almost heaven

A long time ago, Steve and I took a wonderful mini-break! And due to my lack of motivation and/or organization, you are just getting to hear about it!

Our destination for this wonderful weekend was Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, a place surprisingly accessible from the D.C. suburbs that simultaneously afforded us the feeling of having been transported somewhere far, far away.

Central to this was the presence of this claw-foot bathtub, aaaaaah.

I never wanted to leave.

My mom and my sister had taken a trip to Berkeley Springs and we ended up staying at the same B+B they did: the Highlawn Inn, which I highly recommend for its great ambiance and great service and great food and great TUBS!

But you do have to like/not be allergic to cats.

Look at Her Majesty on her throne :)

We arrived after a low-drama drive (hurray!) and checked out our digs, which had all the charm typical of a B+B.

Unsurprisingly we were hungry.

Our first stop boasted ice cream cones and $2 pizza, which had Steve real excited til he saw the lady behind the counter pull something out of the freezer and put it in the microwave…

Yeah, that pizza was pretty awful. He “accidentally” dropped it on the ground, he claims.

A few doors down, a coffee shop with great ambiance (and coffee facts on the wall!) offered a much better place to hang. Fairfax Coffee House had good java, good food, and promised live music that night.

 

I ordered a really yummy breakfast wrap (though since my pet peeve is inordinantly thick wraps drowning out filling flavor, I partially unwrapped it) as well as a cuppa coffee.

 

Steve, being on vacation and all (and the place was quite reasonably priced) ordered two sandwiches. Egg ‘n cheese on a bagel and a veggie and cheese sandwich, which came with a side of pasta salad.

Such a great veggie selection!

Though the town turned bleary and rainy in the afternoon, we did not despair. We stopped at the bookstore both to dry off and to grab a few selections to keep us entertained during the downpour. I ended up having a wonderful chat with the owner about our shared love of Barbara Kingsolver.

Then I read a collection of her short stories in the CLAW FOOT BATHTUB. Did I mentioned that I liked that?

For dinner we went to a place recommended by our B+B owners (and everyone around town): Panorama at the Peak.

Panorama had a lot of things going for it (which I’ll expound upon in a moment). Unfortunately, the view for which it was named was severely impeded by the gloomy, gloomy fog. We got occasional peeks at the surrounding mountains when the fog temporarily lifted, at least partially, but I want to go back someday to get the full view. Supposedly you can see three states!

 

So I knew I already loved the chef at Panorma because of this:

 

And unlike certain farm to table poseurs (*cough* Founding Farmers), they could name names:

And then there was this! Chef Scott, let’s be best friends!

And the fact that though it was a restaurant serving beautiful, refined food it also had folks in jeans and Christmas lights. West Virginia is pretty dope.

 

We began with beverages. I loved how much local beer they had on tap… but I don’t like beer.

So, I had a mojito with mint from their on-site garden.

 

We began with a dish that the lady at the bookstore had highly recommended: mushrooms. Oh, not any mushrooms. Mushrooms that involved a huge amount of butter, cream, and booze floating atop toasts, with their decadent gravy floating all around.

The kind of “appetizer” that makes you want to sleep for twelve hours before the entree arrives.

Ridiculously rich and delicious.

 

For my entree, I got a crab cake, figuring we’d been driving through the Chesapeake Bay watershed for our whole trip there.

Entrees come with potatoes and a side vegetable of your choice (I loved the old school Fancy Restaurant feel of this place!). I opted for the ginger carrots, which were a little bit of a yawn. The potatoes, though, were EXCELLENT- infused with this zesty seasoning, with I imagine a lot of paprika but I don’t know what else. And the crab cake was great, although I was so chock-full of cream from the appetizer I could not finish this plate.

Fortunately I was there with Steve :)

As for Steve, he got the lamb shank! I am so pleased how my Greek powers have totally converted Steve into a lamb lover. Lamb shanks are so great- my grandmother used to make them. These, like heres, were fall-off-the-bone tender. Steve opted for the summer squash for his vegetable and I was kicking myself for not getting it- it was SWIMMING in butter and so delicious!

