Valley Cakes & Cafe is a new bakery in Hurricane that serves up beautiful cupcakes, sweet treats and other lunch options. They're open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. so when I had a recent weekday off, I stopped in to check it out.

The space is absolutely adorable, with teal walls and a dozen steel table and chairs spread throughout the dining area. The bakery case was full of some lovely cupcakes: Boston creme pie, raspberry, cookies & creme, chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter, cinnamon roll and more.

Their lunch menu consists of sandwiches and other light fare. I couldn't decide on which cupcakes I wanted, so I picked three: raspberry, cookies & creme and chocolate chip cookie dough.

Each of these starts with a sweet vanilla base and topped with a healthy helping of icing with a small accent on top. So not only are they absolutely stunning, they are so, so tasty.

Which is your favorite?

Puglioni's has been one of my all-time favorite restaurants. From the bread to the housemade pasta and everything in between, it consistently delivers a delicious experience.

So, when I heard the restaurant had closed down a few months back, I was distraught. However, just recently, it reopened under the name "Pug's" - which is what it was affectionately called. And, many of the same recipes and staff have returned.

First, the space looks just the same to me as it did before. And the smells are the same. The dim lights and welcoming environment. The menu has a lot of similar options - including my absolute favorite: pasta carbonara.

First, that beautiful freshly baked loaf of bread. Absolutely saturated in butter and garlic, this bread is the best in town - maybe state. It was a touch darker than I'd like, but that didn't stop me from carb overload.

Then, my house salad. They easily have one of the best house salads around. No iceberg here. Fresh romaine, tomatoes, onions, croutons, olives - the works. I hope they add a French dressing option to the lineup in the future.

And, there it is. The pasta carbonara with handmade fettuccine, bacon, ham, and I added mushrooms. It's creamy, rich, and delicious. It's amazing. It can get a bit heavy, so it would be nice to have maybe a pop of fresh peas or a drizzle of balsamic glaze to cut through some of the fattiness. That being said, I will order this dish again and again and again because I love it.

Grade: A

Appalachian Tea is a whimsical little oasis in the center of the bustling city of Charleston.

This tea house offers a relaxing experience for those interested in a good cup of tea.

My friend Sara and I went to check it out.

I've been to this location once when I did a cookie and tea pairing prior to their grand opening. So, I was super excited to see it up and running as a tea house.

We walked in, and you can see the small retail space with books to leisurely read. From here, we were seated in the dining area to get our tea party on. But you can also just hang out upstairs in the library and study or work with tea.

The tea menu includes all sorts of options for black, oolong, white, green and more.

And if you don't want tea, they do have hot chocolate, coffee, and milk.

As a tea newbie, I asked for something good for beginners. Sasha, the owner, suggested trying the "ice wine," which is a black tea based fruit blend. It was sweet, fruity and fragrant - and lovely!

After that sample, Sara and I decided to split a pot of the "Peach Jasmine Green Tea," which smelled absolutely heavenly.

You can sniff jars of the teas to get a feel for what you'd like to order!

The tea was served in this beautiful teapot, the sugar cubes in an equally gorgeous jar and stunning tea cups and saucers. It really feels like quite an elegant experience.

And if you aren't familiar with tea but want to try, these folks are great! Just tell them and they'll guide you in the right direction.

Or, if you just want a spot where you can enjoy a little whimsy, this is great.

OR, if you just want a spot to relax with some quiet, this is even better.

Of course, we also had to try some of the pastries while here.

We were first surprised with mini peppermint meringues.

They had gingerbread cookies, chai pudding, shortbread cookies, coffee cake, scones, coconut cake, and brownies.

We sample the shortbread cookie (my favorite!), the coffee cake, gingerbread and coffee cake. The shortbread just goes perfectly with the tea.

It was so good, I took some of the ice wine to go and I'll try my hand at home-brewed tea. What's your favorite blend?

Here's my latest column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail:

The sugar maple stands tall as West Virginia’s official state tree.

It could be because of the brilliant red and gold colors the five-lobed leaves turn in the fall. Or it could be because of the cool shade the towering tree provides during the blistering summer months. Or, more likely, it’s because of the sap harvested during the spring to produce maple syrup.

The maple season in West Virginia runs for about two months — but it’s all dependent on the weather. Ideal maple syrup conditions call for warm days and freezing nights. That’s because the below-freezing temperatures help pull sap from out of the roots of the trees. And then the warmer days help the sap flow through the tubing lines that are connected to multiple trees and collect into one large tank.

Gone are the days of hanging buckets under spouts to harvest sap that is then carried down to a sugar shack. The practice has become much more streamlined thanks to technological advances, and with that has come a return of the art of harvesting.

Appalachians are well-known for being self-reliant and making good use of the land, as is the case with ramps, morels and maple syrup. Harvested from maple trees, the syrup was used as a sweetener throughout the year. But the practice waned as sugar and other syrups became readily available at the supermarket.

The practice, though, is a piece of Appalachian history and a foundation for many of the foods we continue to enjoy today. The sweet tradition will live on through our history — and tastebuds.

Sweet Mama's is a new bakery in Hurricane that features baked goods, custom orders, cakes and other fun confectionaries.

Currently, they're open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. So, when I had a recent weekday off, I made a trip out to check them out.

The bakery is located in a large plaza that has been home to many restaurants and shops.

And this shop is small, but bright and filled from wall to wall with sweets.

Cases were filled with cookies, like oatmeal raisin and ones topped with sprinkles.

There were macarons in flavors of raspberry, birthday cake, pistachio, salted caramel and chocolate.

There are mini bites of apple or cherry pie.

They have cakes and even mini cakes made of carrot cake, chocolate mousse and more.

Plus tons of creative fun snacks like chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered marshmallows, hot chocolate mix and more.

They also had croutons and pepperoni rolls (with or without cheese). Of course I tried one of each - lots of breading - but still flavorful. I also got a rainbow cake bite, a chocolate florentine, two macarons and a chocolate mousse cake.

There truly is so much variety that they've packed into a small space!



And everything was top-notch!



Grade: A