Lowcountry reflection on Hurricane Matthew

Oct 6: A safe distance from harm's way with a looming hurricane gives rise to a great many thoughts about living. I have prayed a great deal for the safe keeping of the South Carolina Lowcountry this last 24 hours, most especially for its people who are weathering out or working through the storm, its natural landscape and most certainly its humble wildlife. My home will either be there battered, under water or with some luck still standing when I return next week. The realities of living in a hurricane zone are always there but the truth is, after one gets cozy in the lifestyle and good weather the lingering reality of severe weather gets pushed back to a vague recognition of "it could happen but hasn't for a great many years." I adopted #SouthCarolina as my state 13 years ago and while I may not be a native daughter I most certainly call my little Charleston salt box and small plot of pond life along her coast "home."

Oct 8: Recovery. We can do this!

Oct 9: It has been said many times over last 72 hours so worth acknowledging that the social platform of @Facebook played a crucial role in keeping #Lowcountry residents connected, near and far, during #HurricaneMatthew. From media coverage to local citizen reporters to the delivery of simple photographs and messages of hope. These made a difference in the experience. I am tainted by my affection for new media and its relevance in contemporary discourse, but honestly I'd give Mark Zuckerberg a big hug and invite him to sit on my porch to shoot the breeze and talk about pond life right now if presented the opportunity. And we'd be remiss if we didn't also acknowledge Sprint, Verizon and AT&T for giving us the bandwidth to find huge value in cellular communications during a natural disaster. Thank you.

Oct 9: What many outside our area won't connect to the natural disaster otherwise known as #HurricaneMatthew is the fact that jobs are lost as a direct result of the devastation. The longer recovery takes, the economy of the entire community suffers and the individuals connected to the hospitality industry (hotels, resorts, pubs, restaurants, grocery stores, musicians/entertainers, golf courses, tennis courts, marinas, etc) will be hardest hit. We need to make sure we support these folks while they are in transition.

Oct 10: Yep I made it through another year to tell many more tall tales, hug every single one of you at least once virtually (and a few of you in person) and sit on my side porch countless times with a great deal to be thankful for in this life. I am subdued in my celebration this year amid the news of hardship that so many of you are facing in post storm recovery. Your early morning messages and texts are so very heart warming and definitely generated big smiles. I urge you to join me in celebrating by making a donation to your local American Red Cross or Salvation Army and/or volunteer your time to aid someone in need. Do this and I'll celebrate the year ahead knowing we all paid it forward.

Oct 11: We are all grateful for any and all efforts to secure our homes in Beaufort County and to sustain our well-being before, during and after Hurricane Matthew's impact along the South Carolina coast. We'd be remiss if we did not acknowledge there was an intention to do right by the citizens of this county. However, the lesson in post-storm reflection is truly for better and clearer communications between municipalities, county government, local law enforcement, emergency response teams, our governor and state officials. Senator Davis' positive glean on what transpired and his own role in relaying information is commendable. Representative Erickson's authentic response to the lack of a solid crisis communication plan at all levels should get the applause. Let's appreciate the valuable lesson captured in this experience and convey that we expect more if ever faced with this type of natural disaster again.

Oct 13: Finally made it back. A plethora of deer along the roadways, smell of pluff mud is stronger than usual, and tree debris piled up high on curbs. A few obvious structural issues at the house that even the night sky can't mask and it all may certainly look different by the light of day, but for now I'm going to count myself luckier than most and thank the universe for small blessings.

Oct 13: Biggest concern I've heard thus far from the small business owners in the area is loss of revenue, if they did not have 'interruption insurance' what can they do to recoup that loss?

Oct 13: The human stories are worth telling. The gentleman that came to fix my door jam today returned to the Lowcountry yesterday just as I did, only he found his home looted, I did not. What makes his story worth telling isn't the fact that he got robbed. It's that he did not let that define his experience of evacuation and returning home.  He took his tool belt and talent to HIlton Head island this morning and before going home this evening to his own family made a stop at my house at 6p to fix my door. And tomorrow morning he will go back to HIlton Head Island and again stop to see me before going home to tackle my water soaked attic. To witness such resiliency and determination is to know that we are not alone and that each of us matter. More importantly, there are the kindest souls out there willing to bring what they can to any situation.Here's to Aaron for making a difference in my own experience of recovery. Thank you.

Oct 15: Recovery. We got this.  

