Month: December 2008

 

Speed racers

Neither Zack Snider nor Dan Zimmerman, co-founders and licensed contractor and licensed architect and contractor, respectively, of local design firm Alloy Workshop, won the 2008 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ultimate Tradesman Challenge this year, but we’re proud of their lightning-fast drilling skills all the same. Snider and Zimmerman were two of 20 semi-finalists to win an all-expense-paid trip to the Texas Motor Speedway on November 2 to compete for the chance to take one of four finalists spots.

Zimmerman, left, puts the stopwatch on drillmaster Snider.

IRWIN’s annual competition began with 250 regional rounds where competitors measured, marked and drilled holes into a piece of wood and were judged on their speed and accuracy. Last year, Snider was coached by his colleague, Zimmerman, and made it to the final round. Snider actually had the fastest time in 2007, but just missed taking top prize when his jig didn’t fit his holes (and we mean that only in the literal sense).
 
This year, Zimmerman chose to compete against Snider and neither made it to the final round and the chance to win $1.26 million. When asked if the divide and conquer routine had proved his and Zimmerman’s downfall, Snider responded: “Not at all. I can do that motion in my sleep, but it’s like being a baseball pitcher and only getting one shot to win or lose a game.”—Katherine Ludwig

Sarah Owen

What’s on your browser?

Decorative artist Sarah Owen

What’s on her browser: designspongeonline.com

What it is: A Brooklyn-based roundup of stores, products, designers that focuses, Owen says, on indie designers and handmade goods.

Why she likes it: “Design Sponge is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in art, interior design, architecture, furniture design, product design and lighting,” Owen says. “I find constant inspiration from the weekly D.I.Y. projects as well as the Sneak Peeks feature, which offers a detailed glimpse into the homes of current artists and designers.”

Making feathered friends

Unlike big-city pigeons, feeding most wild birds takes a bit more savvy than simply scattering stale bread on the ground. It’s a lot of fun to attract juncos and cardinals to your yard, but there are right and wrong ways to do it. Some tips for the birdfeeder season:

Winter means hungry birds; if you feed them, make sure to keep hungry cast away.

Black-oil sunflower seed—which is a bit smaller and easier for birds to handle than the striped seeds you’re probably more familiar with—is considered the best general attractor for many species.

You can experiment with other foods, but to avoid giving birds toxins, don’t put out anything containing chocolate, and check seed for mold.

Choose among ground feeders, tube feeders, or hopper feeders, but remember not to place them where they might allow your cat to pounce from nearby bushes. A good rule is to put feeders 10’ from any predators’ hiding spots.

Birds need grit for their gizzards, and one way to provide it is to save eggshells, sterilize in boiling water for 10 minutes, then crush them. Put them out in a dish near your feeder.—Erika Howsare

Beam us up

One of the biggest, scariest projects we’ve done so far on our house was also one of the most classic moves remodelers love to make: tearing out walls. That’s not such a huge deal when the walls just exist to divide rooms, but these were load-bearing walls that helped support the roof. We knew we’d have to replace them with large overhead beams, which we wanted to leave exposed. So we ordered red-oak beams and posts from a local sawmill.

That was the easy part. Actually putting them in proved to be kind of death-defying. Here’s how it works: Before you take out an old wall, you have to build two “temporary walls” on either side of it. We had some expert help in this procedure from my father, who knew

Before and after: A wall and doorway becomes a wide-open space under a red oak beam.

exactly how to construct the temporaries and how to sledgehammer out the old studs after we’d stripped away the drywall and taken out the wiring.

Once the area was prepped and notches chiseled into the posts and beams so they’d fit together, we carried in the first 350-pound beam and maneuvered it between the temporary walls. Then we lifted it gradually like a seesaw, raising each end a foot at a time (with lots of grunting) and supporting with specially-cut 2×4”s, until the beam was a couple inches higher than its final position. Then we slid in the posts one at a time, let the beam down, and voila! Temporary walls out, heartrates back to normal, and we were finished.

Everyone was very happy with the results, and even happier that the beam hadn’t fallen on anyone’s limbs. Such are the simple joys of doing it yourself.—Spackled Egg

Fit for a king (or queen, or full)

Question for Anita Davis, owner of Pillow Mint: What do I need to know about buying the right sheets to fit my mattress?

Answer: In terms of length and width, Davis says, the simple twin/full/queen/king system for sizing sheets is fairly standardized: just find the right sheets for your bed and you’re done. But, with fitted sheets, look twice: “There are lots of variations on depth,” Davis says. “The standard pocket size is about 14" and a deep pocket is 21".”

Thus, if you’ve got a pillow-top mattress or any other reason to think you need deep pockets, it’s best to measure the mattress before you shop for sheets, and look for “deep pocket” on the package.

