Mushrooms & Ancient Rituals

Kirby, Jake and I headed out this morning to Sewee Shell Ring for our Sunday Church Service.  It was so peaceful and lovely there.  A short walk through the dense forest lead us to a big marsh and the scene of ancient rituals.  Over 4000 years ago ancient people used to gather for their religious rituals right where we were.  I don't think our morning could have been spent in any better place.  Along the way I gathered mushrooms - but only using my camera.

Jambalaya

Yesterday at work I got a craving for Jambalaya.  Don't ask me why, I just did.  So I looked up some recipes online, got a list of the most common ingredients and stopped at the store on the way home.  Today, when I was ready to begin my cooking I remembered that I had a recipe from my friend, Lucy, that I had never tried.  My goodness, she gave it to me probably 12 -14 years ago. 


So, using Lucy's recipe as a guide, I set about chopping up the veggies and gathering my ingredients.  The recipe that follows is what I ended up doing and oh, my goodness was it good.  I made some awesome cornbread using Albers Corn Meal, which is the best there is. (and I have to order it online because I can't find it in South Carolina.)


So, run to the store, get the easy ingredients and have yourself a feast!  You will be glad you did!  And Thank You, Lucy, for the perfect guide.  You know I can't ever follow a recipe exactly!

Sausage is cooked and the veggies are sauteing.

Everything is in the pot and cooking away.  I know this could be done in a slow cooker so easily.  I will adapt it one day when I retire.

Here is the recipe!

• 1 pound of peeled and cleaned shrimp – either fresh or frozen (thawed)
• 14 – 16 oz of New Orleans style sausage, sliced diagonally ¼ “ pieces (such as Andouille)
• 2 Tbs. salad oil
• 1 C. chopped onion
• 1 C. chopped celery
• ¾ C. chopped green bell pepper
• 1 chopped large jalapeno seeds removed
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• 1 ½ Tbs. Cajun Seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 C. chicken stock
• 1 ¼ C. Basmati rice
• ½ C. chopped green onion

1. Place the raw shrimp in a bowl and cover with the Cajun Seasoning and mix well.  Leave to marinate while you cook the other stuff.
2.  Heat the oil in a large skillet that has a lid.  Add the sausage and brown for a few minutes.  Turn each piece for even browning. 
3. Add the vegetables and cook until they are soft.  To this mixture add the chicken stock, rice, shrimp with seasoning, salt and tomatoes. 
4. Simmer, covered on very low until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed – about 20 to 30 minutes.    

• When serving add the chopped green onion – it makes it!
• Serve with homemade cornbread and fresh butter – Yum!
• Serves 8 normal people, 4 hungry people or 2 oink oinks.

And here is the recipe for the best cornbread in the world.  I have been making this cornbread for about 35 years - it never fail - IF you use Albers.  From their website and from my old recipe file - here it is!

Albers® Corn Bread
(Makes 12 servings) 

This moist corn bread can be served with salads, soups, stews, chilies, or southern fried chicken. Try it toasted and spread with butter and jam in the morning.

• 1 cup Albers® White or Yellow Corn Meal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
COMBINE meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine milk, oil and egg in small bowl; mix well. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Pour into prepared pan.
BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.
NOTE Recipe may be doubled. Use greased 13x9-inch baking pan; bake as above.


FOR MUFFINS:
SPOON batter into 10 to 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake in preheated 400°F oven for 15 minutes.

Lime - Jalapeno Chicken

Here you go - just in time for that diet you are going to begin soon!  How to make plain ordinary chicken breasts taste incredible!  Give this one a try - it is easy and a real taste treat!  (It is extra easy if someone else does the grilling - Thanks Kirby!!)

• 1/4 cup lime juice (concentrated is fine - fresh is better)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 jalapeno, sliced (sissys need to remove the seeds)
• 1/2 small onion sliced
• 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

1. Whisk lime juice, oil, vinegar, cumin and salt in a small bowl. Stir in jalapeno and onion. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish and pour the marinade over it, turning to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, turning once, or overnight.
2. Preheat grill to high heat.Grill the chicken until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.
3. Meanwhile, sauté the jalepenos and the onion in the marinade until the vegetables are tender – about 5 minutes.
4. Let chicken cool slightly; serve with jalapeno - onion mixture.

Yield: 8 servings

Pacolet Mills

I am still on our little outing to the Peach Festival in upstate South Carolina.  When the parade was over we made our way back to the car with our stiff and sore bodies that aren't used to standing for so long.  It just felt really good to sit down!

We decided to head on back south but to take the back roads as much as possible.  We aren't used to so many hills and were really enjoying them and joking about the altitude getting to us.  We took highway 150 out of Gaffney and our first stop was at Pacolet Mills.  This old mill town is pretty sad looking today with most of it in ruin but you could see that it was a thriving little community at one time.  We stopped to take a look at the river which was pure muddy.  I looked it up on google maps and can't find the name of it but it does flow into a larger river which then dumps into Lake Marion which is just north of Charleston.  You can read about the history of Pacolet Mills by clicking HERE.
Mr. Gerald Teaster wrote this very interesting history of the mills which I think you will enjoy.