Worker problem on Hilton Head Island and the Lowcountry region via The Island Packet

I would like to publicly applaud The Island Packet for its advocacy on behalf of the hospitality industry on Hilton Head Island and the surrounding region. The newspaper's journalistic efforts (in publishing a series of articles) to address systematic problems in sustaining a quality workforce long term makes plain that change is needed to sustain such a critical industry to the economic stability of the area.

Far too long has economic development in the region been skewed towards dead end investment. Tourism and hospitality are viable avenues to create stability in the long term, while other industries have a tendency to lag. 

The strength of the region's efforts in this regard is very much determinate on building resources...human performance, infrastructure, capital projects, education (at all levels: high school, certificate programs, technical college and 4yr). The voices of those working to fulfill every imaginable service have consistently remained absent and should be considered necessary. Bolstering the industry with resources won't remain viable without active representation or advocacy from the workforce itself. That is, the voices of those that serve on the front line sitting at the table to lend experience when visioning the island's future.

As such, I will continue to lend my praise to the newspaper's editorial board and its reporters for standing with the people and not the system in this series.

People sway my vote

Julie Markey and Teddy Turner
Farmers Market of  Bluffton 2013

I marvel at the number of "best/worst of" lists that exist regionally and nationally.  We've gradually become a society with an insatiable thirst for immediate access to rankings, i.e. Trip Advisor; listings, i.e. Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chef; and polling, i.e. the plethora of notations made regarding the candidates running in South Carolina's Congressional District 1 primary. It's not that I disagree with the application of these tools. It just seems that they have become the norm.  

Do we like the fact that one bad or inaccurate review can taint a really great restaurant?  What about the chefs who don't appear on some "best of" list? Does polling really provide the pulse of a community anymore? There are as many outlets extolling opinion as there are stars in the sky thanks to the immediacy and convenience of current technology. For the better part of the last ten years a slurry of authorities and influencers have burst out on the scene to direct public opinion in one fashion or another.

A vote is a very personal endeavor. In my opinion the most reliable and accurate perspectives come from those whose bottom lines are directly impacted by the decision making of officials operating in the public domain. People like Julie Markey of Savannah Hydroponics & Organics, Mike Wilson of Affairs to Remember, or Orchid Paulmeier of One Hot Mamas/The Lodge Hilton Head. They live here, create economic growth here, and sustain a way of life here for themselves and others. I look to them to share their experiences so that my vote is connected to the greater needs of my community. If "we" need a better voice in the rule making process of our economy then I'm going with the candidate that has the best chance of carrying messages to and from the process, who understands the model of service, who sets out to protect the interests of future generations, who can manage the hard truth of what has to be done and convey that to constituents, who knows what success and failure looks like first hand, and who will align his agenda with the elected colleagues whose same aim is to represent the interests of my district.

I have found that Teddy Turner meets the needs of the people I live, work and play with here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. We are a coastal community that encompasses some of the most exceptional natural vistas along the East Coast with a diverse population of strong-willed and remarkable people. We need change and it's not the cookie cutter cut out of an elected official that's been baked up for the masses time and time again. We need change and we need it now.

What's in a Name?

There's comfort in familiarity and a town where your name even in absence is not lost in the shuffle of time and place.

At one point in my Lowcountry life my occupation necessitated spending a great deal of time on Hilton Head Island and in that same period my name would have been characterized as recognizable by many.  It's been several years now.  My career as well as my name operate remotely and for the most part outside the spectrum of local pervue.  A radical shift from before but a profession possessing many of the appealing attributes found in self employment. The only drawback~a feeling of being disconnected to what transpires South of the Broad River Bridge. (Port Royal and Beaufort, SC are referred to as North of the Broad, Bluffton and Hilton Head Island as South of the Broad).

But true to the nature of the region's Southern hospitality any feeling of disconnection changed last week.  I had a meeting on Hilton Head Island and stopped to purchase gasoline at Island Tire (South End).  I prefer to use this location for gasoline for several reasons.  One, they are about the only location that maintains a full service as well as a self service option at the pumps.  (Face it, there are just some days, rainy ones included, when you just don't want to pump your own gas). Two, they have on more than one occasion provided superb service in the tire life of my 2004 vehicle. What made this particular stop significant was the simple act of inadvertently dropping a credit card after my purchase in the self service lane. But I'm getting ahead of the story because what really transpires is that I purchase gasoline, grab my receipt and proceed on to my next destination unaware that I'm missing anything.