 

I knew I couldnt leave without getting SOMETHING from the Julia Child menu, so we had no choice but to order dessert :)

I was recalling the whole saga involving the preparation of Floating Islands in Julie and Julia, so it was an easy pick for dessert.

So French :) Complicated egg concoctions (that end up oh-so light and airy), heavenly cream sauces.

  

We went back to our B+B along the country roads (get it?!) and did an awesome puzzle. Puzzles are great.

One blissful food coma later (I want to add that this was just after the food bank stress CLIMAX, and I was so in need of a good night’s sleep- God bless you, West Virginia), it was breakfast time.

We strolled out at a very reasonable hour onto the front deck, with its beautiful early morning sun and garden view.

 

The innkeepers fetched us hot beverages and OJ, and then we went in to help ourselves to the beautiful breakfast buffet, laid out amid the antiques.

I mean really.

 

This meal was HEAVEN. On par with the fanciest of restaurants, but eaten in the comfortable situation of climbing out of bed and walking down the stairs. With kitties keeping you company.

Going around the clock, up at the top left we have oh so rich cheesy grits, a heavenly creamy herbed summer squash bake (so, uh, a serving of vegetables…), a fruit salad that was the only letdown (mostly frozen), creamy and perfectly soft scrambled eggs, and a DELIGHTFUL and perfectly flaky blueberry scone.

The neighbor at the next table kept us amused for the meal.

Then we went off to a state park. Which was…. interesting.

It began with pretty lake views.

 

But then the trail, uh… disappeared? We ended up wandering through a creek bed but then I was scared I was going to get West Nile (a particularly ominous threat since I’d already agreed to do my stem cell donation and needed to keep my blood safe) so we took off.

I am physically incapable of not pulling over for farm stands.

 

Got some goodies to take home :)

The most charming man professed his corn to be “sweet as sugar” and we agreed when we got a free sample. Straight up raw. Delicious.

 

It was a hot day and iced tea sounded FAB.

 

As did an unorthodox, small, but exceedingly satisfying lunch/afternoon snack of:

- Deviled eggs.

 

- Waffle fries

- And ice cream.

Then we hopped into the springs for which Berkeley Springs is named. The springs were alleged to have all kinds of mystical healing properties and have been visited for hundreds of years by very noteworthy people (George Washington, anyone?). We opted for the cheapest way to swim in them- a good ol’ pool. (There were all kinds of spa and massage options, but we were on a budget).

Anyway, it was my only time swimming all summer and the pool felt GREAT. And I’m sure it was highly restorative :)

The trip home was sad, but we got to enjoy the INCREDIBLE bluegrass tunes coming live from the Berkeley Springs station.

DC-ers, I highly recommend this place for a weekend getaway!

woke up wanting…

… a tuna melt! So I had one at, oh, 9:30 in the morning. (Note that I didn’t wake up at 9:30… at least on that particular day. I tend to spend the morning pleasantly loitering, perhaps doing crossword puzzles in bed, until my appetite wakes up. This is an absolute luxury of funemployment- my temporary state til classes start up in January- and I am thoroughly taking advantage of it).

Anyway, the tuna melt was everything I dreamed of and more.

 

Joining the tuna melt on the plate (along with Sriracha-spiked ketchup) were a few leftover green tomatoes and sweet potatoes I’d made earlier.

At long last, my summer tomato adventure had ended (*sob*), finding me picking tomatoes in my boxers at 11 at night before the first frost came. They came in green, and I figured I’d take advantage of the assertive texture and mild flavor and make the all-so-famous fried green tomatoes.

While not actually wanting to deal with frying (or grease making me sleepy) at lunchtime.

I threw together a batter-ish of egg, paprika, cornmeal, etc. and dunked the sliced tomaters in it.

 

Then “fried” them in a skillet with cooking spray.

The day I actually cooked them, in the general bar-food spirit I was in, I was also jonesing for sweet potato fries, so I sliced sweet potatoes and tossed ‘em with olive oil and cajun seasoning (yes!) and baked ‘em til tender.

 

Served with another craveworthy item: yogurt with fresh pomegranate. HMart had a ridiculously good sale- a pomegranate for like a buck? And perfectly ripe and fresh and awesome.

