Gated alleys in Charleston are always intriguing.  May we come in?

COLD in CHARLESTON = CAULIFLOWER SOUP

     "Doing the Charleston" in our book means "eating well."  On a recent weekend getaway, our Christmas present to each other, we failed to miss a meal. We hustled to make it south through South Carolina to the Holy City, as Charleston is known, for Friday dinner at FIG (Food is Good), at the only time available, an early 5:30.  No problem.  We lingered over cocktails, then sated our appetites with three divine courses, finishing early enough to "walk it off" downtown.   

A Bloody Mary, spiked with a slice of country ham and a pickled green bean, is an excellent way to start Sunday Brunch at HUSK.

     After a morning walk, we ambled for a lunchtime worship at Sean Brock's HUSK, where only regional, Southern foods are served. 

      Not even olive oil was poured in this kitchen until Chef Brock found an olive grove in Texas that was producing a good quality oil.  Just the whole idea of serving only what you find in your region, in season, is so radical to many, but I love it, and that has earned Chef Brock accolades from the food world.  We were so enamored with our first meal, that back we went for Brunch on Sunday.  Unfortunately, dinner reservations require about a month's lead time.  

Consider the Source, at HUSK in Charleston, SC

In the meantime, we walked and walked to make room for yet another worship session at Sean Brock's table, this time for dinner at McCRADY's. 

     

REGIONAL SPECIALTIES

    I was delighted to find on these menus some of my favorite providers, like BORDER SPRINGS FARM's gorgeous and delicious Kathadin lamb.  And cider to pair with pork and rabbit from FOGGY RIDGE CIDER.  

    

 

CAULIFLOWER SOUP
     One of the dishes we loved at HUSK was a sumptuous, seasonal soup made with roasted cauliflower.  That bitter taste that cauliflower sometimes has just disappears when roasted, getting sweeter and more flavorful.
     So, when I got home, I had fun in the kitchen trying to reproduce that soul-warming dish.  I love that fact that it's so creamy, yet it has NO CREAM, unless you just can't help yourself and add it at the end.
     We had some duck confit on hand, and that made an excellent garnish and companion to the soup.
      And, it's EASY.  Please give the recipe that follows a try!

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP Recipe

1 to 2 heads of cauliflower
1 medium sweet onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 whole head garlic
about 1/4 cup olive oil
bunch of fresh thyme
about 4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
OPTIONAL:  1/2 cup heavy cream
   2 to 4 tablespoons chopped duck confit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Break cauliflower into small clumps of florets.  Place them in a roasting pan.  Add onion.

Slice off the top quarter of the garlic head.  Coat it with a drizzle of olive oil, and add to the roasting pan.  Add 4 to 6 sprigs of thyme.  Then drizzle all with olive oil, stirring, until all glistens.  Loosely cover with foil, and place in oven until cauliflower is very tender, about 30 minutes.  Remove and cool.

Squeeze the softened, roasted garlic from its paper coat.  Remove the thyme sprigs.

If you have an immersion blender, place all roasted veggies in a large pot.  Add about half of the vegetable stock, and puree. Or, use a blender to puree with a smaller amount of the stock.

Pureed and simmering

After the mixture is pureed, add enough stock as needed for your desired consistency.  Bring to a soft boil, then turn the heat down and simmer gently to warm through.  Add more thyme leaves (removed from the stems), and season with salt and pepper.  When the soup is hot enough, stir in about 2/3s of the Parmesan.

Ladle the soup into bowls, then garnish with more Parmesan and parsley.  Add duck confit if using.


                                               ~~~~

2nd EDITION OF THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK has hit the stores!  Loving the new, color photos and about a dozen new recipes and stories!  Please let me know what you think.

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

A Locavore's Delight

TWELVE DAYS OF CAROLINA FOODIE'S CHRISTMAS

What's a locavore to do when it comes to holiday gift giving and treats?  Turn to local products, I'd say.

So here's my Christmas List, dear Santa . . . .hint, hint.   Or, I'm spoiling what might find its way under my friends' trees.


ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME:  One jar of Outer Banks SeaSalt, hand-harvested from the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean near Southern Shores by the "accidental saltist," Amy Huggins Gaw, better known as THE OUTER BANKS EPICUREAN.  










ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS, HERE'S WHAT MY TRUE LOVE FOUND FOR THIS LOCAVORE:   a 2 ounce jar of Rainbow Trout Caviar from SUNBURST TROUT COMPANY, in Canton, NC.  


