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A Life From Scratch.

A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Charleston, SC + Fried Green Tomatoes

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fried green tomatoes

Whew – what a whirlwind of a week and a half! We were blessed to spend a week in Charleston, SC on the beach with M’s family and then head to Union Pier, MI for the long 4th of July weekend with some dear friends. Too much sun, too much wine, and all in all too much FUN. That is what vacations are all about, right? Indulging the ‘too much.’

I have to say as exciting as it is seeing new places I do miss the comfort of my kitchen. There is something to be said for knowing exactly where your favorite well seasoned skillet is or where your trusty grill seasoning lives in the pantry. A good part about being gone though is you get to experience new foods. I have come back with so many more great ideas for summer I’m wondering how I’m going to cram them all in before the leaves begin to change.

So, where to begin? A Charleston classic: Fried Green Tomatoes. You can’t find a menu in the town that doesn’t include them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – and it makes perfect sense why. They are delicious! SO delicious. Fried of course, but ever so lightly crisp that the flavor of the green summer tomato still bursts through. There is a bit of health in there somewhere – just take a huge bite and you’ll find it.

Enjoy pictures from the trip as well including a surprise engagement (congrats Becky and Tyler!), the happiest kid in the candy store, a rainbow after a storm and more.

Fried Green Tomatoes
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 2 large ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
  2. 1 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
  3. 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
  4. 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  5. 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  6. 2 TBS sugar
  7. 1 large egg
  8. 1/2 cup well shaken buttermilk
  9. canola oil for frying (about 1/2 cup or so)
Instructions
  1. Season the sliced tomatoes with salt & pepper.
  2. Mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl.
  3. Whisk together the egg and buttermilk in a separate small bowl.
  4. Pour enough oil in a large skillet to fill 1/4 inch deep and heat over medium high heat until the oil sizzles when you drop a small amount of flour in the skillet.
  5. Dip a tomato slice in the egg/buttermilk mixture and turn to coat both sides. Then dredge it in the flour mixture to coat and place in the hot oil. Repeat with enough tomatoes to fill the skillet but not crowd it. Fry the tomatoes until golden - about 2 minutes per side. Don't mess with them too much otherwise the breading will fall off. Transfer tomatoes to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
  6. I served mine on top of freshly sliced heirloom tomatoes along with goat cheese and basil. Good olive oil and balsamic vinegar were drizzled over the entire dish.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

 

This is officially summer comfort food. Wow.
Courtney

We’re off! Southwest pilots totally rock!


View from our deck


Moments before Tyler proposed to Becky L randomly asked him ‘why do you like Becky so much?’ L then responded to his own question – because Tyler wants to marry her. Eerie.


Mango Smoothie + pop rocks. Life doesn’t get much better.


These cheery pink flowers were every where we turned:


Wait for it…..


Canon Ball!!! (He is in fact mid air – not sitting on the side of the pool)


Enjoying the smooth boat ride (before it rained) given by Captain Grandad!


Whether you’re 4 or 60, rainbows are just plain cool.


Dinner out to celebrate Dave and Ginger – will never forget that night!


Thank you both for an amazing family trip!

What’s your style? Guacamole version.

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Guacamole is one of those recipes that everyone has their own version of. I grew up in a home that puts MAYO in their guacamole…I know. And my mom is a wonderful cook. The visions I have of it being made though is by my dad. Perhaps it is a Russian thing? I actually googled ‘is it Russian to put mayo in guacamole?’ I got some unclear answers and didn’t have the time to devote to true research so I move on…

I’m a firm believer in three things when it comes to guacamole. 1. Use the freshest ingredients possible. 2. Keep it chunky – it should have good texture. and 3. Always have those ingredients on hand in the summer. They should be staples in your home during the warmer months. Like a chilled, crisp, white wine. You never know who is going to just pop by.

So here is my take on guacamole (no mayo). I could eat this every day in the summer – Samantha style from Sex & the City. If you’ve seen the movie you’ll know what I’m talking about. Yum.

What’s your take on guacamole? I’d love to hear!

Guacamole
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Ingredients
  1. 2 ripe Hass avocados
  2. juice and zest of 2 limes
  3. 1/4 cup minced red onion
  4. dash of hot sauce
  5. sea salt & pepper
  6. handful of freshly chopped cilantro
  7. handful of halved cherry tomatoes
Instructions
  1. Very lightly (barely) mash the avocados with a fork. Add in lime juice, zest, red onion, hot sauce, sea salt, pepper, and cilantro and very lightly mix together. Stir in the tomatoes.
  2. Serve with Donkey Chips - the best tortilla chips ever! I'm hooked.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Now it’s a party.
Courtney

Singing the blues.

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It’s gray. It’s cold. It’s wet. Again. I’m trying to be as optimistic about spring as possible by attempting to force it into action with an abundance of flowers, open toed shoes, grilling, spring clothes, and electric pink nail polish yet it’s not happening. And I end up freezing.

There isn’t much more to say other than WHY DO WE LIVE HERE? So I will leave it at that and introduce you to an extremely tasty blue cheese dip on this dreary gray day. Aside from my cookies, this is probably my most requested recipe so I often take it to parties again and again.

Set this out for guests and I guarantee it will be a hit – unless of course your guest is M and then he’ll probably need to leave the room it’s in. But don’t worry – I’ll eat his share.

Blue Cheese Dip
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Ingredients
  1. 8 ounces crumbled good blue cheese
  2. 1/4 cup red onion, minced
  3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  4. 2 TBS red wine vinegar
  5. 2 TBS freshly chopped parsley
  6. couple grinds of freshly ground pepper
  7. 1/4 cup good olive oil
Instructions
  1. Combine all of the above together. Serve with toasted baguettes or pita chips.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

I’m cold!
Courtney

Picnic in a new room.

