SALAD BASKETS WITH CREAMY ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

Salad Basket with Creamy Orange Vinaigrette © Taste of Carolina

As colorful as a handmade Oaxacan basket, this salad-filled tortilla shell is dressed with a citrusy and creamt orange dressing that will please family and friends alike. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

 

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY MINTY GREEN PEA SOUP

You’ll know why Irish eyes are smiling when you taste this delicious,  savory green pea soup and the tangy lime dessert squares.  The minty soup can be made ahead and served hot or chilled.  The tangy lime filling in the dessert squares can also be poured into a 1 (9-inch) round crumb crust and baked, then chilled and sliced into wedges.  HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

THANKSGIVING GOES HEALTHY

Thanksgiving Light

Thanksgiving is a favorite American holiday in which we give thanks for our many blessings, including our family, friends and delicious food. Recent studies show that the positive affects of gratitude are good for our health – we have more social connections, energy and happiness. A healthy diet is good for us too, even during the delicious holiday feast often referred to as a “pig out!”

“BAKING FOR THE CURE” AT SOUTH CAROLINA’S STATE FAIR

No Knead Chocolate Nut Brioche

For more than 140 years, Fleischmann’s Yeast has focused on teaching people how to raise bread. Now the company hopes to raise breast cancer awareness through their “Bake for the Cure” special contest which was judged on October 10, at the 2011 South Carolina State Fair.

Creative bakers entered a variety of breads featuring Fleischmann’s yeast. Baked goods in the main category, Best Yeast Breads, could be made in any flavor or shape. A second category, Best Whole Grain Breads, included whole grain recipes that had to contain at least 50 percent whole grains (like whole wheat flour or rye flour) and/or other whole grain ingredients (like oatmeal, flax seed, bran cereals and bulgur). All-purpose or bread flour had to be limited to 50 percent or less in the recipe. All recipes were required to be original.

Don’t Miss Les Dames d’Escoffier’s Autumn Affair

Charleston, S.C. - On Thursday, October 27, 6:00-9:00 p.m., the Charleston chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), a worldwide philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage, and hospitality will host their annual fundraiser, An Autumn Affair: A Celebration of Wine and Artisan Food. 

AN AUTUMN AFFAIR – A CELEBRATION OF WINE & ARTISAN FOODS

Members of the Charleston Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International will host An Autumn Affair – A Celebration of Wine & Artisan Foods at Lowndes Grove Plantation, October 27, 2011, from 6 to 9 PM. Distributors and wineries will provide over 100 wines for tasting. There will be live music and foods based on local, sustainable harvests, with farmers present to discuss their crops. Booths will display products and books will be available from local Dames, including the popular LDEI cookbook. A silent auction from 6 to 8 PM will benefit the Charleston LDEI Scholarship Fund.  Tickets for the event are $45.00 and are available in Charleston at The Wine Shop, Charleston Cooks, and www.ldeicharleston.com.

 

CELEBRATE THE SEASON

Fresh greens from the market

“Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; let fortune’s bubbles rise and fall; who sows a field, or trains a flower, or plants a tree, is more than all.”

John Greenleaf Whittier

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The Sandhill Farmers’ Market is open for the season, and will run through November 22. You can visit the market each Tuesday, from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.  It is located at the entrance to Clemson’s Sandhill Research and Education Center, at 900 Clemson Road (across from Village at Sandhill), Columbia, SC 29229 in Northeast Richland County.   Approximately twenty-seven vendors are selling, with additional vendors expected as summer crops are harvested. Items for sale include fresh local produce, meat (beef, pork, lamb), shrimp, eggs, butter, milk, cheese  and honey.  Also plants, flowers, trees, baked goods, homemade bread, grits, boiled peanuts, kettle corn, yarn and woolen items.  Master Gardeners are available to answer questions. Live music is provided by Keith Tracy.  Do come – it’s a festive place to shop, hum along with the music, sample tasty foods and visit with your friends and neighbors!

Anna Langley, Columbia, purchases fresh sugar snap peas grown by Lugoff vendors Doris and John Baush

Taste of Carolina has been on hiatus, due to a busy work and travel schedule.  However, I am back on the job and open for business, just in time for the summer growing season. Check often for weekly market updates, farmer profiles and a generous serving of tasty recipes. I will soon post another blog story, with great tips for decorating cupcakes. It will correspond with my new magazine article on cupcakes, for Columbia Metropolitan Magazine. Look for this issue in June. Bon Appetit!

I love cupcakes!

Lettuce and cupcake photos: © Susan Slack

Farmers’ market photo: © Judith Gaskins