Kingsley Plantation

It was a moody, rainy September day. Kingsley Plantation drew us in with its white, tabby slave hut walls, leading us to it's grander wooden beams and out to the low country water ways, beyond the oak and palm swept property. In the distance, a heavy growth of ferns, palms and Spanish moss covered land once ladened with indigo fields. As the oldest plantation house in Flordia, years of history, turmoil, sadness, family and wealth breathes here. Stories of Zephaniah and Anna Kingsley, indigo, slavery, wars and freedom beckon to ears that will listen. We wandered the property, toured through the plantation home, saw flamingos in the distance and hid from a rain storm. We did our best to soak up the history there and left wanting more. It felt like a different time and a hidden, secret place. A place so worthy of time - to be beckoned by its history, to be surrounded by its beauty and to listen to its many weathered stories of the past.

Visiting Kingsley Plantation 

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is a big place. Much bigger than I had anticipated. And as we wandered, biked, bused and subwayed around its neighborhoods, I became obsessed with the industrial features of this place. There was a consistent placement of water towers and exposed brick walls, rust and graffiti, abandoned warehouses and metal hung bridges. Poking out from the cool cafes of Williamsburg and through tree lined brown stones of Cobble hill. From top to bottom, the rawness could be found. All fused and related and very much a part. All very real. And I liked that. 

Bellocq Tea Atelier

There are places, real gems of places, that are so alluring and dear that you wish you could just dissolve into their surroundings so that you could stay there forever. Bellocq Tea Ateliers is like that. When we happened upon the store front blended into an old warehouse building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, I could hardly contain my excitement. Being a life long wooer of tea, I had found my heaven. 

Bellocq has a certain charm that goes beyond it's beautiful, organic loose leaf tea. The space is quite poetic, from the jungle of hanging ferns and the walls of collected copper tea pots to the chandelier hung, dusty pink sitting room out the back. There is a warmth inside and a knowing that every tea has been blended in house with admiration and attention to its natural richness and depth of flavour. Given the opportunity, Michael, co-founder and proprietor of Bellocq, will graciously tell you that. Quite easily the most generous and inviting store owner that I have ever met, it is clear that Michael adores tea. He poured us brewed tea to taste, gave us samples to take home and spoke lovingly of his favourite blends. We stayed for quite some time, smelling the teas and chatting about this and that. Never did we feel that we had out stayed our welcome. In fact, I would have loved to have sat and stayed a while more. It was time and place that happens all to infrequently. It was special, and just so lovely. We left with our samples, a brass tea strainer and a packet of my daily staple, English Breakfast tea. My only regret is that I didn't buy more and that I don't live in Brooklyn to be able to linger in the store, among the poetic charm and wafts of tea, more often.

Bellocq Tea Atelier, 104 West Street, Brooklyn, New York 11222

Relishing Simplicity

We quite often find ourselves in the mountains. It's become a lot like a second home. Sometimes Tennessee, other times North Carolina, most times we will be camping and quite often rock climbing is involved.

We are, as it would seem, nature people. The woods provide a certain placidity vital to our souls. For him it is the challenge and the rocky surfaces, for me it is the green and the solitude I find there.  Often, it is just more simple. And we like that. 

The canopy of the woods in the mountains in late August provide an escape from the heat that lays still on the flat Floridian ground. It's nice to find that. But even still, late summer in Tennessee isn't always all that forgiving. And although the foliage provides the shade, the sweat still drips, the mosquitoes still bite and the breeze quietly tends to snuff out. However, the feeling of being among that, as the season intended and without the air conditioning, somehow becomes cleansing. The uncultivated surrounds and the leaving behind of any sort of normal routine make my body relish the simplicity. I feel happier, healthier and more rested.   

There is a trail that leads down a rocky path to the river, where a swinging bridge hangs. The river flows from the waterfall. And like nothing else, we swim. The water is cold. The late afternoon heat is perfect for that. It's also perfect for a simple sandwich snack for his tattered climbing hands to hold and my hungry hiking tummy to fill up on. 

We brought the bread with us, from our favorite bakery in Jacksonville. Once, it was a baguette. I was much too excited and forgot to photograph that. 

The cheese, I bought from a small grocer in Chattanooga. A lovely local cheddar from a farm in Philadelphia, Tennessee. 

The tomato relish, I made to bring with us using the last of the seasons heirloom tomatoes, flavoured with currants, cloves and just the right hint of red chili. 

I would happily take any day by a tree lined swimming hole. No matter how icy the water or how hot the air. It leaves us refreshed of the heat and refreshed of complexities. We revive our sense of wonder at the world, and the best bit, we relish in the simplicity of summer life. 

Heirloom Tomato Relish

prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 1 hour 
total time: 1 hours 10 minutes
yields: 1 medium jar full

550 gm heirloom tomatoes (about 4), coarsely chopped
175 ml (3/4 cup) white wine vinegar
100 gm (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 apple, coarsely chopped
125 gm currants
25 gm fine sea salt
1 tsp white peppercorns
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground cloves
finely grated rind of 2 unwaxed lemons
1 medium sterilized jar

Some people like to peel their tomatoes by blanching them in boiling water and peeling them once they are cool. But if you don't mind a more textured relish, skins and all, don't worry about it. Just throw them in, as is.
Process ingredients in a food processor to a coarse paste. Transfer to a large saucepan, bring to a gentle boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once sugar has dissolved, reduce heat to medium low and stir occasionally until thick (about 1 hour). Set aside to cool. Place in Jar, refrigerate and use within 2 weeks. 

A Simple Summer Sandwich

sharp cheddar cheese
rocket (arugula)
heirloom tomato relish
sourdough baguette 

Combine slices of cheddar, a hand full of rocket (arugula) and a good spread of relish onto a sourdough baguette. Cut into individual size pieces.

Wrap in brown baking parchment, tie up with string and bundle together in a piece of square fabric or a bento bag like this one. Enjoy.