We just became aware of Tropical Storm Alberto off the Carolina coast. He is forecast to move closer to SC over the next 18 to 24 hours, then pick up speed on a NE track. We are currently anchored in 5 Fathom Creek in the Cape Romaine NWR or about 20 miles north of Charleston, SC. This is not a good place to be if Alberto decides to alter course. We plan to move further north and inland to Georgetown, SC early tomorrow morning. Welcome to hurricane season.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
What to do with all the free bread...
We had all this amazing bread and I wanted the bread to be the star! So, side show pasta and bold beautiful baguette!
I cut the bread in half, to save it for later and the sliced that half in half lengthwise. Using my squirt bottle of olive oil I drizzled on a healthly dose, spread on minced fresh garlic and squeezed on chopped basil. Oh the aroma was intoxicating! I then spread it with a butter knife and sprinkled on some parm on one and the other half I added roasted red peppers and parm. Poped them in the oven at 325 and 10 minutes later. Wow, the best garlic bread I have ever tasted. So, yes this is kindof like the pizza we ate the night before but...did I tell you just how much I love pizza?
So, I would say this was a hit! Got to love free bread!
We served this with fettucini and red sauce. Which was tasty but not as good as the bread!
I cut the bread in half, to save it for later and the sliced that half in half lengthwise. Using my squirt bottle of olive oil I drizzled on a healthly dose, spread on minced fresh garlic and squeezed on chopped basil. Oh the aroma was intoxicating! I then spread it with a butter knife and sprinkled on some parm on one and the other half I added roasted red peppers and parm. Poped them in the oven at 325 and 10 minutes later. Wow, the best garlic bread I have ever tasted. So, yes this is kindof like the pizza we ate the night before but...did I tell you just how much I love pizza?
So, I would say this was a hit! Got to love free bread!
We served this with fettucini and red sauce. Which was tasty but not as good as the bread!
Friendly Friday
We spent Thursday night just south of Charleston. Chomping at the bit but the swift, flooding current in Elliot Cut would not allow us to make the 15:30 opening of Wapoo Creek swing bridge. Due to rush hour restrictions the next opening wold be 18:30. It was ok to anchor early and get a good nights sleep.
A new friend of our Daniel, who we met in Marathon, arrived in Charleston earlier on Thursday. Eager to catch up with Daniel, we started early in the morning to work with the tide and bridge. We tied into the Ashley Marina with time to do laundry, take a shower and meet new folks!
Daniel came over around 15ish to go walking around town. One of my favorite things to do! So, off exploring we went and discovered great allyways, amazing buildings, wonderful iron works some with much flourish ans curly Q's and then we found the shops and boutiques. Ah, such wonderful things to catch my eyes. I didn't expect to come across was an artisian bakery. Oh the breads in the window. I was staring and I am sure my jaw was slack. The boys had gone ahead and I was admiring the view. They took in the wonderful sight and suggested we go in. Yes, great idea. Alas, it was closed, bummer. Maybe tomorrow? Of we went slightly dejected. Then all of a sudden as if in a movie. We heard a womans voice yell, "Wait, come back!" Huh? We turned around and it was the woman from the bakery. She was willing to open back up for us! YES!
Well, she informed us she was closed and she would like to give us some bread. What? I was giddy. I was high as a kite, really. She wanted to know what kind of bread we wanted and told us what was left and I said one of everything. But really through fits of giggles I asked for a sliced loaf and an orange rosemary and I asked her if I could please pay for it. No way, she was giving it away and the 2 patrons in the store also got to go baguettes! We went home with 2 baguettes, 2 loaves of sliced and one boule of orange rosemary bread. Welcome to Charleston! Normandy Farms Artisan Bakery you are amazing!
After that we looked around and Daniel spied the Charleston Beer Excahnge. Wow, bread and beer does it get better than this? Jeff and I love Green Flash IPA and they had it so we got two of them two locally brewed beers and two from breckenridge. We were on cloud nine.
Next stop on this journey? Dinner. We went to Mellow Mushroom had a super dinner of pizza and beer, get this it was happy hour so all the beers were half off! This was beginning to feel like the best day of my life.
While walking back to the marina we stumbled upon Kudo - Coffee & Beer. Intrigued we ventured inside. Jeff ordered a decaf, the barista brewed it with a bit of cinnamon and the flavor hit the spot.
On our walk home we talked and talked and went to Daniels for some tea and by the time we strolled to our boat we were dog tired. Yup best day ever!
A new friend of our Daniel, who we met in Marathon, arrived in Charleston earlier on Thursday. Eager to catch up with Daniel, we started early in the morning to work with the tide and bridge. We tied into the Ashley Marina with time to do laundry, take a shower and meet new folks!
