The Many Adventures of TavoLini

Chili and cornbread

2012-01-25T11:18:00.001-08:00

Mmm shrimp!

2012-01-19T15:05:00.001-08:00

Have a great weekend :-)

Work lunch, but deserves an honorable mention

2012-01-17T16:12:00.001-08:00

Romaine, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, rice noodles, edamame and baked tofu.
Dressing:
4 T. rice vinegar (I used a mix of rice & cider)
2 T. light soy sauce
1 T. sugar
1 T. vegetable oil (neutral, not olive oil)
1 T. sesame seed oil
salt & pepper

Isn't it wild when you think something is going to be blah and it turns out great?

Broccoli cheddar omelette

2012-01-17T09:09:00.001-08:00

A little heavy on the broccoli...

Oh snap!!! The back exploded!!! (I'm trying to hide it with creative photography...)
My slightly imperfect omelette. Don't worry, I still love you.

Updating the bike

2012-01-16T17:58:00.001-08:00

Am still trying to work out the kinks in posting directly from my phone, but here are some photos of what I did last week. When I first purchased my bike, I vowed to ride the stock tires until either I had too many flats, or hit 1250 miles. Guess who hit the miles??

Decided to go for white tires, to match my reflective tape


Nice, right? I admit, these were a bit of a pain to put on...

Of course, I need a white chain, too. This came with a springer clip, which I'd never heard of. Figured it out, though. Why the connecting link was silver instead of white, I'm not sure, but seems like it will be useful for oiling the chain, if nothing else.

Full shot of updated bike! I have a white saddle coming in the mail :D

Random gratuitous shot of me holding library fish.

Additionally, I'd like to give a shout out to ATL: A Thrift Life, a great blog highlighting fashion and cycling in Atlanta.

Brian Hadden posted a picture of me from Atlanta Bicycle Coalition's Mobile Social Ride--thanks Brian!

Sun came out

2012-01-11T08:26:00.001-08:00

It poured all morning, but the sun finally broke through.

Quick Thai curry

2012-01-09T13:48:00.001-08:00

I followed the directions on the side of the red thai curry paste bottle, except I used the vegetables I had in the fridge.
And did shrimp instead of chicken.
Additionally, I used a random bag of some sort of frozen coconut (milk? juice?) I had in the freezer.
Oh, and don't use the suggested 2T. of brown sugar, holy sweet!
Finally, I added much more paste than suggested.

So, basically, I did my own thing and completely ignored the recipe.

It worked!

:-)

2012-01-06T18:07:00.001-08:00

Red beans and rice

2012-01-06T07:54:00.001-08:00

Always nice. Used sausage links and canned red beans--and promptly misplaced recipe. Hmm. Will post if I find it ;)

Screwed

2012-01-05T20:33:00.001-08:00

Probably should be upset about these, but actually think they look cool.

Experimenting with phone's photo editor

2012-01-05T09:30:00.001-08:00

Trying potato chips

2012-01-05T04:10:00.001-08:00

Baked on 450 for about fifteen minutes. Not bad, but not perfect. Martha start suggests boiling first, I'll probably try that.

Granola kid

2012-01-02T15:37:00.001-08:00

Used local honey, and do have to say there is a beneficial difference.

Christmas 2012 -- Lima, Peru part one

2012-01-01T12:15:00.001-08:00

Here is the first part of our trip to Lima, Peru.

Trying my hand at Sancocho

2011-12-28T14:27:00.001-08:00

Not exactly perfect, but received rave reviews :-)

Brunch at home

2011-12-28T08:44:00.001-08:00

Cookie time

2011-12-27T14:56:00.001-08:00

Just tweaking my fave chocolate cookie recipe :-) hope all of you had a great holiday season!

Me too

2011-12-16T12:17:00.001-08:00

Friday beer!

2011-12-16T12:16:00.001-08:00

;-)

2011-12-16T00:49:00.001-08:00

A very bright skirt, thrifted along with those books. Additionally, trying to add photo mid post. Apologize for random!

Trying out my phone...

2011-12-16T00:39:00.001-08:00

Aka making lots off random posts until I figure it out. Can you guess my present??? B-)

2011-12-16T00:36:00.007-08:00

2011-12-16T00:36:00.003-08:00

2011-12-16T00:36:00.001-08:00

Winter

2011-12-16T00:32:00.001-08:00

Just a quick scene from the living room. You can see my blanket encased feet ;-)

Happy New Year

2011-12-13T02:49:00.001-08:00

Wrapping up the semester...

2011-12-12T18:14:00.001-08:00

...with a cup of coffee and a view of the city. Finals this week and we're going to head somewhere warm for christmas. Photos to follow!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Almost thanksgiving!!!!

2011-11-22T16:32:00.001-08:00

My favorite holiday--no presents, no religion, just eating food and being thankful. How great is that? Here is one of the fastest, easiest side dishes to make.