ON THE THIRD DAY, MY SANTA GOT ME......WAIT A MINUTE, IS THAT CHOCOLATE BAR MISSING SOME OF ITS 3 OUNCES?????  From Escazu, in Raleigh.  Artisan chocolates, and oh, my!

And, so after a smack, what did my Santa find for me next?  FOUR BOTTLES FROM FOGGY RIDGE CIDER, including my very favorite, Pippin Gold!  After dinner, with cheese, or just chillin' by itself!








ON THE FIFTH DAY OF THIS LOCAVORE'S CHRISTMAS, MY SWEETIE FOUND 5 LBS OF BERTIE COUNTY PEANUTS to roast and eat while watching UNC basketball games!


And on the SIXTH DAY, he brought home a SIX PACK OF ARTISAN BREWS FROM North Carolina, like Asheville's Highland Brew, Kinston's Mother Earth, and Greensboro's Natty Greene.  Ditto to have during the Carolina ballgames, either women's or men's teams!

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVES ARE . . . . WELL, LEGAL.  . . . MOONSHINE!!!  From NC's very own TROY & SONS  or a fifth of Junior Johnson's MIDNIGHT MOON.    After all, Junior did get his start racing away from the law for stuff like this.

ON THE EIGHTH DAY, sweeten me up with some local honey.  I love BEE BLESSED honey of all sorts of flavors, depending on the season, that I find at the NC State Farmers Market.  Try your regional honey.



On the NINTH DAY, how 'bout pounds and pounds of SHELLED PECANS for stashing in my freezer?  These came from my brother-in-law, Dan Finch, master potter, blueberry plant grower, and the best thing that ever happened to my sister, Amy.







The TENTH DAY?  Promises, promises to explore these ten FARM-TO-TABLE restaurants in my home state, which means ROAD TRIPS that I love!

KNIFE AND FORK, Spruce Pine; CURATE, Asheville; ASHTEN'S in Southern Pines; CROOK'S CORNER in Chapel Hill; LUCKY 32, Greensboro & Cary; PROSCUITO, in Hillsborough;  CHEF AND THE FARMER in Kinston; THE BLUE POINT in Duck; KETCH 55 in Avon; and BASNIGHT'S LONE CEDAR in Nags Head.




And on the ELEVENTH DAY of Christmas, my true love gave me the best ever shrimp, the green-tails that are caught in NC's Pamlico and Core Sounds during the late fall.  Peeled and ready to go, in my freezer.  Oh, shrimp and grits, or maybe grilled or just sauteed with garlic and butter over linguine?

And on the TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, my true love, exhausted, gave me 12-month subscriptions to these very fine, local magazines:  EDIBLE PIEDMONT, WNC, and Raleigh's new WALTER.

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!

SUNNY SIDE is OPEN, So Things are Looking Up

BIRTHDAY WISHES
     Slurping down oysters at Sunny Side was high on the list of the hubby's birthday wishes.  So, ROAD TRIP!  Williamston, NC is a little crossroads of a town floating in the flat coastal plains just inland from the Albemarle Sound, about two hours or so from the Triangle.
     Sunny Side is so worth the drive.  It's a landmark, steaming oysters since 1935.  There's a large bar room in the front, where live music keeps things lively on a Saturday night while you wait for an hour or two for your turn in the back room around the horseshoe-shaped bar.
     Slide onto a stool, then peer onto the floor in the middle.  Yep, wood shavings.  Catches the drips when the buckets of oysters are brought in from out back, steaming and overflowing with the bivalves.




     I picked Jesse, our server and shucker for the night, out of the line up of all the shuckers' mug shots printed on the paper placemats, while we waited for our peck to steam.  He's been working at the Sunny Side for 25 years, always his night job, the second one that keeps him afloat, he said, as he poured hot butter into little saucers, then added another bowl of horseradish for us to mix into Sunny Side's own sweet cocktail sauce made with a secret recipe.
     The menu is simple:  oysters, steamed, not fried or baked.  Shrimp, steamed. Crab legs, steamed.  There's no coleslaw, no fries, no veggies, except broccoli smothered with cheese, if you insist.  There aren't even any hushpuppies, just packages of saltines opened by each server as you need them.
     Jesse chatted as he put his wooden board on the lower workspace, and with bare hands - no gloves, mind you - started opening our prizes, distributing them equally in the small bowls set in front of us.

     The oysters this past week were from Texas, and like most things Texan, were big and juicy.  Next week, around Thanksgiving this year, they hope to score some oysters from North Carolina waters, from the Pamlico Sound, down near Stumpy Point and Engelhard.
     Our bill, for two pecks of oysters - it was a birthday, mind you - and for a pound of steamed shrimp, and a few beers, was about the same as a date for a full-fledged meal.  But, it made the birthday boy very happy, and was well worth the drive of dodging deer in the dark.

