South Carolina Living Magazine

Makes 4 2 cups cooked or rotisserie chicken, shredded 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish 1 celery rib, finely chopped 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted Juice of 2 lemons 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ½ shallot, minced Kosher salt Fresh-ground black pepper 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 4 small pitas with tops cut off (or 2 large, cut in half) Lettuce leaves Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced, for garnish In a large bowl, combine chicken,...

Saving energy doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars or get the newest technology. Here are some low- and no-cost ways to save energy around your home and help you rack up savings on your power bill month by month. Here's a gimme: Adjusting the thermostat is an easy way to save.

A little help is always a good thing, even for your home's air conditioning unit. With summers like South Carolina's, your hardest-working and most energy-demanding appliance could use some assistance. A fan can be like a great summer intern. They are inexpensive to purchase and require little energy to run, and they can lighten the workload of your home cooling system. A savvy homeowner uses fans to stay comfortable while saving money on their power bill.

Makes 10 10 8-inch rice paper wrappers ½ pound large, cooked shrimp, peeled and tails removed 1 carrot, julienned 1 cucumber, julienned 1 red bell pepper, julienned ½ cup red cabbage, chopped 1 avocado, sliced Small bunch cilantro, chopped Fresh-squeezed lime juice Peanut sauce, store-bought or homemade (see recipe below) Pour warm water into a shallow 9-inch pan. One at a time, dip rice paper wrapper into water for 45–60 seconds until wrapper is soft and flexible.

No matter how hard I try to escape this time of year, baseball season finds me, and someone disguised as a friend will inevitably try to drag me to a game without my consent. Yes, I realize this is sacrilege to everyone who loves mom and apple pie. When my kids were little, our family often went to see the Pelicans games in Myrtle Beach. Since my hub insisted I was part of the family, he would find me (wherever I was hiding) and lovingly place me in the trunk for safe transport to the game.

Dark clouds drift slowly over Bomb Island in Lake Murray, threatening rain near sunset. Then one cloud—smaller, moving quickly, made up of swirling specks—dips and curls, circles the island, then settles in its treetops. The cloud is made up of purple martins, swift birds, the largest of the swallows. They are considered the jet fighters of the avian skies, as they live on fast-flying insects. Other flocks emerge from the four compass points as the sun begins to set in the west.

Dale Watson Age: 67. Resides in: Mount Pleasant. Medium: Both digital and traditional, painting with oil, watercolor and acrylic and creating illustrations with a stylus on an iPad. Horses and hands: He loves painting horses, which serves him well for historical scenes. Hands, he says, are the most challenging. Hit the trail: Find Watson’s work at a battlefield near or far via thelibertytrail.org, american-revolution-experience.battlefields.org and dalewatsonart.com.

The origin of gazing globes traces back to 13th century glass blowers in Venice, Italy. Their peak popularity in Europe is often associated with the grand English gardens of the 19th century Victorian Era, but on this side of the Atlantic, many gardeners continue to party with gazing globes like it's 1899. Gazing globes have been a steady ornamental staple in Southern landscapes because, quite frankly, the allure of such shiny "spheres of influence" can be hard to resist.

Serves 8–10 Salad 1 pound short pasta, such as ditalini, orecchiette or farfalle 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved ½ English cucumber, diced 1 red bell pepper, chopped ½ cup chopped fresh parsley ½ cup chopped fresh basil 6 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled Vinaigrette 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated ¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar ¼ cup chopped red onion 1 teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper 1...

Yields 16 2-inch brownies ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup all-purpose flour ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ½ cup chocolate chips ¼ teaspoon espresso powder 1 pint raspberries 1 pint blueberries 1 pint blackberries Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with foil or parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth.