German Food in Helen, Georgia

Missy Tippens

Last weekend my husband and I had a wonderful getaway to the mountains of North Georgia. We stayed in the little town of Helen that's modeled after an Alpine village. Their slogan on the city/county website says: It's the Charm of Bavaria in the Heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

And yes, it is charming! We stayed in a hotel that sits on the Chattahoochee River. The river runs through the town, which makes for a gorgeous place to eat outdoors. Our hotel had picnic tables, a fire pit and a romantic swing right beside the river. We spent time out there on a couple of afternoons/evenings. Here's the hotel from the river view.

Here's a short, soothing video from one of our hotel's picnic tables...

The Chattahoochee River also provides a fun activity: floating in tubes-- fondly called shootin' the Hooch. :)

The weather was perfect. And the scenery relaxing and gorgeous.

We did the long float that took almost 3 hours since the water is low right now. We had push sticks to help us try to stay off rocks and away from shallow areas. Even with the sticks, my hubby had to get out of his float a few times to give me a push. haha

And the food! We ate at two German food places our hotel recommended. Bodensee and Hofer's of Helen Bakery and Cafe. Both were amazing! I only took a photo at Hofer's, where I got a sampler platter. Three sausages, a house specialty pretzel dumping (which was kind of like a pressed and sliced bread pudding), mashed potatoes with gravy, sauerkraut, YUMMY mustard for dipping, and two rolls (one of pretzel dough). The bakery was amazing as well for dessert later.

We also made a side trip to a pottery festival and museum, and also went to the Old Sautee Store and did some Christmas shopping. The front, older section is still set up like the old store just for display...

The day we left, we went toward Unicoi State Park and hiked a half mile to Anna Ruby Falls--where two falls converge to form Anna Ruby. Such a beautiful trip up the mountain!

What's wonderful is that Helen is only 65 miles away (just over an hour)! We plan to go back again and saved our water shoes for tubing along the river again next time. It's close enough that we can even make a day trip! Have y'all ever floated down a river in a tube? Or maybe done whitewater rafting?

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A Moment of Awe

We live in a beautiful world, don't we?

Jan here, with a vacation report! Last week, hubby and I celebrated our thirty-fifth anniversary by going back in time to live like it was 1982. No computers. No internet. No cell phones (except to turn it on once a day to see if there were any emergencies at home - there weren't). No television. No news.

No distractions.

Nothing except God's world and each other.

We rose above the tops of mountains...

...and peered into the depths of the earth.

We saw jaw-dropping vistas...

...and delicate details.

We saw more wildlife than I could photograph...

...but mostly, we just sat and took it all in.

"These peaks have been called the Cathedral Group...more evident here than

in many of the great cathedrals of men is the gothic note.

It is seen in the profiles of the countless firs and spruces

congregated like worshippers on the lower slopes;

it reappears higher in the converging lines of spire rising beyond spire;

it attains supreme expression in the figures of the peaks themselves that,

towering above all else, with pointed summits direct one's vision

and thoughts yet higher." ~ Fritiof Fryxell

We enjoyed our week in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and enjoyed the travel from here to there just as much - over the Beartooth Mountains on the way, and through the Big Horns on the way home.

Awesome. Just awesome.

This was our dream trip, a year in the making, and we loved every minute.

Would your dream vacation be to the mountains, the ocean, or somewhere in between?

Poached Nectarines with Blueberry Compote

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here, reporting from the West side of the state. It was 108F and hotter where we live so although we hadn't planned a trip, we decided to get out of town!
We spent a while in White Salmon, then Stevens Landing, then a town called Government camp in Mt. Hood National Forest , and now we're on the beach. *whew* MUCH cooler!
                                     
Reading on the beach... is there anything better? I do have writing, but no sand in the laptop, so I was forced to read. :)
                                                        
OK, start with two cups of blueberries and assorted blackberries/ cherries/ huckleberries/ marionberries. Or what you can find in the garden. We missed blueberry season at home so it was nice to arrive just in time for blueberry season in the west. What a difference a few hundred miles and a mountain range make! We picked these Toros early one morning, and the blackberries after lunch.
                                                           
Depending on how ripe your berries are, mix about 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water into the pan. Stir on medium high heat for ten minutes or until mostly cooked, but some berries are still whole.
                                
California nectarines brought straight up from a farm near the border. Mmmmm. Depending on number of guests, cut nectarines in half so there are several slices for each guest.
                                                     
1/4 cup of brown sugar and 4 TBS real butter in a cast iron skillet, melt over medium heat.
                                                        
Place face down and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
                                                 
Turn several times as the sugar becomes caramelized.
                                        
Remove from the heat and set on a plate. Add whipped topping with a dash of nutmeg.

Layer on the blueberry/ assorted berry compote! Serve hot!

Any leftovers can be used as pancake topping the next morning. :)

Be sure to stop by my author pages of Mary Jane Hathaway and Virginia Carmichael for all my book news, and I hope you're finding ways to stay cool this summer!

A Taste of Maine

Today's post is brought to you thanks to an extended vacation and an old family recipe.


Still haven't done much cooking. That may be the best part of vacation.

Not really. For me, the best part of this vacation was the long walks with Fenway on the beach every night. For most of the summer, dogs are barred from the beach, but every night from 6 - 8 they are allowed on leash. My silly dog who hates HATES getting his feet wet, and balks at walking in the rain, LOVES the beach. All he has to hear is me say, "Fenny, want to go to the beach?" and his tail starts wagging and his face breaks into a grin. From the moment we exit the car, he is yanking me toward the water. It's funny to watch him approach the water and then dance out of the way of the incoming waves.

Do we really have to leave?

I took this video of him charging ahead of me. He loves to sniff the seaweed.

SO on to food.  Since I'm talking Maine and seafood and beaches, I thought I would share a favorite recipe from a few years ago.

One of our favorite places to eat a casual meal while we're here is the Maine Diner.  I had a wonderful lobster roll for lunch there, but my favorite dish to get is their lobster pie.

The first time I ordered it, I was anticipating something along the lines of of chicken pot pie but with lobster. It turned out not to be nothing at all like that, but it was so much better.


After my first bite, I turned to my husband and said, "This tastes like Sam's fish."

Sam was an elderly man who cooked for my husband's even more elderly mother and aunt back when we were first married. They lived on a gorgeous estate on Cape Cod - 2 sisters and Sam and his wife.

My husband LOVED Sam's fish, so with my newlywed enthusiasm, I tried everything I could think of to replicate it. I bought every type of bread crumbs I could find, but the response was always, "Good, but not like Sam's."

Finally, in desperation, I told Sam my sad tale. He laughed and took me into the pantry where he shared his secret crust - Ritz crackers and butter. Yup. That was all. He'd smash the crackers, mix with melted butter, and layer onto the fish. So simple, but SO tasty. My marriage was safe!


So when I took that first bite of lobster pie this summer, and it tasted like lobster with Sam's crust, I was highly suspicious that I knew the special family recipe. In the name of research, I went into the gift shop and bought a cookbook of diner recipes which included the lobster pie. Sure enough - Ritz crackers and butter!

My Friday night dinner!

It was very good. Yum.

I haven't made Sam's fish in many years (in the name of low cholesterol and all that jazz), but after we returned home, I decided to give it a try for old times sake (and to post here). So without further ado - the 4 step fish recipe.

1. Smash the Ritz crackers. I do it in a baggie with an ice cream scoop.
2. Melt butter in microwave and mix in the cracker crumbs.
3. Spread on the fish (I used haddock. Sam always used sole.)
4. Bake. You can broil briefly at the end if you feel the need to brown the crumbs, but be careful!

Enjoy!

I'm curious. Have any of you ever made this?


As you can probably tell from the photo above, the lobster pie uses fresh lobster rather than haddock and they cook it in a mini casserole dish. So.much.goodness.

I'll leave you with some more photos of my favorite beach,

 And these from the Marginal Way.

No-Cooking Friday...Plus a Mini Vacation

Missy Tippens

Okay, I admit it. I was at the beach last week, and I only cooked one or two meals. Both of which were boring and the usual stuff I've already posted here multiple times. The rest of the time we either ate sandwiches or leftovers or ate out. Sooo...

I'm just going to share a few beach photos from Orange Beach, Alabama, so you can feel as if you've had a little vacation. :)

This is the night we arrived. We stayed in a different condo this time. Here was the beautiful view...

Here's the peaceful view from the balcony the next day...

Pour you a cup of coffee and enjoy a morning of waves lapping against the sand with the cry of seagulls to relax you... 

Of course, you need a little fun time down at the water. Enjoy the warm sand and the waves...

Oh, and since I write romance, I had to share this. Someone wrote this huge love letter on the beach one night! :)

Our last evening there, telling the beach goodbye for another year...

Oh! I do have a shot of food! While there, we usually try to eat at Lambert's Cafe--"Home of the Throwed Rolls." :) Hot, gigantic, wonderful yeast rolls tossed across the room to you. :) My kids made great catches this year. I won't share stories of all the years the bread went awry. :)

We had a wonderful vacation. Now back to real life. (big sigh) So, what's your favorite vacation spot?

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