Good morning, darlings.

Spent the last week or so in Bonnie Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 It’s been lovely getting to know her.

Gm, Nostr. #coffeechain

Good morning, Nostr. I hope your coffee is as good as mine this morning. #coffeechain #goodmorning #coffeeroaster

This is, to date, one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. #photography

I actually love paying people to do jobs I can’t do. Being able to support others to be able to use the skills they have feels good. BUT….i also have a toxic dose of DIY running through my veins. Frequently I have to talk myself off the ledge, reminding myself that supporting someone else to do a job 10 times more efficiently and with more skill than me is better, freeing my time up to do the things I am good at. Occasionally though, the DIY makes sense. Occasionally I do have the tools, if not the skill, and though I may have to bumble through, it’s a bumbling worth doing. I’m currently adding “food photographer” to my list of jobs. I don’t particularly care for this work. I much prefer telling stories through my photos. However, I’m saving a lot of money photographing my cookbook myself and I do like the fact that it makes it more personal. Anyway, here’s to learning new skills, and for knowing when not to.

This is what seasonal eating looks like in South Carolina summer. I look forward to this charred okra and pea salad all year. Ingredients For the dressing ½ cup olive oil 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Juice of 2 lemons 2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano or a mix) ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper For the salad 4 cups fresh or frozen field peas (or cowpeas/black-eyed peas) 1 pound okra, halved lengthwise 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tablespoons oil (for charring) Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Whisk together dressing ingredients in a bowl: olive oil, mustard, lemon juice and zest, herbs, salt, and pepper. Set aside. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and the peas. Reduce heat and simmer for about 8 minutes, until tender-crisp. Drain and cool. Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add coconut oil until it just smokes. Place okra cut-side down in the pan in batches. Let it char undisturbed for about 2 minutes, flip, and cook another minute. Remove and repeat with remaining okra. In the same pan, add tomatoes cut-side down and cook 2 minutes, flip for 1 more minute. Remove. In a large bowl, toss the peas with the dressing. Gently fold in the okra and tomatoes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with extra fresh herbs and serve.

Grocery shopping in the yard. You can just grow food. #grownostr #growfood

Saturday morning in the August garden. #grownostr #growfood

Artists, these chickens. They’re artists! #colorfuleggs #farmtotablebreakfast #growfood

Pepper rich. #grownostr

Gm, Nostr. #coffeechain #coffeestr

Quick snap from the Provst dungeon under the Old Exchange in Charleston. This space was primarily a cellar but during the period of the revolutionary war, while the British held Charleston, an estimated 6k people were held (not all at once) in medieval conditions in this space. Men, women, and children, shackled and kept on stale bread and sickly water. With rats in the straw which was their only bed and riddled by mosquitos that came in through the small barred windows. Countless people died here, but few records were kept. They were imprisoned for their treason to the crown. Additionally, as there isn’t much natural stone in coastal Charleston, the majority of the city is built with bricks which were, of course, hand packed by enslaved people of the surrounding plantations. If you look closely in places like the dungeon, which have been protected from the erosion of rain, you can find thumbprints in a lot of the bricks. All of this took place 200-300 years ago. All of this is recent history. I’m currently homeschooling my sons (ages 13,12, & 10) and in teaching them history, I’m also teaching them to keep their eyes open to current events that will still be studied and talked about 300 years from now. Can you imagine what will be written and told about the time we’ve lived in, and the insanity people just accept as normal? I expect it will be just as hard to wrap our heads around as these things, which many people accepted as normal back then.

Church and Union in Charleston, SC.

Brought my boys down to Charleston for a little homeschool history trip. I could wander the historic district all day just taking in the gardens. 😍

She’s wild and I love her for it. #gardenstr #grownostr

I raise my coffee cup to the Jersey cow. #growfood #rawmilk

Good morning darlings. The garden is dwindling and I’m realizing how much I love August. For years, I lamented the end of summer but these recent years, it’s come like blessed relief. Tearing out the tomato plants and turning under the patch where the potatoes grew feels like permission to rest. I love the season of the garden where the roots grow, where the evenings are chilly and there is so war to be waged on pests. I do miss the dahlias though, so now I’ll just appreciate every offering they make as if it might be their last. #grownostr #gardenstr

Grilled marinated chicken thighs, herby new potatoes, roasted feta with fresh herbs. Green salad not pictured.

We built this herb garden by the house this year and every time I run out to grab a handful of herbs while food cooks on the stove, I’m thankful for the proximity.