Eyeing the Apple Crop

This year the summer apple harvest came a little bit lighter, a littler bit sweeter and a little bit earlier around Charlottesville. Hot weather in the first week in April started an early bloom, which led ato an early harvest. Dry weather during the summer produced slightly smaller apples with more concentrated sugar during the early start of the season.

As the leaves start to turn and the air becomes more chilly, the more popular late apples, such as Delicious and Fuji, coming in through October are as full and juicy as ever thanks to the timely rain shower in August.

Last year, Virginia apple orchards produced 4.7 million bushels. In 2008, they produced 5.4 million bushels. The Virginia Fam Bureau Federation expects about 4.5 million bushels for this year. A full production is about 6 million bushels, but 75% to 80% is not unexpected. The dryer weather produced a lighter crop but the dry weather also meant fewer disease problems. The apple harvest is going to be good!!!

At the Virginia Marketplace we have several uniquely delicious apple products, Graves Mountain Apple Butter and La Provencale Cellars Apple Grilling Glaze. We also have Jefferson Monticello Sparkling Apple Cider in Gourmet Gift Baskets.

Celebrate the 75th BRP Anniversary in a Corn Maze

The Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th Anniversary is the theme for this year's Back Home On The Farm Corn maze in Harrisonburg. Each year the farm chooses a new theme and begins preparations soon after the corn is planted in late May. As soon as the corn seedlings emerge from the ground, about a week after planting, begins the task of removing the corn seedlings to make the design. They hand cut the maze in the spring when the corn is short and then maintain the paths all summer long. It takes about a week to "cut" the maze into the field, whch is done with a detailed set of plans that are so specific that they actually show each row of corn growing in the field. The design is created by The Maize Company, the largest designer in the world. They take the theme and design it on a computer and then send a detailed grid. While the corn is shorter this year, it still stands 5-6 feet tall.

The maze officially opened August 28th, 2010. Explore 3 miles of paths and bridges while learning interesting facts about the parkway. There is a mini maze inside the larger design. The mini maze takes about 15 minutes to navigate-most peopole usually finish the large maze in under an hour.

While visiting the farm, ride the Virginia Carousel! All thirty horses represent famous Virginians, Virginia products, places and landscape. This 1940's carousel has been restored by local artist, Britney Mongold. The carousel was purchased from the Onancock Fire Department at Auction in the spring of 2007 and the horses were refurbrished in 2008 to serve as an educational homage to the state of Virginia. Each horse is painted to represent a famous Virginian or industry. Each horse was researched and detailed painting represents events of historical significance or events in the life of the featured person. The rounding board is the panel that surrounds the top of the carousel. There are twelve sections, each showcasing two places in Virginia of interest. Chosen for historical and economic interest, you'll see paintings of Arlington National Cemetery, The Dismal Swamp, and 22 other buildings and locations tharoughout the entire state. Plans yet to be completed include native wildflowers on the medallions atop the rounding boards and a mural of valley countryside around the center pole.

Blue Ridge Parkway Turns 75 in 2010

30 minutes from Charlottesville is a manmade and natural wonder called the Blue Ridge Parkway. It stretches 469 miles from the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia from the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway turns 75 this year, celebrating the birth of a roadway that set auto tourig in motion and put thousands of young men to work in the midst of the Great Depression. Construction began in 1935 and was completed more than 50 years later with the last section at the Linn Cove Viaduct going into place in 1987. The Parkway is ranked "America's scenic drive." This scenic drive follows the mountain crests of the Blue Ridge, offering sweeping views of mountains and valleys, split-rail fences, camping, hiking, fishing, biking, picnicing, overlooks and much more.

There are so many special places to explore along the Blue Ridge in Virginia. Most everyone loves watching waterfalls. There are 4 waterfalls accessible from The Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia: White Rock Falls, Wigwam Falls, Apple Orchard Falls, and Fallingwater Cascades. Crabtree Falls can be reached 6.5 miles off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 27. Crabtree Falls is the highest vertical-drop cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

Here's the link to all you need to know about The Bue Ridge Parkway: http://blueridgeparkway.org/

Here's the link to all you need to know about events planned for the 75thAnniversary: http://blueridgeparkway75.org/

Tenderheart Peanut Butter Tarts

Tenderheart Bear helps everyone show and express their feelings and helps his fellow Care Bears be the most caring they can be. When I was young I used to love to make "Tenderheart Tarts" from The Care Bears' Party Cookbook. They are made with healthy ingredients and are SO GOOD kids will be begging for them just like I did!

This is a great recipe to make with kids because it is a child proof recipe. The tarts are very easy to make. You do not need an oven, can openers or sharp knives. All you need is some time, the right food and friends to share these yummy treats with you! The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg's Natural Smooth Peanut Butter and Graves Mountain Seedless Red Raspberry Preserves would get you started on this fun and delicious recipe a cooking adventure with yur kids.

Here are the things you need:
1 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 1/4 cup dry milk
Seedless Red Raspberry Preserves

Here is what you do:
1. Put peanut butter in the bowl.
2. Pour in the honey and mix with a spoon.
3. Add the dry milk.
4. Mix everything together with your hands.
Squeeze it! Pound it! Roll it around!
5. Keep mixing with your hands until you have a soft, smooth ball of dough.
6. Break off a small piece of the dough. Roll it into a ball about the size of a big marble.
7. Press the ball down to make a round cookie. Then make the cookie into a heart shape. You will be able to make about 30 tarts.
8. Put a dab of preserves in the middle of each heart. Now it is a tart!
9. Put the tarts on a plate. Keep them in the refrigerator for one hour or more.

Cooking is like magic. You take a little of this and a little of that. And before you know it - PRESTO!- you have something wonderful to eat.

Aug 3 is Grab Some Nuts Day

Ever wonder how special observance days are determined? According to thenibble.com, The President of the United States has the authority to declare a commemorative event or day by proclamation. Fewer than 150 are granted in an average year across all categories.

Petitions are introduced by constituents, trade associations or public relations firms to honor industries, events, professions, hobbies, etc. The Senate isssues commemorative resolutions which do not have the force of law. Some state legislatures and governors proclaim special pbservance days, as do mayors of cities, which is why there can be a National Chocolate Day and a National Chocolate Month, as well as two National Guacomole Days-authorized at different levels of government. After the observance day has been authorized, it is up to the petitioner to promote it to the public. Chase's Calendar of Events, published by McGraw Hill, is an official "event day," and if they accept your holiday, they will publish it in their calendar.

On almost every day of the year, there's something to celebrate. Aug 3 is Grab Some Nuts Day. Oct. 22 will be National Nut Day. Nuts, according to ehow.com, whether you are describing them in baked goods, sundae toppings or in their original shells, the thought of eating this beneficial food brings visions of yummy satisfaction. Not only are nuts very appetizing, there have been medical studies done showing that nuts are very helpful in reducing hypertension and heart disease risks.

