‘The Cheese Board’ –with added summer sausage–from The Floridian , St. Augustine
What’s more fun than ordering from a menu? Creating your own menu. A charcuterie board is merely a combination—usually create your own—of cured meats, cheeses, pates, jams/jellies/compotes, nuts, honey, pickles, veggies, dried fruits, mustards, crackers, olives and the like, presented on, well, a board. The combinations are limitless and your board can be as big or as small as you can imagine it to be; they are great for a large party or a party of one. It is an experiment in flavor-pairing and an interactive way to dine with friends and family.
I’ve taken many road trips: especially since COVID hit and flying anywhere was off the table. But, I haven’t taken a road trip—solo—since my college days. So, you can imagine my excitement when I was given the opportunity to travel to Savannah, Georgia to not only have some time to catch up with one of my favorite people, but also to house-sit in one of my favorite towns…by myself.
During this mask-wearing, social distancing, virtual-everything year—plagued by not only an insidious virus, but also isolation, fear, loneliness and worry—comes the one holiday known for tradition, gathering and food: Thanksgiving. Instead of joining family around the table, we decided to travel—safely—west to Alabama and New Orleans. Read on to find out how our non-traditional turkey day ended on a more, much-desired traditional note.
Humble beginnings: potatoes and carrots on their way to becoming hash
When I think of hash, I am transported back to my college-day, 3am, post-clubbing haunt: Village Inn. VI’s Garden Skillet was almost always what I ordered and it was the epitome of comfort food. My very own cast iron skillet filled to the brim with potatoes, onions, veggies, gooey cheese and topped with two runny eggs. It wasn’t until many years later that I started making my own hash at home and it is still one of my favorite go-to meals.
As we are muddling our way through the COVID19 pandemic, most of our meals have been made at home—we have only ordered takeout a handful of times—which is a major change for us. When grocery store visits are being kept to a minimum and resourcefulness is on the forefront, hash is the perfect meal: it is one of the tastiest and easiest ways to clean out your fridge! And even during non-pandemic times when you find yourself just blankly staring inside the refrigerator without a clue of what to make—you know what I’m talking about: busy day, no time to shop, the kids have sports or a ton of homework, bellies are grumbling and time is ticking by the second? That’s the perfect time for hash. Potatoes and onions are the only two core items needed for this ultimate comfort food: if you’ve got those two staples, you’re golden. Start rummaging and dicing…
Favorite pics of 2019: (Top L-R: Tortilla Soup, Red Kuri Squash, My 1905 Salad; Mid L-R: Green garlic, Broccoli Cashew Salad, Market veggies; Bottom L-R: Cauliflower Tabbouleh, Chickpea, Grape Tomato & Feta Salad, Melon Gazpacho)
Well, another year is on its way out—they seem to be passing by faster and faster. So much so, that in researching back over the past year for this post, I realized I never posted a ‘Best Of’ for 2018. And beyond that, there was a gap from August 2018 – June 2019 when I didn’t post anything AT ALL! Well, it has been a busy two years with adjusting to being back to work, trying to ‘fit it all in’, and traveling more than we have in some time; it didn’t leave much time for blogging. The 2018 post is now up, and without further ado, here is 2019!
Tomatoes, feta, chickpeas and seasoning make for a tasty, simple salad
Eight staple ingredients. One bowl. Ten minutes. Lunch is served.
Well, technically, this salad is better after it sits for about an hour, but you get the picture. Chickpea, Grape Tomato & Feta Salad is our feature for the final week of salad month.
Melon Gazpacho using Santa Claus melon and yellow cucumber from the farmer’s market…
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there have been a lot of changes in the melon world lately. Gone are the days of watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew as your only three choices. Here are some of the new guys: Lemon Drop, Honey Kiss, Orangedew, Crenshaw, Canary, Muskmelon, Galia, Hami and Santa Claus. Each has a texture and color reminiscent of the traditional cantaloupe and/or honeydew, but every one has its own unique melon-y flavor. Aside from adding them to smoothies and eating them straight out of the rind, I like using melon in…wait for it…soups! Move over vichyssoise and borscht, there is a new cold soup in town and it’s fruity and perfect for the summer!
It’s summer for me and that means more cooking and writing! As I looked back on my posts over the last couple of years, I realized that I was so focused on recipes and photos, I had forgotten all about the Tidbits section of my blog! It’s all about sharing a cooking tip, quick recipe, or new discovery. This week’s new discovery is Green Garlic.
