Evins Mill Food

Joe surprised me with a weekend to central Tennessee... A little town called Smithville is home to the Evins Mill Retreat. We stayed at the B&B which was actually a B&B&D because our "culinary package" included dinners, a cooking class and an herb garden tour. I think you can tell this was an anniversary weekend designed just for me:

Breakfast buffet, eaten on a second-story veranda. Eggs made to order with chopped veggies and fresh pepper and the mini scones were a nice touch. I didn't finish my pancake though.


Joe enjoyed cinnamon apples on his pancakes. But, he said, they still weren't as good as mine.


Here's where we ate our morning meals and the hors d'oeurves. Like Fried Green Heirloom Tomatoes: Yum! Now I finally feel initiated into Southern eating.


I almost finished mine before I remembered to take a photo. While we were enjoying our first FGTs another guest told us that he's also had them coated in cracker crumbs. I liked the cornmeal's hearty crunch though. And the tomatoes were firm and lemony.

Is it breakfast or dessert? Evins Mill staff were very conscientious of my dairy intolerance. The first night we arrived they prepared my wild rice soup, grapefruit salad,prawns and sweet potatoes without any milk or butter. The sweet potatoes were whipped and studded with fresh tender thyme leaves. I squeezed fresh lemon on them too. It's definitely a combination I'm going to pursue in my own kitchen. OK but I had a point. On the menu for dessert was Caramel Orange Bread Pudding. You can't really take the milk out of that, so I got a stawberry shortcake made with puff pastry and strawberries with honey and mint leaves. It was so yummy. Then this morning I saw the same ingredients reincarnated (minus the mint) into these iced puff churros with strawberry topping.