Celebrate these days and your love for nuts throughout the year with these tips:
1. Eat nuts
2. Bake with nuts
3. Put nuts on ice cream
4. Eat a PB&J sandwich
5. Sprinkle nuts on pasta, cereal, yogurt, salad and more
6. Make nuts an everyday part of your life. Nuts are full of protein, fiber amd unsaturated fat. The medicinal benefits your favorite nut can bring to your blood pressure and your heart make it a worthwhile daily food habit.

You can satisfy your nut cravings at thevirginiamarketplace.com. We offer a variety of Virginia Peanuts, specialty nuts (mixed nuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, etc.) , natural peanut butter as well as the jam for your PB&J sandwich.

Blue Crab Bay Co. Turns 25

In 1985, Blue Crab Bay founder Pamela Barefoot had an inspired vision of wht a business could be. From her seaside farmhouse kitchen she imagined a company that would put the tastes of the Chesapeake region on the map, be a protector of the environment and provide stimulating and fun employment for citizens of her rural community. Surrounding herself with foods from the Chesapeake, a functioning stove, a list of contacts and boatloads of imagination and determination. Barefoot got to work. Sales exploded, awards rained plentiful, and the number of empoyees mounted. Barefoot began distribution of other products, including foods and gift items.
Her first brand, Bue Crab Bay Co., featured original products like seasonings for crab dip and gift packs wrapped in weathered fishnet with seashells. In the late 1980s, on the strength of the addictive "Clam Dip Blend", the customer base escalated geographically and her small company began exhibiting a national trade show. Blue Crab Bay offers an extensive product line of specialty foods and gifts, internationally recognized for their signature blue labeling, handsmoe packaging and unrivaled taste. The handsome packaging even gained the attention of Hollywood set directors. Kitchen cabinets were stocked full in an opening shot of Julia Roberts' film "Sleeping with the Enemy."

When she found her company in financial trouble, Barefoot did not give up. She went into her kitchen and developed her dream product. She spent the early months of 1994 mixing tomato paste, clam juice, horseradish and seafood spices to create Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer. Their best selling Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer won top honors in Outstanding Beverage a prestigious award competition at the International Fancy Food Show in New York.

Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer is a thick and rich blend of clam and tomato juices spiced with Blue Crab Bay Co.'s Chesapeake Bay Style Seagfood Seasoning and freshly grated horseradish. Great alone, as a mixer, or a cooking sauce. Check out our Recipes using Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer as a cooking sauce. A true combination of the flavors of the Chesapeake region!

Sting Ray was featured on Food Network TV's Food Finds. As featured in the NEW YORK TIMES: In a blind taste test of 8 Bloody Mary Mixers, Sting Ray won top honors! "Sting Ray - with an excellent balance of pepper. horseradish and tomato, this delightfully tangy mixer, made with clam juice for a subtly briny hint was the best in the tasting." Florence Fabricant NEW YORK TIMES. Winner of Outstanding Beverage, 1998 International Fancy Food Show! Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer came in NUMBER ONE in the "Great Bloody Outlaw Radio Mary Mix" competition in the category of "Best Seafood Lovers Mary Mix and came in #2 in all around best tasting mary mix.

Over the year's, Blue Crab Bay has won many awards in addtion to the
Gold Trophy for Outstanding Beverage in June 1998 at the International Fancy Food Show
Siver trophy Winner at the International Fancy Food Show for:
Outstanding Appetizer CRAB DIP KIT July 1999
Outstanding PRODUCT LINE June 1998
Outstanding Food Gift Pack SOUPER GIFT PACK June 1998
Outstanding Beverage STING RAY MIXER June 1997
Outstanding Beverage STING RAY MIXER July 1995

Awarad of Excellence for a Regional Product, presented by Julia Child and the American Institute of Wine & Food, Washington, D.C. October 1991.
Hottest National Brand, Virginia Business Magazine 1999
Fantastic 50 Award, Virginia Chamber of Commerce, for recognition as one of Virginia's fastest-growing private companies March 1998

In the shadows of all this success, Blue Crab Bay Co.'s corporate culture continues to demonstrate a strong committment to the environment and its rural Eastern Shore community.

At The Virginia Marketplace we are currently offering Blue Crab Bay Bloody Mary Mixer in Seafood Gift Baskets and in a Bloody Mary Brunch Basket. We also sell all 5 of their seafood soups: New England Clam Chowder, Eastern Shore Clam Chowder, Crab Norfolk Chowder, She Crab Soup and Cream of Crab soup. They are available alone, in samplers, gift boxes, in a nautical gift box, and gift baskets. At The Virginia Marketplace you can also find Blue Crab Bay Clam, Shrimp, and Crab Dip Kits. They are also available in gift baskets, alone, as a sampler, and in gift boxes.

Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs

There's nothing more "Chesapeake" than the Bay's signature crustacean, the blue crab. Callinectes ("beautiful swimmer") sapidus ("savory"), a member of the swimming crab family, is an aggressive, bottom-dwelling predator and one of the most recognizable species in the Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay, located in Virginia and Maryland, is famous for its blue crabs and they are one of the most important economic items harvested from it.

As both predator and prey, blue crabs are a keystone species in the Chesapeake Bay food web. Blue crabs also make up the most productive commercial and recreational fisheries in the Bay.
*Blue crabs are prey for fish-even other blue crabs! Soft-shelled crabs that have recently molted are especiall vulnerable to predators.
*Predatory fish like striped bass as well as drums, eels, catfish, cownose rays and some sharks, rely on juvenile blue crabs as part of their diet.
*Blue crab larvae are part of the planktonic community and are fed on by filters feeders such as oysters, menhaden bay anchovies and juveniles of other fish speicies.
*Bottom-dwelling blue crabs are among the chief consumers of the benthos. They feed on thin-shelled bivalves, other crustaceans, fish, marine worms, plants, detrius and nearly anything else they can find.
*Blue crabs enhance salt marsh communities by feeding on marsh periwinkles.

Catch restrictions were imposed in 2008 prompted by increasingly urgent warnings from scientists that the bay's crab population was dangerously close to collapse. They estimated that the number had declined by more than 70 percent in the previous 15 years. In the wake of the crisis, the U.S. government in 2008 declared the famed Bay crab fishery a national disaster. Restrictions were aimed at reducing the catch of female crabs by a third, and ensuring that fewer than half of all the bay's crabs would be caught each year. The federal government sought to soften the blow by doling out $15 million each to Virginia and Maryland to help cushion the blow. The states used the funds to hire watermen to rehabilitate oyster reefs and retrieve abandoned crabbing gear, and to buy back licenses in an effort to prevent future overfishing.

In April, 2010, based on the annual winter dredge survey of crabs as they slumber on the bottom of the bay, Maryland and Virginia scientists estimated there to be 658 million crabs, the highest since 1997.

This announcement is the second year of good news from the annual winter survey of crab abundance conducted by Maryland and Virginia scientists. However, it is unlikely to ease catch restrictions. Officials want to avoid a boom and bust in the crabbing industry that occurred in the 1990s.