TRY THIS RECIPE, AT HOME
    Here's a delicious recipe from a local......

CRAB SLOUGH OYSTERS   (C) from THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK:  Recipes & Traditions from NC's Barrier Islands, by Elizabeth Wiegand, 2008, Globe Pequot Press.

            Crab Slough is in the Pamlico Sound at the southern end of Roanoke Island near Wanchese.  It’s a well-known area for harvesting prime oysters because the water is slightly rough, being near the Oregon Inlet, so that only single oysters, rather than clumps, are formed.  The water is rather brackish which gives the oysters a delicious salty taste.  Frequently, tiny pea crabs, themselves a gourmet treat, are found residing in the oysters. Crab Slough oyster beds were “claimed” and passed down from generation to generation, says Frank White, a Manteo native. 

            Imagine White’s surprise when on a trip to New York City years ago, he found Crab Slough Oysters on the menu at Joe Allen, a restaurant near the theatre district.  He adapted the dish by the chef, Ed Gafney. 

3 dozen oysters, preferably from Crab Slough, in their shells

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound fresh or frozen spinach, thawed

1 ½ sticks butter

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1. Open and remove oysters from the shells.  If you should find tiny crabs, be sure to save and include with the oysters.  Reserve each of the larger, flat halves of the oyster shells, and place on a large baking sheet or pan.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the garlic, stirring and cooking for just a minute or until the garlic is almost brown. 
3. Add the spinach and sauté until fresh spinach is thoroughly wilted or frozen spinach is warm.  Drain the spinach in a colander.
4. Divide spinach among the oyster shells.  Place one oyster (and one pea crab, if present) on top of the spinach.
5. In a heavy skillet, melt the butter, and add the Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce.  Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until butter is nut brown.
6. Preheat the oven to broil.
7. Drizzle each prepared oyster with the browned butter mixture.  Place under hot broiler for two to five minutes, or until oysters are thoroughly heated.  Serve immediately.

GRITS with BUGS? OBX SHRIMP and GRITS

Shrimp and Grits from Basnight's Lone Cedar

            Grits with bugs.  Conjures up those fly-in-your-face pantry moths when you open up grains, doesn’t?  But grits with bugs is how the old-timers on the Outer Banks would have described the iconic dish of Shrimp and Grits - had they ever eaten it back in the day.

            Asked to speak about Shrimp and Grits at Sunday’s Brunch at the Day at the Docks in Hatteras a couple of weekends ago, I posed this to some older Bankers:  “Did you grow up eating shrimp and grits?” 

            “Naw.  We had fried fish for breakfast.   Or grits with runny eggs.  But not shrimp and grits.”   And, it turns out that hardly anyone did outside of the Low Country of South Carolina, until 1985, when The NY Times published an article written by a homesick Southerner, Craig Claiborne, a Mississipian by birth. 

            Claiborne headed south to Chapel Hill to check out the dishes he’d heard about coming from the kitchen of Crook’s Corner.  Bill Neal, owner and chef, was among the first to plan his menu around seasonal and regional ingredients.  Neal was a rural South Carolina boy who settled in the Triangle after graduating from Duke University.  He’d left both his wife and their restaurant, La Residence, which as its name implies, had a more French-influenced menu and style of preparation.  Neal took the techniques he had learned and used Southern foods from his childhood at his new place, Crook’s Corner.  It had no white linen tablecloths, but it did have a pink pig on the roof. 

Clairborne was intrigued with Neal’s take on Southern foods, so he placed his big self on a stool in Neal’s kitchen and took notes.  After the recipe for Neal’s Shrimp and Grits appeared, the dish took off quicker than you can burn garlic, appearing on menus especially across the South.  Northern restaurants had grits shipped from the southern mills and shrimp from up and down the Southeast coast.  Thus, the icon was born.

PLACE OF ORIGIN

            Bill Neal gets a lot of credit for Shrimp and Grits, but he was cooking from an old cookbook from the 1950s, CHARLESTON RECEIPTS.  As the recipe header noted, “Breakfast Shrimp” was a long-time breakfast favorite in the coastal region, what is referred to as the Low Country of South Carolina. That recipe called for cooking the shrimp in bacon grease, with a bit of onion and green pepper added.  A little bit of tomato catsup and Worcestershire sauce was added.

