Summer Vacation 2013

Summer vacations are different as an adult. For one, I actually have to go somewhere to be on vacation. Growing up in a vacation area means you say snarky things about all the visitors causing the traffic and their terrible driving. Living in Columbia means I have to be one of those people. And y'know, I don't mind it much.

Will's parent have a condo in Panama City because they spend a fair amount of time there. We stayed there for a week earlier this month for our vacation. One evening was spent sitting on the dock of the bay.

Of course we ate our faces off. Few things are more pleasing than a plump oyster swimming in a seasoned butter sauce. Add crispy, buttery bread on top of that and you'll have all I've ever needed in life.

I'm a fan of statement jewelry. Go big or go home. One of my favorite Pure Barre instructors, Mollie, is the new co-owner of a Copper Penny here in Columbia. Copper Penny is a Charleston retailer that carries high-quality fashions (think Trina Turk) for Southern ladies. I stopped in and got a fun necklace for my vacation.

This essentially became three meals for Will and me. I ate it for dinner, and then we both ate it for lunch one day.

So.  We saw a shark. And not a little one either. He (or she) could've easily taken a limb. Evidently it just wasn't in the mood because it just moseyed on around the shore and left. We also saw turtles swimming, which is 10034382 times less scary.

Have you seen this? It's some new-fangled thing the kids are trying. It's like a jet pack on your feet and you fly up in the air and can swim like a dolphin with wings.

I freaked when I saw these. They're grown-up lunchables! And not half bad either. We got one of the salami & cheese and one sun butter meals. We found them at Target, but I hadn't seen them in mine. I'm going to check my Target because these are perfect for the beach or any emergency eating situation.

We can't visit PCB without stopping by Montego Bay for some gumbo. It's better at the tiny, original location.

Dogfish Head beers are finally making their way south. This is one thing I've missed about Delaware. But now I don't have to miss it anymore!

We had two great sandwiches at Liza's Kitchen, which Will refers to as the "hippie place" because...well they were kind of hippies in there. I love the placemats they had - each had a "recipe" from a child. Dinosaur soup was mine.

Going to Captain Anderson's is like taking a step back into the 80's. In a good way. You get lots of super-rich, stuffed seafood, and the carpeting is plaid. Oh and you also get perfectly grilled fish in a lemony, buttery, onion sauce. Crab on top is optional but always a good idea. And we get the peanut butter pie. This time we got it to go.

Annnd speaking of dessert, if you're in Florida you might as well get key lime pie. Do yourself a favor and make sure it's not green before you get it. Key lime pie isn't supposed to be green. The filling should be yellow because lime juice is yellow. Even this pie isn't strictly traditional - it's more of a frozen pie, which is still delicious and a little unexpected.

I made us drive in torrential rain for donuts. For 2 years I've been wanting to get donuts from this place, and we finally made it over there. The cake donuts were fluffier and more tender than I've ever had (especially moreso than that place that begins with a D) and the yeast were melt-in-your-mouth. It was a good choice, and I'm officially donutted out. For a few more days.

It really was a lovely vacation. Could those clouds say otherwise? I think not.

Blueberry Waffles

Waffles are for sunny mornings, or mornings I wish were sunny. Blueberries make waking up a little easier, and flaxseeds make me feel better about pouring maple syrup over everything. Omega-3s, y'all.

My breakfast simply isn't breakfast unless I have coffee. If I don't have coffee, it's naptime at precisely 2:00PM. My breakfast is a better breakfast if it has crispy-tender-fruity waffles.


Real. Maple. Syrup. It's the only way. If I'm going to pour liquid sugar over my breakfast treat, I want it to come from a tree.


Waffles can be easy. Flour, buttermilk, eggs, ground flaxseed (optional), sugar, baking soda, salt, blueberries, melted butter, and vanilla extract.


Dry ingredients get a gentle mixin' just to distribute everything.


I really love egg yolks. For realz. I just think they're really pretty. And the fresher the egg the prettier the yolk. Which reminds me that I need to go buy some farm-fresh eggs ASAP.


I also love the way milk and eggs mix together. Is that weird? I'm going with no, but I'm probably not the best gauge.
 
We're so close to having waffles! Gently mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Lumps are totally acceptable in this situation.


And the real star: blueberries. Just fold them in a bit. Heat your waffle iron and brush with a little vegetable oil. I like to use a 1/2 cup as a scoop. I took pictures of this step, but quite frankly I didn't like the looks of any of them. There's no big secret to this. Scoop the batter into the hot waffle iron and close the lid. Like really close it. I didn't have the top down all the way on my first couple of waffles and they came out a little soggy. So just make sure it's on there tight.


And a few minutes later you have a crispy waffle with a tender middle. The blueberries might make a little mess, but what's life or breakfast without a little mess?

And for that matter, what's a waffle without syrup and butter? It's a sad waffle, that's what it is. That waffle you see there? A happy waffle. A supremely happy waffle.

There may have been a time I would've been concerned that I give waffles feelings and share that with the world. To be clear, I've always ascribed human feelings/traits to inanimate objects and most especially food. That's not new. I just don't mind y'all knowing about it. The Internet lowers inhibitions, y'all!