The website pillowsandthrows.com offers further advice: Make sure your top sheet will fit by using this formula: 2 times your depth

measurement, plus your width measurement (usually 54" for full, 60" for queen, and 78" for king).
 
Thinking of buying sheets from an international company? Things get more complicated. What the Brits call a king, for example—and not as in Henry VIII —is what Americans call a queen. Our king is their super king. Another Website, overstock.com, has a good conversion chart comparing sizes from the U.S., U.K., Australia and Europe. 

One final note from Davis: “College dorms typically have extra-long twin beds and so there is a difference there from a normal twin.” Extra-long twin sheets are available at her store and elsewhere.—Erika Howsare

Lodge look

The gnarls and knots of wood find new, aesthetic meaning in Ralph Kylloe’s Rustic Fireplaces, a leading authority on rustic furniture. PETA activists won’t be thrilled by a set

of antlers woven about one particular mantel, but the visual intricacy complements the rhythm created by stones piled high. The book also features tons of toys you never realized your hearth was craving. Grab some hot chocolate and cuddle up—by your fireplace, if you’ve got one.—Suzanne van der Eijk

Fab fabric

We love this Manuel Canovas fabric—embroidery on linen and cotton—for its bold look, contemporary but still right at home in a classic setting. We found it at Alana’s, whose

eponymous owner suggested this pattern (called Tolede) would work well in draperies, bedding, or upholstering the headboard of a bed.

Lie down with lamb

While the term “lamb” usually connotes spring, in this hemisphere we’re much more likely to have fresh, local lamb in the late fall and winter.  Technically speaking, baby lamb would

The Shebeen serves Sosatie with green lentils and yellow rice; choose pastured lamb for a stronger characteristic flavor.

be born in late winter so as to be ready in six to eight weeks (or right around Easter). Spring lamb ranges from 3 to 5 months old when eaten; regular lamb is slaughtered under a year of age (after which it becomes a yearling and then mutton at 2 years). Unless your neighbor raises sheep, it is difficult to find spring lamb because commercial producers continue feeding or grazing the animal so that it grows larger—and then set the price by pound.

“Gamey” is a term often used to describe lamb, although it has long been a very domestic creature. While taste is subjective, it seems gamier flavor is associated with pasture (as opposed to confinement), physical activity, and a diet as varied as the animal is able to forage. In contrast, any animal raised commercially is typically fed grains, soy and corn and its movement is severely restricted, resulting in a blander, fattier meat lacking most flavor characteristics associated with the species.—Lisa Reeder

Cooktop grill

When snowflakes are flying outside, the ole barbecue becomes an extreme cooking challenge; sure, you could still use it, but how long would a lamb chop take to grill when the air temperature is 25 degrees, and would you still be able to pick it up?

The stovetop grill brings it all inside. This one is from The Happy Cook.

The alternative is a cast-iron grill pan that straddles two burners of the stove. The ridges on the grill provide some lift to the food so that air circulates around it, crisping rather than stewing. If you have a heat-resistant pot lid, the grill doubles as a panini press, and can always be used for bacon or sausages or toast or heating tortillas. Typically, the reverse side of the grill is a flat griddle with a dugout around it; this side is perfect for French toast and pancakes. You may never have to leave the house again!—L.R.

Sosatie

This long but not-too-difficult recipe for South African-style lamb kebobs comes your way from (where else?) The Shebeen.

Kebobs
Choose either 3 lbs. of boneless leg of lamb or 3 lbs. of boneless ham, or a combination of the two
2 bunches of long-stemmed fresh rosemary (if you can’t find rosemary with long stems, use skewer sticks)

Marinade
5 cups red wine vinegar
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 bay leaves
4 Tbs. apricot preserves
4 Tbs. mango chutney (they suggest Ms. Balls if you don’t make your own)
1 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 onions, finely diced

Trim meat of sinew and cut into 1"x1" cubes. Combine marinade ingredients. Toss meat and marinade, cover and let mixture marinate in refrigerator for a minimum of two days. Remove leaves from bottom 2/3 of rosemary stems and wrap remaining leaves in foil. Thread cubed meat onto “rosemary skewers.” Skewers can be seared in hot sauté pan and then removed to 350-degree oven for finishing, or grilled on gas or, preferably, charcoal grill. Remove foil before serving.

Deck the halls

This time of year, nothing marries indoors with outdoors more than the particularly human practice of bringing greenery in to spruce up the house. It reminds us that not everything is dead just because the trees are bare. The Yuletide tree has center stage, of course, but wreaths, garlands, swags and kissing balls are fun, too, and put the final touch on holiday decorating.

