Buttered Toast and Tea

My grandmothers were both native West Virginians, but economically and culturally opposite in their food preparation. One menu was limited by financial capacity, enveloped in coal camp traditions and always simplistically delivered in pure comfort. The other much more refined, served on china and included a great deal of red meat. Though described here with an emphasis on disparity, make no mistake I relished each equally. The defining difference in visiting each grandmother was the manner in which one dressed and behaved to participate in meal time endeavors. Breakfast in one home included pajamas, bacon, biscuits, fried eggs and coffee. Breakfast in the other, full dress, buttered toast points and Earl Grey tea served with milk (followed by an early lunch at the local country club after a round of golf). It's the memory of sipping tea and knoshing on buttered toast in my grandmother's kitchen around her dutifully appointed side table that I sought to recreate in the kitchen this week. My sister and I would awake, comb our hair, dress, slip downstairs and wait patiently as my grandmother toasted fresh bakery bread to a golden brown in the oven. Once toasted she would swiftly butter both sides then transfer each slice to a platter before cutting the slices on the diagonal. Had it been permitted beyond two slices I could have sat in that kitchen for hours lingering with the wafting smell of toast and the aroma of honeyed tea. I reach for my copy of Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast for her Lazy Loaf recipe and pull out a jar of Tupelo honey from H.L. Franklin's that I had recently been gifted to bring a childhood experience forward into the present. The beauty of this bread recipe is that it requires no kneading or rising and thus can be prepared in an instant (albeit initial baking requires an hour and 45 minutes). Cookstr's quote in introducing Nigella's recipe that I have linked here is a fitting conclusion to this post...It is heartening to know that you can be in a permanent hurry and not spend more than a few minutes at any time, any where, let alone just in the kitchen - and still make a beautiful loaf of bread (or recreate a beautiful childhood memory).

Sultry, Dry and Chilled 3 Ways

Sultry summer heat has arrived early in the Lowcountry. It's drier than dry here and locally we have moved to the first stage of drought conditions. My lawn, even in good years, strives to thrive in the midst of neighbors who manicure and water their lawns to obsessive plushness. I casually refer to the "saltiness" of my lot as a character trait, but truly it's an attempt to explain my simplicity and inability to join the ranks of those that procure a carpet of lush green around their homes. This week the concept of creating a bocce court in one particular area seemed like a grand idea that could shift the pendulum in my favor. That is, if one considers shifting dry sandy dirt randomly situated into a competitive game of sport in your personal outdoor space. In some ways the theme of shifting a state of existence fits the weekend agenda in the kitchen. A recent purchase of a couple pounds of carrots turned into a marathon of recipe searches to find ways to recreate raw product into several new and interesting dishes. Back in January we introduced the Ginger Miso recipe that accompanied our infusion of pureed carrot to the dog's diet. In June we're ready to venture a little further with carrots as consuming foods prepared for consumption on the cooler side of things is far more attractive than the alternative (though grilling has not been eliminated as it lends to the outdoor experience). So here we go chilled three ways and each uniquely flavorful and fitting for the climate upon us 1) Chilled Carrot Honey Soup ; 2) Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta and Mint ; 3) Raw Carrot & Parsnip Salad