Blueberry Waffles (amount may vary depending on your waffle maker ---I got 6 from mine)

Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 tbs sugar
1-2 tbs ground flaxseed (optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 c buttermilk
1/2 c butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pint blueberries, rinsed and picked over
Vegetable oil, for brushing

• In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs just to break them up a bit. Stir in the buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in egg mixture. Gently stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until dry ingredients have been moistened by the egg mixture. The batter will be lumpy and that's just dandy. Gently fold in the blueberries.
• Heat your waffle maker according to its instructions. Brush with oil and pour in between 1/3 and 1/2 cups of batter. Don't overfill the waffle maker, so if you need to use less, use less. Firmly close the waffle maker and cook until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter until you have a mound of beautiful waffles. 
• Serve with pure maple syrup or a dusting of powdered sugar. Bacon is recommended.

Instagrammin: June + July

 Sometimes a weekend getaway is what you really need. I'm pretty dang lucky this is the view from my grandmother's second floor.

 This is what my sister and I saw when we were driving down. P.S. I was in the passenger seat.

 Ugh, Mondays are hard. Mondays are less hard if you can eat bacon and grits. 

 I have been blessed with a lovely rose bush right outside my window/front door. I like to smell them before I go inside.

 My first pesto of the season, which also turned out to be my second-to-last pesto before the 20 days of storms killed my herbs. I'm hoping they make a miraculous recovery, but I bought a replacement basil plant just in case. Because if they do recover, you can never have too much basil, amiright?

 This lemon thyme, also part of my herb garden #RIP, smelled amazing before I put it in cookies.

 One of the great things about my job is that my boss and I can grab lunch and a little dessert on a Friday afternoon. This was a spiced citrus custard in a homemade waffle cone from my favorite little ice (cream) place, Paradise Ice.

 You know those storms that killed my herb garden? This is one of them rolling over my sister's house. She doesn't have any herbs either, but hers had an unfortunate run-in with a squirrel. A squirrel with some minty fresh breath now.

 This is what happens when you check-in to the Ritz. I'm only lucky enough to know because I went to a conference in Coconut Grove back in June.

 My room had two views. One of the city and one of the bay, depending on which direction you looked.

 Our lunches were served in a ballroom by a lovely, attentive staff. The dessert on the first day was the fluffiest cheesecake I've ever eaten. SO good.

 Room service just has to be done sometimes. 

 Who doesn't like a surprise package in the mail? My nearest and dearest, Kaitlin, is getting married next May! I'm so thrilled and honored to be a bridesmaid for her!

 You know one of the awesome things about having a brother-in-law who's half-Chinese? His mom makes big batches of gyoza and leaves it in my sister's freezer. I'm really surprised that I haven't stolen one of those bags.

 Another awesome thing about my job? I can throw together two crazy good pesto pizzas for my lunch.

 Clearly Will and I lost our minds by eating nachos July 5th. Because the best way to recover from brats, beer, and burgers is with ultimate 'chos. 

But I mean,  I'm obviously living right. Brat + tots...+PureBarre. 

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I had a thought that I need to know if other people think. See, I was listening to the radio, and the host was talking about this girl that won their iheartradio contest. She went jet-skiing with someone, got glittered by Ke$ha, and was hanging out backstage with Pitbull. And I just want to know, if that were me, what in the world would I say to Pitbull? Or Kesha. Like, would we talk politics? Our childhoods?

 This sauce was much easier to figure out. Probably because I didn't have to talk to it. It's perfect for the weeknight because it comes together in about 10 minutes and can go on just about anything.

It's beyond simple. You need: roasted red peppers, a shallot (a bit of onion will do), (toasted) walnuts, garlic, dried oregano, parmesan, and olive oil.

 I made a last-minute decision to cook the shallot and garlic to take a bit of the edge off. A few minutes over medium-low heat until they're softened a bit really makes a difference.

 I think we can agree that freshly shredded Parmesan beats the pants off pre-shredded Parmesan any day. Seriously, just buy a block of Parm and shave a little here, grate a little there, and use the rind in soup. Good cheese is so worth it!

 Ingredients go into a food processor or mini chopper. I'm sure a blender will work just fine as well.

 Halfway + cheese

 It's up to you just how pureed you want it. I went with a pretty smooth texture. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. You probably won't need much salt since the cheese is pretty salty on its own.

 [Splat]

 Wonderfully vibrant and stupid-easy.

 I usually have mushroom ravioli in the fridge because it's so dang easy to top with a sauce for a quick meal. Pick your favorite pasta and run with it!

 Of course extra Parmesan on top never hurt anyone.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (makes about 1/2 cup)

1/4 shallot, roughly sliced

2 small cloves garlic (or 1 larger clove), roughly sliced

Handful shelled walnuts, toasted

1 jarred roasted red pepper

1/4 c shredded Parmesan

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 tbs olive oil, plus more if needed

Salt & pepper to taste

• Begin by sautéing the shallot and garlic in a smidgen of butter or olive oil over medium heat. Cook until the shallot and garlic are softened a bit, about 3-4 minutes.
• In a food processor, combine the cooked shallot and garlic, walnuts, red pepper, Parmesan, and oregano. Pulse until mostly smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and pulse until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
• Suggestions for use: as pasta sauce, on toasted baguette with goat cheese, in a grilled cheese.