The governors of the two Bay states jointly announced the happy results, saying that strict, controversial regulations enacted in 2008 are paying off-but that more work remains. State officials said the rapid and remarkable turnaround vindicates their politically difficult decisions two years ago to impose stiff rules that significantly cut harvests of female crabs and shut down Virginia's winter crabbing season for the first time in more than 100 years.

By leaving female crabs alone, Virginia allowed more mothers to spawn, which led ato a baby boom last year- almost a doubling of the number of juveniles born into the population.

Virginia Peanuts Planted in May

Virginia's peanut belt has clearly defined boundaries. Peanut crops demand sandy soil because the ground must be loose enough to allow the pegs to push down a few inches into the dirt. West of Dinwiddie, east of Suffolk and north of the James River, the ground isn't suitable. The peanuts are planted in early May, and about a month later the shin-high, oval-leafed plant blooms. The plant's delicate, yellow flowers send stems, or "pegs," into the soil below. From each of the 40 or so pegs, a peanut grows underground.

Peanut plants are more sensitive than mone might think. They are susceptible to disease and fungus, and the dewy mornings and humid summer days so common in southern Virginia are the perfect petri dish for organisms that can ruin a crop.

Come September, after a few months of meticulous care, the peanuts are harvested. Peanut farmers use a "digger" to do the job. It turns the entire plant - leaves, pegs and peanuts - upside down. Rather than immediately whisking away athe peanuts for processing, howver, farmers do a curious thing: They leave them in the field to dry. The peanuts themselves consist mostly of water, and allowing them to dry in the field for a week reduces the moisture content and gets them ready to be shelled and processed.

Virginia's weather is actually a mixed blessing. While the weather fosters peanut-destroying fungi and bacteria, it is also what makes Virginia peanuts stand out from those - even of the same type - that are cultivated in more southerly locations. They dry naturally for seven days, and Virginia's climate is one of the reasons that our peanuts are some of the best in the world. These peanuts are cured. Down south they have hotter weather, which dries the peanuts out quicky and changes the complex of the oil. Our 60-,70-, 80-degree days cure them a lot slower and keep the good flavor in there.

Once the peanuts have been collected from the field and had their stems removed by a picker, they are inspected by regulators and moved to the tanks, where they await their turn in the adjacent "sheller." For all but in-the-shell peanuts, the hulls ust be removed and the peanuts separated accoding to size. The sheller highly mechanized series of instruments that remove the kernels from their shells in rotating drums. The peanuts pass over a series of screens, computerized air jets and gravity separators an emerge whole, clean and ready to be trucked away.

Because of their large kernels an superior taste, Virginia Peanuts have acquired the reputation of being the "Cadillac" of peanuts. Virginia peanuts are valued by consumers for their large size, for their outstanding flavor and pleasing crunchy texture.

After nearly 170 years, Virginia farmers still grow some of the world's best (and biggest) peanuts, and state processors still put the salty, crunchy morsels on tables across America.

Father's Love Virginia Food Too, Part 2

Looking for a basket to send Dad...one of these might be just right.

Seafood Baskets - We have many with seafood soups, Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer (and cooking sauce), Ashman Mango Keylime Seafood Marinade (and cooking sauce), Blue Crab Bay seafood dips, Crab Town Virginia Peanuts and a variety of Virginia products that can be enjoyed by a Dad who loves the ocean air. Some examples:
BLOODY MARYS BY THE SHORE! includes Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer, Southern Shores Specialties Crab Town Nuts, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg Salted Virginia Peanuts, Blue Crab Bay Clam Dip Kit, Blue Crab Bay New England Clam Chowder, Byrd Mill Raspberry Pancake and Waffle Mix, and Graves Mountain Seedless Red Raspberry Preserves.
OCEAN BOUNTY! FOR THE CLAM LOVER! includes The Peanut Shop of Willamsburg Salted Virginia Peanuts, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg New Orleans Style Spicy Peanuts, Blue Crab Bay Clam Dip Kit, Chincoteague New England Clam Chowder, Chincoteague Manhattan Clam Chowder, Chincoteague Corn Chowder and Ashman Mango Keylime Seafood Marinade and Sauce.
TASTE OF THE SHORE! includes Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer, Southern Shores Specialties Crab Town Nuts, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg Salted Virginia Peanuts, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg Hot! Southern Nuts, Blue Crab Bay Clam Dip Kit, Blue Crab Bay New England Clam Chowder, Blue Crab Bay Eastern Shore Clam Chowder and Blue Crab Bay Chesapeake Bay Seasoning.

Peanut Baskets - Filled with Virginia Peanuts Dads Love!
SOUTHERN PEANUT SAMPLER includes Hand Cooked, Salted Virginia Peanuts, All Natural Virginia Peanuts, Honey Roasted and Butter Toffee Peanuts, Nut Case BBQ and Mardi Gras Peanuts and Peanut Crunch Bars.
CLASSIC PEANUT SAMPLER with over 5 lbs. of favorite from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg includes Handcooked Salted Virginia Peanuts, Spicy New Orleans, Praline Glazed, Green Boiled, Butter Toffee and Honey Roasted Peanuts, Peanut Brittle, Peanut Straws and Peanut Crunch Bars. A peanut lover's dream!
OFFICIAL PEANUT BASKET comes with in-the-shell peanuts with or without refills or add a can of salted Virginia peanuts and a can of cashews.

Smithfield ham baskets are always a welcome sight for Dad.
VIRGINIA COUNTRY BREAKFAST includes Ham Biscuit ASlices, Buttermilk Biscuit Mix and Pancake Mix, Smithfield Smoked Country Bacon, Pure Maple Syrup and Apple Butter.
THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY BREAKFAST BASKET includes everything Dad needs for "Grits and Red-Eye Gravy" and more: Captain Basses's Country Ham Biscuit Slices, Basse's Choice Buttermilk Biscuit Mix and Genuine Smithfield Ham Slices.

Barbecue Lovers Basket
BARBECUE TIME! includes Jefferson Monticello Sparkling Apple Cider, La Provencale Cellars Apple Grilling Glaze, The Peanut Shop of Willillamsburg Hot! Southern Nuts, Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer, Blue Crab Bay Crab Dip Kit and Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Steak Sauce.

Father's Love Virginia Foods Too

Virginia has the foods Dads crave: Virginia peanuts, Virginia ham, Smoked Bacon, Pork Barbecue, Barbecue Sauces, Bloody Mary Mixer, Seafood Soups and much more.....

Dad's Love Snackin' Virginia Peanuts are super large and crunchy and food for you too. We have salted, unsalted, sweet, seasoned, in shell and boiled peanuts from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg and Feridies.

Dad's Love Breakfast! Smithfield's Smoked Country Sampler is the perfect way to start the day witih a choice of Ham Slices, Smoked Sliced Bacon and Smoked Sausages. Treat Dad to some fluffy biscuits with Smithfield's Country Ham and Biscuit Sampler with ready to cook Center Cut Slices, Ham Biscuit Slices and fully cooked Thin Slices. Now her's all set!

For the Dad who Loves Bloody Marys, Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer uses a delicious combination of the flavors of the Chesapeake region. An outstanding beverage!

