Santa Fe, Day 3

Today, we headed to Tesuque for breakfast at Tesuque Village Market. Happily, Tesuque Market is just as rag-tag and unassuming in appearance as it's ever been. I've been to Santa Fe 6 times and except for one visit that was just a daytrip, I've always made sure to drive the 10 minutes north of Santa Fe to Tesuque. The food is outstanding, and they sell freshly-baked pies and pastries.

CA and I both choose the Farmer's Breakfast--eggs scrambled with tomatoes, fresh spinach, roasted garlic, and goat cheese; served with crispy, oven-roasted red potatoes. Very good.

I'm not sure we've ever been able to squeeze in three meals/day during any vacation. We definitely can't here. Each meal is so good and satisfying, I haven't even been craving sweets or chocolate. Twice, I've actually been in the candy aisle and walked away. Surreal.

We spend the afternoon walking Canyon Road, appreciating the Santa Fe architecture and the full-on artistic vibe that is Canyon Road. Every step, every gallery, courtyard, and shop exudes artistic talent. Santa Fe artists are serious artisans. Many of these galleries and shops have been here forever. Many I recognize from my first visit 18 years ago.

We wander to St. Francis Cathedral and after spending some time inside admiring the lovely stained glass and icons, I decide to walk my first-ever Labyrinth. We've visited Chartes and Roen cathedrals, but for whatever reason I never walked the Labyrinth. 

It was amazing. Really. I was the only person doing so and I really let myself into the present moments. And, I walked away with some vital insights. Life mirrors the Labyrinth--forward/double-back/forward/across/back/way back/forward/double-back/forward... 

After a bit of rest at the casita, and discussion regarding dinner, we dine at Il Vicino for wood oven pizza. I think I've eaten there at least once every visit, sometimes twice. It's casual; you place your order at the front counter. If the weather were different we'd eat on the terrace, but tonight it's cozier in the dining room.

-source of these 2 photos-

CA orders the #10 (with chicken added)--fresh basil pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil. The crust is perfect; medium-thin, soft-centered, wood-oven baked. I ask for the #15, but as I'm deciding on a salad the counter guy points out that they offer a combo deal--small pizza of your choice along with a 1/2 entree salad, and beverage. Yep. That's for me.

My Fino pizza has chicken sausage, marinara, mozzarella, blended goat cheese, oven roasted tomatoes, and fresh oregano. A very delicious and appropriately-sized pizza leaves room for a frehly-prepared Isalata Cesare.

We cannot stop commenting on how good the pizza was. Memorable.

Tomorrow we drive back to Fort Collins for time again with family. We're going ice skating in Denver with JF, doing a bit of shopping, and preparing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of Fun Kids time. Great memory building.

Why Do I Never Sleep Well Before a Travel Day?

    (These pans are 5" square. Use just one for thicker fudge.)

Just tired enough. Nope. Not gonna happen. My mind begins a slow spin. I'd considered baking cookies to take to my MIL (86) and my 93-year old Dad, but between the soup making and the spaghetti sauce prep I lost the thread

So... At 12:20am I start thinking about my Mom's fudge. Actually, it's called Mrs Bates' fudge as my Mom learned the recipe in her junior high Home Ec class. (Mrs. Bates' actually showed up across town at our elementary school and taught all my sisters (4) and I  7th grade science.)

We didn't have any exotic ingredients in our home growing up, but we always had Hershey's cocoa, Karo syrup, milk, and vanilla. So, we often whipped up this recipe. And, whipped we did because once the mixture reaches soft-ball stage you must quickly add 3 T. of butter and the teaspoon of vanilla. Then, you stir and stir and stir, until the shine is JUST off the gooey chocolate and you can tell the spoonfuls are slightly mounding. You have to hurry like the dickens to get it poured and smoothed. If you've neglected to butter your dish or pan, you're probably going to end up with a sugary mess. Still edible, I can attest.

Smarty pants me thought I'd judge soft-ball stage with a candy thermometer, but I had a small glass of cold water at the ready. Good thing. Soft-ball arrived a good 15º before the candy thermometer registered it was near. And, I got to retrieve the chocolatey glop out of the water and eat it. Blast from the past!

Let me just say that it was a rare occasion indeed when the Jacobs' family had nuts available. These were toasted at 350º for about 7 minutes before I roughly chopped them.

I sure hope my Dad appreciates this tin of Mom's fudge. He's not the most sentimental of guys, and he's a world class bad and sometimes inappreciative gift receiver. World class. At one point in the past I digressed into giving him a pair of socks with some cash inside. The socks were a part of an old family story he loves to tell. An eccentric shirt-tail relative was known to bark at Christmas or birthdays, "And, don't give me any more damn! socks." The 20s were so that he could choose his own gift. He'd always return anything else he was given. Cash worked.


MRS. BATES' FUDGE

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 T. Hershey's cocoa
• 2 T. Karo syrup
• 1 cup Milk

Butter the serving pan or plate. Set aside. Waxed paper works, too.
Mix the first four ingredients and stir over medium-high heat
Continue cooking until mixture thickens and reaches the soft-ball stage. (When chocolate liquid is dropped into a small glass of cold water, you can easily form a ball using your fingers.)
Now, you must work quickly. Remove from heat.
Have ready:

• 3 T. Butter
• 1tsp. Vanilla

Add the butter and vanilla.
Stir the chocolate mixture rapidly until butter is blended in.
Continue whipping lightly until it begins to thicken. You should notice the sheen is dimming and the spoonfuls begin stacking up.
Pour quickly into prepared pan or plate.
Smooth quickly with a knife or spatula.
Nuts are optional. Today, I sprinkled them into the buttered pan before pouring the fudge over.
Cut squares before fudge hardens too much.
Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Pasta Soup: modifications

Oh, yes. This soup has appeared before on this blog. It's my favorite soup. One that always merits homemade chicken stock.

