Beautiful Blue Ridge Heritage Area, Honey & Pimento Cheese! Day One

I recently had the pleasure of sneaking away from home and visiting the Blue Ridge Heritage Area for a quick 3 day trip.  Beautiful does not begin to describe it!

Two year old Wyndy "weaving" at the Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair

I have fond memories of the Smokies from childhood.  Growing up in Florida, a trip "to the mountains" was something terribly exotic.  My daddy grew up in North Carolina, and his people still live there.  A trip to the mountains always involved seeing "the cousins," which I loved.  They were a little older, and oh-so-sophisticated to my young, impressionable mind.  One of my earliest memories is of eating candied apples while watching candles being dipped and taffy being pulled the Craftsmen's Fair in Gatlinburg.  We stayed at a motel right off the road, which had a back porch that hung out over what seemed to me to be a rushing river (it was probably just a creek).  Pilgrimages to North Carolina always involved Golden Delicious apples, Cheerwine, lardy Moonpies and GooGoo Clusters.

Our primary destination on this Blue Ridge Heritage Area trip was historic Asheville.  The drive from Atlanta to Asheville takes about 3.5 to 4 hours or so, depending on your route, and is quite scenic.  We chose the route through Young Harris, which is extremely pretty.  [On a side note, UGA hosts a Beekeeping Institite is association with Young Harris.  Honey touchpoint #1, on what will become a recurring theme for this trip. Honey!]  We had reservations at the Sheraton Four Points downtown, which was ideally located for walking around the heart of the city.  Parking, internet and bottled water are free.



Day One: Asheville

Truffled Fries from Lexington Avenue Brewery

We pulled into Asheville about 1:30PM, and decided to eat lunch before checking into the hotel.  I knew just where to go, #LAB, thanks to a blog post from a friend recommending their Pimento Cheese slider.  I'd been thinking about that sandwich for days.  LAB is fun and funky, much like the rest of downtown Asheville.  We sat outside under a covered porch and watched the world go by while noshing on some amazing food.  I will be the first to admit that we over-ordered.  Hunger and I do not go well together, and my eyes are generally always bigger than my stomach.  The menu is eclectic and I could have happily ordered any of about a dozen delicious sounding options (for example, chorizo nachos). We decided upon their Truffled Fries with Tabasco Ketchup as an appetizer.  Amazing doesn't begin to describe it.  Earthy, rich, decadent...YUM.  5 Sliver Forks for the  Truffled Fries! For our main meal, my companion ordered the Andouille Dog with Blue Cheese Slaw and Cajun Mustard, while I opted for Grilled Pimento Cheese with Sprouts, Avocado & Roasted Tomato on house made Texas Toast.

Grilled Pimento Cheese w Sprouts, Avocado & Roasted Tomato

I'd give only 3 Silver Forks to the Andouille, which lacked in both presentation and taste.  I had such high hopes, but the sausage was mild and if there was Blue Cheese in the slaw, it didn't stand out enough to be recognizable.  The Pimento Cheese, on the other hand...5 Silver Forks! WONDERFUL.  Thus began my culinary love affair with Pimento Cheese, touchpoint #1 with Theme #2 for this trip.  Pimento Cheese!

Stuffed to the gills, we meandered along Lexington Avenue, window shopping and soaking in the crunchy ambiance of downtown Asheville.  I was rapidly falling for this quirky town, even as my companion was realizing that his vision of Asheville was more Biltmore Estate area and less funky fresh downtown.  I'll take the funk any day!

Circle to the right and promenade!

One of the things I loved about #Asheville was the preponderance of independently owned shops and restaurants.  Most had "buy local" signs in their windows, and many of the restaurants boasted local fare from sustainable farms. I was drawn into a vintage clothing shop by the colorful crinolines I could see suspended from the ceiling.  We are in the heart of cloggin' and square dancin', y'all, and to be properly attired, you must sport the proper swag.  If clogging isn't your thing, perhaps you'd be more interested in multi-colored leather bowling shoes.  Or a classic manual Smith-Corona.  Or a pocket watch.  Or Boyscout and military service medals.  Or a plethora of hats, circa 1920.  Or wire and stone jewelry made by local artisans.

