The House & Other Things

 The house continues to be a bit of a construction site, although there is very little to show for all this work in progress. 

Well, we have put in some closets in the bedroom

& work in the kitchen continues at a steady pace.

Sometimes in all this chaos, the best thing for me to do is go for a walk & just get out of the way.

Here are just a few details from a walk around the neiborhood this week.

 In spite of cool temperatures, spring is really starting to pop out all over.

Had I mentioned that the ceilings of the early piazzas were painted 

" haint blue" to dispel evil spirits. The theory being, that the sky blue color would fool the offending spirits into believing that it was indeed the sky & that they would move on along without entering.

Everywhere one looks, there are so many aging & crumbling details of a time gone by.

In what was once Wilhemenia's, is now one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Five Loaves 

....on Cannon Street. Another favorite is Butcher & Bee (not pictured), which is also in easy walking distance. They both offer great vegan & vegetarian options.

 Charleston is a bicycle kind of town. Everybody rides bikes here.

 Although many trees are still bare, spring is surely on its way.

Hope you have enjoyed yet another walk around the neighborhood in Charleston. 

Porches, Verandas, Piazzas

By whatever name you may call them, Charleston is a city of porches....

....or verandas

.....or piazzas, which is in fact the preferred term here in Charleston.

Wether grand or humble, it seems every home here in Charleston has a porch.

In my walks around the city I like to see what people have on their porches.

You see a lot of colorful bikes parked on porches.

  

Because, these piazzas or porches offer real out door living space, they are often furnished like another room of the house.

One thing is certain they all provide a comfortable place to relax. 

Some have curtains, lamps, & candelabras, as well as furnishings  for  outdoor seating & dinning.

While for others, a simple rocking chair is all that is needed.

 The one that brings back fond childhood memories for me, is the old fashion porch swing.

 I did not grow up in Charleston with its elegant piazzas & stately verandas, but I did grow up in the South, where sitting peacefully on a porch to enjoy the afternoon breeze was a treasured way of life.

You never know what you will find on a Charleston piazza, perhaps some freshly washed laundry for example, but what is undeniable is that the life of the porch lives on here in Charleston.

If you are interested in knowing more about the piazzas of Charleston here are a few links: 1, 2, 3 & 4

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Coleslaw Southern Style

I tend to make recipes that are the norm wherever I might be. For instance in France I try French recipes  & so on. Now that I am living in South Carolina I am having fun reconnecting to all the wonderful foods that the South has to offer.

This could also be that one prepares  whatever ingredients are at hand.

Did you know that Charleston was once the biggest exporter of cabbages in the US?

 Recently I have been enjoying rediscovering the southern coleslaw of my childhood, which is certainly different from its soggy & mayonnaise-y northern cousin.

With all the beautiful winter cabbages that are locally grown here, it is a breeze to make & is so tasty & versatile too.

Besides the cabbage, I add grated carrots, red pepper, celery, &  chopped kale or any other dark leafy green for a punch of color.

Have you ever heard of a watermelon radish? I hadn't. It looks a bit like a turnip on the outside but when you cut into it, it really does look like a watermelon on the inside. It has a mild radish flavor & makes anything you add it to look pretty. Yet another locally grown ingredient that I like to add to my coleslaw.

The dressing is of course key & it seems everyone in the South has his or her own special recipe. Most are vinegar based with no mayonnaise at all. I just sort of made mine up as I went along.

Like the salad dressings I usually make, I macerated a large clove of garlic with salt in the bottom of a large bowl & mashed it into a paste.

I used the juice of a whole lemon

olive oil ( 3 to 1 measurement )

a  dollop of Dijon mustard

cracked black pepper

& a large dollop of mayonnaise to make it just a little creamy

(I used the vegan variety but any favorite kind will do)

mix all the ingredients & then add your chopped & grated vegetables & toss

My grandmother always added celery seed to her coleslaw dressing as her secret ingredient . Unfortunately, I did not have any on hand but I will definitely be adding them next time.

It is good to eat as it is,  as a salad, or as a toping for hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, fish tacos or, as I like to have it, as the filling for a vegetarian wrap.