The North Kitchen, Or Cutting Pie with Your Trowel

In the far away county of Orange, Virginia is the estate of the father of our Constitution. And to the South of his great mansion of Montpelier, work a rag tag team of eternally dirt covered archaeologists, slaving away in the heat and humidity, chipping away at the Piedmont Clay (Munsell color Reddish Brown, 5YR 4/6, most likely) to find evidence of former residents. They eat with dirty hands, disregarding health standards in favor of convenience.

To the north of the Mansion lies the North Kitchen, and every Thursday and Friday, one of the archaeologists sweet talks the staff at the demonstration kitchen into saving some of their delicious Madison-era style culinary treats, and bringing them to the hungry archaeologists in the field.

They bring us vegetable pie, we cut it with our trowels to share, and then put it in our dust pans to bring it around the site to the other hungry archaeologists. They also bring us strawberry tartlets, sweet breads, and so many delicious treats. God bless the North Kitchen demonstration staff. I love them with all my heart and soul, even when they give me funny looks for cutting the veggie pot pie with my trowel.

You all may scoff at my new habits, but there is nothing better than fresh bread after a day of shoveling fill from a previously excavated unit. You may never understand the joys of eating with your trowel, or out of a dust pan, or even with clay stained hands, but trust me, it is glorious. And if Mike Rowe has never done Dirty Jobs: Archaeology edition, he needs to get on that shit ASAP.

Love and miss you all!