Strike it vintage with these bowlers

Where can you find all of these wonderful treasures? You may find these and many more happy surprises at the Honeypot, (Honey touchpoint #2) which lists itself as a museum/ art gallery on Facebook.  Gotta love a museum that lets you buy their exhibits!

I need this Audrey Hepburn-ish dress.  Really, I do.

The next luscious thing to catch my attention in Asheville was a beautiful pink concoction.  I made a beeline for the door, not waiting for my companion to catch up.  I was being drawn to the the loveliness in the window, and was instantly intrigued upon entering Royal Peasantry Design House.  Many of the items are redesigned, repurposed, reinvented vintage wear with a modern twist.  Yes, please!  And could you make that frothy pink thing in my size?  Please and thank you.  You can find a nice article on proprietress Daniella Miller and Royal Peasantry in The Laurel of Asheville.





We checked into the hotel and I was immediately struck by a waft of stale cigarette smoke odor--faint, but unmistakeable.  Ah, yes.  One of the not-so-delightful characteristics of North Carolina: people still smoke here.  Thankfully, our hotel room didn't reek of old smoke, which was good news.  We settled in and I began the arduous task of choosing a place to eat dinner.  Eeny, meeny, miney, mo!  After perusing the reviews on Urban Spoon, I had narrowed it down to one of two places: Early Girl Eatery or Tupelo Honey Cafe.  Both have collected accolades and are locally sourced, Southern comfort food kind of places.  The deciding factor came down to the menu:  Early Girl's "Meat plus two" menu was very much like what I can and do make at home.  Tupelo's menu offered more variety and was, frankly, just more intriguing.  Here's the not-so-intriguing part: you can't make reservations at the downtown location.  Tupelo's website suggests you call 90 minutes ahead and put your name on the list.  Tried that, but couldn't get anyone to answer the phone.  Instead of continuing in that vein, we walked a few blocks down and asked to put our name on the list.  The hostess seemed a bit annoyed by the request, and told us that we could call ahead.  When I explained that we had done that but couldn't reach a live person, she graciously added us to the list for our desired dining time.

Stroller full o' Yorkies, well-met at The French Broad

We spent the next hour wandering around downtown, soaking in the scenery and checking out potential restaurants for the next night.  We had planned to browse in Mast General Store while we waited, but it closes at 6PM Monday through Thursday.  Rats.  Mast was now on the To Do List for Friday.  One of the nice things about Asheville is that it is dog friendly.  Many of the stores and restaurants provide water dishes for four-footed friends on the sidewalk.  I discovered this fun fact only after stepping into one.  Be on the lookout.

Fluffy biscuit with house made blueberry jam

Our dinner at #TupeloHoneyCafe was delightful.  We were given the perfect table, under the awning where we were serenaded by street musicians.  Lovely!  The menu boasts classic Southern dishes with a foodie twist.  We decided to skip an appetizer, although I did gaze longingly after the Warm Pimento Cheese Dip (Pimento Cheese touchpoint #2). After ordering our entrees, we were asked if they could bring us biscuits and house made blueberry jam.  We said something along the lines of, "Oh yes, please!"  The biscuits they brought us were the size of my fist, light and fluffy, perfectly baked.  For those who decide they cannot live without these biscuits, you may order the biscuit mix from Tupelo Honey Cafe's online store.

Chorizo-Crusted Colosal Sea Scallops 

I ordered the Chorizo-Crusted Colosal Scallops with Basil Cream Sauce, while my companion went for Brian's Shrimp & Grits, which the menu described as "seven large delectable shrimp served over Goat Cheese Grits and anointed with a spicy roasted red pepper sauce."  I am not ashamed to admit that there was audible moaning when I placed that first plump, succulent, crusty, salty, spicy scallop on my tongue.  5 Silver Forks are not adequate to convey how good this dish actually was.  It was perfect, just like the atmosphere.

Brian's Shrimp & Grits

Brian's Shrimp & Grits earned 5 Silver Forks as well...those goat cheese grits were out-of-this world.  This was truly one of the best variations of Shrimp & Grits I've ever tasted, and I've had some great ones in places like Charleston and Tybee.  Kudos to Chef Brian Sonoskus.  Well done, sir.  Well done!  Dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe was a delight.  Next up: dessert!