Contrasts are important: Needles add texture and woodsy fragrance to stolid broad leafed evergreens. White pine in the landscape forms a backbone of mixed windbreaks and screens. Wired together twig by twig, pine forms the most graceful and odorous of

garlands to drape from banisters or frame doorways. Virginia pine is darker green with curly stubby needles, good contrast in a mixed wreath, a bowl of greens or simply laid on mantel or tablecloth.

Red cedar often grows alongside it in hedgerows, the females pungent with dusty blue berries smelling faintly of gin. Blue tones soothe, and for many the iconic whiff of winter is the sharp scent of cedar. Berries are a traditional flavoring for braised deer flesh.

Broadleaves add class to any venue, catching candle light on their polished surfaces. Thankfully, the generous fall season of rain will sustain them during frozen windy days to come. Camellia, gardenia, boxwood, holly, inkberry and magnolia—especially if they’re planted on exposed sites—suffer badly if they go dry into winter.

Boxwoods like to be “plucked,” or thinned, this time of year to let in light and air, and just happen also to be the basic building block of the classic Williamsburg wreath and the indispensable kissing ball, so it’s a win-win. To create the latter, cover a Styrofoam ball by poking in sharply cut boxwood twigs, add a sprig of mistletoe (plastic works fine if you don’t have a friend who can shoot it out of a big oak) and ribbon, hang from a strategic doorway and hope things don’t get too far out of hand.

Hollies’ prickly leaves and bright berries can be difficult to work with because they tend to

It eats bugs, fascinates people, and is native to the not-so-exotic Carolinas.

dry out in heated rooms. I like to use them in a simple swag, a few longish branches of pine and/or holly tied together at the top and hung outside by the door or lamp post.

Even deadly English ivy, mortal enemy of anything in its path, has something to offer with graceful tendrils and deep green color. A clever gardener on a corner of High Street clips hers year round into a row of living wreaths punctuating a retaining wall. She decorates them with red bows during the holidays.

Faithful readers will remember my deer fence dilemma from last month: how to cage out the creatures from edibles without distracting from the view of the garden beyond. Instead of more affordable but flimsy-looking plastic netting, which can also catch birds, butterflies and unwary snakes, I’ve settled on sturdy wire fencing attached to 10′ posts set in concrete.

I’m counting on sound construction, quality materials and a gate at the far end to match the existing entry gate to tie it all together. I’ll have to go out through the second gate to view the beech and lilacs unobstructed, but I hope munching on homegrown greens and berries along the way will compensate. Anyway, the whole idea of good design is to lead you through the garden.

Check out Remarkable Trees of Virginia, just published by Albemarle Books in Earlysville. Nancy Ross Hugo, Jeff Kirwan and photographer Robert Llewellyn have rendered the oldest, largest, most legendary and beloved trees in the Commonwealth in all their glory.—Cathy Clary

Snip snap

Sure, you’ve seen the flicks featuring Venus fly traps as leafy man-eaters, but here’s the scoop: Far from little horrors, these toothy carnivores are relatively low-maintenance in the right conditions, and probably the most fun you could have with a handful of flies.

Though native to the Carolina bogs, fly traps thrive just as well in terrariums with moist, acidic soil. Sit your traps in full sunlight, keep that terrarium closed, and mist as necessary, and you’ll have yourself a perennial exterminator that can snap shut in about 1/30 of a second, though colder conditions will slow it down. After four flies, an individual trap dies—just pinch off dead traps and emerging stems to promote new growth and further quick-snapping action.—Lucy Zhou

December in the garden

—Decorate with evergreens.

—Pluck the boxwoods.

—Install posts and wire for deer fence.

Ashley Hightower is nothing if not driven. She’s got her own catering business, Dinner at Home; she and her boyfriend, Carter East, just started a second business as in-home personal trainers, Fitness at Home; and they’re both dedicated athletes who log miles running and biking.

In their spotless house off Avon Street, where Hightower’s lived for two years, the kitchen is quite an ordinary space but, she says, plenty serviceable for an off-duty cooking pro. “For a small kitchen it has a good layout,” she says. “It works well; I’m used to it. It’s also easy to clean.” Near the tightly drawn work area is a small table looking out through glass doors to a deck and a classic Albemarle view.

Inside, it’s function first. “I’m not a gadget person,” says Hightower, who nonetheless confesses love for her Cuisinart, immersion blender (“Carter’s been making his weight-gainer thing with it”) and convection oven (“It roasts potatoes better than my oven”). And, she says, “I have a lot of bowls. And sheet pans.”

