Real Home Cooking

     After my disappointing meal in Sparta, NC I began to wonder if my experience was an anomaly or the standard of Southern cuisine.  But the following morning my faith was renewed with an over the top, amazing home  cooked breakfast, all made from scratch.

     Margaret Conner was up early and eagerly at work in her kitchen at the Glade Valley Bed & Breakfast where I had spent the night.  Both she and her husband, Jim, greeted me as he poured me a cup of coffee.  Since I was the only guest we were able to get to know each other during our brief time together.  Our conversation covered a wide range of topics, from public education, to theology, ecology, genealogy and church history.  The conversation was almost as expansive as the breakfast menu.

     I watched in awe as Margaret prepared a sumptuous feast for the 3 of us.  As cinnamon rolls were cooling after coming out of the oven biscuits had been cut and went in to bake to a golden brown.  Fresh fruit was prepared and served with a glass of juice as country ham and sausage sizzled in the pan beside some classic creamy Southern gravy as shredded cheese was being sprinkled over another iconic item, grits.  And just as I was contemplating what to eat first, she plated the lightest, fluffiest scrambled eggs I have ever experienced.  

     Having a mere 200 miles or so to cover for the day I lingered at the breakfast table and savored both the food and the company.  It was a magnificent example of Southern cooking and conviviality that I will not soon forget!

     And as I prepared to get on the road for the day Margaret wrapped up some of those cinnamon buns, "just in case" I got hungry along the way.