            But it turns out that recipe was a gussied up version of a “poor man’s breakfast.”  Like other folks who live off the land, folks in the rural Low Country fed themselves with whatever they had on hand.  They sold the larger shrimp caught by nets and kept the small shrimp for their own consumption.   Like my grandmother, they kept a metal can of bacon grease on the stovetop, which they used to sauté the shrimp.  They added pieces of bacon, or ham scraps, if they had any, but not tasso ham, because they were not Cajun.  They didn’t use butter, because it was too precious if hand-churned and hard to keep in the hot Southern summers. Herbs and cheese?  Naw.

            Bill Neal’s version is a nice riff on that basic Low Country, poor man’s breakfast, using bacon, sliced mushrooms and scallions with a little garlic and lemon juice.  And he served it over boiled grits, as the folks in Charleston did, except they called them “hominy grits.”

Add caption

SO WHAT EXACTLY ARE GRITS?

            Here in the Grits Belt, from North Carolina down on through Louisiana, some say Texas, too, you can find three types of grits.

            All grits come from dried corn.  Duh. Then it’s ground.  Double Duh.

            Well, the Charlestonians call their grits “hominy grits,” a name derived from a Native American term, “rockahomine.”  Native Americans made these types of grits from dried corn kernels that are treated with “lye,” an alkali they made by running water through ashes.  Why?  Because it would remove the outer hull, leaving a white puff of corn that they would dry, again.  It could then be stored and used whole, in a stew, like the New Mexican posole.  Or, the dried puff could be ground into HOMINY GRITS. 

            Interestingly, it was this process of using lye that prevented the Native Americans from suffering from pellagra, a niacin-deficiency that Europeans developed because they ate relatively nothing but corn during some mighty lean years.  The lye process changes the structure of the starch.  How smart the New World natives were!

            The type of grits most restaurants and good home cooks use today are stone-ground grits.  And here’s the thing - they’re nothing new under the sun. For centuries, farmers and homesteaders have dried corn, then ground it between two large stones.  Stone-ground grits are the best tasting because they retain that outer hull, and the inner hull as well.  It’s the oils in the inner hull, especially, that add the most flavor to these kinds of grits, and the reason they can go rancid without storing them in the fridge.

            The other type of grits is hardly worth mentioning.  They’re the packaged, commercially ground “Quick Grits” available on most grocery store shelves.  After both outer and inner hulls have been removed, the dried corn kernels are pulverized with steel rollers.  But that removes all flavor, and much of the richer texture.  It’s like the grated, dried and flavorless Parmesan cheese that comes in that big green box, versus a hunk of real Parmesan that’s held tight while grating it over your pasta.

SO WHY NO SHRIMP AND GRITS IN THE OUTER BANKS?

Shrimping is a huge industry on the Outer Banks today.  Ou?r barrier islands create a version of the Low Country, with inner sounds filled with marsh grass and shallow waters.

            So why did no one I asked remember eating shrimp and grits while growing up? 

            Here’s an astonishing fact:  It wasn’t until the 1930s that folks in the Outer Banks ate shrimp.  Truly!  They did not eat shrimp!

            “My grandmother thought they were worms,” said Della Basnight, a Manteo native.  “She wouldn’t eat them.  Thought we were crazy. They were bugs, for God’s sake.”

            “I could see them in the ocean grass while I was out fishing,” said my buddy John Gaskill, age 96.  “But when I left Wanchese (for the Navy) in 1933, we weren’t eating shrimp.  We thought they were bugs.”

            Shrimp nestle in the mud, and fouled up nets when Outer Bankers dragged the sounds for fish. 

So here’s the Great Circle of Life as far as Shrimp and Grits go.  Outer Banks fishermen would pluck those nasty “bugs” out of their nets and plop them into barrels.  Then, when they got over to the mainland, they traded those stinky barrels of shrimp for barrels of corn.  It was a win-win, for the farmers used them as fertilizer, and the Bankers dried the corn, sometimes on old sails spread on roofs or bushes.  After stripping the dried kernels from the cobs, they would take them to one of the dozen windmills that dotted the Outer Banks. 

Replica at the Island Farm on Roanoke Island

Think about it:  Couldn’t do gravity flow mills using creeks or water wheels on the flat beaches, now could you?  So they built German post-style windmills, that could be turned to face whichever way the wind was blowing.  The blades of the windmill could be covered with sails, so as to better control the speed of the turning stones.  If the mill got going too fast, the stones would scorch the corn.  The summertime breeze was sometimes nonexistent, so the sails helped there, too.  And so that’s how the Outer Banks got their cornmeal and grits – sometimes traded for “bugs” or shrimp.