Knives are lined up on a magnet strip on the wall. “My sister came and was like, ‘All right, that’s scary,’” she says. Of course that’s how the pros do it, but Hightower can work her magic in all kinds of kitchens—whatever her clients happen to have. “Sometimes you show up and it’s the greatest thing. On the other hand I’ve worked in kitchens that are like a galley.” Having no gas stove at home isn’t her first choice, but being flexible on the job prepares her to make the best of what she finds.

So what do the pair eat at home? Says Hightower, their meals are influenced by her travels in Italy, where “everything was so simple.”—Erika Howsare

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“I want to be a good cook with natural stuff. Have a bigger garden [and cook] whatever I can pull out of the garden or get at the market. I read [Barbara Kingsolver’s local-food bestseller] Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and was like, ‘O.K., we have to do this.’

“We had a [CSA] share from Roundabout Farm. [I’d say] ‘We have to use this Savoy cabbage. I may not feel like cabbage, you may not feel like it, but we’re having fried rice and cabbage.’ The food starts to dictate the meals. But I found some great recipes. When we had eggplant I’d grill all of it; tonight we’ll have it with pasta and cheese, next night we’ll have it with something Asian. Now that [the season] is over I’m like, ‘No, no, I’ll have to go back to the other way [buying food at grocery stores].

“We sure get a lot done in this kitchen. Carter’s boss gave us a basket of tomatoes and we ended up canning them. We had tomatoes covering countertops and jars everywhere. It’s a little bit of a hassle but it’ll be so exciting to open a jar in the middle of winter.

“[Carter’s way of eating] is the carb/protein/vegetable balance for the athlete. He’s so regimented with this amount of protein, this amount of carbs…I’d be like, ‘I had a long ride but I just want salad and lots of bread.’

“It’s frustrating to have a bunch of food for someone else’s party and then one little corner—‘There’s our beet greens!’ One day this refrigerator is totally stuffed, the next day it’s empty. There’s weeks where I cook dinner every night and weeks where I make scrambled eggs and toast. You clean as you go; by the time dinner’s ready, there are only two plates to be washed.”

Are you hoping for a kindler, gentler holiday season this year? Something that feels good AND looks good, no matter the temperature, and goes great with last year’s haircut? Trade the flashing lights for glimmering candles, and the plastic packaging for home-spun, hand-made gifts.

While commercial messages may insist that season’s greetings are only available through manic mall spending, in fact our wilder places (and even our own backyards) provide plenty of inspiration for those who trouble to look. Coupled with local food and drink, woodsy treasures can set a scene that is both timeless and very, very central Virginia. Here’s your guide to homespun holiday cooking, decorating and gifts.

Decking the halls

When imagining holiday decorations, do yourself a favor by clearing some surfaces and stashing a few things away for the holidays—suddenly your home may look like a stylish photo shoot with no more effort than throwing some pears on a wooden platter. Clear space on the refrigerator for displaying holiday cards that arrive in the mail, or homemade holiday mantras (“Out with the old, in with the new”? “All we need is love”?).

A wreath on the door is an obvious symbol of hospitality and cheer (and painstaking spotlighting!); for the folks in house, consider decking the inside of an oft-used door with a fragrant wreath like cedar, bay laurel, white pine, or any green interspersed with dried herbs and bells. Each time the door is opened, your room will be blessed with a waft of olfactory and auditory cheer.

Make arrangements

To get started on a foraged arrangement, take your favorite companion for a walk in the woods, and bring gloves, clippers, a thermos of something warm, and some bags or baskets for your booty. Keep your eyes open for treasure as you walk! Early winter is wonderful for admiring the texture and silhouettes of trees; look up for orange persimmons, hanging on bare branches like Christmas decorations and just getting sweet enough to eat.

Look for cedar, bay laurel, white pine, and juniper if you aspire to deck your own halls with homemade wreaths or swags (more about this on our Your Garden page); collect acorns, pinecones, feathers, Osage orange, black walnut, deer antlers, and anything else that lights your fancy. Watch where the squirrels go; they are foraging for bright red, succulent berries that are ripe this time of year, like holly, dogwood and magnolia.

Consider making each arrangement portable; that is, easy to pick up and relocate in case cookiemaking takes more of the table than you imagined. In a larger space (like a table) big baskets, oversized bowls, or a diagonally sliced piece of wood from the back

Go outside and see what you can find to dress up your table, mantle or doors.

forty can sit atop odd napkins and among garish ornaments. Smaller spaces will be brightened by several bowls or small baskets of nuts and citrus, which can be moved and used to tie together place settings, party favors, menus and mantle dressings. 

Begin with a container to fill and find the best spot for it—perhaps a side table, coffee table, dining room table, or even a trunk or wooden wine box.  Use a holiday-flavored cloth or bag (or tissue paper) underneath the vessel—and don’t worry if it looks awkward at first! Think of it like dressing for cold weather: This is a base layer and there is plenty of room to accessorize. 

