It’s Christmas on the farm at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast and what a pretty time to be in the country. (Photo of Emily & Claire Fowler and Viola Music Video by Guy Livesay of Livesay Photography) We have lighted trees, even under the grapevine. Guests can see a tree from every room. This year… Read more
Chloe Tuttle
I LOVE cranberries and I try to use them any way I can – I even float them in my kitchen sink on Christmas Day. I knew that Cranberry Liqueur just had to be wonderful – and it is. This liqueur is my original recipe and it is a gorgeous, clear-red libation. Homemade Cranberry Liqueur… Click to learn more about Chloe’s Cranberry Liqueur
Getting married on the farm, surrounded by nature has a calming effect. What a great way to start your new life together, away from the crowd. I have friends who love their motorcycles, old trucks and all their grown-up “toys.” So why not be married beside your Harley or in your vintage Corvette? Big weddings… Read more
Molasses — that dark, sweet liquid that tastes so good on a hot biscuit — was once a staple on every farm in eastern North Carolina Melvin Price and Lucy making molasses My dad’s family made molasses and to him molasses on a sweet potato was a meal. He told me all about how they… Read more
It’s late summer and figs are ripe… so gorgeous and luscious, they hardly look real. Each one is a work of art. After I take many photos of these just-picked figs, I make Chloe’s Fig Preserves. One of my favorite ways to eat these preserves is with warm, creamy brie. This dish makes a great presentation… Read more
In summer, folks flock to farmer’s markets to get all those fresh fruits and vegetables. In small towns we grow our own and go to roadside stands. And in very small towns, we count on the farmer who sits by the road in the back of his pickup truck loaded with things from his large… Read more
Just settle into the hammock or in a swing on the farm at Big Mill and wait …. but not for very long. Yes, you’ll have to wind down and be still and quiet – but you will be well-rewarded. Soon, right before your eyes, the birds start singing and hop out of their hiding… Read more
Vollis Simpson, called the Junkyard Poet of Whirligigs and Windmills by the New York Times Vollis Simpson is a craftsman of brightly painted metal art – giant creations he calls windmills and we call whirligigs. Driving through eastern North Carolina looking for Lucama and Vollis Simpson’s Whirligig Farm, you begin to wonder if you are… Read more
Everywhere you look, it’s planting time in eastern North Carolina Nephew Monk Gurkin above in 1959. Monk and Aunt Chloe (that’s me) had our own garden that year. We raised tomatoes to sell to local restaurants – and for our tomato sandwiches. Note the hog pen in back. Seems we all dig in the dirt… Read more
The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission has issued a challenge to Bloggers who blog about food – create an original sweet potato recipe. First thing I had to do was learn how to spell “potato.” … amazes me that it has no “e.” My dad grew lots of sweet potatoes here on the farm at… Read more



