Husk Charleston SC

While in Charleston at the weekend we had brunch at Husk restaurant viewed to be best new restaurant of the year by Bon Appetit. In fact the article in Bon Appetit really sparked my interest and made me want to eat there. I love the philosophy of farm to table and the seasonal menu that often changes daily. This approach is very similar to a restaurant we ate at in Edinburgh Scotland - Castle Terrace, on target to receive a michelin star. I struggled to get a table for 7 when making reservations and often it can be booked for 6 weeks, but the manager was very kind on twitter and helped me out he even said hi when we arrived. 

The Charleston Tea Plantation

We visited the Charleston tea plantation yesterday, I was very keen to see how tea is grown and it's Americas only tea plantation. South Carolina has a good climate warm, humid with rainfall and the plantation has been growing tea for a number of years in fact the owner is a fourth generation tea tester.

Stop and Listen!

Stop and Listen to the waves, heres a clip of the waves at Folly beach SC, sometimes in life we need to stop close our eyes and listen to waves, birds the wind in the trees and re charge :-)

Hugs have a great weekend

Everyone

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I made these simple cakes recently mainly because I had seen them on blogs and wanted to see if it worked. As you can see I overfilled them and got a nice melted ice cream look :-) I didn't frost them as already very sweet but would look cool, these are perfect for a kids birthday party.

Tips for Nursing

I wanted to share some personal tips for nursing mums, there is no right or wrong any way you choose to feed your child is fine love is key. I just want to help you if your struggling as it gets easier :-)

Pork Chops in a Mushroom Gravy

Here is another revisited recipe, its super simple and full of flavor, any type of mushrooms would work the link is for porcini this one is with button and enoki.

Craft - Pumpkin Garland

Here's another fun craft for fall, how to make a simple pumpkin garland :-)


Have a great weekend everyone

hugs

Pumpkin Brownie Bites

With all the amazing pumpkin recipes going around, I want to contribute :-) these simple pumpkin brownie bites are super easy and make a nice treat. 

Amazing Photography to WOW you

The Aurora from TSO Photography on Vimeo.


Thanks @Lonelyplanet for tweeting a link to his site, Terje Sorgjerd,  travels the globe in sometimes crazy conditions to capture some of the worlds wonders and makes videos. They are a global sensation but new to me and in case you haven't seen them yet enjoy :-) 

Portuguese Inspired Baked Cod

I made this recently its a simple one pot meal I learnt from Ruth from I Love Flavor me, its been on the blog before heres the link - Portuguese baked cod , but its always fun to make good recipes again. I also love keeping a variety of frozen fish portions in the freezer so handy for making a quick healthy meal. 

Craft - Leaf Prints

Here's a fun fall craft idea, collect some lefts the skeleton ones are the best with an adorable little helper. Place between two pieces of paper and gently rub over with a crayon, it will leave a print. As a child we would do this with coins as well. We then cut them out and stuck on colored paper.

Apples with Caramel Sauce

When my parents were here, I thought it would be fun to coat sliced apples in caramel I got the recipe from Nelly its fun to have a pastry chef friend! - Rebel Caramel , follow the link for great instructions. It amazed me how simple sugar and water with milk can make a wonderful caramel sauce. I would have liked this to be a tad thicker and another pastry chef friend suggested adding to Greek yogurt as a dip, love this idea. Jenni from The Balanced Pastry Chef. 

Its a fun activity for fall and its apple season :-) 

Ploughman's Lunch

When my parents came I asked them to bring some Branston Pickle, a famous British pickle and a must for a ploughman's lunch. Branston pickle is made from Branston Pickle a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions, cauliflower and gherkins pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and dates with spices.

I got hooked on ploughman's sandwich's when I was last home, sharp cheddar cheese, salad and branston pickle so good. Here's my take on it. Apparently the Milk Marketing Board came up with the idea in the 1960's to increase the sales of cheese and it stuck :-)

You will find this on the menu of cafes and pubs around the UK. 

Glitter Pumpkins and First Smiles

Here's a fun toddler craft - glitter pumpkins, I even amazed myself being able to fit in a craft with Jasmine she better be thank me when she is older!  The little guy has started to smile magical here's a picture :-)

Guest Post - Dave's Fisherman's Pie

I love twitter it connects you to so many cool people, one is Dave Evan's - UK Expat Particle Physicist Computing & Software dev in Chicago. Rugby, Physics, Food, Cooking, interesting discussion on pretty much anything http://evansde77.posterous.com


We immediately hit it of both having a British humor and a love of good food. I started to read his blog and was so impressed by his cooking ability and passion for inventing new recipes like this one, a healthy version of the beloved fish pie. With a tomato based sauce and seasonal carrot, sweet potato and butternut squash topping. I love this as a dietitian as its healthy and packed with flavor. 


This is on Dave's blog - I would like to create the online equivalent of a dog eared, pencil-note scribbled, post-it note and notepaper stuffed cookbook that lives in the bottom of the kitchen drawer and someone one day finds, and possibly craps themselves with nostalgia. If not, then bugger it, it works for me.
I love this and still want chow and chatter to be about finding cool blogs and promoting them, as they deserve to be read and enjoyed by many just my opinion ;-)

Dominican Republic Red Beans and Rice

This recipe was inspired by a post by the lovely Nelly of Cooking with Books, its basically like her recipe but I didn't have celery. Simple to make, healthy (well Ok it has a little bacon in it but thats ok in my book) and tasty. 

Tips for Twitter Etiquette

Here are some of my tips for twitter etiquette (I know I don't pronounce it correctly just chuckle and move on :-))

What are your tips?

Have a great weekend folks