First, select your largest (or favorite) foraged or food object, like Osage orange (or large pinecones, pomegranates, blushing grapefruits) and pile them in the middle of your vessel. When you feel good about the base shape, wind some ribbon in and around the pile (or even a string of small lights—make certain they’ll reach an outlet!). Leave plenty of extra material hanging out on each side to “tighten up” later.
 
Next, choose something slightly smaller and in a contrasting color, like pinecones (or pears, apples, magnolia seedpods, or even smaller citrus like lemons and limes); strew these jewels about the larger pile and around the base of the vessel. If kitsch is your thing, mix in ornaments from the ‘70s, gaudy glistening stars, overstock shot glasses, and other holiday bric a brac. 

Finally, use a combination of greenery (pine boughs with cones, magnolia leaves, ivy) to frame the base of the pile and to soften the area around and underneath it, perhaps even twining some through the arrangement. At this point, you either have an inspired seasonal centerpiece or a steaming behemoth—either way, press on and add some feathers, votives and glitter. Another option: Line the outermost layer with edible items, such as nuts, clementines, and candy—but don’t be surprised if a guest starts nibbling a pinecone.

Wick and flame

Light a candle while you are cooking, or cleaning, or wrapping presents.  Candles say the party has already started, and also provide soothing light and a warm holiday feeling. Encased in glass, candles are perfect for portable atmosphere—now in the bathroom, now in the guestroom, now in the garage when the lights go out. By grouping candles on plates or trays, you can easily move them and clean up the drippings. For single candles, line a small plate or saucer or wine glass with homemade snowflakes—tin foil will magnify the light, while wax paper will be more soothing.

Good enough to eat

Let’s face it:  The best eating of the year happens around the holidays.  If food is an inspiration to you, consider using it as a centerpiece and a theme in and of itself. There are edible items that can be displayed on and around your table; their cunning shapes and the natural variety in color and texture provide a palette of edible, sustainable decorations and party favors. Consider nuts, apples, pears, pomegranates, citrus, herbs and nuts to be the multi-tool of your holiday season, serving as snacks, party favors, and decorations. 

In sourcing your wintertime citrus (and other exotics like tea, coffee and oil) check out Local Harvest (localharvest.org)—it’s also a great resource for buying food gifts for loved ones far away. For locally relevant durable goods gifts (like clothing and housewares) check out Charlottesville’s own Locallectual (locallectual.com).

Piedmont party platter

Bagna Cauda (or “Hot Bath”) is a Piedmontese party event that coincides with the end of the grape harvest and the advent of the strongly flavored fall vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, fennel, cabbage, and turnips. Bagna Cauda is served as finger food, and is best appreciated by a lively, hungry group that doesn’t mind standing around the table. For a twist, set up multiple bagna cauda stations throughout your party pad, and watch as mingling magically happens. One could even ask guests to bring something to contribute to the feast—any vegetable or bread that goes well with garlicky anchovy vinaigrette. Thanks to a long, mild autumn this year, many of these items are still available from local farms, so get on the phone and see if you can find them.

Sweets on display

If yours is a cookie and dessert home, put the goodies on display so as to encourage people to take one or two for the road (casual droppers-by, the mail carrier, carolers…). If temptation is a problem for your children, lift the plate up and out of their sightline to save them from the holiday haze of ribbon candy, iced snowmen, and Russian tea cakes.

Over the river and through the woods

When invited to wassail at someone else’s home, consider extending your earthy holiday spirit to their celebration by offering to bring a local spin on a holiday classic, like eggnog (see recipe) or a plate of perfectly poached apples with whipped cream. While many hosts will deflect your offer, letting them know that you are willing AND able to whip the cream by hand on site (!) may just raised an eyebrow and some interest. If the eggnog seems like too much (and believe it, it really is!) choose locally made Starr Hill or Blue Mountain brews or a fine Virginia wine.

Truly local gifts

If you want to give a gift that outlasts December and looks toward greener times, consider a CSA subscription, which will usually cost around $500 and last from May until October (buylocalvirginia.org). Usually there is an option to split the share amongst two households, giving you a great excuse to collaborate with your friends on a weekly basis. This is a gift that requires participation, enthusiasm, and cookery, but pays dividends in nutrition and community. 

What to get the all-knowing foodie? Feast! in the Main Street Market  (feast virginia.com)

Bagna Cauda is a Piedmontese tradition that welcomes in cool-weather begies and encourages your guests to munch and mingle.

offers a package called the “Year of Cheese,” which delivers a monthly dose of local, domestic and international artisanal cheeses and a complementary local seasonal item (think Mozzarella di Bufala with local heirloom tomatoes in August). 

