The Best of Virginia Farmsuses a variety of writing features (interviews, sidebars, tours, essays, and recipes) along with unique illustrations and maps to convey America's fascinating agricultural story. The book reveals the intimate relationship between a state's agriculture and its overall identity. America's oldest farm state, Virginia has a fascinating farming history. In addition to the expected crops, readers will also find information on wine and spirits, Christmas trees, and Virginia's famous horse farm industry. Whether it's a tour of Virginia's historic plantations or a traditional holiday recipe from Colonial Williamsburg,The Best of Virginia Farmswill provide a unique perspective on the Old Dominion. Filled with fun and practical how-to information, thisbook will inspire readers to prepare a recipe, take a tour, or enjoy a new product they have never tried. Promising to enrich the spirit, this book taps into the traditions and mystique that surround farming in Virginia and celebrate the family bonds and rugged individuality of rural life.

The author of five cookbooks, CiCi Williamson has been writing a weekly food column in numerous newspapers across the country for 21 years. She's also a travel writer and photographer who has visited more than 80 countries and written hundreds of travel articles. But the McLean, Virginia resident always returns home thinking her state is the most beautiful and diverse.

Old Dominion to New Millennium

vii

Governor Mark R. Warner

A Bountiful Harvest

viii

Bruce L. Hiatt

Introduction

ix

Willard Scott

Virginians and Their Land: Preface

xi

Acknowledgments

xii

part one POULTRY AND EGGS

Chickens

2

(8)

Turkeys

10

(6)

Charles Wampler, Jr., Turkey Producer

13

(2)

Virginia's Farming Regions

15

(1)

Other Poultry

16

(3)

Eggs

19

(9)

Museum of American Frontier Culture

23

(2)

Stratford Hall Plantation: Birthplace of General Robert E. Lee

25

(3)

part two MEAT

Beef and Veal

28

(11)

Three Years to a Hamburger

33

(3)

Historic Farmsteads

36

(3)

Pork

39

(7)

The Genuine Smithfield

41

(5)

Lamb

46

(6)

Jamestown and Yorktown: The Beginning and Ending of Colonial America

50

(2)

Farm-Raised Game

52

(8)

Chippokes Plantation State Park: Chippokes Farm and Forestry Museum

56

(4)

part three SHELLFISH AND FISH

Shellfish

60

(13)

Tschiswapeki: An Overview of the Great Shellfish Bay

70

(3)

Fish

73

(15)

A Mariner's Tour of the Lower Chesapeake Bay

83

(5)

part four DAIRY PRODUCTS

Milk

88

(9)

J. Carlton Courter, III, Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture

89

(5)

From Cow to Cheese: Making Dairy Products at Shenville Creamery

94

(2)

Shenville Creamery

96

(1)

Butter and Cream

97

(7)

Patsy Waddle, Virginia Farm Bureau's Farm Woman of the Year 2001

103

(1)

Cheese

104

(8)

Blue Ridge Institute and Museum

108

(2)

Kevin Riddle: Crafting Farm Tools the Old-Fashioned Way

110

(2)

part five FRUITS AND NUTS

Apples

112

(10)

John Bruguiere, Appalachian Apple Farmer

113

(7)

Winchester, Virginia's Apple Capital

120

(2)

Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums

122

(4)

Pears

126

(3)

Melons

129

(3)

Berries

132

(5)

Peanuts

137

(7)

Triumph of a Community: Southampton Agriculture and Forestry Museum

141

(3)

part six VEGETABLES

Tomatoes

144

(9)

Thomas Jefferson, the Gardener

147

(3)

Monticello, ``The Little Mountain''

150

(2)

The Monticello Vegetable Garden

152

(1)

Potatoes

153

(4)

Snap Beans

157

(3)

Bell Peppers

160

(4)

Cucumbers

164

(3)

Cabbage

167

(3)

Sweet Corn

170

(4)

Soybeans

174

(3)

Other Vegetables

177

(31)

The Taylor Family, Produce Farmers

178

(26)

Virginia's Explore Park

204

(4)

part seven GRAINS

Winter Wheat

208

(16)

Development of the Reaper by Virginian Cyrus McCormick

210

(4)

Cyrus McCormick's Farm

214

(6)

In the Footsteps of Wheat Farmer Washington

220

(2)

George Washington Slept Here---and Here, and Here

222

(2)

Barley and Rye

224

(24)

Historic Gristmills of Virginia

228

(4)

part eight WINE

A Short History of Winemaking in Virginia

232

(8)

To Your Health! A Toast to Virginia Wines: An Interview with State Viticulturist Tony K. Wolf

240

(3)

A Weekend Tour of Central Virginia Wineries

243

(5)

part nine OTHER FARM PRODUCTS

Horses

248

(11)

Virginia Hunts

249

(6)

Virginia Races and Shows

255

(2)

Paul Maxwell, Blue Ridge Farm

257

(2)

Christmas Trees

259

(8)

Christmas the Colonial Way

260

(4)

A Year in the Life of Elysium Christmas Tree Farm

264

(3)

Floriculture

267

(4)

Gardens and Arboretums of Virginia

268

(2)

Landscaping and Lawns

270

(1)

Tobacco

271

(4)

Tobacco's Beginnings in the New World

272

(1)

Going, Going, Gone

273

(1)

American Indians and Virginia Crops

274

(1)

Cotton

275

(5)

Cotton: History and Harvesting

276

(1)

The James River Plantations

277

(3)

part ten HONORABLE MENTIONS

Honey

280

(3)

Maple Syrup

283

(13)

Calling All Maple Lovers

286

(3)

APPENDICES

Resources Restaurants and inns, historic sites, contemporary vineyards and farms, museums, farmers markets, governmental agencies, and agricultural industry boards/associations

289

(7)

Bibliography

296

(1)

Recipe Index

297

(7)

Subject Index

304

(4)

About the Author and the Illustrator

308

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Fish and Shellfish Introduction
As the sun rises and its coppery reflection shimmers on Chesapeake Bay, Virginia's "watermen" (commercial fishermen) are already on their job of landing 500 million pounds of seafood a year. Soon they will point their skipjacks (historic bay sailboats) and oyster boats toward the marshy shores and beckoning sea grasses to deposit their catch.
What's for dinner tonight? Take your pick from almost 300 species: Saltwater fish and shellfish or freshwater fish. Saltwater mixes into the Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Freshwater flows from the Bay's 48 major rivers and 100 small tributaries. Thus the Bay can support both fresh and marine life forms, plus those that can tolerate fluctuating salt levels.
The great Chesapeake Bay dominates coastal Virginia. Its marshlands offer shelter for millions of migrating waterfowl; its tides nurse the state's network of creeks and rivers. Broad sloughs, coves, wetlands, and tidal ponds intermingle and embrace three lush, green "necks" (peninsulas) cut out by the long, wide mouths of the Potomac, Rappahannock, York and James Rivers.

Excerpted from The Best of Virginia Farms Cookbook and Tour Book: Recipes, People, Places by CiCi Williamson
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.