Several hours beyond my gasoline purchase at Island Tire: I've eaten lunch at Plums in Bluffton, attended two meetings and find myself on the short drive to Savannah, Georgia to pick up my elderly father when I get a voice mail message from Debi Lynes of Lynes on Design and WHHI-TV's Girl Talk (a local HHI celeb and outstanding individual). "Ann Marie, it's Debi Lynes did you get gas at Island Tire today?" and in the same instant I get an inbox message from Debi via FaceBook (the beauty of social media) "Ann-Marie they have your credit card at Island Tire."  Naturally, my initial reaction is appreciation that a good Samartin found my credit card and turned it in and that I'd not fallen victim to some malcontent.  I do wonder at this point how Debi Lynes factors into the equation of finding my card, but thankful she offered her assistance.  I call Island Tire, confirm that my credit card is there and thank the other person on the line (Jackie) for holding it until I can return to pick it up several hours later.

So here's what happened in the several hours after I had dropped my credit card: Jackie, the bookeeper at Island Tire pulls up to the self service pump and finds the card, the name on the card is recognized in terms of my former role with a nonprofit organization on the island, Jackie calls the nonprofit, doesn't find me there nor is provided information helpful to locating me.  In the mean time, Debi Lynes pulls into the station to purchase gasoline and the attendant thinks to himself (on a lark) maybe Debi knows how to find this person for Jackie and proceeds to ask if Debi knows the owner of the credit card (me) to which she replies "I do and I have her number in my cell phone!"

Just when you think you've lost connectivity the universe creates ways to link you in meaningful ways.

Forever Kahlua Flan

Birthdays and cooking classes go very well together! When considering what sort of occasion would appropriately say farewell to a year of monumental experiences and welcome another year full of promise (as it is every time a birth date comes around) I made arrangements with a local culinary center to host a small group of women for a "Girls Night Out." In September of this year the Hilton Head Health Institute announced the opening of its Culinary Arts Center; thus, it was a natural fit to pair the facility with an evening to celebrate one's life and to host some very special women in my life (as well as a desire to secure some healthier recipe options). Chef Karla Williams brought our group many wonderful healthy renditions of my favorite knoshes: Sun Dried Tomato Phyllo Triangles, Pork Pot Stickers, Mini Crab Cakes, Mini Pizza Pizzets, Light Hummus and Kahlua Flan. It's the "sweet" yet "lighter" version of the evening that I bring to the kitchen this weekend. Compare Chef Karla's ingredients below with a not as healthy version from Emerile Lagasse and one might think something gets lost in the translation to healthy, but we can say without a doubt Chef Karla's flan version is full of the same flavor and completely indulgent. She noted during our class that you can add additional flavor to this recipe by adding 1/2 c mashed banana (Kahlua, Banana Flan). Another year older and after this cooking class certainly wiser!

Chef Karla CAC, Hilton Head Health

Kahlua Flan

1/2 c Sugar

3 Tbsp Water

1/3 c Dark Brown sugar

2 Tbsp Kahlua

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/8 tsp Salt

12 oz Evaporated Skim Milk

1/2 c egg substitute

# of servings: 6

Serving size: 1 pc

Calories per serving: 180

Fat Grams per serving: 1

Common Denominators and a Melting Pot

The lions of August continue to roar their mighty breath across our area. Though expected this time of year after what feels like endless dripping of sweat from one's kneecaps I have to say it's a state of existence that for many of us has simply worn out its welcome this summer. Symbolically (as we all melt away in this heat) I pull out a chilled appetizer recipe for Stuffed Vidalias from the cookbook Recipes from the Hilton Head Melting Pot. In scanning the web I find a blogger/tourist referencing that she picked up this very same text in 2009 during a Thanksgiving vacation on Hilton Head Island that included a garage sale spree at the South Carolina Elks Lodge 2773 where I too had purchased this text. Always interesting when two seemingly disconnected individuals are brought together through a common passion (cookbook collection). Thanks to a host of channels today (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, FoodSpotting, etc) one can easily locate like-minded individuals with similar passions (at least those who prevail in the open windows of the internet). No matter the occasion this specific appetizer (compliments of Elaine Mitchell of Elks Lodge 2773) is simple, easy and plates beautifully for any neighborhood gathering. You have to use the real deal Vidalia Onions, not the one's claiming to be sweet or passed off as onion cousins to the Vidalia (I've tried that and it truly does not taste the same). Essentially the recipe involves peeling and coring vidalia onions which are set aside while you blend cream cheese and deviled ham, dry mustard, pimentos and seasonings of choice. After blending, fill the onion cores with the blend then chill for several hours in the refrigerator. After chilling one simply slices the onions into rounds to serve and plate accordingly. From one woman's kitchen to a garage sale to an internet post to another woman's kitchen the life of a recipe comes full circle like so many other things in this life.