Or, give the always-welcome gift of spring. To force a bulb to bloom in the winter, it must be convinced that it is springtime; the tuber must have been chilled for two to three months and then gradually awakened in the right environment to put on a show for the holidays. Most garden centers will have “pre-chilled” bulbs on hand; let them know that you want to “force” it for the holidays and then ask for instructions. In general, plant the bulbs in a crowded, shallow manner for the best display, then start them at your house in a warm and partly sunny space where you can keep the soil moist. If this is a gift item, consider writing or printing a card with care instructions (including storing and “forcing” the bulb again the following year) along with a wish or quote that you would like to propagate in the coming year.

 

Local, step by step

Hot Apple Cider Room Perfume

1 gallon local apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
a few cloves or cardamom pods
a few gratings of citrus zest (grapefruit, tangerine, Clementine, and/or orange)

Place all ingredients in a heavy bottomed pot on low heat. Bring gently to a simmer (making your home smell delicious!) but not above; the object is not to cook the cider, but to infuse it with the aromatics and to perfume your home. The cider can be served warm or strained and stored in the refrigerator for drinking, hot or cold, or for mixing into other drinks.

Bagna Cauda

Any combination of:
broccoli, cauliflower (cut into bite-sized pieces)
fennel (shaved raw on a grater or mandoline)
cabbage (torn into chip-sized pieces, each with a bit of stalk to provide rigidity)
radishes (served whole, or cut in half)
turnips (served raw if small, or boiled in salt water until slightly tender, then sliced into 1" wedges)
potatoes, sweet potatoes (boiled in salt water until slightly tender, then sliced into 1" wedges)
carrots
celery

For the “hot bath”:
Mince 4 cloves of garlic and cook them lightly in 1 1/2 cups of olive oil—do not let them brown. Add 12 minced anchovies (drained and rinsed, but reserve the oil in case you’d like more fish flavor at the end) and cook on low heat until the anchovies begin to dissolve. Taste a bit of the mixture to determine if you want more salt, or some anchovy oil. Finally, add 3 Tbs. butter and serve the dip over a low flame to keep it warm. Surround the Bagna Cauda with prepared vegetables and crusty bread like ciabatta.  Optional garnish: lemon wedges around the vegetables, in case a squirt is wanted.
 

Poached Apples (or Pears)

1 bottle sweet wine, like Gabriele Rausse’s Maquillage
cranberry juice and apple cider to cover apples
12 apples (Virginia Gold or Albemarle Pippin would be perfect)
brown sugar
honey

Peel apples using a sharp paring knife; then core apples from the bottom, leaving the stems intact (or all the way through using a corer). Drop apples into a non-reactive pot along with wine and enough cranberry juice and cider to just make the fruit float. Add a few teaspoons of brown sugar and/or honey, along with “infusion” spices like cardamom, black pepper and star anise. Cook at a simmer until fruit slides right off of a sharp paring knife (about 30 minutes); take pot off of heat and let the apples cool in the poaching liquid (apples can be stored in the poaching liquid for up to 5 days). To serve, use a slotted spoon to pull out each apple and place it on a platter; ladle out a cup of poaching liquid and reduce it until it thickens, then taste and adjust for seasoning (may need more sugar, or more acidity in the form of lemon juice or sharp white wine) before drizzling atop the reclining beauties.

The Real Eggnog (with local eggs and whiskey!)

12 eggs, separated yolk from white
(reserve both)
1/2 cup sugar
1 qt. whole milk
1 qt. heavy cream

Three days before serving, beat yolks with sugar until thick and lemon colored. Beat heavy cream until thick but pourable. Stir both into up to 7 cups of any ratio of bourbon, white rum and brandy (this is a great chance to try Laird’s Apple Jack and Apple Brandy, distilled right in North Garden!). Stir together. Beat egg whites until almost firm; fold whites gently into yolk/cream/booze mixture, then pour into lidded glass jars to season in the refrigerator along with a broken cinnamon stick and broken nutmeg and a bit of citrus zest in each container. Taste before serving; it make be wise to add a bit of vanilla, more milk, or some honey to balance the taste. Shake the large jar (or use a cocktail shaker to make frothy, individual concoctions) and garnish with fresh nutmeg.

Alternate: As you prepare the above, mix half the quantity of booze with just one half of the ingredients; on the day of serving, use the unspiked half as breakfast, to pacify children, and to even out the boozy portion.

 

 

We think this place in the Rugby neighborhood looks just perfect for entertaining. No idea whether there’s an open floor plan inside, allowing hostess to chat while fixing cocktails—it’s more that the front porch looks so nicely sheltered for summer afternoons, and the house’s solid form and lovely trees are as inviting as could be on a winter’s eve. We’d accept an invitation anytime.