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April in my mind means two things: 1. Spring. 2. Home projects. We won’t discuss this first one…the second one is very exciting to me. By mid March ideas begin swirling around in my head of what needs to be done, what I want done, and what has to happen to convince Mike that it all needs to be done. Consequently mid March is typically when Mike begins to hide money from me.

Like every couple you have to prioritize your home improvement projects. When we moved in we focused a lot of effort on the rooms that were most lived in. The bedrooms were a slight after thought. Then I realized since our master was on the first floor it really is an extension of those living areas so I wanted to focus a lot of effort there. L was also seriously ready for a true big boy room so – let the vintage, online, antique, and hardware store shopping begin!

When it comes to the design process Mike has a fair amount of ideas. I pretend to listen but in my mind all I hear is ‘french country bed & breakfast’ so after a little while he backs off and lets me do my thing. Very kind and appreciated. With the room about 87% complete (chandelier went up tonight!) it’s time to have one of Mike’s favorite dinners to thank him for letting me do my thing and to celebrate the feeling the new room gives both of us. Very peaceful. Going along with the ‘theme’ of the room what better way to serve dinner than on a beautiful platter (thank you Kelly!) and eat a picnic in the room.

With an antipasto platter there really isn’t a recipe. I used to find preparing the platter rather overwhelming. I would go to the Italian speciality store and stare at the abundance of amazing cheese and meats and feel myself starting to sweat. I don’t do well with endless options so I decided to set some antipasto platter rules for myself. I found they produce a rather beautiful presentation.

Rule #1: Stick to two good cheeses. One of those, in my mind, should be a parmesan.

Rule #2: Stick to two good meats. One of those, in my mind, should be prosciutto. An imported one. Like great boots, this is no time to go domestic.

Rule #3: COLOR! This can be done in a variety of ways. I opt for 1 raw vegetable, typically radishes, since they are pretty. Then I roast two other vegetables in a 425 degree oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper for about 20 minutes. I lean towards brussel sprouts (I’m obsessed) and carrots as I love the sweetness that comes out in them from roasting. It cuts the salt of the meats and cheeses well.

Rule #4: A rocking bruschetta. Homemade is great. So is picking up a good container from your favorite Italian deli.

Rule #5: An antipasto platter would not be complete without some form of carbs. I prefer toasted baguettes with a drizzle of olive oil on them.

I like to serve the platter room temperature aside from the bruschetta which I like to keep very chilled. A good bottle of wine is also a must.

Picnic is optional.
C

‘Sunny’ mango salsa & good friends

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[dropcap1 color=”rosy”]A[/dropcap1]much needed combination for me today.

It was a rather long Saturday night (nightmare/stuffy nose/baby bear is lost/another nightmare/nose is stuffed again/thought he heard something weird outside). I think I was dragging myself up the stairs every 45 minutes to the little guy’s room. When I finally did get a consecutive straight hour of sleep, I woke up to a very gray and very rainy Sunday. Lovely.

I am not a rain girl, the exception being humid summer thunderstorms late at night. I laid in bed for a few minutes trying to give myself a pep talk to get going. Come on Courtney. Time for a Fresh Market run, get your butt on the treadmill, then home to cook and clean. No thank you. Then I remembered our dear friends Catherine and Jeff were coming over tonight with their two adorable boys. That got me to peel myself out from under the covers. I drove straight to Starbucks with L, (Katy Perry blasting in the car) ordered the most caffeinated drink possible and downed it on the way to Fresh Market. I was starting to feel more like myself. Now one more thing I needed – Catherine. Please be at the gym. Who did I run into right as I walked in? Catherine. Her first words ‘wow, you look good for not sleeping at all.’ I love you.

Throughout the morning I was attempting to finalize the menu in my head. I knew we were going casual – Catherine wanted to learn how to make the wingless buffalo chicken pizza I posted about last week. So, two of those and a light salad. Dessert would be the ‘compromise cookies’ that would bake away while we ate dinner so they would be warm and gooey for the cold vanilla ice cream waiting to sit on top of them. (A great idea courtesy of my friend Becky). I just couldn’t come up with a good appetizer. I knew I had the perfect one up my sleeve, I just had a hard time pin pointing it due to the fuzzy brain. Then it hit me on the treadmill. MANGO SALSA. It’s brightly colored, flavorful – like sunshine in a bowl. Just what my gray Sunday needed.

A quick tip on the mangos. You can buy them fresh, but I find them to be quite a pain to work with. They are a lot of effort, and not much mango. I actually buy the frozen mango halves from Trader Joes. We go through packs of these a week, they are delicious.

Sunny Mango Salsa
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Ingredients
  1. 3 mangos, diced
  2. 1 avocado, diced
  3. 1/2 red onion, minced
  4. 1/2 jalapeno, minced
  5. juice of one lime
  6. salt and pepper
  7. handful of cilantro, chopped
Instructions
  1. Stir all ingredients together. Serve with tortilla chips for an appetizer or you can put the salsa on grilled fish or chicken as an entree.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

The salsa got rave reviews, although Catherine is not a huge onion girl, so she would substitute garlic – perfectly acceptable.

Absolutely great night! Time to crash.

Zzzz,
Courtney

P.S. Look at the beautiful appetizer Catherine brought over. Oven roasted tomatoes, ricotta, fresh basil with a drizzle of honey on top. The flavor was outstanding!

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