Category: Recipes in SC

Two Food Ideas

I LOVE raspberries. In Maine I had a big bed of raspberry plants and froze LOTS for winter eating.

Here, one can buy raspberries fresh pretty much all year long. And I like to combine them with the blueberries and blackberries that also seem to be available all year long–with a drizzle of maple syrup–as a dessert at night, when I eat a lighter meal. (Pricey, but better for you than sweets like a fake ice cream.)

The berries come in little plastic containers–and the blueberries and blackberries do just fine stored in the refrigerator in those containers. But NOT the raspberries. I’ve discovered if I put them on a bed of paper towels and just loosely cover them with one of my “One World, Zero Waste” fabric sheets–NOT more plastic–they last without melting or molding for many days. In the plastic container, the raspberries start to go bad in one day or less.

I’ve blogged about these fabric tops and replacements for paper towels before now, and I continue to use them heavily. I use the sheets to top dishes in the microwave too and then into the wash they go. Mine were a very welcome gift from my DIL Corinne.

I especially like the string-drawn tops–the big ones will also cover a rectangular dish.

Here they are in use in my refrigerator–with one laid over the raspberries and the small one over a bowl:

I’ve had mine for nearly a year now, and they are going strong.

To the left of the milk you can see a quart jar of organic “olio nuevo” just harvested a few weeks ago at Organic Roots–a small farm in California. I bought a gallon and took quarts to each son. New oil like this comes with all the “bits” that will settle to the bottom of a vat in 5 or 6 weeks. And it comes with the most amazing fresh smell and taste, especially when warm. New olive oil only has a short shelf life–about 6 months.

So that leads me to this plate of food, which contains a “salad” of warm blanched and roughly chopped collard leaves–with a bit of this olive oil, the carrot part that was in the container with the raw onion I wanted and which I grated, and a bit of the raw onion–salt and herbs. It was and is delicious. I included some of this salad in three scrambled eggs last night: delicious!

The rest is no surprise to you blog readers: grilled lamb chops and sweet peppers and some of the Carolina Gold Rice. (I couldn’t find any organic Carolina Gold Rice at Whole Foods so will call Anson Mills again tomorrow.) Grilled sweet peppers are so much sweeter than they are roasted in the oven or the Air Fryer.

My little diffuser is happily diffusing this morning–loaded with Young Living lavender and lemon essential oils today. Then I’m going to switch to the green tree oils, like pine, cedar, and some of the firs and balsams. And I’ll soon also order some vanilla essential oil. I have peppermint on hand as I use it to keep bugs away in the summer. Who knew that pine and grapefruit would smell delicious, not me.

It’s overcast today, with gentle rain predicted! So I’m going upstairs to sew on the project that obsessed me for some days now.

Low Country “Carolina Gold Rice”

South Carolina is rice country.

Yes, there is corn here too (think grits, for instance, and the fabulous dish called “shrimp and grits”), but corn has been more of a staple. At one time–and for some still now in this region–rice is also a staple. Many would choose rice at a holiday meal over dressing of any kind.

There is a heritage variety of rice here that almost got lost in time: Carolina Gold Rice.

I first bought this “supermarket” version, only to find it isn’t the “real deal.”

It isn’t organic, but it made a very nice rice with a nutty flavor, as you can see. It does have a different taste than the white rice I’ve always eaten.

So now I’m on the hunt for the “real deal,” the heritage rice that is grown by Glen Roberts of Anson Mills. I have a call into the retail number of that company to see if I can buy some, but so far, they have neither answered their phone or called me back.

So when is the rice harvest anyway? Ah, early fall, so I will keep trying. And I’ll check Whole Foods for Carolina Gold Rice that is organic and must be refrigerated or frozen.

I found a really good article by Ari Weinzweig on the history of this heritage rice, linked below, which concludes with a recipe. This rice does not cook like other rice types cook, so recipes have to be adjusted.

Roberts of Anson Mills actually mills his heritage rice on Tuesday and ships the rice frozen or cold-packed, in order to preserve the inner sprout that provides more nutrients than other kinds of rice. Additionally, the rice is hulled only partially, which is said to mimic how it was processed back in the day and which adds to its unique flavor.

