PI(E) Day

Sunday a week ago, we had Pi(e) Day at church as a fund raiser for the Youth Mission Trip.  We had sweet and savory pies, told pi jokes, sang American Pie(Lutheranized) and of course someone got  Pie In The Face!  We spent about 3 hours in the kitchen on Saturday afternoon, and about 3 more Sunday Morning! The Kids did a great job!

For Entrées we had Chicken Pot Pie and Chili Frito Pie, with sides of Strawberry Pretzel Pie, Tomato Pie, and Collard Pie with Hoppin’ John Crust, but the real stars are the desserts pies:

Key Lime Pie

Berry Pie

Kentucky Derby Pie

Pecan Pie

Peanut-butter Pie
Apple Pies

Chocolate Pie

Chocolate Chip Pie

Sweet Potato Pie

And of course, Moon Pies!

We raised almost a Thousand Dollars!  How cool is that for Pi(e)?

On a slightly different yet related note, Alice and I were unable to partake of all the festivities. We had just about gotten everybody served when Stewart called to say he had been in an accident in Catherine's car. Thankfully, nobody was severely injured, thanks to airbags and intervention by Ultimate Higher Authority.

Cabo's Fresh Tacos

We heard about this place a while back, but didn't get there until today. We were all very sorry we hadn't made there it sooner. It's less than half a block from work, which could be bad.  Today was Five  Dollar Friday.  $5 got you a taco, chips & salsa, and a drink with free refills.  We all got tacos, duh: Chicken, Grilled Shrimp, Fried Shrimp, and Veggie.  The tacos are double wrapped cornmeal tortillas, with a really good slaw in addition to the named filling. All the tacos were good, but the salsa was killer. Lots of roasted goodness in it, with enough heat to make you notice,  but not hurt yourself.  We also split a side of their Cabo Pups, which are hush puppies with Jalapeños, cheese, etc. Good, but not exceptional, and very filling(they're plum sized).  

We didn't get a chance to really study the menu, but we can do that next week, because beside the salsa, the really cool part is that they mark your receipt.  If you come back within 7 days,  you get 20% off. Not a bad trick, huh?  Cabo's is only open for lunch, sadly. 

I'm back!

Sorry it's been a while.  We had illnesses and surgeries of various sorts over the last month, but things are more better now! Lots of stuff to talk about and hopefully I'll catch up over the next couple of weeks.  

Spring Break started for the Chaps last Friday, so we were all at Surfside for a long weekend. Catherine's roomie, Anthea, had to go back to Charleston yeasterday, so as we drove down Highway 17 we stopped in Beautiful Scenic Awendaw for lunch at the SeeWee Cafe

My dad found out about this place when he was volunteering at the United Methodist Retreat center just down the road. His crew would come for breakfast and/or lunch. Excellent Salads, Fish, Scallops, Veggie Plates, and FREE HUSH PUPPIES! The Fried Green Tomatoes and Butter Peas were good, but the Collards and Red Rice stole the show!  The Collards were almost creamy, while the Red Rice had bits of smoked sausage that gave up a wonderful flavor.  Very Very Nice!

Bacon and The Book of Harold

Today's reading is from The Book of Harold, Chapter 3, Page 175:

Modern ham and bacon contain more moisture that the dry-cured versions (sometimes more than the original raw meat!) and about half the salt--3-4% instead of  5-7%.  Where slices of traditional ham and bacon fry easily and retain 75% of their weight, the wetter modern versions spatter, shrink, and curl as they give up their water, and retain only a third of their initial weight.
         The illuminating passage above comes from On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee.  If you do anything in the kitchen more than boiling water for Jello, placing Pop-Tarts in the toaster, or microwaving fudge sauce for the two month old vanilla ice cream in the freezer,  you really should consider getting a copy.  Mr. McGee can teach you something wonderful about anything you're doing or want to do. Really, you should.  If you aren't sure, go check out a copy from your local library.

So lets figure this bacon thing out.  Regular name brand bacon costs at least $3 a pound.(but it is usually sold in 12 oz packages--go figure).  You get about 20 slices per pound. That is 15 cents per piece. (usually pretty rinky-dinky pieces!) Artisanal bacon from Allan Benton or Caw Caw Creek is $6 a lb., but with them you get less slices per pound because it is a thicker cut. Last week I got 14 pieces that weighed in at exactly 7 ounces after cooking. That's 42 cents per piece. I would not be ashamed to serve only one piece to a guest: yes, it is that good. Cooking Light, (the magazine) amongst others, toast artisanal bacons for that very reason!  You will, for real, remember what you had for breakfast!

That's not all, brothers and sisters!  You get the bacon grease. You need to keep this! And folks, let me tell you one thing before you start in on the cardiovascular righteousness.   You don't have to use a lot of this. Use maybe a teaspoon to saute a whole big frying pan of onions, and you've got something that'll make any sandwhich stand up and take a bow. A pot of butter-peas never had such a friend! If you use a tablespoon of it for a whole pone of cornbread, (8-10 servings) you will not leave any crumb to fall by the wayside.You just can't do that with normal bacon drippings.


Can I get an AMEN?