Saturday, December 14, 2013

Charleston's Caviar and Bananas

This past summer my family and I traveled to Charleston, SC, to spend the remainder of my maternity leave with my mother. We adore Charleston and the nearby town of Mt. Pleasant, which is where my husband and I were married. Charleston is a beautiful, historic city with boutique shops, local restaurants and beaches 20 minutes away. 

Copyright Caviar & Bananas 2013

During our time in Charleston, we had lunch at Caviar & Bananas (C&B), a gourmet cafĂ© that also serves as a mini-market and bakery all rolled into one. The location we visited is off of George Street in the historic downtown area, nearly on the campus of College of Charleston. Purchase ready-made food, bakery items, locally made ice cream, popsicles and made-to-order sandwiches/wraps ... and here's where the story really begins ...


As you now know, my family is vegan. I have started to be more vegan. I go back and forth but I'm starting to notice that where dairy is concerned, going back and forth is not a good idea... But I digress. We looked at the menu, trying to decide what to order. We landed on a wrap called the Herbivore. Now, here is where things get interesting and funny. We ordered 2 wraps: one for me and one for my husband and daughter to share. We loved it so much that we ordered another one. Before we left, we had ordered 2 more for the road... Hahaha. *Sigh* I told you it was funny/ridiculous. 

Copyright Caviar & Bananas 2013
Fast forward to the following day and it's about dinner time and we realize we hadn't discussed what was for dinner. That happens when you're on vacation. My husband and I looked at each other, smiled, and said, "Let's call Caviar and Bananas!" C&B does carry out, so it was perfect.  Two days later we were getting ready for a Day Trip to visit family and friends who were in town, staying on Kiawah Island, which is about a 30-40 minute drive south from Charleston. 

Due to poor time management, yet again (It happens with a 2-year-old and newborn), my husband looks at me - just before getting in the car - and says:

"We haven't eaten. What do you want to do for lunch?"
Me: "I'll make some sandwiches." 
Husband: "Or, we could pick up some Herbivores on the way?" 

We looked at each other and just laughed, hysterically. We had a problem and it was called Herbivore. 

It is now November and we can stop thinking about the wrap. Obviously, we have gone on with our lives, but hey, we are foodies. And like any foodie knows, good food stays with you, so last week I called Caviar and Bananas and I told them the following:

"Look, I know you can't give away your trade secrets but could you at least tell me what the obvious ingredients were in the wrap? I know there was hummus, sundried tomatoes, corn... but what else?" 

The woman on the phone laughed. I could tell it wasn't the first time she'd been asked this question. I felt better about that - not so ridiculous anymore. She rattled off the ingredients - hummus, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, peas, corn and spinach.  I quickly wrote them down on a pad of paper. I said THANK YOU to the nice lady, hung up the phone and quickly called my husband... 

"Babe! I got it!!" 

There were some ingredients that C&B wasn't able to tell me, for instance, what was included in their homemade hummus, but nonetheless I got enough information to try and replicate the recipe. And now, I gift it to you - as prepared by me with a few adjustments. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Yields 7 Wraps

Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
At least 2 cups (2 small plastic tubs) of Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (added to the flavor, instead of using regular - boring - hummus)
A handful of chopped white mushrooms
About 6 sun dried tomatoes (chopped), including a little bit of the sun-dried tomato oil
1 bag of frozen peas
1 bag of frozen fire-roasted corn
1 bag of frozen (I'd recommend 2-3 bags of fresh spinach) spinach
1 bag of flour tortillas

Directions
Put 7 flour tortillas in the over to keep warm (cover with a wet paper towel or wrap in foil, so they don't dry out)
Place your large skillet on medium heat, add just enough olive oil to almost coat the entire plan.
Chop up 3 cloves of garlic and add to the pan (simmer on medium-low). Don't burn the garlic! If you do, start over! Burnt garlic has a way of sticking around...
Chop up a handful of white mushrooms and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper
Chop up about 6-7 sun-dried tomatoes and add to the pan, along with a little bit (~1 tsp.) of the sun-dried tomato oil.
Add in your hummus. 
Simmer on low heat.

In another skillet, prepare the peas and corn. I cook them in a skillet - with a little water - until they're done (whatever the package directions say).
Once the peas and corn are done cooking, remove them from the pan and put into a glass bowl and cover.
In the same pan, add your frozen or fresh spinach and season with a little olive oil, salt, pepper (or none of the above - your choice). Cook until done, according to the package instruction.

Take a large spoonful of corn, peas and spinach and toss into the hummus/sun-dried tomatoes and mushroom mixture (still in the pan, on low heat). Make sure you have a balanced proportion of ingredients (not too many peas, corn, etc, vs. the hummus mixture). It should be a nice, balanced blend.

Now, we assemble the wrap. Take a warm flour tortilla and with a spoon, scoop a spoonful of the ingredients and put on the center wrap. Fold the wrap how you would if you were doing burritos or tacos. Your choice.


Bon appetit!

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