My second road trip to Savannah started as a solo event, but quickly turned into a duo for four whole days: being fully vaccinated meant more hang time with my BFF. Stephanie’s place is about 15 minutes out of downtown Savannah, so we could pop in and out of town to do as little or as much as we chose. With her quarter at SCAD finished and my school year coming to a close, it was the perfect time to take advantage of our Memorial Day weekend by exploring the surrounding areas, cooking and relaxing.
First on the agenda–in addition to the obvious catching up–was a dinner introducing Steph to Indian food and paneer. Paneer is a firm, spongy cheese used in Indian cuisine; the texture reminds me of extra-firm tofu yet far more flavorful. We ordered quite the smorgasbord from Pakwan Indian restaurant: veggie samosas; bhel puri; a bread basket containing naan–plain and garlic, onion kulcha, and roti; palak paneer; navaratan korma; raita; a mango lassi; and, courtesy of the owner, the sweet carrot halwa was on the house. We drizzled mint chutney and tamarind sauce on the appetizers and doused raita on the entrees. All bases were covered for her first Indian dinner; it was an orchestra of flavor with the perfect amount of heat. We ordered so much food, it fed us for two days.
A trip to her favorite local thrift shop, Blessingdales, yielded some exciting finds: a Bialetti moka espresso maker, a couple of cookbooks, and enough children’s books to stock my Little Free Library for the summer–all for the bargain price of $25. Stephanie found muffin bakers that were essentially little glazed flower pots–to be used later–and a Milk Glass divided tray.
Next up, a short trip to Richmond Hill: Henry Ford not only called this town his winter home, but he also built the city into a thriving community during the Great Depression. The area is quaint but quite spread out–definitely not a walking city. We explored the unique Fort McAllister State Park; the bombproof barracks are buried under mounds and cleverly hidden from sight of the enemy. A tasty gluten-free lunch from The Green Spork Café and Market included a coconut bacon BLT, almond butter toast, a 13-ingredient smoothie and cupcakes for dessert.
Excitedly, the next item on the to-do list was making pasta. In the beginning months of the pandemic, my husband bought me an item on my culinary wish list: the KitchenAid pasta attachment set. During that time, when even the basic necessities were scarce in the grocery store, I suggested I start making my own pasta: I had plenty of flour and fresh eggs from our neighbor. Fast forward a year, and those attachments still sat in their sealed box. So, Stephanie and I figured out the right ratio of flours to egg yolks and cut fresh fettuccini for dinner. Tossed with olive oil, garlic, and her recipe for fresh tomato sauce–inspired by the pan con tomate she regularly devoured during her trip to Spain–it was the perfect, most simplistic accompaniment for our pasta. It was also ideal for dipping our toasted ciabatta bread into; I could’ve eaten an entire bowl of it–oh wait, I did! [Pasta recipe note: we used 100 grams of semolina flour, 100 grams of all-purpose flour, 8 fresh egg yolks and a sprinkle of salt. Once combined, the dough rests for 40 minutes, then it’s ready to start being worked through the machine. As semolina imparts an almost grainy texture to the pasta, my next attempt will be solely using ’00’ flour–an ultrafine flour often used in pizza crusts and pasta. PS. I need that tomato sauce recipe, Steph!]
As the pasta dough rested, we made my craveable lemon-blueberry muffins with blueberries from Stephanie’s local produce box. We used the aforementioned flower pot bakers to make the muffins and a mini bundt cake resulted from the remaining batter. While she saved the cake for a party the next day, not surprisingly, the muffins didn’t last 24 hours.
On our final full day, we took the Old Savannah Trolley Tour of her new city. The tour guide spun tales from old Savannah for 90 minutes; even on my twelfth visit to this charming town, I love that there are always new bits of trivia I learn from every tour. A horchata latte and a matcha latte from The Coffee Fox kept us refreshed as we walked about the squares. Stephanie acquainted me with many of the SCAD buildings and we discovered a number of hidden SCAD parking lots around town.
Despite the goal of relaxation, we had a very full weekend for my second solo roadtrippin’ venture. I’ll keep adding to my ‘to-do list’ for the next time–we forgot about axe throwing! Of course the trip home seemed to drag a bit–a couple of accidents prolonged it even more. In the interest of perfect timing, my car pulled up in front of my house minutes after my guys arrived home from their boys’ weekend in West Palm Beach. Due to our late start to the school year we are only ending on June 9th, which leaves a mere 7 1/2 weeks of summer vacation. With proper planning, I just might be able to fit in another Savannah visit before school begins again–if not, I’m booking Labor Day at my favorite B&B!
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