Over the years, we Americans have loved our fad diets. But fortunately we’re learning more and more about sensible, healthy eating that offers more on the menu than grapefruit and cabbage soup. One diet that has gotten a lot of recent attention is the Mediterranean diet, featuring olive oil as one of its superstar ingredients. Besides [...]

Lynchburg is a melting pot of cultures, just like the rest of the world. Each day brings new people to work and live in our area, and with those people come new cultures—whether from across the state or across the world. Cristie Pumagualle, a stylist at Anthony and Company in Downtown Lynchburg, grew up in [...]

Although Central Virginia has a rich history as an apple-growing area, it’s sometimes hard to find apples in more than a handful of varieties, even at the farmers’ market. At one time, there were more than 14,000 varieties of apples growing in the United States, and hundreds of varieties growing in orchards in this area. [...]

Growing up, summertime barbecues in suburbia had a certain charm. I can still picture my dad, clad in a casual shirt and plaid Bermuda shorts, beverage in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other, manning the grill. Our dinner was often a little too well-done, but I know my mom appreciated the [...]

By Lucy Cook Call Dave Ellis a Lynchburg convert. Born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and trained as a chef in Charleston, South Carolina, Ellis spent years at finer restaurants up and down the East Coast. When it came time to open his own restaurant, he chose Lynchburg—for its character, proximity to agricultural areas, [...]

Lucy Cook, founder and co-owner of Magnolia Foods, learns the art of cookie baking—which comes in particularly handy around the holidays— from Amherst local Mary Hansen. Look Who’s Cooking in Central Virginia: Mary Hansen Cookie Baker Extraordinaire By Lucy Cook Mary Hansen is a woman on the run! As the regional council director for the [...]