The French Broad Chocolate Lounge on a Thursday evening

Through real-time social networking (read: stalking your friends on Facebook), another Asheville-savvy friend suggested that we seek out The French Broad Chocolate Lounge and try a Liquid Truffle.  When we arrived, there was a line out the door, and it was a Thursday night.  You can obtain all things chocolate here, from hand-rolled truffles to chocolate bars to chocolate cake. (If you bring back their beautiful robin's egg blue handmade truffle box for a refill, they'll give you a discount).  The Chocolate Lounge has tables downstairs plus a couch and armchair area that provides a front row seat to the live music, as well as an upper room for overflow.  The place was packed and for good reason, it seems.

Buddha Liquid Truffle: dark chocolate & coconut cream

After a bit of negotiation (my companion could not be convinced to try the Cayenne & Cinnamon version), we ordered the Buddha Liquid Truffle (dark chocolate & coconut cream).  Again with the moaning.  Googly moogly, this stuff was GOOD!  Be careful, though...it's served piping hot.  These liquid truffles are very much like the chocolate I was served in Brazil.  The closest I've found stateside is the Sipping Chocolate from Trader Joe's, which is only available around the holidays. We came back to #TheFrenchBroadChocolateLounge the next night for another hit of chocolate crack.  I wasn't participating in the decadence this time, so my companion ordered the milk chocolate version, which he highly recommends.  5 Silver Forks (or maybe Spoons) for the Liquid Truffles at The French Broad Chocolate Lounge!

Next up: Day Two and the Biltmore Estate

Smokin' Hot: Ode to Spicy Sauces

I'm somewhat of a chili head, I'll admit.  If the bridge of my nose and scalp aren't sweating, the food isn't hot enough.  Although I understand heat isn't for everyone, I have what might be described as an unholy passion for Sriracha.  Enter Twitter, and a tweet from @FamilyFoodie highlighting a homemade Srirachi recipe from @FarmgirlGourmet.  Uh oh.  My imagination had been captured.  Must make homemade Sriracha, thought I.  Obsessively, in fact.  Although FarmgirlGourmet's recipe looked delightful, it wasn't shelf-stable.  As much as I love hot sauces, I cannot imagine being able to use up a whole recipe within 30 days.  The search for a canning recipe was on.

Although many of the sites I visited had stunning #foodporn quality photography and purported to contain canning recipes for Sriracha, I didn't find any that actually provided the type of water bath canning recipe I was after.  Simply decanting your delicious concoction into Ball jars and affixing lids and settling the beautiful treats into the fridge is not shelf-stable canning.  Call me weird, but I don't have room for 24 half-pint jars in the fridge with everything else that is currently in residence.  Additionally, I'm just not willing to take the chance of killing any of my friends and family by giving them a jar of botulism-tainted hot sauce.

After what I considered an exhaustive internet search for an actual canning recipe for Sriracha (it wasn't; I just got tired of looking), I reached for the Canning Bible, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine.  Shock: the book devotes 6 pages to canning recipes for chili sauces of different varieties.  Oh boy!  As I was still fixated on Sriracha, the tomato based versions didn't appeal.  But wait:  Singapore Chili Sauce.  That's the ticket!  The Ball recipe had a few more ingredients than the commercially produced Sriracha bottle listed, so I knew it wouldn't exactly be a true Sriracha.  It did sound quite similar to the Iron Chef Thai Sweet Pepper & Garlic Sauce sold at Publix.  Game on.

Dried Thai Chiles

My sister was an Ex-Pat for several years.  One of the things she brought me from Thailand or Singapore or Malaysia or some such faraway place was a bag of dried Thai chiles.  Yes ma'am.


I consulted the recipe and was off to the farmers market in search of ripe jalapenos and another ingredient, which shall remain nameless for a bit longer. [Sidebar:  if you are one of those people who are highly suggestible about food flavors once you know what is in a dish, please stop reading when I describe making the sauce and give the ingredients.  Just skip to the pictures.  Trust me.  My son used to love Trader Joe's Habanero Lime salsa until the day he read the ingredients, which included carrots.  From then on, all he could taste was the carrots.  I will tell you with total honesty that no carrots were harmed in the making of this hot sauce.]