SHRIMPING HITS THE BANKS             

Native Americans ate shrimp, say archaeologists.  But European settlers were a little slow in catching on to this succulent protein from the sea.  Like with the blackened red fish craze, folks in the New Orleans area introduced the rest of the new settlers in America to eating shrimp.  Records show that in 1735, seine nets were ordered from France fishermen from New Orleans.  They dried the shrimp in the sun, as the Chinese and Mexicans had for centuries.

            Southport, near Wilmington, was the first seaport in North Carolina to build a shrimp cannery in the first decades of the 1900s.  Diesel engines, adapted for boats, played a huge role, allowing the use of “otter trawls” rather than a large seine net that could only be used in shallow waters.  Then ice became readily available from ice plants.  The small island where the Roanoke Island Festival Park is today was once called “Ice Plant Island.”

         Some fishermen left Wanchese, the big fishing village even today on the Outer Banks, and headed to the Gulf of Mexico during the 1930s to learn how to shrimp.  When they began pulling nets for shrimp, they were called “bug hunters” along the coast of North Carolina. 

            The shrimp industry steadily grew from just a couple hundred of thousand pounds in 1931, to more than 10 million pounds caught in the wild each year today, making it NC’s largest seafood industry.

TODAY’S SHRIMP AND GRITS

            Check out the menus in many of the restaurants that dot the Outer Banks, and you’ll find their version of Shrimp and Grits.  Some will be served with cheese grits, some with creamy grits and creamy, thick sauce with the shrimp, and some with have wild mushrooms or roasted garlic or diced tomatoes.  Most feature andouille sausage or smoked bacon.

            Even though the dish has no culinary history on the Outer Banks, let’s claim them anyway.  After all, we’ve got shrimp – those bugs that used to foul up nets – and we had grits, thanks to windmills and barrels of stinky shrimp. 

           Hatteras Island chef and Seaside innkeeper, Chris Latimer, created a marvelous Shrimp and Grits for the Days at the Docks brunch, using fresh Pamlico shrimp from fishmonger Jeff Aiken, along with andouille sausage, roasted garlic and fresh bell peppers prepared in a deep, dark roux.  Fresh, stone-ground grits were donated by Carolina Grits & Co of Rocky Mount.  What a marvelous treat!

COOL MOUNTAIN

MISSION:  Find cool ~ as in weather, eateries, farmers market, hikes.  Taste local foods that inspire
                      new home recipes.

DESTINATION:  Vicinity of Asheville, NC

TIMING:  One long weekend

OPTIONS EXPLORED:  Asheville City Market, Saturday mornings

Looking Glass Mountain before a storm

                                           Market Place Restaurant

                                           Cucina 24

                                           The Blue Ridge Parkway

                                            Craggy Gardens

                                            Black Balsam Mountain

                                            Frying Pan Fire Tower

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!  (Look for the recipe below!)

     The annual Wine & Food Festival, the Goombay Festival, and the Topless Festival were all going on this past weekend in Asheville.  And no, I did not.  I did not participate in any.  Rather, we enjoyed a seasonal ale at The Wedge in the River Arts District, two delightful dinners each evening, some shopping at the venerable Mast General Store, and several gorgeous hikes with a view along the famed Blue Ridge Parkway, with an evening meal and overnight at the Pisgah Inn.

Cool?  You bet, in every sense of the word.

This weekend, I'd love to go back for the NC Apple Festival in Hendersonville.  This year it's especially important to support our apple growers.  Some lost as much as 90 percent of their crop due to late spring frosts.  Officials guarantee there will be enough local apples to go around this weekend. 

FIRST OP:  FINE DINING:

     The Market Place Restaurant was sold a few years ago by Asheville's original foodie, Mark Rosenstein, a man who created farm to table dinners way decades ago, when he'd take his knife and basket into farmer's fields to get dinner supplies, or scoop trout from a pond when an order was placed.  He led Asheville and the rest of the food world to the world of sustainability, local foods, and wood-fired ovens where he baked bread daily.  

     Rosenstein left his mark on Asheville's Wall Street, and in the very capable hands of William Dissen, the new, young owner/chef.  Here's what he told the ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES:  "To me, farm-to-table is a celebration of community: it's a place to get together, to party, to share a meal, to celebrate, to have fun."  Amen.  And Amen to his effort at community building as well.  Our meal was truly delightful and reasonably priced, and the atmosphere was relaxing with live music at the bar and a serene dining room.  I'll be back.