Here’s a quote about when this rice came to America:

“The original Carolina Gold rice is believed to have come to the Carolinas in roughly 1685 arriving from Madagascar in the form of a bushel brought back by Dr. Henry Woodward of Charles Town. From that single sack the rice grew to cover the land of hundreds of commercial plantations stretching down from the Cape Fear River basin of North Carolina all the way to the northern end of Florida.  The bulk of the production though stayed in South Carolina, where by 1691 it was so well established that the state legislature allowed for planters to pay their taxes in rice. Rice was originally milled as it was elsewhere in the world, with wooden mallets. (More about this technique in a minute). The first water-powered rice mill was built in 1787.”

The article traces the history of this rice up to the point where it more or less disappeared in this region.

“For most of the 20th century Carolina Gold was nothing more than a trademark owned by a large rice company that didn’t even grow Carolina Gold rice but liked the name.  But now . . . wow. . . the stuff that Glenn is growing and milling for Anson Mills is something spectacular, head and shoulders above what we were getting, which, again, was already really good.  All of which has absolutely nothing in common with the supermarket “Carolina Gold” rice, which has even less in common with the real article than cultivated wild rice has with really wild, wild rice.” 

But what makes Roberts’ rice so different: “For opener’s Glenn’s rice is grown organically, and he’s insistent that raising rice without sprays isn’t just the right thing to do for environmental reasons but also because it has huge positive impact on the flavor of the rice.  Beyond that he’s making sure the rice is fully ripened in the field before being brought in. As it does with any other produce proper field ripening is a huge factor in getting full flavor development into our food. (Because it’s very difficult to feel or see the difference with grains I think this issue hasn’t gotten much attention.  But as it does with the Anson Mills grits, the field ripening radically enhances the flavor.) Additionally, the newly harvest rice is stored frozen in the husk until we order it, at which point Glenn mills it with a small rice mill brought over from Japan…especially designed for Glenn, in order to emulate the 19th century hand-pounding which, at that time, was the way that slaves husked the rice and broke off most of the bran to prepare it for cooking in the kitchen.” 

https://www.zingermansroadhouse.com/2019/11/carolina-gold-rice/

So, I’m now now on the hunt for some version of “the real deal” and not the supermarket version I bought.

I’ll let you know…

Meanwhile, I still love the sprouted brown rice that I have on hand–though all I have to do is to walk by the bag of rice to put on several pounds–so rice, for me, is a treat, not an every day or even often treat. Here’s one version.

Sprouted brown rice has more nutrients available to the human body, according to the Weston A. Price Foundation nutritional materials.

NO, This Mixture Didn’t Work

On one recent day, I pan sautéed baby bok choy and added some radicchio leaves. I love sautéing the baby bok choy and just cook it until it is barely fork tender; otherwise it gets too limp.

But this mixture was so, so not good. The sweet bok choy did not compensate for the bitterness of the radicchio. Not an all. I love radicchio raw in salads, and it is good grilled in chunks, but this mixture is a hard no.

This cabbage and carrot and garlic (with other herbs) was a much nicer mixture. I used either beef tallow or duck fat; I forget which.

And here was my meal that day. Air fried French Fries and sweet peppers, the cabbage, and a grilled loin steak. I’ve moved to a sunny spot on the porch on the cooler days. The plant is a Croton Petra.

And yesterday I cooked a lot, so have food for a few days.

I made oven roasted chicken, cauliflower and carrot, red peppers, and asparagus–paired with leftover cold green beans with some sweet onion and dressed with dill and good olive oil.

There was too much food on this plate!! The green beans went into my salad last night. And that’s how that goes.

Rain! Errands and Some Cooking

It’s cloudy and cool with some gentle rain off and on, but with no appreciable amount of water. The bulk of the storm is just skimming the SC coast and mostly missing my thirsty grass and plants.

I will take ANY moisture I can get. And tomorrow is another day.

I ran errands–returning a book to the library and food shopping at Costco and Whole Foods. I have not bought meat with which to stock the freezer as I wasn’t sure about a possible hurricane and the loss of power to my freezer. But I believe that we are over the danger zone now. So off I went to Costco, followed by a weekly trip to Whole Foods for organic veggies as Whole Foods has a much bigger selection and their produce is so fresh.

And then…I cooked.

And on the lower shelf:

I put sage leaves under the chicken’s skin–after I spatchcocked it. And THIS butternut squash was ripe and sweet–I use fresh rosemary from the garden, fresh garlic, salt, and a good olive oil.

And now there is food for a few days:

Many of you have said you like to see my meals as doing so gives you some ideas, so here’s some from earlier in the week:

Lamb chops with roasted red peppers, kale, leftover air fryer green beans, and Carolina gold rice (more on this rice later). I cut up my meat when it goes into the bowl so I can read while I eat.

