Low Country Contentment

Charleston, South Carolina might be one of my new favorite southern treasurers. I spent the weekend there repaying my friend for visiting Florence last weekend. And I must say, the city exudes charm. The weekend was interrupted by a death in my family, but my friend made sure I still had an enjoyable weekend in the downtown area. If you've never been, there are a few places you absolutely must check out. First on my list is a little place called Five Loaves Cafe. There are two locations, and I only made it to the one on Cannon St, but oh my goodness am I in like with it.

For one thing, they place huge emphasis on fresh, homemade ingredients. This place makes their own mozzarella. For another, they are extremely gluten-free friendly. When I told my waitress that I was gluten intolerant she didn't even flinch and instead pointed out to me that all of their salad dressings and soups were free of gluten. And when I asked if I could, on future visits, bring my own bread for sandwiches, she described one regular who did just that. And most importantly of all, I loved this place because, quite simply, the food is delicious. I had a salad of mixed greens, tomato, asparagus, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella with a walnut and shallot dressing and I also had a bowl of their carrot and ginger soup. The soup was so thick and comforting that I spent the first few mouthfuls with my eyes closed, just taking in the flavors. My friend ordered the tomato, basil, and goat cheese soup, and that too was creamy and comforting. Combine the excellent food and friendly staff with reasonable prices and bright and lively, local artwork, and you get Five Loaves. I plan on spending a great many meals there with new friends.

Another recommendation is the Old City Market. There are a bunch of quaint little shops and restaurants. My friend took me into one of the candy shops where they made pulled taffy and homemade pralines. This is also the section of town that offers horse-drawn tours of the downtown area. Horses make me sneeze and I was with a local, so I can't comment on the quality of the tour, but I imagine it's a fun way to see the city. I much preferred meandering in and out of the little shops and admiring the colonial architecture.

We also stumbled on a lovely little chocolate shop, run by Christophe and Carly Paume. Christophe is in charge of crafting the equally beautiful and tasty chocolates and treats and Carly runs the shop. I didn't get to meet Christophe, but Carly was a delight. She explained to me how Christophe gets his chocolate bunnies and shoes to look velveteen. And she excitedly told me that they are looking to expand into a larger kitchen space soon, so I expect bigger and even more gorgeous things to come from this couple. If you stop in, I highly recommend the lavender caramels.

I plan to spend a good many weekends in Charleston in the future, and I'll keep everyone up to date on my new discoveries, but I think that I did well for my first weekend in town. Check back with me soon for more!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a two part trip this year. First stop: DC to see my best friend for her birthday. And when Cheryl and I get together it can only mean one thing. Museums. So, we went to the museums we've been visiting since children. We hit up the Smithsonian museums. American history was up first. Not my favorite, but the Julia Child kitchen makes the trip worth it for me. I grew up watching Julia Child with my dad, and when I start missing him, turning to her recipes or reruns always brings me back. The exhibit was crazy crowded this trip, so I didn't have time to snap a lot of photos, but I did get this one:

After the American history visit, we went to the butterfly exhibit at the natural history building. I loved this so much. There were 300 live butterflies flitting back and forth. For a few dollars you could go in, spend as much time as you wanted, and take all the pictures you wanted. I got some amazing shots, but this one was my favorite, mostly because the composition was totally accidental.

 

After the amazing weekend with Cheryl, I felt relaxed, happy, and ready to face a long train ride to South Carolina. I missed my mum terribly. And, despite her reassurances that she's felt fine during her chemo, I was worried for her. She's tired a lot, but I was relieved to find her upbeat, and bubbly as always. And she was thrilled to have me home.

We had dinner at my cousins' house. Tim fried a turkey and a chicken. Even though I'm not on Team Turkey, he did a great job. The chicken, though, was killer. He injected it with barbecue sauce before deep frying it, so it came out smokey, sweet, and moist. Delicious. I was a little let down when I saw the sides available for me to eat. They always forgo mashed potatoes in favor of a wheat-laden sweet potato casserole and mac and cheese. That left the lima beans and the corn for me to eat and of course the gluten-free biscuits and cookies I made. I decided that if I don't do Thanksgiving myself next year, I'm bringing a ton of side dishes that are safe for me. And a few desserts too. But the company was good, and the food I could eat was tasty, so no complaints.

Great trip, overall. And I get to do it all over again in a few weeks when I go home for Christmas.