 

Chances are, more of you reading this are currently on shaky ground with your mortgages than two years or even one year ago. It’s not likely that you’re feeling too great about it, either.

But you’ve got to face facts. Shelley Murphy, director of program services at the Piedmont Housing Alliance, will tell you in no uncertain terms that ignoring the problem is really a bad move. “Don’t wait until you’re six or seven months behind,” she says. “If you’re one or two months behind, you should be working with us and talking to the lender.”

Asking PHA for help will get you, first and foremost, a education about your options for a “workout”—that’s the umbrella term for a whole variety of solutions that help homeowners

avoid bankruptcy and foreclosure. We asked Murphy to break down some of the terms we’ve all heard more often since the housing crisis began, including some common types of workouts:

Upside down/underwater. Murphy’s seeing lots of folks in this situation: owing more on their house than it’s worth. “People bought a house in the last two or three years,” she explains. “They probably bought at the high end, and with the market change they’re going to owe more now.” If you’re upside down and unable to make payments, you may be facing a…

Short sale. Essentially, this means selling your house for less than you owe and convincing your lender to forget about the difference. “Say the mortgage balance is $200,000, but because of the market [the borrower] can only sell for $185,000,” says Murphy. “The lender is going to agree to accept less than what is actually owed to them.” Naturally, lenders are reluctant to do this, so they impose conditions: For one, your house must have been up for sale for a certain time period.

Forbearance. You can possibly avoid having to move if your lender will agree to give you a break from payments for a few months—but you’ve got to catch up on those missed checks all at once when the forbearance period ends. “For example, [a lender might say] I’m going to suspend October, November, December,” says Murphy; “I want all my money in a lump sum January 1.”

Loan modification. This is another solution meant to keep you in your house. “We’re having great success with loan modifications right now,” Murphy says: getting lenders to change mortgages’ interest rates, terms, or payment amounts so they’re manageable for borrowers.

If you just plain bought too much house, though, modification probably won’t save you. “If there is no money coming in that house to make that mortgage payment,” says Murphy, “the chances are kind of slim. It might be better to sell the house and look at scaling down.” She says that rental prices are going down, so that “someone that has a mortgage payment of $3,000 might be able to rent a similar house for $1,600 or $1,800. They’ll be living within the means that they have.”

Deed-in-lieu. This workout is, says Murphy, “very tough to get.” The borrower, quite simply, gives the house back to the bank, losing all equity but avoiding foreclosure. Again, Murphy says, strict conditions apply.

A final note: Murphy warns that, with many homeowners in trouble, scams that promise mortgage help, but deliver just the opposite, are “running rampant.” Scammers might claim, for example, that for $1,000 they can stop foreclosure, but Murphy says plainly that “if you’re not dealing with your direct lender or working with a HUD-approved housing couselor agency, you are going to get ripped off.” She has seen two local borrowers who had signed over their houses to scam artists without realizing it, and were essentially making rent payments they believed to be mortgage payments. “People have to start paying attention,” Murphy says.

Above all, don’t put off getting help. PHA is at 817-2436 or piedmonthousing alliance.org. “People are scared, embarrassed, feel like they’re failures,” says Murphy, “but you gotta keep the roof over their head. It’s a lot harder to help someone when they’re homeless.”

The Willoughby subdivision holds a secret: Hidden in Joelle and Michael Meintzschel’s backyard is the treehouse of dreams.  

At a glance Distance from Downtown: 2 miles Distance from UVA: 2.8 miles Elementary Schools: Jackson-Via/Cale Middle Schools: Walker & Buford/Burley High Schools: Charlottesville/Monticello Homes sold in first half of 2008: 10 Median sale price: $263,870

Composed of four levels, built by Mike’s own two hands, the structure is snug and watertight, the haunt of not only Joelle and Mike’s two daughters, but all of Willoughby’s children and, occasionally, its exiled husbands. Mike says that passers-by often see the house through the trees and come knocking, asking to take a look. Of course, all are welcomed in. The Meintzschels, residents since 1993 of a slope-roofed Cape Cod near the neighborhood entrance, are nothing if not welcoming people, making a community feeling palpable—from the beaming green siding of their home, to the Vespa Mike drives to deliver neighborhood newsletters, their dog Lina in the sidecar, along for the ride.

Though just a stone’s throw from Fifth Street traffic, both the treehouse and Willoughby as a whole feel secluded, even sheltered, from the usual buzz of Charlottesville city life. Built by R.D. Wade in the ’80s and ’90s, Willoughby is its own world: The entire neighborhood lies shaded by trees, sloping through the hills in a series of cul-de-sacs, private and quiet despite proximity to I-64, UVA, and Downtown. With only a tri-color sign to mark its entrance, it is hard to imagine that more than 200 homes, a mix of townhouses, detached homes, and duplexes, lie just beyond the curve of the entrance road. Residents call the neighborhood “the hidden gem” of area real estate, full of quirks and small surprises—a creekside trail, a neighborhood boulder—that are being threatened, some feel, by the advance of city growth.