Daniel came over around 15ish to go walking around town. One of my favorite things to do! So, off exploring we went and discovered great allyways, amazing buildings, wonderful iron works some with much flourish ans curly Q's and then we found the shops and boutiques. Ah, such wonderful things to catch my eyes. I didn't expect to come across was an artisian bakery. Oh the breads in the window. I was staring and I am sure my jaw was slack. The boys had gone ahead and I was admiring the view. They took in the wonderful sight and suggested we go in. Yes, great idea. Alas, it was closed, bummer. Maybe tomorrow? Of we went slightly dejected. Then all of a sudden as if in a movie. We heard a womans voice yell, "Wait, come back!" Huh? We turned around and it was the woman from the bakery. She was willing to open back up for us! YES!
Well, she informed us she was closed and she would like to give us some bread. What? I was giddy. I was high as a kite, really. She wanted to know what kind of bread we wanted and told us what was left and I said one of everything. But really through fits of giggles I asked for a sliced loaf and an orange rosemary and I asked her if I could please pay for it. No way, she was giving it away and the 2 patrons in the store also got to go baguettes! We went home with 2 baguettes, 2 loaves of sliced and one boule of orange rosemary bread. Welcome to Charleston! Normandy Farms Artisan Bakery you are amazing!
After that we looked around and Daniel spied the Charleston Beer Excahnge. Wow, bread and beer does it get better than this? Jeff and I love Green Flash IPA and they had it so we got two of them two locally brewed beers and two from breckenridge. We were on cloud nine.
 |
| Beer & Bread - bounty from our Charleston visit |
While walking back to the marina we stumbled upon Kudo - Coffee & Beer. Intrigued we ventured inside. Jeff ordered a decaf, the barista brewed it with a bit of cinnamon and the flavor hit the spot.
On our walk home we talked and talked and went to Daniels for some tea and by the time we strolled to our boat we were dog tired. Yup best day ever!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Thai-ing Thursday
This was hands down the best meal I have served aboard C'est la Vie. It takes about 10 minutes total cooking time and one pan but days of prep and boy oh boy was it worth it! It is a Thai chicken and noodle salad and I want to do it again using tofu and adding mung bean sprouts.
Our friend Jeff, with whom we shared an condo last fall, as well as new friends aboard SV Contigo both grow their own sprouts. I want to do this and will endevour to make it a habit as I hate to run out of fresh food to eat and sprouts, radish, mung bean, alfalfa, broccoli all have such appeal. I can't wait to figure this into my routine! Let me get back on track...delish food ahead!
Ok so 2 days ahead I defrosted a chicken breast that I had frozen. Once defrosted I washed it off and patted it dry and sliced it thiny across the grain. I then placed it in a ziplock with the asian dressing and marinated it over night. The meat took on the dark hue from the soy sauce( I used braggs but tamari would have been preferable) which made me think I had made an error. Once I had that meat cooking in the pan 2 minutes per side I realized that color cooked off and took on browning caused by carmelization. The aroma was fantastic. I was really quite proud of myself! When the chicken was done cooking I placed it on the cooked noodles added the veggies and extra dressing. The salad was done! I served it with veggie potstickers that I found in the frozen food isle at the Marathon Publix in Florida. This meal had complex flavors, crunch, color and made me so happy!
The potstickers are dumplings that can bee cooked in the oven, fried or steamed. I liked the idea of using the chicen frying pan to steam them. 2 things happened I cleaned the pan with the boiling water and cooked the dumplings!
The rice noodles cooked in boiling water are tricky as you need a big pot and lots of water and it takes about 2 minutes to cook and it is easy to overdo it. I could not take that chance. I used chinese rice noodles that were very long and I cut them prior to "cooking" them. I actually used scissors! And instead of cooking them I placed the noodles in the serving bowl covered with fresh water and let sit for 15 minutes or so. They were soft and were al dente, just perfect! I used about 3 ounces or half the bag so I can attempt this again! I also love this as I have a gluten free meal up my sleeve!
The dressing is as follows: 2 full scallions thinly sliced, 4 minced garlic cloves, .25 cup rice vinegar, 1 tbsp brown sugar( I would use honey next time), 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp anchovy paste (I just mashed up the anchovies left over from pizza night, you could use fish sauce too) and .5 tsp red pepper flakes
Place this all in a screw topped container and shake. Use half of it for the chicken and the other half for the dressing of the salad. It smells ok when you make it and amazing after sitting for a day.
The rest of the salad I used 6 baby carrots thinly sliced not jullianed, 1 cucumber seeded and thinly sliced a squirt of basil that I have a refrigerated tube of (amazing on the boat!) But the recipe called for .25 cup of basil,
For garnish, fresh mint leaves from the plant I got in ft pierce, scallion greens sliced thinly, red pepper flakes, pistachios ( they call for peanuts but I am allergic) and it calls for bean sprouts and yes that would have been nice. I would add lime wedges as garnish and I think it would add a brightness I am pleased really really pleased!
Our friend Jeff, with whom we shared an condo last fall, as well as new friends aboard SV Contigo both grow their own sprouts. I want to do this and will endevour to make it a habit as I hate to run out of fresh food to eat and sprouts, radish, mung bean, alfalfa, broccoli all have such appeal. I can't wait to figure this into my routine! Let me get back on track...delish food ahead!