     Cucina 24, also on Wall Street, also provided a menu full of locally sourced foods.  The beet salad was especially delicious and oh-so-pretty.  It inspired me to try it at home, and look for a recipe below, my version of beets, chevre and pistachios.  

     You might wonder why I have not included photos of our meals we enjoyed at these lovely eating establishments.  I think taking photos, especially with a flash, disrupts not only MY dinner, but other folks as well.  I love to see good food porn.  I sometimes take shots, but only when a flash is not necessary.  Most times, the dining table is dimly lit, so.....no photos.

Breads from Farm & Sparrow

SECOND OP:  Procure picnic supplies from the variety of goods available at Saturday's farmers market in downtown Asheville City Market.  We found fresh, wood-fired oven-baked breads from Farm & Sparrow;  tangy goat cheese from Three Graces Dairy; smoked trout from Sunburst Trout Farms; the season's first apples; and, pastries with local black raspberry jam to just devour right there, on the spot!

Sitting on Top of the World, at Craggy Gardens

THIRD OP:  GORGEOUS HIKES
      One of my favorite easy and quick hikes is to drive north on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Gardens, and follow the trail up to the dome.  From there, you've got an awesome 360 view of the world.  No matter the season, it's just great for the view, and because of the breezes, it was nice and cool.  Late summer, you can even pick wild blueberries off to the side of the top. During the fall, all you can see is a carpet of color.  In the winter, icy patches give you a bit of a challenge to the top, but then you get to bask in the full sun.

Skinny Dip Falls

House Bread from Farm & Sparrow bakery

     Near Pisgah, south of Asheville, our favorite cool hike is Skinny Dip Falls, at Milepost 417.  And no, I did not, although perhaps that would have been a great segue from the Topless Festival?  Anyway, you hike down a shaded, root and rock-filled path to a gorgeous rocky waterfall, and you can rock hop up and down if the kid in you prevails.

     Just a bit down the road, hike the Art Loeb trail off Black Balsam that leads to the bald, with views to the horizon and overlooking Graveyard Fields.  An awesome view, worth the mile trek upward.

   And, HWY 276 down to Brevard from the Parkway provides a terrific winding, downhill scenic route, with pull-outs along the Davidson River for picnics.  At Sliding Rock Falls, you can do just that - slide down the rocks on your butt.  Great fun.   Looking Glass Falls has steps leading down to the bottom level, allowing you pretty views all the way down.  Find a big rock on the side for a picnic there, too.






BEETS, WHIPPED CHEVRE and PISTACHIOS

I still crack up remembering a friend who exclaimed, "You can eat the roots, too?  I always throw them away!"   She loved beet greens in salads and stir fry;  now she loves the roasted roots as well.


1 bunch of beets
6 ounce tub of chèvre (ours was flavored with honey and lavendar)
thinning options - 1 to 2 tablespoons simple syrup, Greek yogurt, or milk
couple tablespoons chopped fresh herbs - I used rosemary, chives and oregano
handful of salted pistachios, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Cut the beets from the stems (reserve for salad or to braise).  Wash the roots well.  Place on a large rectangle of aluminum foil, securely wrap them up, and place on a baking sheet, as they can leak!  Bake for about an hour, or until a knife easily pierces the largest beet.  Cool.

2.  Use a paper towel or cloth and rub the skins off.  Cut into bite-size pieces.

3.  In a small bowl, place the chèvre.  Mix in a bit of your thinning option, and whip with a fork or whisk till mixture is pliable.  Place on your serving dish or individual plate.

4.  Top chevre with beets.  Sprinkle the herbs over, then the chopped pistachios.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve and enjoy!

Julia Child Had Big Feet

A cherished memory, meeting Julia Child. 

Julia  Child was six feet, two inches tall.  Like me.  She had big feet, like me.  

And so, when I was introduced to her, she looked me in the eye, then immediately down at my feet.  “Where did you get those lovely shoes?” she warbled.

"My sh-shoes?"  I stammered. Julia Child wanted to know about my SHOES?

I was so very privileged to see her several different times over the next few years at food writer’s events.  And each time, she greeted me enthusiastically, and then asked me, “Where did you get your shoes?”

At The Greenbrier. with Anne Willan and Miss Julia many years ago

Now, I’m not going to complain that she wanted to talk about how hard it was to find shoes for our big feet instead of talking food.  I could hardly spit out anything, I was in such awe of her.

And once, she did ask me what I was writing, then admonished me with this:  “You must write about your home, about North Carolina.  Write about the wonderful food there.” 