 

Woke up another morning craving pizza. This time I managed to wait until lunchtime, and made a healthy yet shockingly good version.

Flatbread (I get it from Costco), whole wheat, revived from my freezer (I find they go bad fast so I keep them there) in the toaster oven. Baked til crispy on one side, then flipped and smeared with marinara. Sprinkled with GOAT CHEESE and red pepper flakes. Baked til the other side is crispy.

Half the fun of making homemade pizza is using a pizza cutter. Tip: Target sells them for like $2. Can we say stocking stuffer?!

Served with roasted broccoli and mushrooms.

Such a virtuous yet amazingly awesome meal.

And finally, as you may be able to tell, I crave cheese almost continuously. There was a (skinny) period of my life where I didn’t eat any cheese and I am SO glad that period of my life is over, because cheese brings a lot of enjoyment to my life and life is just too short not to eat something you love, even if it makes you skinny.

In addition, for my birthday, Steve gave me a Groupon to Red, White and Bleu, a cheese shop I’ve literally passed every Saturday on my way to the farmer’s market for years and years and never gone into! Shame shame shame.

I made up for it.

Beware: the following series of photos were taken on my iPod. They are not very good.

Let’s review the cheeses I opted for. Steve didn’t go to the cheese store with me and didn’t answer his phone when I called for a cheese consult so he just had to SUCK IT UP if he didn’t like it. Fortunately, the person at the store was not only very friendly and nice, she also gave great cheese tips.

On the left is Hook’s black truffle cheddar (so deep! So decadent!). At the top is the Beemster, an intensely scented and crumbly textured very aged gouda. To the right is smokey bleu (this bleu cheese was smoked over hazelnut shells. Sounds amazing, right? Really, it just tasted like bleu cheese. I like bleu cheese, so this was not a bad thing). A recommendation from the person at the counter was the St. Marcellin, which was EXCELLENT! Like a brie on steroids. It came in its own dear tiny tureen and we put it in the oven and it got all melty… mm mm mm. SO GREAT! All of them were strong-flavored cheeses, but that’s how I like ‘em.

 

Meanwhile, Steve made pasta, I made- and burned- kale chips, and the microwave made edamame.

Steve opened up a nice Malbec- his and my fave- and I got out my other fun purchase, which was these cookies specifically designed for wine tasting. There was a sort of savory cheddar herb cookie, a chocolate-peanut butter-espresso cookie (which I never would’ve thought of with wine but was great!)- and a traditional shortbread. I was excited to buy them and support a local business. Truthfully they were a bit dry.

  

Cheese cheese cheese cheese cheese!

Feast.

president’s day beach trip

Dear Presidents Washington and Lincoln- thank you for being born!

Dear Kathy and Tom- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for letting us use the beach house!

Dear ocean- thank you for soothing my soul.

Dear Steve- thank you for taking that picture. I’m digging the composition!

Beach essentials:

The only intellectual stimulation of the weekend (well unless you count watching Overboard, which is indeed a brilliant film.)

We left Friday. Gruesome traffic, even leaving long after rush hour should’ve ended. Got to beach at 1:30am. Yuck.

Next morning, revitalization!

Dear Jolly Roger- thanks for being open during the winter.

The Jolly Roger is a landmark sort of restaurant in the Outer Banks (which is where we went. Obviously). It is decorated with pirates. The waitresses wear pirate costumes. There are Christmas ornaments on the ceiling. It is a DELIGHT.

  

The off season is great. Minimal waits for table.

Opportunities for important photographs.

 

Coffee is simply an assumption (Steve ordered it! That’s the fifth time he’s had coffee this year, and he’s now thoroughly convinced he’s a caffeine addict).

Dear International Delight- I admit defeat. I am powerless to resist you.

Dear Jolly Roger- that homemade bread is the greatest thing everrrrrrr.

 

Studded with sunflower seeds, it’s the best (of many delicious others) component of the Jolly Roger Special.

I opted for grits, scrambled eggs, and that toast! That toast!