We're having this for dinner tonight, and sharing some with my mother-in-law this weekend.
As I was making this batch, I realized that I should include some modifications that have evolved over time. The recipe as it first appeared in Bon Appétit in November 1999 was in fact excellent. I've made it so many times, tinkering a bit just happens.

Here are my suggestions:

• I never measure the vegetables precisely. Always a bit generous with quantites.
• I don't sauté the mushrooms as I don't want them to break apart. I usually add them just before the chicken when the pot is at a full simmer.
• This is a soupy soup, so I usually use close to 6 T. of flour. Because I'm cooking gluten-free, today I used cornstarch to good result. I used 6 T. of that, too, where usually when you substitute you use less cornstarch.
• If you're lucky enough to have a Fresh Market near you, their whole boneless chicken breast is the perfect size for this recipe. But, I've sometimes used rotisserie chicken or chicken breast.
• I have used uncooked pasta in this soup, but you can control al dente better if you cook it separately.

Homebody

-source-

My goal was to stay home all day today. In pajamas. Goal!


This morning: iPad, baked pumpkin bread, pjs.

-source-

This afternoon: leftovers, a nap, a shower, clean pjs.

This evening: tacos with CA, 2 episodes of Outlander, pjs.

Kiawah, Thursday

Oh... We're running out of days.

The sun is brightly shining, contrary to weather predictions. We've decided to stay local today. Leftover beautiful burger from King Street Grill for breakfast, then a late morning beach ride sets the leisurely pace. Then, we shower and hang out, leaving around 1:30pm for a short drive to Stono Farm Market and a late lunch at the Tomato Shed Cafe.

Super-casual kitchen table ambience with great, honest farm-style cooking. "Who's Your Farmer?"

BZY chooses a crabcake with three sides--strawberry pickled beets, Geechie Boy Grits, tomato pie. While I go with the vegetable plate; choosing the beets, the grits, the tomato pie, and a puréed sweet potato with goodies, including pecans. We both have homemade lemon chess pie--excellent crust and very sweet lemoni-ness. I love me some lemons.

After lunch we drove to the Charleston Tea Plantation, caught the last trolley tour of the day (3:30pm), and totally enjoyed Charlestonian and former history teacher John Kennedy's narration. Which is delightfully interspersed with recorded commentary by Bill Hall, founder and still owner (co-owner with the Bigelow Tea people) of America's only tea garden.

We'd planned to visit the Angel Tree, but the skies opened up with another unusual deluge of summer rain. Rain's been ubiquitous here in the Low Country of late. Our charming little tea shrubs need only 52" of water per year. Preferably, one-per-week. So far, we've mostly managed to run between the raindrops and schedule around the frequent cloudbursts. The exception being our initial beach bike ride which was VERY wet.

I'm cool with a very quiet late afternoon and at-home evening featuring our first T.V. viewing of the week (Anthony Bourdain), and snacking on what's here--cheeses, almonds, peaches, chocolate.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Kiawah-Charleston, Wednesday

Breakfast in Charleston this morning. Not too early, but we headed out into a surprisingly perfect, sunshining morning. We'd expected rain and an inside day at Charleston Museum and historic home tours.
Un-uh. We'll be outside on the streets and basking in the sunlight (and humidity).

Saffron Bakery-Cafe-Market

We've chosen Saffron Bakery and Cafe for our mid-morning breakfast in Charleston; both opting for the Mediterranean Omelette: roasted red peppers, spinach, green onion, feta and chopped fresh herbs. I opt for the accompanying grits, while BZY has one of the bakery breads on offer. Lovely.

We park just off East Bay and walk immediately to the Waterfront Park and spend our alotted 20 minutes in a swing overlooking the harbor and the Arthur Ravenel Bridge to Mount Pleasant

Arthur Ravenel Bridge to Mount Pleasant.

We continue along the waterfront, eventually walking Broad Street--Gallery Row--where we find small hidden courtyards, local gallery owners and artists eager to engage, and plenty of gorgeous architecture, vegetation, and historical significance.

Moss-covered bricks top this vine-covered wall.

After ice cream, we meander back to the car and off in search of Geechie Boy Grits. We've been give a lead to a market on Main Street near the Maybank Highway intersection. Ambrose Family Stono Farm Market it is!, where we happily find the wonderful grits we enjoyed at Husk on Monday evening.

Gheechie Boy Grits
Cook grits with half water-half chicken stock
Thin with cream
Stir in a bit of butter

If that wasn't enough, we rested a bit and had dinner at Chez Fish on Johns Island, close to home. Very good. Loved the location and the decor makes you smile. Some of the very best sweetgrass baskets being woven near the entrance.

My Fried Goat Cheese-Heirloom Tomato Salad.

BZY chose the seafood platter--flounder, scallops, and shrimp--and a she-crab soup opener. Finally! She's been obsessed to indulge. Excellent. I paired a fried goat cheese, heirloom tomato salad with the larger serving of she-crab soup, as my dinner. Excellent. Topped that with a chocolate-praline mousse.

BZY's entree.

The fat lady sang.

Chicken Curry Tonight

Oh yeah!

 

My Americanized version in process.

 

White raisins are the all-round best.

 

Curry paste and coconut milk added.

Secret ingredient.

Dinner in less than 30-minutes.