Ripe jalapenos, or red chiles

Given the seasonality of ripe jalapenos, I was quite lucky to find them, and in the quantity needed.  Since I was also using rehydrated Thai peppers, I bought a little less than 2 pounds of beautiful red chiles.  I decided to double the recipe as written in the Ball book, as I really don't think all the effort is worth it to yield a mere six jars of heaven.  Unlike jam, this recipe can be doubled without problem.  My water bath canner will hold 12 half-pint jars, so that's how much sauce I made.

All righty then.  I had the chiles. I had the secret ingredient.  I also bought organic Demerara cane sugar to substitute for granulated sugar for two reasons: standard sugar production methods are an environmental problem and raw sugar provides a lovely hint of molasses.  I opted for cider vinegar over white for the added depth of flavor.  Many recipes call for rice vinegar, but some of those are sweetened and I didn't want to make the sauce even sweeter than it was destined to be.

Red chiles, Thai chiles and sultanas

Time to prep!  After washing the chiles, I donned plastic gloves and wished for a breathing mask.  Although many recipes suggest leaving the caps on the chiles for a floral note, I opted to remove stems and caps from both the Thai chiles and the red chiles.  The remaining pepper carcass was tossed into the food processor along with [If you fall into the aforementioned suggestible category, skip down to the next paragraph NOW!] the secret ingredient, which is secret only because I don't want anyone to be turned off before they even taste the finished product.  Ahem.  So back to the secret ingredient: sultana raisins, or golden raisins.  I find them infinitely more desirable than high fructose corn syrup or artificial thickeners.

Pre-puree

Into the pot, my pretties...Based on the prep intelligence I gathered during the initial search for a suitable recipe, I decided to do a two-step cooking process.  In the first step, vinegar and sugar were combined and brought to a boil.  Once the sugar was dissolved, chiles, sultanas, garlic, grated ginger and salt were added to the pot and allowed to boil for a bit.  This stage had two purposes: soften the peppers so they would puree more easily, and reduce the liquid to create a thicker sauce.  After the sauce had reduced a bit, I allowed the mixture to cool and then processed it in the blender in batches.  An immersion blender would have been preferable, but alas, mine was dead and had not yet been replaced.  Note: if the sauce is steaming, don't try it in a traditional blender.  The hot business will explode and you will have hot, sticky sauce everywhere.  And I do mean everywhere.

Thickened sauce, ready to be canned

Fire burn and caldron bubble.  After pureeing, everything went back into the pot for a good long simmer.  I've had trouble with my canned salsas turning out juicier than I want after the canning process, so I really wanted to make sure this sauce was nice and thick.  Once the sauce had been reduced to the desired viscosity, it was time to jar it up and send those babies for a soak in the hot tub, so to speak.

Jars need 10 minutes processing, 5 minutes cooling time

Let me get up on my canning soapbox for just a moment.  Guidelines for safe home canning were developed for a reason.  It is NOT SAFE to seal jars by inverting them, putting them through a dishwasher cycle, or baking them in the oven.  If it's acidic, it needs to be water bath canned.  If it isn't acidic, it needs to be pressure canned.  I really don't care how Grandma or Aunt Ethel used to do it; if they didn't follow safe canning procedures, they are stinkin' lucky no one died.  Please be safe, my friends.








So how did it turn out?  Oh my mercy, y'all!  After tasting the first batch, I hied it back to the farmers market for more red chiles and this time, habaneros.  The habanero version is even hotter than the Thai chile sauce.  My lips are tingling and my taste buds are singing.  So far, the sauce has been used as a glaze and dip for grilled shrimp and pork.  It would be wonderful over cream cheese with crackers as a spicy-hot appetizer.  This Sweet & Spicy Thai Pepper/ Habanero Pepper and Garlic Sauce will be a staple in my pantry.

Singapore Chili Sauce Recipe

Experimenting with Asparagus

I like to experiment with food.  What this actually means is that I don't generally follow recipes as they are written.  This free-form approach to cooking is a joy to me, and a frustration to those requesting recipes.  My goal today was to use only items I had currently available in my fridge, freezer and pantry.  So...what's for supper?