Dads Love Barbecue! Southern Barbecue is made from the finest tender cuts, pulled pork is bended with a unique red barbecue sauce to create a zesty, versatile entree. Carolina Barbecue is classic pit cooked "Carolina Style" select barbecue made with a vinegar sauce and a bit of "southern heat." Chicken Barbecue is hand-pulled from the bone and blended with Smithfield's "made from scratch" grill sauce.

Dad's Love Barbecue Sauces! Smithfield, Virginia is one of America's oldest and largest meat processing centers. What better place to find perfect BBQ sauces developed by meat experts. Their ever-favoarite original "James River" Barbecue Sauce is unchanged since the 1950s. Virginia Gentlemen award-winning sauces, flavored with Virginia Gentlemen 90 Small Batch Bourbon, are the perfect complement to all Dad's favorite pork dishes.

Dad's Love Seafood Soups! Treat Dad to some soup he loved on vacation or just loves to enjoy. Blue Crab Bay's gourmet quality soups include She Crab Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Cream of Crab Soup, Crab Norfolk Chowder and Eastern Shore Clam Chowder. Chncoeague Seafood's soups are "Naturally Sea-Licious": Manhattan Clam Chowder, New Engalnd Clam Chowder, Corn Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Lobster and Cheddar Bisque, Clam Bisque, Shrimp Bisque, She Crab Soup, Cream of Crab Soup, Vegetable Red Crab Soup and Crab and Cheddar Soup.

Send Dad Some Love From Virginia!!

May is National Barbecue Month

People's love affair with outdoor cooking heats up in May during National Barbecue Month and the beginning of the prime outdoor cooking season. Having fun with family and friends is what grilling is all about. What sparks the mood for outdoor cooking? For some people it is the desire to be outside, for others it is cooking outdoors and for some, it is just the smell of delicious outdoor cooked food that gets their juices flowing. Whether spur of the moment or planned ahead we love to eat and barbecue outdoors.

Barbecue is a true American original with its roots in the South. Many different types have emerged, Eastern and Western, North Carolina, Memphis, Texas and Kansas City. Yes, the definition of barbecue twisted over the years. Grilling is cooking directly over flames and cooking meat. There is a distinct difference between grillilng and barbecuing, however. Grilling is done over the direct heat of a fire. The object is to sear the outside and concentrate the juices on the inside. The grilled flavor is caused by the searing, or browning of the outside of the food. The process is similar to that which forms the brown crust on a loaf of baked bread. Grilling is a healthful method of cooking because additional oils or fats are seldom used, and as the food cooks the fat renders out and drips through the cooking grate.

Barbecue on the other hand is the process of cooking meat, most of the time a large cut of tough meat cooked by the smoke on a hardwood fire at low temperature (210 degrees or less) for a long peroid of time, with doneness determined by the meat's tenderness. As for the stuff cooked ing the oven, or the crock pot, soaking in BBQ sauce, it is just plain old baked or stewed meat.

Let's leave all the debate aside and enjoy the month of May celebration. Here is what we offer to help celebrate the month with Barbecue and Grilling:

Southern Pork Barbecue - Made in Smithfield kitchens from the finest tender cuts, pulled pork is blended with a unique red barbecue sauce to create a zesty, versatile entree that can be served on a bun, over pasta or rice or all alone.

Carolina Style Barbecue - Smthfield's classic pit cooked "Carolina Style" select barbecue made with a vinegar sauce and a bit of "southern heat."

Chicken BBQ - Smithfield Barbecue made from fresh young fryer meat, hand-pulled from the bone and blended with their own delicious "made from scratch" grill sauce. 95% fat free it can be served hot on a bun or as an entree over rice or pasta.

Southwest Peppercorn Tenderloin - seasoned and rubbed with Southwest Peppercorn spices. After soaking the plank in water, just cook the tenderloin on the grill on the handy wooden plank and you're ready to serve and eat!

There are the sauces to put on the BBQ or grill with:

James River Barbecue Basting Sauce - Smithfield, VA is one of America's oldest and largest meat processing centers. What better place to find the perfect BBQ sauces developed by the meat experts. Their ever-favorite original "James River" barbecue sauce is unchanged since the 1950s. This is a wonderful all purpose sauce but especially as a condiment for pork.

Virginia Gentlemen Sauce Sampler - Bourbon Maple, Bo9urbon Teriyaki, and Bourbon Chipotle. These award-winning sauces with the traditional hunt scene labels are anything-but-traditional when it comes to the taste sensation you'll experience. Flavored with Virginia Gentlemen 90 Small Batch Bourbon, the perfect compliment to all your favorite pork recipes.

We even have a gift basket to celebrate the month and into the summer:Barbecue Time! It includes Virginia Gentlemen Bourbon Steak Sauce, La Provencale Cellars Apple Grilling Glaze, Jefferson Monticello Sparkling Apple Cider, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg Hot! Southern Nuts, Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer and Blue Crab Bay Crab Dip Kit.

We hope that you enjoy BBQ Month in whatever way you want.

Mom's Love Virginia Food, Part 2

Here's some more ideas for sending love from Virginia for Mother's Day. If a gift basket is not what you are looking to send for Mother's Day, how about a brunch gift box. We have several: Virginia Brunch Selections includes Byrd Mill Raspberry Pancake and Waffle Mix, Graves Mountain Strawberry Preserves, Blue Crab Bay Shrimp Dip Kit and Cream of Crab Soup, Southern Shore Specialties Crab Town Nuts and First Colony Colombian Supremo Coffee, Brunch Favorites includes Byrd Mill Cinnamon Muffin Mix, Graves Mountain Apple Butter, Blue Crab Bay New England Clam Chowder and Clam Dip Kit, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg Hot!Southern Nuts andFirst Colony Surpremo Colombian Coffee and Spice Up Brunch includes Byrd Mill Lemon Blueberry Scone Mix and Cinnamon Muffin Mix, Graves Mountain Apple Butter, Monastery Natural Creamed Honey and The Peanut Shop of Willilamsburg New Orleans Style Spicy Peanuts.

Send Mom a charming keepsake Blooming Violets Tin, new from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg. It's filled with chocolate Virginia peanuts, yogurt coated pretzels and chocolate blueberries. A perfect gift for Mother's Day!

How about a cake. Rowena's Rose Shaped Almond Cake combines the sentiment of roses with her signature flavor. Let Mom know she is a star and send her Rowena's Almond Star-Shaped Cake. If Mom is watching her sugar, Rowena's sugar free Almond, Lemon or Chocolate cakes are just as tasty as her originals.

Since Mom's so sweet, send her some sweets to enjoy with her Mother's Day breakfast. We have Graves Mountain Apple Butter, Orange Marmalade and several Preserves as well as six flavors of Monastery Creamed Honey. They are available in assortments, in gable gift boxes and in gift baskets. We have gift baskets of all preserves, all creamed honeys and a mixture of preserves and creamed honey. We also have gift baskets that include mixes to accompany the preserves and honey. Our Fabulous Fruit Basket includes three Byrd Mill Mixes, Graves Mountain Seedless Red Raspberry Preserves and Seedless Blackberry Preserves and Cherry Preserves and Monastery Creamed Lemon and Natural Honey.

