric? What I love about it all is the color combinations, textures, design possibilities and problem solving.

As you can see, I tend to use the circle and oval in my work and I like the idea of mirror imaging .... well, sort of. I'm now trying to think of a name for this series. Since its a big bag, my husband Robert thought maybe Oval Haul (like overall ) would be a good name. After all, we are trying to keep things Southern!

map of the south

2010-09-13T20:51:00.000-04:00

This is a map.
Its not the kind of map that takes you to any destination. Its a map of a family tree and it is the maps treasure. The red is vibrant, the browns are a rich chocolate. Its made up of family members shirts, dresses and probably old printed flour sacks. The squares are about 1/2 inch small. This is just a section of a twin sized quilt. It's patterns seem to dance on the wall in our living room. Each zig zag edged square is an amazing design in itself. Unfortunately some of the fabrics are deteriorating but in a way its kind of interesting to see what the internal workings are. The construction of the seams are all hand stitched with care and its lined with cotton. The fabrics are from everyday clothing. Nothing fancy. I'm guessing the person who made this didn't have much in the way of material goods. The energy and thoughtfulness tells of love , care, consideration and beauty. The makers name? Its on the tip of your tongue.

love, southern style

2010-09-10T18:10:00.000-04:00

One of my all time favorite things to do is read cookbooks. My favorites are Southern cookbooks and if they come with short stories woven in..... even better. In the South, love is often a practical thing and showing love is definitely in the form of preparing and presenting food. Food is everyones familiar. Food is what you bring when there is a birth or a death in a family and words just won't do justice. I've learned to love the foods discovered and shared while living here and I am always trying to figure out how they came about or what migrant group might have settled here and created such wonderful things. I remember the first time I tried a fried pie. Its like a turnover, but fried, not baked. They are wonderful. Apple or sweet potato are my personal favorites. I started asking questions of various people and what there take was on a fried pie. My favorite memory was when I told someone I was experimenting with recipes and her eyes lit up. In that instant, I saw her childlike delight. She said "Do you seal the edge using a fork?" And I knew right then that someone from her childhood showed her their love when they would make her fried pies. I figure they were sealed by pressing a fork around the edge, very carefully, so that the love wouldn't ooze out.

collecting cookbooks

2010-09-10T17:34:00.000-04:00

One of the things I am looking forward to when we open the new shop is the cookbook section. I have been collecting cookbooks since we moved here and am ready to load and organize them at the shop. While going through the selection, I came across the very first cookbooks I ever owned. I think they were both Christmas presents from my parents. To this day I believe my favorite things to make are jumbo muffins and quiche. If you like my muffins and quiches then you can thank my parents, Marge and Herb. When we had our first restaurant (called Mariposa) there was many an early morning when I was baking that I could almost feel my Dad standing behind me, looking over my shoulder to see what good thing I was making ; ).

baklava and beehives

2010-09-05T22:46:00.000-04:00

berries+ bees = baklava
This is a photo of the holly berry trees in our front yard. This Spring when the trees were flowering the bees from our beehives went crazy for them. Now we get to enjoy two trees full of berries.... and of course the honey.
Some friends had us over for a lovely dinner the other night so I decided to make baklava. In the rural south there are no unsalted shelled pistachios to be found so I ended up making it using macadamia nuts instead. Even Bella and Fanny (the friends dogs) wanted to check out our baklava breath after dessert.
Here is the recipe:
1 pound filo frozen dough (defrosted)
mix together:
1 pound macadamia nuts chopped finely
1 Tablespoon orange blossom water (you can find this in middle eastern grocery stores)
honey (enough to just barely hold the nuts together

1/2 pound melted butter unsalted
Layer 1/2 of the pound of filo dough by drizzling butter on one sheet you have placed in the bottom of a baking pan. Place another sheet of filo dough, then drizzle butter, then another sheet of dough. Continue until 1/2 pound of filo dough has been used.
Spread the nut mixture over the layered filo and then layer the remaining filo on top, finishing with butter drizzled all over the top. Cut into finger food size pieces.
Bake at 350 till browned on the top and bottom.

For the sugar syrup:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon orange blossom water
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
heat the above items in a microwave until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool. When the baklava comes out of the oven, cool it for 15 minutes and then pour the syrup over it

in the studio

2010-09-03T18:38:00.000-04:00

I have this urge to photo my feet in different locations.
Kind of like the Gnome in the movie "Amelie"! Here they are clean.... well sort of
The profile photo, to the right, is me after spray painting an old fridge red for the shop.
I wanted the look of an old timey coke machine (I know... spray cans
are bad for enviornment! Its the only spray
I've used in years besides spray whipped cream! : 0 )

art 21

2010-09-03T18:27:00.000-04:00

Have you ever come across something that has been out there for a while and you say to yourself "where have I been?" or " How did I miss this?" There is a great series Robert and I have just devoured called "Art 21" on PBS. It goes into artists studios and they talk about their ideas, work habits, past works etc. etc. This was so inspiring.... I cant begin to tell you about it all. So many things are now computerized and the work is right on spot. Check it out if you can. We saw it on Netflix direct feed but am sure you can find it on the web somewhere. Also on the PBS site they have discussion and help for the classroom when viewing this series. How good is that?

bears, bunnies and cats

2010-09-03T09:32:00.000-04:00

Here are some great little friends I have been working on. Their faces are made from discarded woolen sweaters and the bodies are made from scraps of a upholstery manufacture. I gave one to a friend in the hospital. She is a tiny, elderly lady. She called it her little hug because it fit closely under her chin and gave her comfort. She is all better and her bear sits on her day couch, happy as can be for the occasional hug. They each have a different expression. If I sew one ear in a bit shorter than the other they look inquisitive. If their eyes are sewn a bit to close, they look concerned. They make me laugh. I make 3-5 at one time and when finished, I have them peek around the corner and talk to my husband, Robert. Their arms are sewn in after stuffing, so they become animated with just a hint of movement. I haven't named any because you know.... once you name them they are yours forever!

The Studio

2010-09-02T21:51:00.000-04:00

For many months we have been working on what will be a new shop for us in Southern Virginia. Some of the items to sell I have been making in my studio. As it fills with wonderful colors and textures, it makes me happy just to be in it surrounded by all the creations. My sister in law Hallie gave us the rack I have all my aprons on. I never thought I was well organized but the rack has helped a lot. Thanks Hallie!

I've been making collage type cards in the two racks on the table. Another find from Hallie! My old trusty Featherweight vintage singer has done well for me over the years. And a bit of the fabric haul to the right and remnants of the old bead shop (excuse my boring writing and type that seems to change mid stream. Blog posting is new to me!)

I have tried to do an around the room view of the studio. Hopefully you get the idea.