Chop 2-3 sweet potatoes, an onion and some garlic. (I know I used green pepper, but I didn't like it so I wouldn't recommend it--any other root veg would be good, though)

Add thyme, rosemary, chili flakes, and salt. Toss with olive oil until all veg is coated w/ oil and spices.

Roast in 450 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, or if you're cooking with the turkey at a lower temp, go for an hour or so. You can broil them at the end if you want some more carmelization. I tossed them once during cooking.

Excellent! Leftover are also good mashed up as a hash and fried, with some eggs. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Someone is addicted to Pasta Salad...

2011-11-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

I am not sure what has come over me, but for some reason I can not seem to go more than a couple days without making another pasta/bean/vegetable salad. I love them. It's serious.

I added tuna to this one. YUM. Parsley, too. The great thing is that no matter what I add, it still tastes good. I guess I'm just trying to eek out the last of summer.

Makes such an easy lunch. If you start chopping the minute you put the water on to boil, everything comes together by the time the pasta is cooked. Fifteen minutes, tops. How could you not love that?

Enjoy your autumn!

Good weekend!

2011-11-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Started out with an alcoholic slushy (I love these things!)

Made some "bad art" (below photos taken by my friend Saira)
Went to a festival, cuddled up with cute dogs...

It was a perfect autumn weekend.

Mediterranean Salad with Shrimp, Artichokes and Garbanzos--big thank you to Newman's Own

2011-10-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

So, it was an early Christmas in the house of Tavolini! Last night, I came home to a giant package from the Foodbuzz Tastermaker's Program and Newman's Own, containing 3 types of salad dressing, two pasta sauces, a pizza coupon....AND a Flip Cam!!! (WOW!) Behold the loot:

Even came with "name brand" batteries--swanky!

The letter said to post by October 20th, but as it was already October 25th, I decided I would just throw something up quickly today, and really ponder a good recipe to make this weekend. This was (going to admit it...) what was left in my fridge / cupboard. Garbanzos, cilantro, artichokes, a red pepper, a jalapeno and some frozen shrimp. Considering how good the dressing is...even these ingredients were top notch ;)

Marinate:
1 can garbanzos, drained and rinsed
1 handful cilantro, minced
1/2 red pepper, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 small jar artichokes (or half a can) drained and chopped
1/4 cup Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian salad dressing

Throw all in tupperware and place in fridge for an hour or so

About ten minutes before serving, boil 1/2 pound of frozen raw shrimp and peel.

Feel free to make a jack o' lantern out of the remaining portion of red pepper :)

Drain and rinse shrimp, peel...

Either mix shrimp in to get the vinaigrette, or divvy evenly among salad bowls. I prefer my shrimp warm, so I add them in at the end. Leftovers get mixed in to be eaten at a later time.

A nice, easy salad with good leftovers for tomorrow (or work later on tonight!)

Thank you Newman's Own and Foodbuzz!!

Landscaping in the sun

2011-10-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

So, first things first, I have been on a *slight* margarita kick. As it was in the 80's all weekend, may as well partake, eh? Nothing fancy, this was the combo pack that was on sale. Went down quite nicely, though.

I painted the kitchen aqua--playing up that kitsch.

Gustavo worked on the fence--as you can tell, our backyard is tiny and quite hilly--this was definitely a creative effort.

He also built retaining walls for our hilly front yard--looking good, babe!

What these pictures don't show is the ENORMOUS amount of kudzu that he had to cut back and get rid of. Tons of it! Also, we found dozens of those kudzu bugs that were actually featured on the front of the AJC today. (Click here for article)

Finding guns in your backyard is cool...

...pretty sure its a toy. Additionally, we have found the vast majority of a car (two tires, car seat, etc) under the house as well. Interesting, isn't it?

Mondo grass and hostas (planted in an old enamel pot, also unearthed in backyard)

Gustavo brought me flowers on the front porch :)

Hope all of you had a great weekend as well.

Amazed by my husband--check out the new deck!

2011-10-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

After days and days of rain, we had a dry day. Someone took advantage of this by running up to the lumberyard. Do you like his new truck?

The back yard of our house (post trash pick up!)

Look at this!
And now we have a deck :)

While he works hard....I eat popcorn ;) Can you believe this is my first time making it on the stove? I admit it, I've always just done the microwave stuff. This is much better!

(maybe a bit too much butter....)

Delicious!

Now, I think I'm going to go sit on the new deck and eat. Have a great evening!

Check out the kitchen!!! (and some red beans and rice)

2011-10-10T17:44:00.001-07:00

Gustavo has been on a roll this week--putting down subfloor, insulating pipes, tiling--just today, he decided to finish the kitchen. As our house has a very, very shallow crawl space, he decided to put in a trap door in case we need to access our pipes in the future. Pretty creative, eh?

