From apples to zucchini, author Sheri Castle’s newest cookbook walks you through the pleasures of fresh, local, and seasonal food with more than 300 recipes. Castle knows the way to a Southerner’s heart, by way of the garden. The New Southern Garden Cookbook doesn’t exclude carnivores, however. Castle includes recipes that appeal to anybody who appreciates homecooking enhanced by the South’s spread of fruits and vegetables. She organizes the cookbook by main ingredient. So if your neighbor brings over a bunch of vine-ripened tomatoes, flip to the tomato chapter, and choose from about 15 recipes, including fresh tomato pie.
The University of North Carolina Press. 2011, 456 pages, hardcover, $35.
Why does this Haywood County town have some of the cleanest water in the state? It’s the result of the community’s efforts to keep the forests in its watershed pristine.
The spectacular views in North Carolina’s High Country aren’t just inspiration for writers, painters, and sculptors. Those landscapes — the rugged gray face of Grandfather Mountain, the vibrant fall leaves, the deep green meadows — are brushstrokes on Earth’s own canvas.
The sprawling vineyards and wide-open skies that stretch for miles across seven North Carolina counties offer relaxing getaways — not to mention some of the state’s finest wines — for Sunday drivers aching to escape the rush of city life.
Nothing lasts forever — and that’s what makes many of our cherished moments so special.