 

Then Steve and I got plate envy of people around us receiving plate-sized pancakes, so we split one. Excellent choice.

 

Dear Steve- God bless the nerve endings in your feet.

The beach was sooooooooooooo lovely. Uncrowded. Just us and the always serene whooshing of the waves, flying of the gulls, churning of the sea foam.

Lonnnnnnnnnnnnng walk.

Followed by need for bathroom.

Dear  Biscuits n’ Porn…

… seriously, that is the name.

… Dear Biscuits n’ porn, thank you for having a bathroom.

Biscuits n’ porn is in a Citgo gas station. It is exactly what it sounds like.

Kathy (my aunt, the wonderful human being who let Steve and I use her beach house free of charge) said we had to get a biscuit, that they were the best.

Steve totally didn’t even see the smutty stuff while I was in the bathroom (yeah, sure), as he was buying a cheddar cheese biscuit.

  

I had a bite or two. It was exquisite.

Dear Ocean- thank you for providing me with a beautiful seashell. Thank you for letting me discover it by it washing up ahead of me… rather than it whacking me in the shin the way a large conch shell did one time, leaving me with a scar.

I turned it into a lovely hairdo, which Steve photographed.

Then another beautiful shell! I attempted to double them up.

 

Tricky.

Victory!

We strolled along and saw cute dogs and cute children and other cute things. Awww:

Dear walking on the beach- thanks for being exercise in disguise!

Dear Steve- God bless the nerve endings all over you.

Yep, Steve did a polar bear swim. In FEBRUARY. Later we learned the ocean was 53 degrees.

Invigorating.

Dear mini golf course- Thanks for not locking your gates during the off season. Fun photoshoot!

A place tragically closed. I wish I could go and see what they were all about…

 

Lunch didn’t really happen, and I decided I needed frozen yogurt.

Dear Steve- thanks for putting up with my need to get frozen yogurt. And also emotionally coping with the styrofoam.

I got this creation!

Whipped cream (this is vacation), berries (the first fruit of the day!)…

  

… cake batter, peanut butter (!) and pistachio (the green one).

Steve got all the cake flavored ones with a buncha candy on top.

Place I’ve been to previously and wish I could go to again:

Instead, went to one of my faaaaaaaaaaaaaaves. Mama Kwan’s!

I knew Steve would love this place because it starts with ti and ends in ki. Steve turned his bedroom into a Tiki hut with paper bags and hours of labor (have I ever posted about this? Remind me.)

Dear Mama Kwan’s adorable bartender- thanks for the tasty margarita!

 

Salt. Always.

Dear Kathy- thanks for introducing us to the seared tuna when we went here before. It is now non-negotiable.

(though perhaps even better than the immaculately fresh, rare-in-the-center fish is the subtly sweet, sesame oil enriched cucumber salad on the side. Nom!)

Ostensibly we were sharing both of these items but we basically dominated our respective categories.

For him, the Special Occasion Pasta.

I knew Steve would love this because it combined carbs, soy sauce, and copious amounts of butter.

I don’t know how they make this- it’s penne with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, and snow peas in the most wonderfully flavorful and rich creamy sauce that’s tangy with soy- but it’s great.

A single entree managed to fill up Steve. Insane. (Though most normal people eat about a third of this pasta and admit defeat).

For me, what I’ve stated in prior blog posts would be my last meal:

MAMA KWAN’S FISH TACOS!

 

Perfectly sauteed mahi mahi, rice, cabbage, green onion, cheese (you wouldn’t think it goes with fish but oh it does), and wonderfully rich and unhealthy lime sour cream.

So. GOOD!

 

Feast!

  

Dear change of scenery- I love you.

It’s amazing, sometimes, the things you end up talking about just by virtue of talking somewhere you haven’t talked before.

And yknow, that margarita and a strawberry daiquiri that also somehow appeared in front of me didn’t hurt.

The next morning- HOT BATH!

Dear bathtub at the beach house- thanks for being deep enough that I had water up to my EARS!

Next- surprise, surprise, return to Jolly Roger.

Sunday brunch= marginally longer wait for table= photoshoot!

Steve is a scary pirate. I am a happy pirate who didn’t comb my hair after that nice hot bath.

