For quite a while, Robert and I have been planning a trip up to Baltimore to visit a handful of his aging aunts and other relatives in the city and surrounding area.
Our early morning flight from Savannah landed in the Baltimore/Washington International Airport about 9 am this past Tuesday. What a shock it was to us when we turned our phones back on to see the horrorific news about the disaster of the Francis Scott Key Bridge about 15 miles away. And as we found out later, six workers were missing and presumed dead.
1. Ironically enough, first on our agenda before we checked into our Airbnb later in the day was to visit the gravesites of Robert’s mother in Maryland National Memorial Park …
And his father and stepmom in Arbutus Cemetery …
2. We LOVED going back to our favorite Baltimore crab cake restaurant, G and M.
3. Reveling in the ravishing Baltimore daffodils.
Here’s a fascinating little independent film I produced, wrote and directed titled “Daffodil Hunching.” (Watch carefully for my guest star.)
(HR didn’t know he was in the film.)
4. Seeing the beauty and truth of this Ukrainian Catholic Church across from Patterson Park in Baltimore.
5. Finding the coolest Free Little Library.
And three books!
I hope you’ve had a Good Good Friday and will enjoy a Great Easter Weekendahead.
But not just any tree. a magnificent Longleaf Pine here in Savannah.
2. Last Friday on our way to Jacksonville, Florida for the weekend, stopping by Amelia Island for lunch at one of our favorite casual lunch haunts along the ocean, Coast at the Ritz Carlton. (We eat there, not stay there.)
My Catch of the Day Sandwich was simply incredible.
3. Grandson Gabriel’s sensational three seconds in a recent basketball game in Atlanta …
I’m afraid he doesn’t get that skill from me. ☹️
4. While we were in Jacksonville last weekend (to get away from Savannah‘s crazy St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans, if you want to know … we live on the parade route), we ventured over to Jacksonville Beach where my family vacationed for well over a decade back in the late 60s and 70s.
We visited the Beaches Museum there. And from their archives, I discovered the motel where my family stayed … the Silver Sea Motel! A mid- to lower-end motel with beds where you could insert a quarter and get a shaky fifteen-minute “massage.”
Such JOYFUL memories.
5. Our three little Travel Buddies who venture with us on all our trips.
We have given each other a variety of neat little stuffed animals over the years (i.e. gay), but these three have become our favorite. They go where we go. This photo was taken in the living room of our Jacksonville Airbnb. We loved the pink azaleas waving at us through the windows.
May this weekend you enJOY some JOYful memories as well.
1. Our seasonally inappropriate yet longevity-embracing pumpkin from last fall … who simply refuses to give up the ghost.
2. Like they have done in winters past, someone “decorates” our Washington Square with newly fallen camellia blooms.
3. Our incredible digestive systems, which take the food we eat and voila! gives us energy and health. Thank you, Tummy.
4. I try to keep roses around as long as possible. Why wouldn’t you?! Here’s a reiteration (is that a word?) of some white beauties that Robert gave me on Valentine’s Day.
5. R and R. (Robert and Red.)
May this weekend bring you an extravagance of Joy.
So recently, Robert concocted some fancy-smancy recipe that required buttermilk. He only used a little of the quart container, so frugal that I am, I had to come up with some way to use the rest. “We CANNOT waste $2.19!!!”
And then it hit me… Buttermilk pie! Like my mama and grandma used to make.
According to mycountrytable.com, “Buttermilk Pie is believed to have originated during the depression. This was during a time when some ingredients were either scarce or too expensive, leaving home cooks to make do with whatever they had in their pantry. Home cooks found a way to make a pie with few ingredients out of desperation, hence the name, desperation pies.”
“Several pies originated during the depression out of pure necessity. These pies were all classified as desperation, depression, or make-do pies. Some of them include Buttermilk, Vinegar, Shoofly, Chess, Sugar Cream, Oatmeal, Mock Apple, Mock Mincemeat, Green Tomato, and even Water Pie.”
So, what is buttermilk?
“Traditional buttermilk is a thin, cloudy, slightly tart but buttery-tasting liquid that’s left after cream is churned to make butter. These days, however, it is more commonly sold as a thick liquid produced commercially by adding an acidifying bacteria – and sometimes flavouring and thickening agents – to milk.” bbcgoodfood.com
I went to work.
Not having the patience or the intelligence to actually make a homemade crust, I ran to the grocery store and bought a deep dish frozen piecrust.
Put all the ingredients together (in five minutes!) and voilà!
It was a nostalgically delicious taste of past family culinary lore.
And Robert had never had buttermilk pie before. So it was extra special.
NealEnJoy 