Here’s a hamburger air fryer roasted (with decadent Annie’s organic tomato ketchup), roasted spaghetti squashed dressed with butter, roasted red peppers (did you know they have A LOT of vitamin C?), and frozen broccoli crowns cooked in the microwave in their own bag.

Steak I grilled, leftover spaghetti squash and broccoli, and pan sautéed (in beef tallow) baby bok choy, carrots, and red peppers.

So…

Now I’m going to sew.

A New Toy For The Grill

Look at his very cool pan for the grill!

These very thick grilled lamb chops provided food for 2 days. One was enough for a nice meal.

The French fries and zucchini were cooked in the air fryer, and the kale was blanched on the stove and dressed with butter.

Leftovers, with rice added a day later.

Some days I can still have my noon dinner on the porch too, which is always a treat.

More Bowl Dinners: Lamb Chops and Meatloaf

*I wrote this post last week, and this week has been so busy. I’m at the 11-month occupation of my new home, and the builder sends in various subs to fix things that got missed in the first inspection. Sometimes you don’t see things at first, but you do after living in a new home for almost a year. And there are things that range from the simple to the more problematic that need fixing or adjusting.

Grilled lamb chops, baby bok chop with onion and sweet peppers cooked in the air fryer, and rice I froze and defrosted.

Leftovers!

Meatloaf, okra with butter, and roasted butternut squash with fresh garlic and rosemary dressed with olive oil.

Here’s the herb garden these days. The tall plat on the right is lavender, and there is some chive between the sage and the lavender. The oregano is going wild, so I trimmed it back and am drying those stems in the kitchen. When dried, I’ll strip off the stems and save the leaves for winter use.

So…

That butternut squash…

Normally roasted it would have a dense candied sweetness to combine with the garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. I have always looked forward to this dish in the fall.

But this squash was absolutely tasteless. Likely it was picked green and had not had time yet to develop its sugars. It’s hard to tell before one cuts into one of these winter squashes. Maybe if I had held it longer it would have “ripened.” This squash is a good keeper. But I’ll pay more attention next time. An over-ripe one is too mushy. So, I guess it is a bit of a crap shoot.

Beggars’ Lice

Last Sunday we gathered at Mike and Tami’s to celebrate Debbie’s birthday (Tami’s mother). Mike and Tami had been hard at work with various garden projects, which resulted in this kind of “beggar’s lice” sticking to their pants. And, to the dogs, which took some days to rectify once the seeds got wound up with the dogs’ hair.

“Beggar’s Lice” are seeds that a “weed” plant produces. The seeds have POWERFUL gripping power if one brushes up next to the host plant. I grew up with the name “Beggar’s Lice,” but there are other regional names for this seed. And, several plant species that produce this kind of seed.

If you google “beggar’s lice,” a page will appear with lots of pictures and links to information about his seed, like this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackelia_virginiana

While Michael was organizing our dinner, we women gathered to try to get the “lice” off of the various clothing items. Tami had already spent about three hours the night before trying to get the lice off a pair of her pants. (Debbie is on the left and granddaughter Mina, on the right.). We tried the flat edge of knives, spoons, and a carrot peeler to scrape off the seeds. It was easier to get them off the jeans than the knit-type fabric in the above picture.

While we “persevered,” Mike made us a beautiful dinner. Here’s my bowl–which is missing the beautiful sliced heritage tomatoes dressed with minced herbs, avocados, and fresh mozzarella balls. Mike grilled the chicken breasts, zucchini, and sweet peppers. The grain salad is barley and contains more diced veggies. It was dressed with olive oil. (You could add an acid, like lemon juice or vinegar.) Mike’s salads are always fun: this one had radicchio included, which I love. And the hard boiled eggs are a colorful and nice inclusion.

I can say that we were “eating the rainbow” with this meal.

It’s Monday: What to Eat?

I was down to a few choices: the leftover roast chicken, a small Delicata squash, a small zucchini, a few sweet peppers, a small head of radicchio, and a handful of the leftover roasted broccoli rabe.

Here’s what evolved…

…a chicken salad made while the air fryer cooked zucchini rounds, sweet peppers, and delicata squash rings. The chicken salad had the last of the broccoli rabe cut into small pieces, some diced onion and grated carrot, some dried herbs, and some homemade mayo. I put the chicken salad over some radicchio leaves.