Trap door opposite view:

We also decided to go with the kitschy checkered linoleum. I loooooove it!

Here's the hard worker himself <3

A close up of what he was eating--red beans and rice. This is a nice, simple recipe (and if you used canned beans, its ready to eat in 30 minutes!)

(I don't measure my seasonings....so everything is a "pinch" even if its a teaspoon or more--sorry)

Rice:
1 cup rice
pinch turmeric
pinch Adobo seasoning (omit if using broth)
2 cups water (or broth)
cook according to directions on bag

While rice is cooking, sautee:
1 onion
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
2-3 cloves garlic

After 8 minutes or so, add:

2 large sausage links (6-8 inches long)
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed
1-2 bay leaves
pinch sage
pinch thyme
pinch cajun seasoning (just google ingredients if you don't have it)
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 cup water or half of a beer or broth

Adjust seasonings to taste and simmer until rice is done, approx. 20-30 minutes

Easy. Tastes better the next day!

Quesadillas with the leftovers and check out this bathroom!

2011-10-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

With all those leftover vegetables, I decided to make some quesadillas...and now I am addicted! I have been using goat cheese and cheddar on whole wheat tortillas. This is so simple that you don't need a recipe--and the veggies were gone in a day.

Excuse the blurry pics, but Gustavo has been quickly putting down subfloor and now has moved onto the concrete backer board for our tile--doesn't it look nice?

Amazing, right? The kid has talent :)

A day of bread and vegetables

2011-09-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

I'm back to using the supermarket for vegetables, and am happy to be cooking up some broccoli! Oh how I have missed you.

I like to do a quick stir fry more often than not. This one, I added fajita spices to. Initially, I was going to add shrimp, too, but I decided that I wasn't in the mood to defrost and peel a pile of shrimp.

So veggie fajitas it was--with a spread of goat cheese and some salsa and lettuce.

I also made another loaf of bread for sandwiches. I'm still using the same recipe, this one:

1 1/4 cups water
2 1/2 cups white bread flour
3/4 cup wheat bread flour
2 tablespoons dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

*egg wash and sesame seeds before baking. 375 for 30 minutes or so.

It just consistently turns out a nice, nutty loaf, perfect for toast or for sandwiches.

Its supposed to get cooler this weekend--I fear my habit of fridays at the pool is coming to an end. Until next year, Summer, I'll be missing you!

$2 taco night

2011-09-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Love it! BTW, I'm finally getting a new phone, so expect the photos to improve exponentially. (its about time!)

More sweet bread -- Banana Chocolate Chip

2011-09-19T18:42:00.001-07:00

All right--although Blogger seems insistent on keeping this picture sideways (grrrr!!) Here are the bananas that I grabbed at the Corporate 5K last week. Nice and speckled, I would say...

Ingredients -- again, I switch out a large portion of the oil with buttermilk.

Chocolate chips!!!!

All done, ready to join the squash bread in the freezer.

I like to have a couple of easy treats frozen at the ready for easy breakfasts / brunches. What do you like to freeze?

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Squash Bread and some bagels

2011-09-15T16:34:00.001-07:00

More from the last CSA box--I wanted to make zucchini bread, but only had summer squash. After consulting google, I decided to go ahead with it. I grated two.

Mixed with the typical zucchini bread ingredients, subbing 3/4 c. of buttermilk for the oil. (If you haven't tried this, I highly suggest it. Very good tradeoff) Added mini chips.

Bake at 350 for an hour, though next time I should either split this into two loaf pans or perhaps cook at 325 for longer. Its cooked through, but pretty moist in the middle.

Chocolatey yum.

For the bagels, I made this dough:

1 1/4 cups water
2 1/2 cups white bread flour
3/4 cup wheat bread flour
2 tablespoons dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Then boiled it for a minute on each side

I brushed with egg white and sprinkled sesame seeds on it. Bake at 350 for 25 or so minutes. Delicious!

An autumn dish, Butternut Squash Chili

2011-09-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, its that time of year. Always bittersweet for me, autumn is officially beginning. I picked up my last share of vegetables from the CSA today, and went to work with a decidedly fall dish, Butternut Squash Chili. The recipe is based on this one from Bon Appetit.

I subbed a few ingredients--canned beans instead of dry (original recipe called for an entire POUND of dry beans....I think that would make enough chili to eat until next spring!) I also used a mix of kidney and black as opposed to all black. Ro*tel instead of diced tomatoes, and base chili powder spices instead of prepared chili powder.

From the CSA, I had a ton of these mini butternut squashes. So cute! Such a pain to peel ;) If you get a pile of these, make sure the music on the radio is good because you'll be working on them for the next hour or so...