Ok so 2 days ahead I defrosted a chicken breast that I had frozen. Once defrosted I washed it off and patted it dry and sliced it thiny across the grain. I then placed it in a ziplock with the asian dressing and marinated it over night. The meat took on the dark hue from the soy sauce( I used braggs but tamari would have been preferable) which made me think I had made an error. Once I had that meat cooking in the pan 2 minutes per side I realized that color cooked off and took on browning caused by carmelization. The aroma was fantastic. I was really quite proud of myself! When the chicken was done cooking I placed it on the cooked noodles added the veggies and extra dressing. The salad was done! I served it with veggie potstickers that I found in the frozen food isle at the Marathon Publix in Florida. This meal had complex flavors, crunch, color and made me so happy!
The potstickers are dumplings that can bee cooked in the oven, fried or steamed. I liked the idea of using the chicen frying pan to steam them. 2 things happened I cleaned the pan with the boiling water and cooked the dumplings!
The rice noodles cooked in boiling water are tricky as you need a big pot and lots of water and it takes about 2 minutes to cook and it is easy to overdo it. I could not take that chance. I used chinese rice noodles that were very long and I cut them prior to "cooking" them. I actually used scissors! And instead of cooking them I placed the noodles in the serving bowl covered with fresh water and let sit for 15 minutes or so. They were soft and were al dente, just perfect! I used about 3 ounces or half the bag so I can attempt this again! I also love this as I have a gluten free meal up my sleeve!
The dressing is as follows: 2 full scallions thinly sliced, 4 minced garlic cloves, .25 cup rice vinegar, 1 tbsp brown sugar( I would use honey next time), 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp anchovy paste (I just mashed up the anchovies left over from pizza night, you could use fish sauce too) and .5 tsp red pepper flakes
Place this all in a screw topped container and shake. Use half of it for the chicken and the other half for the dressing of the salad. It smells ok when you make it and amazing after sitting for a day.
The rest of the salad I used 6 baby carrots thinly sliced not jullianed, 1 cucumber seeded and thinly sliced a squirt of basil that I have a refrigerated tube of (amazing on the boat!) But the recipe called for .25 cup of basil,
For garnish, fresh mint leaves from the plant I got in ft pierce, scallion greens sliced thinly, red pepper flakes, pistachios ( they call for peanuts but I am allergic) and it calls for bean sprouts and yes that would have been nice. I would add lime wedges as garnish and I think it would add a brightness I am pleased really really pleased!
That smells delicious
Anne is excited about tonight's dinner. She is trying a new recipe and it smells delicious.
Afternoon Thunderstorms Chasing Us Down
Another day of northward progress in the ICW and another round of afternoon thunderstorms. The Lady's Island Bridge in Beaufort, SC does not open between 07:00 and 09:00. In hopes of making Charleston, SC we rose early and cleared the bridge by 06:30. Unfortunately our plan to make Charleston Harbor was stymied by the Wapoo Creek Bridge's 15:30 to 18:30 restriction on openings. So with no access to Charleston Harbor and thunderstorms astern we dropped the anchor just south of Elliot Cut.
 |
| SV Romance Sea and a thunder storm off our stern as we approach Charleston, SC |
Crunchy or soft?
We had a big plate full of crunchy tacos. My favorite! I am really picky about the shells. There are some shells that have TBHQ in them that helps meat, usually lard, from going rancid. It is basically a kin to formeldahyde. Not good for the body. I like the shells to be crisp and not break apart on first crunch. The best I have found are the blue corn shells. The best I have found is the whole foods brand but really the regular groceries have been catching on. Look in the natural food section. The second best shell is the walmart brand. Can you believe it? (disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of walmart I think they have some wicked business practices but really the suppliers need to stand up for themselves and not give in to walmarts demands....but this is a post about tacos)
Many of the walmart brands of foods are turning the tide on super manufactured foods. They have begun to phase out high fructose corn syrup and they have options of vegetarians like pie crusts without lard or banana bread mixes without beef tallow. Read your ingredients people!
I am really off topic.
I love tacos!
I browned ground turkey meat added taco seasoning and the water and let it simmer with a splatter screen on top. I had wrapped up the shells in foil and placed them atop the screen while I chopped up some vidalia onion, lettuce, tomato and opened a bag of shredded cheese.
10 minutes of simmering and the meat was ready. We loaded up the shells and dinner in 20 minutes flat was done.
Catch up
Well I am a few days behind sorry if you've been starving waiting for the updates. Hee hee. But seriously, I did take some photos of dinner, which was a nice salad with the left over eggplant that was breaded and cooked and sauteed mushrooms and onions. It was a great dinner. We finished the other bread that was purchased at the farmers market. We are slowly eating all the items purchased there with very little waste. On the other hand the items purchased at the grocery store, tomatoes inparticular have gone off at a rapid rate. Any suggestions on keeping them fresher longer or just buy and eat. I don't like to refrigerate them as it nixes any flavor they might have. I keep them on my shelf away from the apples. Oh well, to Posidon they go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)