Dear Sweet Tea and a Rocking Chair,
I would like to share a little local place for SC. It is actually just a little more than a roadside stand on steroids. It is called Windy Hill Orchard (
www.windyhillorchard.com). It is the only cider press in the area, and is full of charm. Family run, they specialize in tours for preschool & up led by Johnny Appleseed (with a Christian emphasis). It is great!! Also one of the greatest things about living in the Carolinas is that a trip to the ocean or to the mountains is only a day trip!!
Have a great day,
Valerie
I asked my college friend Valerie to help out with the Carolinas. She has lived in both states...so she is just the right person to give us a taste of her part of America. These recipes sound delicious.
SOUTH CAROLINA--BANANA PUDDING
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. corn starch
3 eggs, separated
1 can evaporated milk + enough regular milk to make 2 cups
1 tsp. vanilla
3 ripe bananas (more or less depending on size)
Vanilla wafers
6 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. Cream of Tartar
Directions:
Cover the bottom and sides of a 2 quart casserole dish with vanilla wafers; cover the wafers with a layer of banana slices (be sure you have enough banana left to cover the top of the filling).
In a heavy sauce pan, mix together the sugar and corn starch. Add egg yolks and milk. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue to stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Pour into prepared casserole dish, cover with a layer of bananas, and set aside.
In medium mixing bowl, add the 3 reserved egg whites, 6 Tbsp. sugar and Cream of Tartar. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Cover the pudding with the prepared meringue and place in the oven (350 degrees) until top is golden brown. Allow to fully cool before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.
NORTH CAROLINA--SWEET POTATO BISCUITS
(As far as the biscuit recipe goes, I don't have one. It took me 20 years to finally make a decent buttermilk biscuit. A friend shared her secret with me, and I swear by it. It has never failed me. I use Southern Biscuit Formula L Restaurant Style Biscuit Mix. I don't even follow the recipe on the bag. I just pour some of the mix into a bowl and add buttermilk. Roll out, cut, place, and bake at 425 for 20 min.)
Southerners love their sweet potato casseroles! Some love the marshmallow topping, and some love the brown sugar/pecan crunchy topping. For this recipe, the leftovers of either kind will do, just remove the topping. You will need at least a cup of the filling, depending on how many biscuits you want to make.
To make sweet potato biscuits (an Eastern North Carolina classic), combine your dry ingredients in a bowl, then add your sweet potato filling and mix-your dough should be a pale orange. Add your liquids, being careful to not add too much--you won't need as much due to the potato filling.
Prepare and bake your biscuits as you normally would. Serve hot out of the oven. My husband likes his with lots of real butter, but honey butter or cinnamon butter are both fantastic as well! Any leftovers can be tightly wrapped and frozen for another time.
Thought I would put a personal interest on these states. My love of lighthouses! I have a collection of them...Valerie, I have a replica of the one that is pictured first. It really makes my family smile when I speak of visiting lighthouses...then I tell them I just want to see them, not go UP in them. I am terrified of heights!
www.lighthousefriends.com is a website that I found that has a list of all the states that have lighthouses. Lots of pictures and some
history (hmmm....highlighted to catch my husband's attention...
CIVIL WAR HISTORY ON THE SECOND LIGHTHOUSE PICTURED!!!)
Bodie Island, North Carolina
Morris Island, South Carolina
Have a great day and thank you for visiting!