So give Mom or send Mom some Love from Virginia.

Mom's Love Virginia Food

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9, 2010. Yes, Mom loves chocolate and flowers. Looking for something special, send Mom food she loves from Virginia. At the Virginia Marketplace we have classic favorites such as Virginia hams and Virginia peanuts as well as innovative and unusual tastes from the finest Virginia gourmet companies. In this blog I'm going to highlight our unique gift baskets.

For the Mom who love's Virginia foods there's our Gourmet Treasures of Virginia! gift basket filled with Jefferson Monticello Sparkling Apple Cider, La Provencale Cellars Apple Grilling Glaze, Byrd Mill Raspberry Pancake and Waffle Mix and Byrd Mill Lemon Blueberry Scone Mix, Puffenbarger's Sugar Orchard Virginia Maple Syrup, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg Hand Cooked Salted Virginia Peanuts, Graves Mountain Apple Butter, Blue Crab Bay She Crab Soup, and Blue Crab Bay Clam Dip Kit.

For the chocoholic Mom there's the Chocolate Lover's Basket from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg, a market basket chock full of all their favorite goodies: The Peanut Shop's double dipped Chocolate Covered Peanuts, Milk Chocolate Covered Peanut Brittle, Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds and Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters. They've also tuckled in a bag of of yummy Chocoalte Covered Pecans and Paula Deen Collection Mississippi Marsh Mud Cookies.

Send Mom the gift basket From the Heart! filled with Byrd Mill Breakfast Mixes and an assortment of sweets to go with them: Monastery Lemon Creamed Honey, Graves Mountain Apple Butter and Orange Marmalade and Puffenbarger's Virginia Maple Syrup.

Mom is sure to stir up some great breakfasts if you send her our new Stir it Up batter bowl gift set. A bright red melamine batter bowl with Byrd Mill mixes to "stir up" are accompanied by Virginia maple syrup, Monastery Lemon Creamed Honey, Graves Mountain Seedless Red Raspberry Preserves to njoy with them. Mom will remember you remember every time she uses her bowl!!

For the beach loving Mom we have an ocean themed basket Celebration at the Ocean! It's filled with Virginia treats: Jefferson Monticello Sparkling Apple Cider, Byrd Mill Raspberry Pancake and Waffle Mix, Graves Mountain Seedless Red Raspberry Preserves, Southern Shores Specialties Crab Town Peanuts, Chincoteague She Crab Soup, Blue Crab Bay Shrimp Dip Kit, and Ashman's Mango Keylime Seafood Marinade and Sauce.

Check out our other Virginia Marketplace gift baskets and gift baskets from Smithfield and The Peanut Shop of Willliamsburg. We'll be writing another blog soon about other Virginia foods Mom might like.

Maple Tappin" At Wintergreen, Virginia

When you think of maple syrup, you usually think of Canada and Vermont. We recently did a blog about the Highland Maple Festival in Monterey, Virginia. A lot of people don't know we have Sugar Maples this far south.

The high elevation at Wintergreen in Nelson County gave some folks at the Wintergreen Nature Foundation the idea to tap the maples and make maple syrup there. The Wintergreen Nature Foundation tapped the maples from Feb. 25 for 13 days until March 10. They got 30 gallons of sap out of 6 taps which they boiled down for 8 hours into about a pint of syrup. It turned out thinner than store bought, but tasty.

The Wintergreen Nature Foundation took a group to see the taps while the sap boiled down. Everyone got to enjoy the syrup on a pancake meal. They hope to do the maple syrup making again next year.

The Wintergreen Nature Foundation isn't selling their syrup, but we sell Puffenbarger's Maple Syrup from Monterey, Virginia in our Virginia Gourmet Gift Baskets and soon in Virginia Gourmet Gift Boxes.

April 2 is Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

Peanut Butter was first created by blending together ground shelled peanuts, vegetable oil and salt. Peanut Butter is the leading use of peanuts in the USA. Americans eat 3 lbs. of peanut butter per person every year. It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter. The peanuts are first shelled, then roasted and the skins removed. Then they are ground into a smooth butter spread. Peanut butter must be at least 90 percent peanuts with no artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives to officially be labeled peanut butter. It is sold as either "crunchy" or "smooth"/"creamy". It is used as a key ingredient in the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For more information about peanut butter, check out our blog about Peanut Butter.

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich, (PB&J) also known as a peanut butter and jam sandwich in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is a sandwich which includes a layer of peanut butter and either jam or jelly on bread, commonlly between two slices, but sometimes eated open-faced, that is, with peanut butter and jam or jelly on each of two slices, eaten without putting the two slices together and without folding each slices of bread. the sandwich has the advantage that it does not contain any perishable ingredients, so it does not require refrigeration in hot weather, making it suitable for lunch bags. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is very popular with both adults and children in the US and Canada. A 2002 survey showed the average American will have eaten 1500 of the sandwiches before graduating from high school. It's the classic salty-meets-sweet pairing that's found in many cuisines. Think of Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork or American snacks Cracker Jacks.

The Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich is a high energy food, peanut butter being high in calories and fat, and jelly in sugar. Americans eat enough peanut butter in a year to make more than 10 billion peanut butter in a year to make more than 10 billion peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The Virginia Marketplace is proud to sell all natural Virginia peanut butter from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg. Their peanut butter is just that- peanuts, and maybe a pinch of salt. No added sugars. It can be purchased in several varieties: smooth, crunchy, salt free smooth or a try a sampler of all three.

We also offer a wide variety of preserves from Graves Mountain. Graves Mountain Lodge is nestled deep in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Syria, Virginia. Graves Mountain Lodge established its cannery in 1980. They use family recipes to make theri old-fashioned preserves unmatched for their quality and goodness. They cook their preserves in open kettles. The batches are kept small and each product is made as needed. They use the finest quality fruit, pure cane sugar and all natural seasonings in creating a product they feel is as good as "Grandma used to make." Most famous for the apple butter they make delicious preserves and jelly as well. We offer Strawberry, Peach, Seedless Blackberry, Seedless Red Raspberry, Cherry and Peach Brandy Preserves as well as Apple Butter and Green Pepper Jelly. They are available in groups of three, in samplers, in gift boxes and in gift baskets and as part of are other gourmet Virgina Marketplace Gift Baskets.

A Trip To the Virginia Maple Festival in Highland County

Even though maple syrup is associated with New England (where the Native Americans first taught settlers about this sweet delicacy), sugar trees grow in the Midwest an in colder parts of our state of Virginia, most notably Highland County. The region's higher elevations contribute to a late winter and early spring weather pattern of warm, sunny afternoons and crisp, freezing nights-a perfect combination for maple production! Monterey which is in the Allegheny Mountains, in the jutting northwestern tip of Virginia near the West Virginia border holds their Maple Festival in March. It is the southernmost region where maple syrup is collected.