I've recently discovered the delight of grilled mixed vegetables.  Since I only use the tips of the asparagus in those tasty veggie pouches, I had an abundance of asparagus stems, waiting patiently in my fridge to be repurposed.  Today was overcast and rainy; the perfect day for soup.  Inspiration!  Cream of asparagus soup.  And what else?

On rainy days, I like to bake.  What better on a drizzly day than soup and freshly baked bread?  I had a plan.  Now, to execute...

Asparagus spears, purple onion, EVOO & herbs

First up: I wanted to roast the asparagus to bring out a nice, rice flavor.  I found half a purple onion and tossed it in the pan.  A drizzle of EVOO, sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, crushed oregano, basil and rosemary, and into a 400 degree oven it went.

Sticky basil batter in the bread machine, ready to rise

While the asparagus roasted, I started a batch of Basil Batter Rolls from the Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook.  However, I wanted to use my bread machine to do the mixing, and altered the recipe a bit to make it healthier.  Instead of shortening I used butter, and substituted Eagle Mills While Whole Wheat Flour.  I set the bread machine to the dough cycle, and let her rip.  The recipe says the dough will be sticky, so I stopped adding flour when the dough looked like this:

Roasted asparagus to be pureed in the food processor

Meanwhile, the roasting asparagus has filled the kitchen with a mouth watering aroma.  Once the spears and purple onion were tender, I transferred them to my food processor to puree for the soup.

Wild caught Florida blue crab

Epicurious once again provided the inspiration for my experimentation: Cream of Asparagus Soup. After a cursory glance at the requisite ingredients and perusal of the associated reviews on my trusty Epicurious phone app, I rummaged through the freezer in search of homemade chicken or turkey stock.  Lo and behold; what did I find instead?  Crab stock, from these beauties wild caught by my brother Russ near Navarre, Florida: 







Oh, yes.  That will do nicely!  Into the crab stock went the pureed roasted asparagus, purple onions and a bit of minced garlic.  After simmering about a half hour, I added homemade creme fraiche and thickened the soup with a bit of butter and whole wheat flour.  Nothing left to do for the soup except let the flavors blend and bake some bacon for a garnish.  Meanwhile, something strange was going on with the roll batter/ dough...

With about 1/2 an hour to go in the dough cycle, the batter/ dough had risen to the top of the bread machine and was overflowing the pan.  This didn't happen when I followed the standard recipe, so the warmth of the bread machine dough cycle must require less yeast.  Note to self.  Time to transfer the dough to a bowl and start spooning out rolls.  Easier said than done.

Whole wheat basil batter rolls, ready to rise

Remember that the recipe said the dough would be sticky?  Yessir.  VERY sticky.  It stuck to the spoon, the bowl, my fingers, the muffin tins--pretty much everything it touched.  Consequently, it was really hard to portion the dough equally.  Here are the golden blobs of dough, ready for the second rise:

Basil batter rolls, or baby brioche?

Again, the dough rose much faster than anticipated.  The rolls doubled their size in less than 30 minutes, not the 50 estimated.  Into a 400 degree oven they went for about 15 minutes.  Ohhh, something smells good...

Light, fluffy basil batter rolls, hot from the oven

Although the cookbook calls these Basil Batter Rolls, they really look and feel more like a slightly more dense cousin to brioche.  The pesto, garlic and butter add a wonderfully savory flavor, yet the bread is light and airy.

Cream of Roasted Asparagus Soup

The soup turned really out well!  The crab broth added an unexpected flavor complexity to the still delicate cream of asparagus soup.  Topped with crispy bacon, this is comfort food of the grown-up sort.  I will be making it again.

Now, if I can just get the hang of how to layout the blog text and pictures properly, I'll be a happy girl.

Natural garden pest control: Ladybugs and praying mantis

I'm fascinated by organic gardening.  One of the perks to growing your own food is knowing exactly what has gone into the soil and onto the foliage of your crops.  Inarguably, one of the benefits of non-organic gardening is effective pest control.  So when I began to see evidence that something was chomping on my baby plants (and not Mrs. Rabbit), I sought out some "natural" pest control from our local gardening store,  Frazee Gardens.