Delicata squash are known for their candy sweetness. I cut mine in half, seeded it, then cut it into narrow rings. I left the skin on, but this squash was a bit old, so the skin was fairly tough, but it was easy to slide off the sweet, sweet meat. Mainly, I just ate the skin–good fiber, you know. Delicatas are not really good “keeper” squashes, so use them now if you can get them where you live.

Last night’s supper was a reprise of dinner. And today, for my noon dinner, I had these various dishes alongside some fresh asparagus quick cooked in the microwave and dabbed with some of the mayo. I sat on the porch and thoroughly enjoyed this meal.

I have enough of the salad to make a supper–alongside the asparagus. I’ll enjoy a bowl of fresh berries with a tiny bit of maple syrup.

And now I’m going upstairs to trace out the tunic pattern and, hopefully, to get it cut out.

Tomorrow the Patchwork Gals meet, and I’m looking forward to that meeting.

Tami and Debbie Visit The Medway Community Garden

Saturday afternoon, DIL Tami and her mother Debbie visited the Medway Community Garden in Charleston. I was invited and couldn’t go, so Tami took pictures and the little video below of this pollinator garden.

A reminder, Tami is the Director and Co-Founder of The Bee Cause. She texted me with this message: “A beautiful afternoon at Medway Community Garden. The pollinators were plentiful in this beautiful pollinator habitat donated by The Bee Cause and installed by Charleston Parks Conservancy. We also got to meet and chat with the author of The Ark of Taste.” There was also a potluck supper.

A video of the garden.

And the new book:

From a review on the Slow Food USA web site: “The Ark of Taste is a living catalog of our food heritage and a movement to preserve gastronomic treasures passed down for generations—some rare, some endangered, all delicious. Created by Slow Food, the Ark illuminates the history, identity and taste of these unique food products, many of which were revived or saved from extinction by their Slow Food champions.”  

And: “The Ark of Taste book features the stories of how some of these American products almost didn’t reach our table, with recipes from Slow Food chefs and profiles of growers from around the country.”

https://slowfoodusa.org/ark-of-taste-book/

As you know from this blog, I have planted pollinator plants in my new garden. And Tami has been working hard in her garden in recent days. She is developing a space where she would like to plant a pollinator garden–and that space is near her bee hive.

On a very happy note, Tami recently harvested some honey from that hive, and she generously gave me 12 jars of that beautiful honey–which I am busily lapping up.

The dried blooms are from the Panicle Hydrangea “Limelight.” In Maine, these big blooms would turn a gorgeous deep red color; here with the heat, they just turn brown. I clipped these blooms when they were just starting to show flecks of red in the petals, but before they started to turn brown. I put them in this vase with no water and let them further dry out inside. They will hold their color through most of the winter.

Drying hydrangea blooms is tricky. I’ve found it best to wait until they are starting to dry on the plant before clipping them. And even then, they might shrivel up once inside.

I Am in Love…

With this Mexican Sage plant:

I took the above pic and the little video below from inside the house. I love the way this plant moves in the wind. It was “quiet” all summer, and then, overnight, it burst into bloom, and it has been blooming for weeks now.

AND I’m in love with the new air fryer.

Look at the gorgeous brown, crisp skin on the chicken thighs below. And on the roasted zucchini squash and roasted sweet peppers. The chicken meat is so juicy and tender too.

And look at the 15-minute, or less, French fries with their skins left on. Plus, more roasted peppers. That’s leftover grilled steak and asparagus cooked in the microwave. I only use a very tiny bit of soft duck fat to coat the fries.

AND, I’m in love with bowl suppers.

These bowls are very inexpensive on Amazon and are just the right size. The gentle slope of the bowl sides keeps thing INSIDE the bowl. As I often eat a meal on the porch or in the little tv room (at night), the sloped bowl is a good choice.

This meal was cooked in the new oven: roasted whole chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli rabe, carrots in butter (stove top), warmed leftover asparagus and red peppers, and for dessert, raw apple and an espresso. It’s a feast–with great leftovers so I have time to do other things.

When I roast sweet potatoes, I cook several, smash them with butter, and freeze portions for future meals. I do the same for my sprouted brown rice: I cook the whole bag at one time.

I filter my water and use a glass and a glass straw. I have a glass for the car as well. I clean these glasses and straws daily. After researching when I moved here, I use “Clearly Filtered” to filter my water.

I have many things I am “in love” with, for sure. I’m feeling lucky this morning, and I’m grateful.