So I did as Julia said.  First I showcased our bountiful harvest of seafood and fresh produce along the Outer Banks. Then I went to the other end of our state to write about the marvelous foods of the Blue Ridge mountains.  I found so many great stories, such a variety of foods, with passionate folks at either end working hard to bring the best to our tables and markets.  I’m so glad I took that advice from Julia.  I try to bring a bit of the passion she felt about cooking and eating well to my own writing.  She was a good role model.

Like Julia, I was in my ‘50s before I finally got a cookbook published.  Being a “mature” age is hard for me.  I’d rather not be "invisible." I don’t like being “old,” so I’ve learned that I need to add a little gusto, like Julia, to my life.  To approach life and tasks with passion.  For she always did everything full out, it seems, especially when it came to eating, therefore living, well.  Never holding back.  Even into her eighties, she was going to so many public events, doing TV shows, asking questions of other cooking experts at conferences, and writing books.  She always talked to everyone who approached her.  She sat around after dinner and just chatted and laughed with the many people sitting literally at her feet.  She knew no strangers, but many strangers knew her. 

May I be blessed enough to even continue to try to be like Julia.  For, dare I say it, she left big shoes to fill.

One of her biographers told me that Julia and her sister, who was also six feet tall, had a pact when growing up:  If the house should catch on fire, first, they’d throw their shoes out the window, then they’d jump. 

Like Julia, I’m throwing my shoes first.

Check out this youtube video honoring her 100th birthday from NPR:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80ZrUI7RNfI

RECIPE  ~   BRAISED SALMON WITH VEGGIES, an adapted recipe from Julia Childs

From one of my go-to cookbooks, THE WAY TO COOK by Julia Child

     In THE WAY TO COOK, Julia shared a recipe for braised salmon with vermouth or a white wine, and "aromatic vegetables."  Now, far be it from me to suggest a better way.....but.....I do use recipes as a springboard or guide to use with whatever I have on had.  And so, I adapted.  We do not cook with wine with a certain guest, so water flavored with the veggie juices was used instead.  And I added to the chopped carrots, celery, and onion some red pepper and corn cut from a leftover ear.  Rather than cooking these veggies until very soft, for ten minutes, I stopped at five minutes, allowing them a bit more texture, or al dente.  Orzo or Israeli pearl couscous is great with this dish, as they soak up the pan juices.

     YES, THIS RECIPE CALLS FOR BUTTER!  But Julia always preached "moderation."  Butter, cream, chocolate, fois gras.....all those "top shelf" items were to be enjoyed every now and then, not every day, she wrote and spoke.  So just practice moderation.

      Our fish came out just great.  I loved the tenderness of the salmon, the sweetness of the veggies. We toasted Julia Child, her cherished memories she leaves us with, and my good fortune of meeting and talking with her.   Here's to Big Feet!

BRAISED SALMON WITH VEGGIES

1 1/2 to 2 pounds salmon fillets, cut into four serving pieces
1/2 to 1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 to 1 cup chopped celery
1/2 to 1 cup chopped onion
1/2 to 1 cup chopped red or green pepper
1 ear corn, kernels cut
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup water, approximately
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Butter a large flat baking dish, and also butter a large piece of was paper that you will use to cover the dish once the fish is placed in the oven.
2.  Remove skin from salmon fillets by running a knife blade between skin and flesh at an angle, holding to the skin with one hand wrapped in a cloth or paper towel which allows you to get a grip.  If there are any bones, pull them out with tweezers.   Place fish in prepared baking dish.
3.  In a saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter, then add veggies.  Saute for about five minutes, or until they have begun to soften.  Then, place veggies on top of salmon fillets (set pan aside to use later).  Add just enough water to come halfway up the sides of the salmon.
4.  Cover the baking dish with the buttered side of the wax paper down.  Bake the fish for about 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.
5.  Place the fish on warm plates, with the veggies.  Pour the remaining fish juices back into the saute pan, and boil over high heat until reduced to a few tablespoons.  Stir in the remaining butter, in pieces.  Pour sauce over the fish, and serve immediately.

SERVES 4

Please be nice and remember attribution if you should copy this!  Thanks.

MARKET DAYS

Asheville City Market

TO MARKET, TO MARKET

     Summer time......can it get any hotter?  Head out to your local farmers markets early in the a.m., before the heat of the day wilts either you or the fresh, fresh produce heaped in baskets and on display.       

     I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to farmers markets.  I want something of everything.  I've learned to bring enough cash, small bills, and a basket or bag, along with a chilled ice chest in the back of the car whenever we hit the larger NC State Farmers Market.  My hubby says he's my mule, for he'll take loads of produce from me to take back to the car, so I can continue to shop unencumbered.

