My friend Susan and I travel well together. Susan and I have alot of things in common. We both love food, wine, cooking, tennis, and travel. We are married to cousins, but some people think we are related because we have similar coloring. On the other hand, she is tall and thin and I am neither.
We each have two children and over the years we have taken alot of family trips together. Once our sons were walking down the beach ahead of us and we couldn't tell them apart. And we were their mothers. For the rest of that beachtrip, we called them 'twin sons of different mothers'.
One of my favorite annual trips with Susan is to a women's Professional Tennis Tournament - the Family Circle Tennis Cup in Daniel Island, South Carolina. This trip is 'Spring Break Mom Style'.
When Susan and I travel, we always pack alot in to whatever time we have. We do alot, but it never feels like our pace is hectic. Spring Break 2010 was no exception. This trip had all the elements.
All the Elements is a term that came out of another trip to Isle of Palms. We use this term to describe a time when the weather, food, conversation, people, all activities just seem to seamlessly work out exactly like it should be.
I started the trip on Wednesday morning about nine o'clock. When I arrived in Charleston, I met Susan and a new friend, Teresa, for lunch at a great Thai restaurant called Basil. Teresa is a native of Charleston and a realtor, so she has a whole lot of 'local knowledge'. She is also a lot of fun and a very fast walker! Teresa took us on a home and garden tour of the Anson Borough. This was actually a formal tour, with docents at each location telling us some history of the houses; but Teresa's local knowledge added a lot of character to the day.
After the tour, we had walked enough for that day so we decided to cook dinner for ourselves. I headed to the grocery store because when I am in Isle of Palms I crave seafood of all kinds and that night I was craving crabmeat quesadillas.
We got up early Thursday morning to walk on the beach. The wide beaches at Isle of Palms are great for walking and the weather was perfect. Even the weatherman said, "The forecast for today is 'DELIGHTFUL'".
Next on the schedule was lunch. We went to Ali Baba - a middle eastern restaurant at Daniel Island. We split a sampler plate with grilled vegetables, chicken gyro, cucumber salad and tuna salad. It was all delicious, but the tuna salad was so good. It had capers, black olives, and red peppers in it and maybe yogurt instead of mayo to hold it together.
Then we headed to the Family Circle tennis tournament. First we watched a doubles match. Susan and I play doubles in USTA league tennis. The pros play on the same size court and use the same rules, racquets and balls, but the comparison stops there. The pros make impossible shots with what looks like no effort. The balls fly back and forth so fast you can hardly see them. We were sitting about mid court and had to brace our necks for whiplash.
Next we watched three singles matches in a row. We had seats at an angle for these matches which is great because you can really see the spin on the balls and you also aren't getting whiplash. We saw wins by the #1 player Wozniacki and the #2 Player Jankovic. Patty Schnyder from Switzerland lost, but she is always a crowd favorite. One of the most interesting matches was between two teenaged Americans - McHale and Oudin. Melanie Oudin is the young player from Georgia who won hearts last year at the US Open, going much farther than expected; with BELIEVE written on the backs of her shoes.
I love to watch Oudin's feet. She reminds me of a golden retriever who can't wait to get the next ball. Her feet move constantly in tiny steps and her eyes stay on the ball. When she gets ready to hit it, she gets really low, plants her feet, swings and comes up off the ground putting more power behind her shot than seems possible. You can see the focus and determination on her face. McHale gave her a fight at first, but then Oudin just put the match away. It was a great day of tennis.
So we leave the Daniel Island Stadium and head to Sullivan's Island for dinner at High Thymes. We split appetizers and an entree. Everything was great, but the best was a crabcake served over arugula and gouda grits. I have made cheese grits alot of times, but never did I think to make them with gouda cheese.
Friday morning we wanted to watch the sunrise over the beach, so we got out about 6:30 am and started walking toward the east. When the sun first started up, it had a purplish color. Within just a few minutes you could see the whole sun and it was shining yellow/red. A sunrise on the beach is such a beautiful sight. It reminded me of my favorite Van Morrison Song - Brand New Day.
Spring Break 2010 had all the elements. And I was home by noon on Friday.
Crabmeat Quesadillas
Flour Tortillas
Butter
Fresh Lump Crabmeat
Cheese - I used Sharp Cheddar and Montery Jack with Jalapenos
Fresh Jalapeno
In a frying pan, melt butter. Put one tortilla in. Layer crab, cheeses, chopped jalapeno. Put another tortilla on top. Put some extra butter on the top one. When the bottom tortilla is really crispy and browned, flip it over to brown the other one.
You need a big spatula for flipping without throwing everything out of there. (I saw a cooking show which suggested putting a dinner plate over the tortilla and using it to help flip the quesadilla. So far, I haven't tried this, but it sounds reasonable.) Make sure cheese is melted and everything is hot and then remove and slice. I like these served with salsa.
Quesadillas are alot like quiche - most any meat, cheese, vegetables will work.
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