These Things Collide

Charleston Tea Plantation (America's Only Tea Plantation): Next stop, India.

My trip to Charleston was wonderful. I really needed the weekend away from work. Also, I would say it was well deserved - spending everyday at school from 6:45 to 4:45 - that's draining.

I had this grand idea of posting photos of all the awesome meals I had, but due to the "upscale nature" of many of these restaurants, I felt a little shy of pulling out the old Canon to take a snapshot. And when I mean old, I mean old.


Anyway, I had three fantastic meals. The first was at a small restaurant called Blend. I had Lavender Batter French Toast. Amazing - crunchy, soft hint of lavender, kinda like the best doughnut ever. Evan was exploring his southern side, and had Shrimp and Grits:

Southern Evan (but that ice tea is 'unsweetened')

This he thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently, it was his first time having it, and he devoured it in minutes. Ok, so I lied - I took one food photo. Anyway, this trip was also the first time Evan had "Cheerwine." Luckily there is no photographic evidence of that. He had such a sugar rush, I nearly pushed him out of a moving vehicle.

Next we ate at The Red Drum. Words cannot express how marvelous this meal was. I think this was the best meal I've ever had, to date. I can't even go into it all, it was just amazing. Ginger mojitos, Roasted Beet and Walnut salad with Lemon Thyme Dressing, Honey and Almond Green Beans, some type of amazing spinach, etc. etc. etc.

Our last meal was at Tristan. There I had Wild Mushroom Eggs Benedict. It was perfect - right amount of hollandaise, wonderful mushrooms, not too much vinegar in the poached eggs. I loved every bit of it.

Which leads me to my latest obsessions: salads and poached eggs. I've been eating poached eggs on everything lately. I made a great french soup that I found here on Orangette. Sure enough, I added the poached egg. I had poached eggs for breakfast at Zada Jane's. If I could successfully eat a poached egg in the car on the way to school, I bet I would.

As far as salads are concerned, I made my favorite for lunch today. I ate it all before I thought about a picture, so use your imagination!

Blustery Day Beet Salad

Field Greens/Spinach
Canned Beets, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp gorgonzola cheese
1 avocado
Lemon Thyme Dressing

Its really easy to assemble, and effortless. I make the dressing with the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, dash of salt, pepper, and about 10 springs of thyme.

If I had the energy, I would roast the beets myself. But canned beets will do when I'm sleepy and chilly. I made this two nights ago - Alex devoured, and Evan ate without speaking. The beets give it a nice earthly taste, the gorgonzola is sharp, the avocado is creamy, and the lemon thyme is light. I ran out of beets today, so I used a tangerine! Awesome, still.

So there you have it, a recent foodie on vacation - landmarked by the restaurants, the tea plantations, and the food itself.

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Title: "Long Division" by Bagheera