Steve is on the case for me to put Christmas ornaments on my ceiling. (He can’t put them on his because of the aforementioned Tiki hut).

Dear Jolly Roger- you are awesomely affordable. If I lived near you, it’d be trouble.

Steve decided that since the Jolly Roger Special was only $3 (!!!!), he’d go ahead and order two.

 

Thus enjoying toast (four pieces- he just snatched one off the plate before I took a picture), hashbrowns, grits, and both scrambled and fried eggs.

I had a breakfast sandwich the size of my head.

 

Dear Jolly Roger- thanks for being so cool and including the omelet veggies so I’d get at least one serving of produce on this vacation.

This was SOOOOO delicious.

We looked dreamily out the window at the rain for a bit- fortunately we knew and expected this rainy day and relished the sunshine the day before. We had rainy day plans, oh yes.

 

Called… AQUARIUM!

Guys.

I LOVE AQUARIUMS SO MUCH DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT ME?

(I assure you that now my boyfriend and anyone within earshot of us at the aforementioned aquarium for sure, no doubt, knows this).

I, the girl with no knowledge of photography whatsoever, love how when you take pictures of fish one of them always pops out into focus.

I like turtles.

(I said that to be HILARIOUS and reference Youtube but the truth, of course is that I LOVE turtles. There was a sea turtle rescue simulation involving plastic terrapins that was designed for children but that I did… with gusto).

My favorite fish at the whole place was this awesomely peculiar looking dude, who evaded my camera’s focus at every turn.

 

Dear Steve- thanks for spending so long at the aquarium.

 

Dear North Carolina aquarium- thanks for being AWESOME and letting us pet rays!

 

After the aquarium, nothing seemed better than having a hot beverage somewhere cute.

We went to the Frontporch cafe, which indeed had an adorable, if waterlogged, front porch.

 

Steve fueled his growing caffeine addiction (sarcasm) with a ridiculously sugared-up heat bar coffee creation that featured chocolate whipped cream (!). I had soy au lait. And forced Steve to eat some of my biscotti.

Once again having skipped lunch, we headed to the FISH MARKET to buy dinner!

Loved the whole vibe:

Loved the local:

Could not resist the smell of hush puppies.

Dear Steve- kind of thank you and kind of not for buying hush puppies.

 

Steve is a master mixologist… of dipping sauces. That ketchup- mayo- Texas Pete’s- malt vinegar combo was grand.

More would-be-cool-to-sit-outside places. If you squint, it’s a dock.

Then we had to go home and watch Overboard.

Dear readers- if you have seen Overboard (actually, if you haven’t seen Overboard, go see Overboard, then come back to answer this), what is your favorite line?

Mine is: You shot a chicken?

Soon enough it was time to eat again. These things happen.

Dear Kathy- the beach house is awesomely well stocked. And now I want a grill pan!

Swordfish marinated in lime juice (lots), honey and oil (a bit; only had olive oil and I feared burning).

Per. FECT!

Three minutes a side.

(Dear Steve- thanks for documenting!)

Also: oven yuca fries.

Dear Cooking Light- thanks for giving that tip about soaking starchy vegetables in water before turning them into oven fries. They did cook up better.

On vacation I GARNISH! Ooh la la.

 

Steve brought veggies, what a guy.

Zukes and chayote sauteed with oregano:

 

Spinach sauteed in olive oil with lotsa garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon.

 

Dinner by candlelight with Carmeniere.

 

Final night. Dramatic storm. Crazy wind.

Cozy beach house. (Mostly. Except when Steve got up and went to see if there was a burglar. There wasn’t).

Packing up to leave the beach, felt crazy sick. Nauseous. Dizzy.

Simply my body not wanting to return to the everyday? Perhaps.

Dear oatmeal (and yes, Jolly Roger will make that for you too, and blissfully)- thanks for always being there.

Dear epic traffic driving back north- way to remind me that I refuse to live in the DC metro area for the rest of my life.

Dear carefree, unwhiny, blissfully-in-love President’s day weekend me- I miss you already. Let’s repeat this feeling soon.