This year the Highland Maple Festival was held March 13-14 and March 20-21. Take a step back in time to Highland County, "Virginia's Switzerland." Travel back roads and see meandering mountain byways to the annual Highland Maple Festival held on the 2nd and 3rd weekends of March. The Maple Festival has been an annual event in Highland County, Virginia, since 1958. It began when the Highland County Chamber of Commerce decided to stage a small "open house" at a maple sugar camp to promote the county's quality maple syrup, drawing an attendance of 600. Subsequent years saw demonstrations of open-kettle maple syrup production, the crowning of a Maple Queenn, the showing of Tol'able David, a 90 miute silent movie filmed in Highland County in 1921, a six-mile run, and in 1983, the opening of a Maple Museum.

Today, more than 60,000 visitors to the Highland Maple Festival observe the entire syrup-making process, starting with the collection of "sugar water" (maple sap) and unspoiled, rural region of Virginia to celebrate the "opening" of the trees and observe the process of maple syrup-making. Sugar camp tours provide a unique and educational experience that portrays a rapidly vanishing way of American life. They enjoy regular and buckwheat pancakes smothered with Highland-produced maple syrup served by local restaurats, schools, and Ruritan Clubs, buy additional treats (maple-flavored donuts, funnel cakes, apple dumplings, barbecued chicken, locally harvested trout dinners) from local church and line dancers perform and attend a craft show representing 130 artists and craftspeople from nearby states and buy anatiques and listen to Blue Grass music. The Highland County Maple Festival has become as important to the county's cultural heritage as it has to the survival of the area's maple sugar industry.

Here's a rundown of syrupy facts:
Many of the county's syrup producers still gather syrup the old-fashioned way - by drilling a hole in the tree, inserting a tap and hanging a bucket to collect the drips.

The modern technique of tubing and vacuum extraction is another common way to collect sap. Some sugar camps use both methods.

Sap is boiled for hours in a flat pan called the evapaorator. Water evaporates from the sap, leaving behind srup. It takes almost 40 gallons of pure sap to make one gallon of syrup.

I have been to the Highland Maple Festival several time. I've visisted several sugar camps, Puffenbarger's Sugar Orchard, Rexrode's Sugar Orchard and Sugar Tree Country Store and Sugar House. The two Sugar Orchard are near each other but are very different. The Rexrodes use the old-fashioned "open pan" system of evaporation as well as the newer wood-fired evaporation method wth miles of plastic tubing to gather the sugar water. Puffenbarger's operation was more modern. The Puffenbargers have rebuilt their sugar camp following a devastating fire in 2008. Puffenbargers uses a vacuum pump to increase the flow of sugar water and miles of plastic tubing to make it easier to gather. The process of maple syrup making is started by reverse osmosis and finished by oil-fired evaporators. Sugar Tree Country Store is located in McDowell. You step back in time in this authentic mid-ninteenth century country store with brass cash register, pot-bellied stove, and other antiques. They specialize in pure Virginia Maple Products produced on the premises. These include maple-covered nuts, maple sugar candy, and maple cream as well as maple syrup. They use a modern reverse osmosis concentrator and oil-fired evaporator to make their maple syrup. I listened to the talk about maple syrup and how they make it. Then we found out that it was going to take an hour to get a dozen hot maple doughnuts so we decided to get the few that were left. We rushed to eat them while they were still hot. Next time the first thing I'll do is order the doughnuts!!

I couldn't bring home any extra maple doughnuts this year but I did bring home Virginia Highland Maple Syrup for myself to enjoy and some jugs to accompany our other Virgina gourmet treasures in our gift baskets.

I hope to return next year when Highland County comes alive once again for the Maple Festival.

Chincoteague Seafood Soups, Chowders and Bisques

Chincoteague Seafood Soups, Chowders and Bisques are NATURALLY SEA-LICIOUS!! No MSG, No Preservatives and No Artificial Flavorings or Coloring. Five have been awarded the American Taste Award of Excellence Certificate. Manhattan Clam Chowder is chock full of fresh tender sea clams and sea clam juice, garden-ripe tomatoes, carrots, sweet peppers, celery, onions, and seasoned with spices. A vegetable lover's delight! Vegetable Red Crab Soup is a colorful combination of juicy crab meat, a kaleidoscope of fresh traditional vegetables - tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, corn, lima beans, carrots, onions, celery and a generous splash of seasonings...Simmering excitement from the Shore! Cream of Crab Soup features a careful blend of delicate crab meat in a rich cream base, with a hinat of sherry, and a tasty touch of creamery Grade A butter, celery, onions, and select spices...A delicious versatile specialty from the Shore! New England Clam Chowder is chock full of fresh, succulent clams and sea clam juice, bursting with garden-fresh potatoes, onions, celery, creamery Grader A butter, and savory seasonings. Lobster Bisque combines lots of tender Maine lobster meat with a unique cream base, lots of creamery Grade A butter, and a dash of sherry for a rich full-bodied flavor.

Their other soups, bisques and chowders are also NATURALLY SEA-LICIOUS!! She Crab Soup is a skilled blemd of a distinctive cream base, flavorful crab roe, delicate seasonings and a dash of sherry in the "Old-Fashioned" Carolinia Style, enhancing the succulent Blue Crab meat for a flavor you will savor. Crab and Cheddar Soup combines a unique cream base, lots of fresh, creamery Grade A butter, and delicate seasonings, and cheddar cheese in traditional Eastern Shore Style to enhance the selected Chesapeake Bay crab meat in every rich and creamy spoonful. Corn Chowder is a thick and hearty soup with selected kernels of yellow corn, potatoes, celery, onions, rich creamery Grade A butter, and delicate seasonings. A vegetarian chowder that you can serve with pride. Shrimp Bisque combines lots of tender shrimp with a unique cream base, lots of creamery Grade A butter, and a touch of sherry, in the "old Fashioned Southern Style" to enhance the tender, succulent morsels of shrimp meat in every rich and velvety spoonful. Clam Bisque combines fresh, tender sea clams and sea clam juice with a "fresh from the farm" variety of potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, sweet peppers, celery, and onions, harmonizing in with robust spices. Lobster and Cheddar Bisque combines a unique cream base, fresh, creamery Grade A butter, a touch of sherry, delicate seasonings, and lots of cheddar cheese to augment the tender, succulent morsels of Maine lobster meat in a every rich and velvety spoonful.

We sell selected Chincoteague Soups, Chowders and Bisques individually in a set of three cans and in a Crab Soup Sampler, Crab Soup Souper Sampler, a Bisque Sampler, and in a No Dairy Seafood Soup and Chowder Sampler , a combination of Chincoteague Manhatan Clam Chowder, Chincoteague Vegetable Red Crab Soup and Blue Crab Eastern Shore Clam Chowder. We also sell Chincoteague soups, chowders and bisques in sea-themed gift baskets and in other Virginia Marketplace gift baskets and gift boxes.

Blue Crab Bay Soups and Chowders

Blue Crab Bay makes five delicious seafood soups and chowders.