BLUE RIDGE WOMEN IN AG FARM TOUR THIS WEEKEND......

Charles Church of Watauga Farms

One of my favorite farm tours, so check them out at 
http://www.brwia.org  

Load up the car with friends, kids and coolers, and head to the Boone area Sat and Sun afternoons from 2 to 6 p.m.

Check out "Chicken Tractors," pet alpaca's, see tomatoes growing upside down and on strings, and meet and greet those hard-working folks that bring such marvelous produce and meats to your table. 

A Chicken "Tractor"

WEEKLY MARKETS, ROADSIDE STANDS . . .


Saturday mornings, I love to explore the diverse farmers markets that have popped up all over my neck of the woods.  Judging from the crowds I am encountering, many have found their audience, folks like me, hungry for a tomato ripened to perfection, green beans with a snap, cucumbers that are crisp, colorful squash, okra so fresh it's begging to be taken home.




Other days of the week, I'll slip over to CRAZY LADY'S, a produce stand that started out small at Taylor's,  our local filling station cum wine store.  After a couple of years, Crazy Lady now has farmers coming to her, making deliveries fresh daily, and the busy parking lot proves she's got a great business going.  I love having a great selection of squash, berries, peaches, watermelons, fresh corn, you name it, that is LOCALLY grown.

One thing I've loved about her is that she will pass on produce or fruit that is perhaps just a second past its prime, what she calls "ugly," but still good if used that day.  Our peach pie last week was made from her gift, with ugly, soft peaches with bruises that did not taste ugly at all.  In fact, those peaches were perfect in my eye.  Waste not, want not, huh?

HERE'S TWO GREAT RECIPES

Figs and Smeared Goat Cheese, drizzled with honey.

Figs, Smeared Goat Cheese, drizzled with honey . . . could not be an easier appetizer.  If' you're not lucky enough to have your own fig tree in the back yard that you've protected from birds and squirrels, you'll find fresh figs make a brief appearance at farmers markets now.  I snap them up whenever I see them.  They bruise easily, so treat them with care, and expect a few in each basket to be not too pretty.  I've gently boiled the too-soft and uglies with a bit of sugar or honey in water, until the figs are all syrupy, and used those over goat cheese or vanilla ice cream or with pound cake.  
     I first had an appetizer like this at The Little Hen, a fantastic Farm-to-Table restaurant in Apex.  
     To create this appetizer, soften some local goat cheese and spread it over flat crackers.  Slice each fig in half, or quarters, and place on top of the cheese.  Drizzle with local honey.  I found some unusual Bay Bush honey at the State Farmers Market from BEE BLESSED HONEY.  Beekeeper Barry said he had left his hives sitting after gathering honey when the gall berry season was over, and when he returned, he found this dark, richly flavored honey which he finally figured was from the bay berry trees in blossom.  What a nice surprise for him, and for me!


STUFFED PATTY PAN SQUASH



My daughter, Kate, treated us to a delicious dinner of patty pan squash stuffed with ground turkey and grated veggies with quinoa.  She adapted several recipes using ground turkey for stuffing veggies to come up with this delicious version:
















HANDY TIP:  Grate the garlic and ginger root using a micro planer or small grater.

4 large patty pan squash (or large bell peppers or portobellos)
1 lb ground turkey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger root
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, finely chopped
4 cups warm, cooked quinoa or three-bean pilaf (or a combination thereof)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  
2.  Wash patty pan squash.  Cut a small opening around the tops, creating a little "cap".  Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the insides and seeds. Place squash into boiling water for about three minutes.  You may need to hold them under water with a spoon.  Drain, then run cold water over each, or plunge into an ice bath, until they are completely cool.  Pat dry and set aside.
3.  In a saute pan, heat olive oil.  Add onions and cook over medium low heat until onions have begun to soften.  Add the ground turkey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger.  Stir, and cook until turkey is browned. Add cilantro, curry powder, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  Stir well, then cover and simmer over low heat for about three minutes.  Remove the mixture from the heat.
4.  Add the cooked quinoa or mixture to the ground turkey mixture and stir to combine.
5.  Stuff each squash with the turkey mixture, packing it down with the back of a small spoon.  Place stuffed squash in a baking dish.  Drizzle any remaining liquids from the turkey mixture over each.  Place the caps on the squash, cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until squash is tender and stuffing is hot through and through.  If there is any stuffing mixture left, place that in a separate dish and bake, also.
YIELD:  4 servings.