When we finally got back to the interstate we were hungry so we found a little neighborhood park in Clinton.  Jake is really needing a break by the time we get there.

What do you think he is thinking here?!  I think he is almost wishing he had stayed home!

 The park wasn't much to write home about but we were the only ones there and it was neat and clean.  By this time Jake didn't even have the energy to explore. 

Gaffney Parade Part 2

You are gonna love these pictures! I don't think you need any commentary from me - ENJOY!

I hope you enjoyed the parade - and if you are traveling to SC next year, think about going to Gaffney for the Peach Festival Parade!

Gaffney Parade

It has been a long, long time since I have seen a parade like the one we watched in Gaffney, SC when we were there.  And it was almost an accident that we saw it.  Remember that we had Jake with us....not much you can do when you have a dog so we ate motel food in our room for breakfast and decided to take Jake to a park....the only thing on this trip that he liked.

As it turned out, the park where we headed was right on the parade route and they were lining up!  Hooray for us!  We walked a few blocks trying to determine the route and where we should watch from.  We didn't think to take our chairs because we were just exploring the area.  We found a place to stand in the shade of a tree and about 15 minutes later the Best Parade Ever began.

First in line were the motorcycles.  Big mistake.  Jake was so scared of the horrid noise I was afraid he would bolt.  But instead he sat like a good boy and quaked and quivered.  (He even turned his back to them!)  Poor thing.  After that he just couldn't enjoy himself but we sure did.  We saw soldiers, tiny princesses, marching bands, fire trucks, stage coaches, tractors, hillbillies and the mayor waved to US!

Here are a few pictures.  More to come.  It truly was the Best Parade Ever!

I was so touched seeing the young Army guys!  These guys posed for me - I wanted to hug them - but I didn't!

Jake was having a good time until the Harley's arrived.  Notice not many people on the street yet...we were early.

This just looked like pure American to me.  By the end of the parade this veranda was full of people and there was food all over the place.  I really wanted to join them!  (Most of the homes on this street were lovely like this one)

The Best Parade Ever was about to begin - look at the people now!

And this is what ruined it all for poor Jake.

More to come.................

Peaches!!

After our wonderful breakfast I talked Kirby, the driver, into taking the back roads for the next piece of our trip.  We had never been to Spartanburg so now we can say that we have.  What a nice town!  And so many colleges!  People there must be very smart! I really was impressed - nice place from what I could see.

Then it was on to highway 11 which heads east (well, and west, but we went east) to Chesnee and Gaffney.  Chesnee was just a typical small worn out little town.  There are so many all over the country aren't there?  Places with boarded up small business - everyone shops at Walmart now.

I had read about the Peach Shed so it was a certain stop.  The rain was just ending and the sun beginning to peak out.  It was still cool so we were able to leave Jake in the car while we sampled some of the best peaches I have ever had!

Strawberry Hill Cafe and Ice Cream Parlor is where we wanted to get some Peach Ice Cream, but with Jake with us we decided we would need to pass.  It was so cute and inviting - darn!  But, it saved us all those calories.

We didn't really fill up on peaches so when we came to Cowpens National Battlefield we stopped and found a great spot to eat our lunch and let Jake play.

We didn't take the time to go to the visitor's center as they don't appreciate dogs inside so we made directly to a fantastic little picnic area.  There were probably 20 spots like this one, all nestled in the trees.  This place was new and clean.  Loved it!  There were quite a few walking trails also.

 This is the happy spoiled mutt enjoying the picnic stop!  What we do for our dogs!

There were still clouds out when we arrived but as we sat there, the sun came out and turned the trees above into a pure green canopy and dappled the forest with light. Is this a gorgeous spot for a picnic or what?!

Molly's Rock

It had been a long time since we had an outing so we decided to check out a piece of the Upstate - upper South Carolina.  And - we had never taken an overnight trip with our dog, Jake. He no longer drools and shivers in the car so we decided he was ready for a road trip.  Rain was in the forecast but we decided that also didn't matter.  At 7:00 am we were off!

It was foggy and misty but we were hopeful.  Jake wasn't happy in the back of the van but he wasn't really unhappy either.  Traffic was light and we were happy so all was good!  We drove for about 3 hours before we arrived at our breakfast destination.  Traveling with a dog is different.  You can't go to restaurants - especially in the summer months.

I had done my home work and found a place just about 5 miles off the interstate in Sumter National Forest.  The air was wet but when we arrived at Molly's Rock Picnic Area we didn't care.  What a special place it is!  It was only about 10:00 and it was wet and it was a weekday so we had the place to ourselves!

The only bad part was that I had forgotten the Bloody Mary Mix!  Darn!  Since it was so wet we didn't really even sit down for our breakfast of hard boiled eggs and left over chicken breasts.  (Breakfast of champions!  All protein!)  We wandered, watched Jake run and explore and just simply enjoyed the awesome quiet and sense of peace this place offered.

This picnic area was developed sometime between 1936 and 1942 by the Civilian Conservation Corps.  Click HERE for more information on the CCC.

The monuments at the entrance and the fireplace in the shelter along with the shelter floor are probably original.

There is a small trail through the area.