Back home!

Well I am finally back home.  Phewww!  What. A.  Trip.  Mostly it was a great time... a little exhausting... families are hard work! But this we all know... we just forget...  until we go on vacation with them... next time we will need some men there to ease the intensity a little bit!  Ha! But it was a lot of fun too.  The beach was beautiful and I LOVED Charleston.  It is a beautiful, accessible, historic city.  The houses were so incredible.. there was something very enchanting about the small narrow streets, the vegetation, the large porches and the warm summer air.  Here are a few pics to give you a sense, although there are not enough and they don't do justice...

And of course a few pics of us girls...

And this one of us that is totally screwy.... I think there was water on my camera lense...

(or maybe because the air was thick with emotions... or estrogen... LOL... and it was humid... ) anyway I think it is kinda neat.

Anyway, one thing we did that was very cool was to go to this old plantation, the Boone plantation, a little ways from Charleston.  It is apparently the oldest operating plantation in the country (they still produce pecans and some other stuff).  We were able to tour the house, which was built in 1936... the older houses were destroyed... and also able to tour the slave houses.  What an intense experience to remember and be faced with what so many people lived with on a daily basis.  The entrance to the plantation is by "The Avenue of the Oaks" which is really beautiful...

And here is the house (also very cool: part of The Notebook was filmed here... sigh)...

And mom looking lovely (and so southern in that hat!) in the garden...

Other things of note: lunch on the water in Charleston...

DELICIOUS biscuits served with honey butter at a restaurant called Poogan's Porch (all the food there was excellent but of course the only free thing, the biscuits, are want I leave remembering)...

YUM. Best. Biscuits. Ever.  OK.  So like I said, good trip, long trip, short trip, beach trip, family trip, a just-avoided 16 hour road-trip, sister trip, mom trip, food trip, trippity trip.  Glad to be home. 

Since getting home yesterday: 

Diner food for lunch.
Rain.
BBQ with my running group to celebrate that we are halfway through our training (I made 7 layer dip. YUM). 
Rain.
Popcorn and So You Think You Can Dance.
Sleeping.  Betsi and Lupa on one side.  Brandon on the other.  Home is nice.
Lots of rain.
12 mile run in the rain on the bike path (really beautiful, really sore).
Eggs and bacon.
Coffee.
And yes, I already baked chocolate chip cookies (Anya's famous.. recipe to follow...)

Lupa and Sasha cuddled (how cute are they?)

 Oh and I made pesto with the fresh basil from the garden... recipe also to follow... how pretty is that basil?

Speaking of the garden, holy smokes it has grown!  Check out some pics.... A lot to put in tonight's salad! YAY!

So for dinner tonight we have salad from the garden, pesto pasta, and fresh local corn.  Looking forward to it after the rich southern fare.  Also mixed up some sourdough to rise for tomorrow.  Active day! Ready for the couch and something light to watch.  I will leave you now with a video of the girls playing... they are my babies... happy Sunday! I am glad to be back! I promise recipes this week.  Food and love from Voorheesville!

-- Anya

Heating up in the lowcountry

Wow is it hot and humid here! We are becoming uses to sweat, saltwater, sunscreen, and multiple showers a day.  But I love it! What amazing houses ... huge double decker porches, grand entrances, pillars, ivy, moss hanging from oak trees, it is absolutely enchanting.  And the beach is beautiful, the water warm and inviting... although we have found it is too hot to go before 3 pm.  It is 100 degrees here now and I am thinking today's run may not happen.  I went yesterday at 7 am and it was already unbelievably hot... I continue to struggle with my self-restraint but keep repeating my pledge not to "should" myself on this vacation... I am so bad at that!  Anyways, here are some pictures!

More soon!

On folly beach

In South Carolina! I planned to blog every day to make up for my recent lapse but we don't have wifi. I downloaded three blogger app on my phone and am using that.. it is slow going but I will do what I can! We arrived yesterday and have already eaten delicious fish tacos, fried green tomatoes, steamed crab legs, huspuppies, fried shrimp... and off to a seafood restaurant for dinner! Ran on the beach this am... hot hot hot but beautiful!!!!

More tomorrow!

Anya

Fish tacos with baja cream sauce and cabbage slaw

These. were. amazing.  I sorta compiled this recipe from different places over time.  Let's make them.  This serves 6-8.  I halved it.  We still had wayyy to much.  So plan accordingly.  You can make everything ahead of time, except for cooking the fish, so this is really great for company too.

Serve with corn tortillas (warm them in a 300 degree oven while you are cooking the fish), fresh jalepenos or salsa, and cheese.  A note on cheese: if I could have found cotija cheese I would have used it on these... it would be a great addition... but alas, there is only one store in the greater Albany area that has this and it is far away.  So.  Here we go.

Baja Cream Sauce

1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. (packed) finely grated lime peel
pinch salt.

Mix all that together. Refrigerate.

Chipotle Cabbage Slaw

OK so the ingredients were OK on this but the recipe I used last night was WAYY off.  It was way too salty, too much lime, and lacked sweetness.  So I fixed it by adding honey, and a ton more cabbage.  Instead I am going to give you the recipe I have used before, which is way better.  I only did not make it because I did not have chilis in adobo, and because I was curious about this other one. 

2 tsp. finely chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (WEAR GLOVES!)
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. lime juice
1/4 pound shredded white cabbage (about 1 cup)
1/4 pound shredded red cabbage (about 1 cup)*
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion

*I use all red cabbage and omit the onion because Brandon's not a huge fan.  

1.  Combine chipotle pepper, mayo, honey, lime juice. Stir well.
2.  Add cabbage, onions and stir to combine.  Season with salt to taste.  Refrigerate.

Fish

2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbs. hot pepper sauce
3 tsp. coarse kosher salt, divided
1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 pounds skinless sea bass, halibut, talapia, catfish, or striped bass fillets, cut into 1/2 inch strips (I prefer catfish, but used talapia last night and it was great)

Flour and/or cornmeal for coating
Oil for frying

1.  Combine marinade ingredients.  Add fish; toss.  Cover and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

2.  When you are ready to cook the fish, make sure the oven is preheated to 350 and the tortillas are in there, wrapped in foil.  Mix together some flour and cornmeal (I use both, but you could make do with just one or the other).  Heat an inch of oil (I used vegetable oil) over high heat.  Working in batches, remove fish from marinade, dredge it in the flour, and fry it until a golden brown, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes.  Put any cooked fish in the oven on a towel lined platter to keep warm. 

(I let the man do the frying)...

When fish is done, you are ready to eat!  Put out the tortillas, baja cream sauce, slaw, cheese, fish, and whatever else you desire and assemble at the table. 

This taco has a halo!  Weird.

Yummy...

Eat it!

Enjoy!