Dutch Babies

Dutch Babies for Breakast 

I'm trying to ease into the routine of normal living after arriving home from our two-month stay along the South Carolina coast. The past two days have been spent unpacking, cleaning, doing laundry and getting my house back into some form of order.  This morning, I woke up to a clean kitchen and a fresh burst of inspiration, so I lit some candles and whipped up a batch of Dutch Babies for breakfast.

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Old Fashioned Apple Pie 

My kitchen smells of apples and cinnamon this morning and it's bringing back memories of my mother. An expert pie baker, every weekend my mother would tie a homemade apron around her waist and get out her baking essentials. When I'd hear the clunk of the rolling pin on our 1960's formica counter, I knew our kitchen would soon be filled with intoxicating smells. Apple pie was one of my dad's favorites, and in the fall when we had apples from our trees and the neighboring orchards, this variety made a regular appearance on our table.

Pink Muscadine Sorbet

Pink Muscadine Sorbet 

Muscadine grapes are intertwined with the history of North Carolina and supposedly were the subject of exciting reports sent back to England by Sir Walter Raleigh and other early explorers during the late 1500's. While our region is now known for many other varieties of grapes, the Muscadine vineyards remain the oldest on our southern soil.

A Story of Home and Healing

Karen Moran of Feather and Field 

When faced with a devastating loss and a life plunging out of control, one woman finds two things from her past she knows will save her. This is a story of tragedy and loss turned to hope and healing by the restorative power of the sea.

My name is Karen Moran and I was born and raised in Long Island, New York, on the North Shore, also know as the " Gold Coast."

My earliest childhood memory of food would be with my father, my father who has passed, along with my mother, just a decade ago. I would like to tell you that my parents were fairly young (in my mind) when they passed - 59 and 60.  Their passing brought a change in direction to my life and is the basis to how my life exists today, with the strong memories and intense feelings about food and what it means to me. 

Apple and Olive Oil Cake

The rain came down in a determined drizzle yesterday, with not a ray of sunlight piercing through the dull skies, but to me it seemed beautiful. It made staying indoors working on a writing project not so bad. There was no sea calling me for a refreshing walk, no neighbors whizzing by in their little golf carts to distract me, no tempting thought of an outdoor picnic - just the steady, dripping rain. So I fixed a cup of tea and wrote all day. I mean, literally all day, except taking a tiny break to eat a bowl of leftover curry. That's what one can do when holed up in a house by the sea. At bedtime, I fell asleep to the sound of the rain, still pinging against the windows.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Living by the ocean has spoiled me!  The sound of the surf at night, the view from my porch, the endless line-up of boats at the dock, the 3-mile walks each morning when it's just the rising sun and the fishermen sharing the beach with me. All this has threaded its way into my heart and when the time comes to leave, I know a part of me will stay.

Coastal Diaries - A Little Pink Goes a Long Way

A birthday celebration during a Little Pink retreat at Ocean Lakes Campground. 

Truly one of the highest callings in life is to offer hope and encouragement to others. This week, I watched a glorious outpouring of this as ten breast cancer survivors and their families gathered for a retreat at Ocean Lakes Campground along South Carolina’s coast. These women came due to the kindness of a non-profit organization called Little Pink Houses of Hope and the generosity of people who donated their beach homes so these families could enjoy a vacation in the middle of their fight with cancer.