New England Clam Chowder - A smooth and creamy New England style clam chowder with corn, potatoes, and bits of hickory-smoked Virginia ham added for a true regional flavor. Add milk or ream and heat and serve.

Eastern Shore Clam Chowder is All Natural! This condensed clam chowder is a spicy and flavorful version of a traditional clear broth soup. Made withour tomatoes or milk. Contains ocean clams, fresh vegetables, herbs, pepper and sea salt. Add water or vary with milk or tomatoes.

Crab Norfolk Chowder - Blue Crab Bay combines delicate Blue Crab meat with bits of hickory-smoked Edwards' Virginia ham, potatoes and corn to create a sensationally smooth and creamy chowder. Just add cream or milk.

She Crab Soup - Considered one of the most elegant of all Southern soups! A creamy bisque style soup flavored with the delicate meat and roe of the Chesapeake Bay's Blue Crab. If desired, sprinkle with extra nutmeg, add additional dry sherry or garnish with fresh crabmeat. Just add milk or cream.

Cream of Crab - Perhaps the ultimate comfort food of the Chesapeake Bay region! Cream of Crab soup is accented with Chesapeake Bay Style Seafood Seasoning giving it a slightly spicy flavor. Traditionally served at elegant dinners, its rich and creamy consistency is highlighted by the flavor of crabmeat. Just add milk or cream.

These soups and chowders are sold individually in a set of three cans and in samplers of four of the cream soups or try all five in a sampler that includes Eastern Shore Clam Chowder. She Crab Soup, Cream of Crab Soup and several samplers are available in a Blue Crab Bay award winning seafood themed gift pack. The gift pack can be gift wrapped if you like. We also sell Blue Crab Bay soups and chowders in seafood gift themed gift baskets and in other Virginia Marketplace gift baskets and in a gift box with Blue Crab Bay seafood dip kits.

Seafood Soups from Virginia

The cold winter weather is a good time to enjoy seafood soups. The Virginia Marketplace offers seafood soups from two companies: Chincoteague Seafood Co., Inc. and Blue Crab Bay. We hope you enjoy the seafood soups, chowders or bisques that you select as much as we do. This is a three part blog:
Part 1 Who the companies are
Part 2 Blue Crab Bay Soups
Part 3 Chincoteague Seafood Soups, Chowders and Bisques

Chincoteague Seafood Co., a local family-owned business has sucessfully operated boats and processing facilities in Chincoteague and Atlantic, Virginia, located just south of the Maryland line. Chincoteague is nationally known as the home of quality seafood, particularly clams, crabs and oysters.

The company was started in 1955 when Bernard Rubin, the founder and current Chairman, began selling their clam chowder to restaurants in New England under their originial Cape Cod label. In 1969, as a result of a clam supply problem in the northeast, he searched for a new location and opened a processing facility in Atlantic, Virginia to take advantage of the area's abundant supply of high quality clams. In 1974, as a result of of company growth, the second processing facility was opened in Chincoteague, Virginia and also became the corporate headquarters. Their newest venture, completed in May 2001, was the acquisition and move into a brand new office facility and distribution center in Parsonburg, Maryland (outside of Salisbury, Maryland).

Their product line can best be described as a "gourmet" quality line that is competitively priced and is "Naturally Sea-Licious". They cut no corners on quality and the results can be seen in their finished products. Today, they sell their products to restaurants, colleges, hospitals, other institutions, and retail customers throughout the United States. Their uncompromising recipes are based on fresh, high-quality ingredients, and provide a home-made authentic taste and presentation. They use no MSG, preservatives, artificial preservatives, artificial colorings or artificial flavorings in our soups. They have expanded their product line over the past few years, including their newest items, Crab and Cheddar Soup, Shrimp Bisque, and Lobster and Cheddar Bisque, in order to meet the growing demand for diversity in consumer tastes.

They have been awarded the American Taste Award of Excellence certificates on their New England Clam Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Cream of Crab Soup, and Vegetable Red Crab Soup. Check out all the Chincoteague Seafood Soups, Chowders and Bisques: She Crab Soup, Cream of Crab Soup, Vegetable Red Crab Soup, Crab and Cheddar Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Corn Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Shrmp Bisque, Clam Bisque and Lobster and Cheddar Bisque.

In 1985, Blue Crab Bay founder Pamela Barefoot had an inspired vision of what a business could be. From her seaside farmhouse kitchen she imagined a company that would put the tastes of the Chesapeake region on the map, be a protector of the environment and provide stimulating and fun employment for citizens of her rural community. Surrounding herself with foods from the Chesapeake, a functioning stove, a list of contacts and boatloads of imagination and determination, Barefoot got to work. Sales exploded, awards rained plentiful, and the number of employees mounted. Barefoot began distribution of other products, including foods and gift items.

Her first brand, Blue Crab Bay, Co., featured original products like seasonings for crab dip and gift packs wrapped in weathered fishnet with seashells. In the late 1980's, on the strenght of the addictive "Clam Dip Blend", the customer base escalated geographically and her small company began exhibiting at national trade shows. Blue Crab Bay offers an extensive product line of specialty foods and gifts, internationally recognized for their signature blue labeling, handsome packaging and unrivaled taste. The handsome packaging even gained the attention of Hollywood set directors. Kitchen cabinets were stocked full in an opening shot of Julia Roberts' film "Sleeping with the Enemy."

Blue Crab Bay Co.'s coporate culture continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to the environment to the environment and its rural Eastern shore community. Each year, employees energetically plan and execute charity events. The company supports various organizations including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore, and The Nature Conservancy.

Check out Blue Crab Bay Soups and Chowders: She Crab Soup, Cream of Crab Soup, Crab Norfolk Chowder, Eastern Shore Clam Chowder and New England Clam Chowder

Great Byrd Mill Baking Mixes

I recently blogged about enjoying Byrd Mill Raspberry Pancakes and Steamer Hot Cocoa on a winter day as the snow falls. Byrd Mill makes some other gread breakfast/brunch mixes we sell as well. In addition to Raspberry Pancake and Waffle Mix, we sell Cinnamon Muffin Mix and Lemon Blueberry Scone Mix. The Raspberry Pancake and Waffle Mix goes well Monastery Creamed Honey ( I suggest Raspberry, Brandy, Almond or Natural) or Preserves from Graves Mountain (I suggest Seedless Red Raspberry, Strawberry or Cherry). The pancakes also go well with our Virginia maple syrup. Cinnamon muffins go well with Apple Butter from Graves Mountain or Monastery Cinnamon or Almond Creamed Honey. Lemon Blueberry Scones go well with Monastery Cinnamon, Lemon, Brandy or Natural Creamed Honey.

These are only recommendations of what we enjoy with them, so be creative. Visit thevirginamarketplace.com for these goodies and more.

Here's the history of Byrd Mill: The Tradition of Byrd Mill began in 1740. Young Patrick Henry visited the mill often, bringing corn, wheat and buckwheat from his father's nearby plantation. Byrd Mill continued in operation at its originial site until 1968 when an untimely fire bought an end to production in the original building. Byrd Mill now located in Ashland, Virginia manufactures some of the finest gourmet mixes available while still offering many of those old tyme products.