Frazee offers lady bugs and praying mantis to help control your garden pests.  I bought one package of ladybugs and one praying mantis "pod," which looks like a chrysalis.  The ladybug package contained 1500 ladybugs, and the praying mantis pod was said to contain 300 baby praying mantis, waiting to hatch.

I carefully followed the directions on both packages, releasing the ladybugs at dusk and clipping the mantis pod to my vertical garden frame and lattice (see All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space!).  The next morning, I had ladybug carcasses everywhere, and only a few live ones crawling around.  Hmmmm....Back to Frazee I went.  To their credit, they handed over another package of ladybugs without batting an eye, and promised to call their supplier to follow up.

Round two: I released 1500 ladybugs at dusk.  This time, I noticed quite a few dead ones right away.  The package does say it contains 1500 to allow for some attrition, giving a net of approximately 1200 ladybugs.  Fast forward to Sunday morning: dead ladybugs, all around.

So what is killing my ladybugs?  I've mixed the soil that is in my raised bed, so I know it doesn't contain any pesticides that should harm the bugs.  We haven't had the grass surrounding the bed sprayed, so I don't think the bed has been cross-contaminated.

Hypothesis One: It was unusually cold the first night that I released the bugs.  Although late in the spring, we did have a light frost.  Maybe it froze the ladybugs.
Counterpoint One: The ladybugs are kept in a refrigerator prior to purchase to keep them in a dormant state.  A little bit of cold--not a hard freeze, mind you--shouldn't hurt them.

Hypothesis Two:  It has been really rainy.  Maybe it was too wet for the ladybugs.
Counterpoint Two: It didn't rain the night of the first release, and there were dead ladybugs in bag two, even before releasing into the garden.

Hypothesis Three:  Pre-packaged ladybugs are a good idea IN THEORY.

What about the praying mantis pod?  300 baby praying mantis were supposed to hatch out two weeks after the weather reached 72 in the daytime.  We're well into June, and I've got no baby praying mantis.

Hypothesis One: Our unusually cold weather froze them in their pod.  This makes me sad.  I'm imagining 300 little mantises (or is it mantii?) snuggled up in their pod, thinking they are protected from the elements.  Not so, my little dears.

Hypothesis Two:  Our unusually wet weather drowned them.  Now I have floating baby mantis carcasses in their pod.  Ugh.

Conclusion:  It might be my bad luck, it might be weather, it might be poor stock from the distributor, but the ladybugs and praying mantis didn't work in my garden.  If you've had a different experience, please comment and include links to reputable suppliers.  I'd be game to try it again.

Food, friends, family

I associate food with people.  Potato salad reminds me of GeeDaddy.  Fried fruit pies and pork roast with rice and gravy make me think about MeeMaw Pauline; cherry pie with a lattice top makes me think about MeeMaw Esther.  Lasagna makes me think of my mother and all of the people who have been well-fed at her house.  Chicken and dumplings make me think about Aunt Chrissy and visits around her kitchen table; oven-baked barbecue chicken and angel biscuits make me think of Jane and yearly summer trips to Alabama.  Banana pudding makes me think about Miss Connie and spinning on a rope swing in her backyard.  When I make apple pie I think about my daddy and sometimes about the time when I was 14 and had the 'unfortunate incident' with an aluminum pie pan and an equally unfortunate hair coloring decision just prior to a picnic with the teens from our church.  The list of associations goes on and on.

Food is personal to me.  It is a way to show love for others, much more importantly than simply feeding their physical bodies.  Food is one of my love languages.

If a review of my cumulative Facebook statuses is to be believed, I am obsessed with food.  Growing it, fixing it, preserving it, eating it and sharing it with others.  My kooky 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Fischer, would say that I obviously starved to death in a previous life (she believed she had been a Spanish conquistador in a previous incarnation).   If there is such a thing as genetic memory, maybe I'm remembering my ancestors going hungry during a time of famine.  Improbable hypotheses aside, I simply love food.

Today, I'm off to a cookout with friends, potato salad, sweet tea and mint chocolate chip brownies in tow.  Maybe when they have potato salad in the future, someone will think about me.