wadmalaw

After the end (kind of) of our Lenten journey, we took another journey - a vacation to Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina. 

Wadmalaw is a small, relatively unknown island near Charleston, population of less-than 3000, and the home of America's only working tea plantation and Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. It's also the filming location of the popular rom-com, Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook.

The house we stayed in was right around the corner from Ryan Gosling's back

The house is the weekend house of our friend Emily's aunt (check out her amazing website here), and it was amazing!

The view from our room

Canoe, marsh, and spanish moss at sunset

The back deck

Seriously...this is what heaven should be like

But the company was even better! We got to spend the week with our friends from divinity school and their spouses (clockwise from Suzy): Stephen, Justin, Chrissy, Emily, and Josh.

But the best part of the week was the food. We spend most mornings drinking French press coffee and slow-cooking breakfast in stages.

One night we decided to do a lowcountry boil, and we all became a sous chef to our head cook, Emily's husband Josh. Josh has worked in "the industry" for a number of years and is now basically the second-in-command for The Comfy Cow, a local (but expanding) small-batch ice cream parlor.

So after we descended on the Piggly Wiggly like a swarm of locusts, we procured the necessary items and got to work. I'll let the pictures tell (most of) the story.

The table was set, including hand-woven fabric centerpiece from "magical" Aunt Susan. Also notice the screened French doors to let in the cool evening breeze. (*sigh*)

Prep work. The oranges were thrown in with the lowcountry boil. Never done this before, but will never NOT do it again. Adds so much flavor!

Mussels for the boil, and greens to saute.

Cooking it up. 

Notice the hushpuppies frying on the right. We had the oil already heated up, so we started frying other stuff: Potatoes. Corn. We even rolled some andouille sausage in hushpuppy batter and dropped it in, resulting in the most delicious corn-dog-esque food EVER! 

(And I feel very confident making that claim.)

 The finished product, complete with sauteed okra. Yum!

Josh even made us homemade cocktail and tartar sauce. They are surprisingly simple, and so much better than anything you can get in a jar. Here are the ingredients, and it is almost every one is simply "to taste."

Tartar Sauce
Mayo
Half white onion, diced
Dill
Ground mustard
Apple cider vinegar
Salt/pepper

Cocktail Sauce

Ketchup

Horseradish

Worcestershire sauce

Hot sauce

Lemon juice

Salt/pepper

We even got to compost our scraps, returning our food to its source (and feeding the crabs).

The last night we were all together, we went into Charleston to see Emily's aunt and uncle at their Charleston-style home. We sat on the porch, talked about life, and drank our house cocktails - pomegranate juice, selzer/tonic, and lime. A refreshing drink, and perfect for a warm afternoon on the porch with friends.

Suzy and our boy on the porch

I really cannot think of a better way to spend a vacation. Relaxing with friends, sharing great conversations about ministry, and taking our time together, making delicious food and sharing life together in the kitchen.

And the best part? We're going to make it a yearly tradition! I can't wait to see what we'll cook up next year...