Monastery Creamed Honey comes from Holy Cross Abbey, which is a monastery of the Cisterian Order of the Strick Observance (Trappists) sheltered by the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Graves Mountain Lodge is nestled deep in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Syria, Virginia. Graves Mountain Lodge established a cannery in 1980. They use family reciped to make their old-fashioned preserves unmatched for their quality and goodness. They cook their preserves in open kettles. The batches are kept small and each product is made as needed. They use the finest quality fruit, pure cane sugar and all natural seasonings in creating a product they feel as as good as "Grandma used to make."

The Maple festival in Highland County is coming in March. Take a step back in time to Highland County, "Virginia's Switzerland." Travel back roads and mountain byways to the annual Highland Maple Festival. Held on the 2nd and 3rd weekends of March, the Maple Festival has been an annual event in Highland County, Virginia, since 1958. Each year, thousands of visitors are drawn to this unspoiled, rural region of Virginia to celebrate the "opening" of the trees and observe the process of maple syrup-making. Sugar camp tours provide a unique and educational experience that portrays a rapidly vanishing way of American life.

Virginia is for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is coming up. "Virginia is for Lover's" so why not send along Virginia food with your love for Valentine's Day!! The Virginia Marketplace has much to offer for Valentine's Day. For the chocolate lover we have chocolate covered peanuts in tins and gift sets, chocolate covered almonds, chocolate covered cashews and chocolate peanut brittle. Another favorite for chocolate lovers is the Chocolate Lovers Basket. We also have double delicious chocolate pound cake and even sugar free chocolate pound cake from Rowena's gourmet cakes. From Smithfield there is Red Velvet Cake, Peanut Butter Brownie Cake, Southern Truffles and Double Gooey Chocolate Cake. There's Hot Cocoa for something chocolate and warm.

For something red there's Blue Crab Bay Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer to mix with alcohol or use as a cooking sauce. Here are recipes that you might enjoy using with it. I enjoy the shrimp and pasta dish and the scallop dish using Bloody Mary Mixer. Graves Mountain Strawberry and Cherry preserves are red and sweet.

For someone special we have a gift basket, From the Heart! filled with Byrd Mill breakfast mixes and an assortment of sweets: Monastery lemon creamed honey, Graves Mountain Apple Butter and Orange Marmalade and Puffenbarger Sugar Orchard Virginia Maple Syrup.

Treats for a Winter Day

Saturday morning I woke up to a snow covered wonderland, the second big snow this winter. It has been many years since this has happened. Off to breakfast to warm up and enjoy the snow coming down. On a snowy day when it is cold out I like to enjoy waffles and hot cocoa for breakfast. It was one of those days on Saturday. I always have on hand Byrd Mill Raspberry Pancake and Waffle Mix to have with Puffenbarger Virginia Maple Syrup. Then it's time for a warm cup of hot cocoa and a cozy blanket while watching the snow come down. What a treat! After all the shoveling is done, another treat to enjoy is snacking on chocolate covered Virginia peanuts. What a way to end a magic day! Check all these great Virginia foods at www.thevirginiamarketplace.com

National Peanut Butter Day

Jan. 22 was National Peanut Butter Day. Check out our Peanut Shop of Williamsburg Natural Peanut Butter as well as other peanut butter products..Peanut Straws, Peanut Butter Pie, Peanut Butter Brownie Pie, Southern Truffles, Peanut Soup and Peanut Butter Petit Fours. There are other holidays associated with peanuts and peanut butter. National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day celebrates the "PB&J" sandwich. It is celebrated April 2. Novenber is National Peanut Butter Lover's Month, March is National Peanut Month, June 12 is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day, and September 13 is National Peanut Day.

Peanut butter was first created by blending together ground shelled peanuts, vegetable oil, salt. The peanuts are first shelled, then roasted and the skins removed. Then they are ground into a smooth butter spread. Peanut butter must be at least 90 percent peanuts with no artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives to officially be labelled peanut butter. It is sold as either "crunchy" or "smooth/creamy". It is popular in North America where it is used mainly as a sandwich spread, and a key ingredient in the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as well as peanut flavored chocolate bars. Peanut butter may also be aded to desserts such as cakes and biscuits. In some types of peanut butter, chocolate, jelly or other ingredients may be added.

Health Benefits: Peanut Butter may protect against a high risk of cardiovascular disease due to high levels of monosaturated fats and resveratrol' butter prepared with the skin of the peanuts has a greater level of resveratrol and other health-aiding agents. Peanut butter (and peanuts) provide protein, vitamins B3 and E, magnesium, folate, dietary fiber, arginine, and high levels of the antioxidant p-coumaric acid.

Fun Facts About Peanut Butter:
Peanut Butter is the leading use of peanuts in the USA.
It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
Peanut butter was first introduced to the USA in 1904 at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis by C.H. Sumner, who sold $705.11 of the "new treat" at his concession stand.
Peanut Butter is consumed in 89 percent of USA households.
Women and children prefer creamy; while most men opt for chunky.
People living on the East Coast prefer East Coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while those on the West Coast prefer the chunky style.
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.
The world's largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was created in Oklahoma City,OK on Sept. 7, 2002 by the Oklahoma Peanut Commision and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. It weighed in at nearly 900 pounds and contained 350 pounds of peanut butter and 144 pounds of jelly.
The patent for peanut butter was awarded to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in 1895.
Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter.
Americans eat enough peanut butter in a year to make more than 10 billion peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Americans eat 3 lbs. of peanut butter per person every year That's about 700 million pounds, or enough to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon.
The average American child eats 1500 peanut butter sandwiches by high school graduation.

We're Back to Blogging

We want want to wish all our customers a Happy New Year and thank you for helping us have a successful holiday season. Thanks for your support of Virginia products! Now back to blogging. There will be many new gift baskets in the holiday and regular section of the VA Marketplace gift baskets this year. So far we've added Virginia Gourmet Treasures!, two versions of Let It Snow!, one with Blue Crab Bay Stingray Bloody Mary Mixer!, Winter at the Beach! and From the Heart! 5 new baskets that premiered this January. Click here to see all our gift baskets and stay tuned for more basket additions.

The Super Bowl is coming soon. Celebrate an American tradition withVirginia foods. What does Virginia have to offer in foods? Peanuts and the Super Bowl are a must...we have salted, unsalted, seasoned, sweet and chocolate. Appetizers and the Super Bowl are another must have...try Blue Crab Bay Seafood (crab, shrimp, and clam) dips or Ham and Cheddar together is a crowd pleaser. Crab Balls are an easy pick up food.

What party would be complete without dessert? Rowena's Double Treat has enough cake and curds for a large crowd or try her Baby Bundt sampler with small cakes that are easy to pick up. Try some brownies from Silverland Brownies...who doesn't love gooey pick up food. These and lots more ideas are in our Super Bowl Snacks section, so celebrate the Super Bowl with Virginia foods.