High Cotton in the antebellum South meant that the cotton was high,
prices were good and all was well on the plantation.

Yep, we’re in High Cotton on the farm here at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast this year. Right outside my kitchen window the cotton is as high as I can remember. My brother John does say that isn’t necessarily a grand thing, but I like it. And this is the best looking cotton in the county. [continue reading…]

The “Dart” Found Williamston

Fox News-Detroit does a segment called “throw the dart.” Wherever the dart lands – that town gets a call. Well, it landed on Williamston, NC, and they called the Martin County Travel & Tourism Authority.

There was a fun video of small town meets big city. 

My nephew Barney Conway took the call. And, of course, he did a stellar job. It’s like they called Andy of Mayberry and got Charles Kuralt. Our whole town is a-buzz! We are still talking about it. Update: Barney is now the Tourism Director!

Let me know what you think. Doesn’t it make you want to head to North Carolina? And, of course, Big Mill B&B got an honorable mention.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Late summer evenings in Big Mill B&B’s garden are filled with sweet scents

4 O’Clocks really do bloom at 4 in the afternoon.

The show begins in the afternoon at 5 o’clock, when the Four O’clocks start blooming. They are an old flower that my mother and grandmother raised and shared with their friends. It is a wonderful plant and each flower can have several colors. They are not edible, but they have been used in food coloring.

Just before dark the moon flowers open and smell as sweet as honeysuckle.

Moon Flowers bloom at night.

And as it is turning dark, the Devil’s Trumpet slowly opens with its fragrant perfume. Georgia O’Keefe painted this beauty – it is also called Jimson Weed. Now I want an Angel’s trumpet. I hear it is sweet smelling.

 Lingering from night into day, the ginger lilies perfume the air.

Ginger Lilies perfume the air.

So at five, six and seven in the evening, there is a sweet-smelling show every night in late summer and early fall in the Big Mill garden. Do you have any “blooming perfumes” in your garden this year?  Share in the comments below.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

I first tasted Gazpacho in the sixties when I was a young student in Spain.

Gazpacho is perfect for hot summer days.

It was in a little cafe in Toledo and I still remember the cafe, the handsome young man and the Gazpacho.

It seems there are as many Gazpacho recipes as there are barbecue recipes. I finally found one that reminds me of that night in Toledo.  I have adapted my recipe from one in Craig Claiborne’s New York Times International Cookbook – my favorite cookbook. Did you know that Craig Claiborne – food editor for the New York Times  – was born in Sunflower, Mississippi?

Print Recipe

Gazpacho - Chilled Tomato Soup

Cold soup might seem odd to some, but it's great once you get used to it.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Spanish

Keyword: gazpacho, tomato gazpacho, tomato gazpacho recipe

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 151kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 4 cups tomatoes with cores removed 2 1/2 to 3 pounds* or 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups peeled cucumber cut into large chunks
• 1/2 cup cucumber diced into small pieces for garnish (reserved)
• 1 green pepper seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 small clove garlic peeled and minced
• 5 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar or white vinegar wine vinegar is more distinctive
• 1 1/2 slices bread or 2 slices French bread

Instructions

• Place tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups cucumber, green pepper, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and bread into a blender. Blend until pureed.
• Pour through a kitchen sieve and press with the pestle to extract the liquid. Discard the seed and skins - they make great compost.
• Chill and serve in flat bowls with the reserved, diced cucumber as garnish.

Notes

*You can also make this gazpacho with one 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes.

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 343mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 925IU | Vitamin C: 31.1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 0.8mg

Fresh tomatoes grown on the Farm

The basket in the photo (above) is very special – it was a gift from Miss Sadie, owner of the original Big Mill grist mill.  Years ago she used it to take three dozen eggs up town every week to trade for coffee and sugar and things she couldn’t grow. It still has the cotton seeds in it,  They were used to keep the eggs from breaking.

I grew these tomatoes in my Big Mill Cook’s garden. The garden is in my orchard where our livestock used to graze under the apple trees.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

This original salsa recipe is a crowd-pleaser and a cook-pleaser -It only takes 5 minutes to make.  [continue reading…]

Sweet cucumber pickles are as southern as iced tea

Chloe’s Sweet Cucumber Pickles are worth the trouble.

Not just any pickles either – they must be homemade and preferably homegrown. It is alright if someone gives you the cucumbers, or you pick them up fresh from your local Farmers Market.

