Monday, July 28, 2008

SC Foodies - Save the Date!

Have a delicious dinner at the amazing Terra Restaurant and help support local farmers!

Kristen and Ben DuBard (owners and operators of Five Leaves Farm in Blythewood, SC) have been invited as delegates to the world food event, Terra Madre which takes place in Turin, Italy each October.



To help send the DuBards to Terra Madre to represent South Carolina, Slow Foods Columbia (a local non-profit) will be throwing a multi-course dinner featuring local ingredients at Terra Restaurant.

Please help us support two wonderful people and dedicated local farmers!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

C's Garden

The garden is officially in full swing.

Tomato Garden


Pepper Garden






yep, we even added a few okra plants this year

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Watermelon Rum Cocktail



For our Cinco de July-O party, I carved up a watermelon fruit basket.



Since I didn't want the fruit to get soggy, I poured out most of the watermelon juice as I was cutting it. Before I knew it I had almost a pint glass full of flourescent red juice which was just too beautiful to toss. I left it in the capable hands of C, the house mixologist, to come up with something tasty while I finished prepping for the party.

strained watermelon juice + cruzan white rum = C's watermelon rum cocktail



(pink sugar rimmed glass optional)

Monday, July 07, 2008

cookbook

As many of you know by now, I *love* cookbooks - especially ones with pictures. Well, the latest one to the collection is simply beautiful

(Thanks AR/UR!!)



The Wine Lover's Dessert Cookbook:
Recipes and Pairings for the Perfect Glass of Wine

In case you were wondering, here are the first two on my list to try...


Creamy Risotto Pudding with Brandied Figs


Hint of Mint Orange Chiffon Cake


I'll keep ya posted!

Friday, July 04, 2008

Fried Okra is Ok by me!



As an ode to my new hometown, I decided to add a few okra plants to the vegetable garden this year. I didn't know much about growing it, but apprently it's pretty much a no-brainer around here. A little water and fertilizer and away we go...



After consulting with an SC native at work, I found out that not everyone in SC eats okra... but she was kind enough to call her mom and get me the lowdown on making fried okra. (Thanks JR!)



- Wash and cut the okra into bit size pieces
- dredge in egg, then coat in a mixture of cornmeal and flour (to which I also added a little salt and cayenne)
- fry in hot oil until crispy and golden brown



My theory still stands - everything tastes good breaded and fried!