Break Out the Canner!

Last weekend Alice went down to State Farmers Market to check out what fresh veggies were in. She was mightily impressed with quality and value. We got out our Pressure Canner, asked Mama Glenda to bring down hers, and we washed quart and pint jars.  Then Tuesday I bought the produce. The corn and tomatoes were the best value at $8 a box.  So far we have about 3 dozen quarts of Vegetable Soup and twice that in Tomato Soup!  Alice is using Mama Lucy's recipe for both.  Because it is just the two of us now, she is putting up some in pints,  which we normally use just for fruits and jams. We figure they'd be just right for a weekend trip to the beach, or to let Catherine and Stewart take to school.

Generally,  we often wait for the dad-blamed hottest week summer to do things like this. This week wasn't too bad,  but as luck would have it, our main AC unit went out Wednesday afternoon!  

I'm back! (Mostly)

OK. We had a whole bunch of stuff to do at the beach house this winter/spring,  and no chaps to help us, so we had to go down there a fair amount of February and March.  That took up some time,  and then we had to get ready for my knee surgery, which took more time in April and May. We wound up doing pretty well at the beach and at home.  Anyway,  I'm now 7 weeks out from knee surgery, and normalcy, (or what we know of it!) is slowly returning.  I'm off the pain killers now, but still won't be going back to work for a while due to flexation issues. I've started puttering around in the kitchen, and going through cook books and magazines, while kinda sorta planning for some future events.  


I'm starting back with what's happening here and now, and hopefully  I'll backtrack to earlier this year in the next few weeks.  Maybe I'll be caught up by August!

This week is Corn, Peas, and Squash. Two different friends brought us two different kinds of corn: Bi-Color and Golden Jubilee!  The Bi-Color has the flavor Silver Queen, which as most of you know is outstanding.  We'd never heard of Golden Jubilee, which is a beautiful light yellow ear! My friend says it apparently does not freeze well, which is fine with us, since it eats very well as corn on the cob!  We have plans for it to be a co-star in a Frogmore stew tomorrow! 

Last year I planted a few Patty Pan Squash for the first time. The vine borers and cut worms pretty much left them alone, unlike what they do to my yellow squash and zucchini. This year I planted three varieties: Sunburst, Peter Pan, and Ron De Nice.  These all have flesh that is somewhat dryer than "normal" squash.  We are sauteing them in various ways  with various seasonings, with wonderful results. 

Another new variety on the table this week was Mississippi Silvertip Field Pea!  A friend of Mama Glenda's gave her about half a bushel.  With the inclusion of a ham hock to the pot, and they turned out to be wonderful!  Very creamy and tender, and  were pretty easy to shell, although I can only take credit for about maybe 10% of that. Mama Glenda did most of it. 


    

uh, yeah, I'll be right back.

>>>>>>>>crickets<<<<<<<
Yes, its been a while.  We had very busy spring.  I'll tell you about it RSN.  -Real Soon Now--I promise, I'll be right back!

A Successful Charleston Jaunt!

This past weekend we finally got back to Charleston. We haven’t be able to take a really relaxing weekend there in over a year, which is way too long! We picked up Catherine from CoC on Friday evening and headed toward a place I’d heard about a while back. The Glass Onion, on Highway 17 South. Its locavore kind of place that serves both lunch and dinner at moderate prices. We went kind of wild and gamey, starting with Rabbit Liver & Pickles,  moving on to Sheepshead* & Rutabagas, Duck with Hoppin’John, and Quail with Grits & Greens. We finished up with probably the best bread pudding I’ve had since we were in New Orleans!

Saturday morning we introduced Catherine to a breakfast that we came up with earlier this year. Baked Apples (which are loaded with Walnuts, Raisins & Cinnamon) with a generous side of steel-cut oatmeal, topped with some Greek yogurt. It’s a very good winter comfort-food type of breakfast, just perfect for a screened-in porch on Folly Beach, with a cup of Café du Monde next to it!

With such a breakfast, we didn’t really feel the need for a formal lunch, so we made do with stop by WildFlour Pastry, which I had recently noted in Southern Living and Garden & Gun. As expected, everything was scrumptious! What you see are a Pecan Sticky Bun, a Raspberry Nutella Turnover, and a Scone with Sundried Tomatoes, Pesto & Mozzarella. I had hoped to bring back a pie or three, but I didn’t realize all their pies are made to order. So that’ll have to be for next time we go, or maybe when Catherine is coming back this way.
Saturday afternoon, we stopped by Crosby’s Seafood and picked some fresh local shrimp. Alice and Catherine used them in a wonderful Salad, modifying a recipe that a friend from Charleston gave us years ago. We really should make it more often, for it was delicious!

Sunday Lunch we wound up with some old friends at the Lost Dog Café on Folly Beach, which turned out to be pretty much what you’d expect to find on Folly, (actually a little better.) There was a roaring Sunday Brunch crowd, but we got seated after a not too long wait. The service was good, and the food well done for your money. We’ll go back!

*Sheepshead is a fish.