PIGGING OUT

Our friend Sherri is in marketing, and one of her clients happens to be Hye Meadow Winery, midway between Johnson City and Fredericksburg.

Sherri guides Outdoor Couple and Dear Hubby through a wine tasting.

Thanks to her, we got invited to something we had never experienced before -- a pig roast, celebrating the winery's first anniversary!

Heading to the Party Pavilion, Behind the Tasting Room

Well, actually, it turned out to be a Pig & Lamb Roast. Double Yum! I was picturing a big hole dug in the ground, with the pig buried under layers of coal. But, unbeknownst to me, they now have portable roasting boxes, sized to fit the animal you want to roast. They even come with instructions!

We arrived just in time to see them open up one of the boxes and flip the pig.

The Crispy Side

There was a time when seeing this would have grossed me out big time. I was one of those people who bought most of her meat boneless, in nice, sterile cryovac packages, not wanting to be reminded of the animal from which it came. But years of working with The Bountiful Sprout and our local farmers and producers, and reading about the disgusting conditions in which those poor cryovac animals are raised, has changed my attitude completely. Now I think it is critical that we are all aware of where our food comes from, and that we care about how those animals were treated while they were alive.

I gave thanks to these two animals, and to the people who raised them, with every juicy mouthful!

So, if you ever find yourself on that road between Johnson City and Fredericksburg, you really oughtta stop in at Hye Meadow Winery. It comes...