Fraternal twins

Willoughby is chock full of idiosyncrasies. For one thing, there’s the neighborhood’s unusual location: Curving off the intersection of Fifth and Harris Street, two miles south of Downtown, Willoughby squarely straddles the Charlottesville-Albemarle border, the only neighborhood that does so.
 
On a practical level, this means available utilities can vary oddly from block to block. For the Meintzschels, city residents, it means that, come snow season, their street is plowed hours earlier than those of their county neighbors. Joelle Meintzschel says her county-dwelling neighbors have seen “the plows come in and drive right up to the county line, then turn back around and drive away,” Joelle Meintzschel says. “They won’t go an inch further.” Recycling and trash pick-up are available for the Charlottesville section of the community; for county homes, they are not. Additionally, many parents choose to live city-side to have access to Charlottesville schools.

But county residents don’t necessarily get the short end of the stick. David Storm, county

When Michael Meintzschel built this treehouse, he found it attracted curious neighbors from throughout Willoughby. Now it’s a landmark for neighborhood kids.

resident and employee Downtown at LexisNexis, says that he and his wife, Audrey, preferred the county properties when they were looking for a home in 2003. “For people in the county, it’s like living in the city but paying the county tax rate,” Storm says. Furthermore, since county homes were part of a later wave of construction, they tend to be larger and newer.

While geographically, Willoughby’s single entrance and enclosure create an island effect that unifies its residents, the city/county disparities create a community divide, which varies in intensity depending on who you ask. On the whole, however, Willoughby’s two sides seem to sit peaceably hand-in-hand, with a contingent of longtime homeowners in addition to a steady turnover of University and hospital employees throughout. Joelle Meintzschel, who’s not just a homeowner here but a Realtor who lists houses in the area, says that the neighborhood’s convenience has made it increasingly attractive to a diverse crowd over the years. Nonetheless, the character of the neighborhood has remained steadily throughout her time there.

Surprisingly, Willoughby has no neighborhood association. But even in the face of the city/county split and a sprawling layout, Willoughby has managed to retain a sense of sociability which began, perhaps, with its developer, who constructed a children’s playground, installed sidewalks, and continues to provide mowing services.

“There’s a lot of friendliness,” says Storm. “A lot of waving and talking.”

There’s also a lot of walking, with residents frequently taking advantage of Willoughby’s self-containedness for routine exercise. Many walk or bike to work Downtown, or to nearby shopping areas, including the newly renovated Food Lion. Proposals for a shopping complex on Avon and Fifth Street, which promises green-friendly construction, “big-box” shops, and a walkway connection to Willoughby, have many excited, though others are concerned that this expansion may leave the community exposed to more traffic than residents are willing to accept.

Steady as she goes

With 10 homes sold in the first half of this year, with a median price of $263,870 based on Joelle Meintzschel’s figures, real estate sales in Willoughby are consistent with third quarter city averages of $265,000, and considerably lower than the $320,000 county average. Considering all that Willoughby has to offer—a blend of privacy and convenience to city hot spots—many residents feel pleased with the square footage they’re getting for their money.

And, according to Meintzschel, neighborhood properties have retained their value throughout the years, seemingly insulated from market disturbances: Steady in the face of market slowdowns, Willoughby has also escaped the price spike and rapid development that has seized, for example, Belmont in the past few years, making possible the

Willoughby is a mix of townhouses, detached homes and duplexes, all straddling the city/county line.

neighborhood’s particular brand of community spirit that, she says, inspires cooking clubs and rallies homeowners together to have a gas line installed (though notably in only the city section).

However, questions hover. With the Avon/ Fifth Street Shopping Center in the planning and blasts shaking the hills just north of the community for further townhouse construction in Brookwood, the possibility of increased traffic and the accompanying rise in noise and thoroughfare has become a worry to some residents.

Yet, both Storm and the Meintzschels feel that change is unlikely to rattle Willoughby, whose character has remained steady throughout the years, in addition to its property values. Storm represented Willoughby in March when he spoke in favor of the Avon/Fifth Street project at a county Board of Supervisors meeting. “People who have been living in the neighborhood since the beginning say that they’ve been talking about a shopping center for years,” he says. “They doubt it will really happen.” For now, in any case, Willoughby remains a sort of woodland sanctuary tucked just near the heart of the city, and the Meintzschels’ treehouse remains open: Just come up and knock.—Lucy Zhou