We all have a family recipe that has been passed down and it usually involves days of work for our pickles to have just the right crunch. My mother, Chloe, had several pickle recipes, but this one is my favorite.

FYI – I also have a pickle fork in several different sterling patterns. It’s a southern thing.

Click here to get Chloe’s Sweet Cucumber Pickle Recipe

Big Mill B&B’s Watermelon Punch 
Refreshing libation for sultry summer days

Southerners love watermelon. If you want a real treat, make watermelon punch. And don’t wait for the party – serve it up for just the two of you – for romance or just for good friends.

Refreshing Watermelon Punch is the Perfect Summer Beveragel

(Photo credit: Chloe Tuttle)

Print Recipe

Watermelon Punch Recipe for Two

Southerners love watermelon. If you want a real treat, make watermelon punch. And don’t wait for the party – serve it up for just the two of you.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: watermelon punch, watermelon punch recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 109kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

• 1/4 seedless watermelon  (6 cups cubed watermelon chilled)
• 1/2 to 1 can chilled lemon-lime soda to taste
• 2 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 slices lemon or lime for garnish
• 2 sprigs fresh mint for garnish

Instructions

• Place chilled watermelon in blender and blend for several seconds on medium speed.
• Pour watermelon puree into a pitcher. Add frozen orange juice concentrate and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Chill until ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, add chilled lemon-lime soda to the watermelon liquid. Pour into champagne glasses and garnish with lemon or lime rings and mint.

Nutrition

Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 305mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 1325IU | Vitamin C: 28.6mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Our Evening Primrose, wildflower and beautiful
King’s cure-all, is often considered a weed

Evening Primrose photo by Chloe Tuttle

But here at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, Evening Primrose is glorified, photographed, written about and touted as entertainer – watching it bloom is a great way to spend an evening in the garden. Take a look and you’ll see why folks who gather around to watch can’t help but “oooh” and “ahhhhh.”

The night pollinators are fascinating too – we have that funky-looking Sphinx Moth that joins us if the evening primroses are opening. Oil from the evening primrose has been used for centuries as a remedy for many ailments, including laziness. And the roots and shoots are edible – another edible odd ball plant here at Big Mill B&B!

It takes about a minute for each flower to open. Early in June, there will be 3 or 4 flowers that open right there in front of you. By mid-June, a hundred will open each night. It is magic.

We have other night blooming flowers here on the farm – in mid-summer our Moon Flowers perfume the whole area around the patios and garden.

Moon Flower photo by Chloe Tuttle

And just before dark, our Devil’s Trumpet (Datura) will bloom. They smell heavenly but, watch out!  There is a dark side. They are hallucinogenic and poisonous. DON’T eat it!

My father called it Jimson weed and some folks call it Loco weed. It is one of my favorites because of its jasmine-like fragrance, but I don’t plan to eat it. Devil’s Trumpet also has some medicinal properties, but Beware!

Devil’s Trumpet photo by Chloe Tuttle

All of our evening blooming flowers are show stoppers.  You must come and see this show.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

Spiderwort – Big Mill’s “Canary in the coal mine”

Gorgeous Spiderwort is also edible

This wonderful blue flower that grows in my eastern North Carolina garden is Spiderwort (Tradescantia), pronounced  trad-ess-KANT-ee-uh. Each day in spring and early summer I am greeted with the vibrant blue of these odd beauties. Then about noon, they close. My mother loved these flowers – hence, so do I.

Years ago I read that spiderwort was used at nuclear power plants like the canary in the mine. If there is a leak, the blue flowers turn pink!  Well, my flowers turned pink. I immediately called my scientist friend John Umstead and proclaimed that I had a pink spiderwort.

John calmly asked me how many nuclear power plants were in Williamston. To which I had to respond, “None.” He then asked, “How many diesel tractors?” Hmmm, lots. So I think puffing tractors can also affect my blue flowers. I am still laughing. It is called “ionizing radiation” and who could imagine this was happening in my little garden?

Some  consider it a wildflower and some folks consider it a weed.

Edible Spiderwort is also a good cut flower.

I consider Spiderwort a joy and folks visiting Big Mill B&B will probably be served at least one spiderwort flower if they are here in the spring!

An added bonus: Spiderwort is edible – the flower, the stalks and the leaves. Check the video on “Eat the Weeds” about cooking with Tradescantia. I found that I have many edible flowers in my garden here at Big Mill B&B.

Don’t forget – there are no nuclear power leaks at Big Mill.

Hover over photo to PIN FOR LATER

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787