Peppers, also from the CSA. I chose to crush the garlic instead of mincing it, because I hate eating a big chunk of garlic unexpectedly. This way I can just fish it out.

Mix beans, rinsed.

Okay--this was my mistake. I should have stuck to just 1-2 of these....not 5. Or should have left whole and fished out in the end, not diced. These puppies made my chili molten hot! There will be no clogged sinus issues in the house of Tavolini, I assure you :)

Add bulgur wheat and simmer for 30 minutes.

I really like the addition of bulgur to this! I think I have found a new "chewy" grain to add to my stews and chilis this fall. Sour cream was a necessity, to counter the extremely spicy chiles. All in all, this is a pretty good recipe. I really like the sweetness that the squash adds.

I'll miss you, summer!

All over Atlanta! Football, Food, House and Bicycle photos

2011-09-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Its been a good week! The opening football game for my college was last week--this is the view of the marching band from right outside the library. Nice, eh?

It was Gustavo's birthday, so we went for one of our epic walks. We also went to the new skatepark that opened up in Old Fourth Ward. Neat mural--its a reference to a popular (now defunct) place, 40 Yard, that Gustavo and his buddies skated at while growing up.

Murals on the Beltline...

We had some beers with our friends at the earl. Cigars, too. Classy!

On the way home, we picked some rosemary and made some dough for rosemary bread.

It was great for breakfast the next day with goat cheese and butter.

Gustavo has been plugging away at the house. In order to get the new plumbing in, we needed to tear up all the floors so we can access the crawl space. Tight fit!

Sponsored by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, I participated in the Heels on Wheels ride on Saturday. This is a great ride through downtown and midtown--and with DragonCon going on, there was a lot to see!!

Photos below are borrowed from Cameron Adams' flickr set--if you click on the photo, they will take you to his photography. Additionally, Mr. Adams maintains a blog called Atlanta Bicycle Chic. Check it out!

All the ladies!

Hope you had a fantastic Labor Day weekend as well.

Third post of Crisco love -- Curry Red Snapper

2011-08-31T16:35:00.001-07:00

With each week comes another bag of CSA goodness, but today I decided to add some fish to the mix. I'd purchased some frozen Red Snapper on sale a few weeks ago, and thought it was time to cook it. Below are CSA tomatoes, green and banana peppers. I had the vidalia onions from a prior shopping trip.

For this, I used the light tasting olive oil.

Vegetables sauteeing with Blue Mountain Curry and some additional cayenne pepper.

After the vegetables softened, I slowly added a cup of water, then the diced snapper steaks.

Simmer, but not for very long...

Served over a really excellent wild rice mix I found in the Whole Foods bulk aisle. I balked when the cost was almost $6 at the register, but wow, that is some tasty rice! We'll see how long it stretches.

Below is the final product. Fantastic! I do make curry quite frequently, but my favorites usually are heavy in seafood and peppers, with some tomato. I just like that combination.

Thank you to Crisco and the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program!

More Crisco love -- Asian Noodles with Tofu and Poached Egg

2011-08-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here is another olive oil recipe where I normally would use peanut or vegetable oil. I cooked up some rice noodles, then sauteed vegetables (carrots, green onions, edamame, water chestnuts) and tofu in this:

After the tofu was crisp, I added the noodles and a bit of "Asian" flavor--in this case, it was rice vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. I didn't measure, just added to taste.

With dishes such as pad thai, one would fry an egg to add on top. Today, though, I still was in a poaching mood so I poached a couple eggs. I enjoyed the way the yolk mingled with the sauce and noodles.

It did not have an "olive oil" taste at all and nothing stuck to the pan! Thank you Crisco and the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.

Thank you crisco! Poached eggs with smoked salmon over foccacia

2011-08-29T16:01:00.001-07:00

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, we recently received the new line of Crisco olive oils to try out. There were three different types of oil, but for this recipe I primarily used the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Letter and goodies from foodbuzz below:

I put some dough in the oven for foccacia, drizzling it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and goat cheese. Meanwhile, I started a pot of water boiling, and poached 4 eggs.

I layered the salmon on top of the foccacia, then placed the eggs, then more salmon. I drizzled more olive oil over the top, along with some oregano.

Pretty good! Next time, I think regular toast or an english muffin may be better, but for what we had on hand, it worked pretty well.
Thank you again FoodBuzz and Crisco!

A trick for less watery squash lasagna

2011-08-16T09:05:00.001-07:00

For some reason, we were in Michigan all weekend, and this is the only picture I have. (I guess that's how you know you are having a good vacation!)

We ate a lot of sandwiches.

And saw this extremely large praying mantis when walking home from the train station.

I picked up all the vegetables from the CSA, and decided to use 30 or so small tomatoes for my red sauce. Here they are, peeled (yeah, that took forever) and ready to cook!

So, last week, my squash lasagna was pretty watery. I read a tip to throw rice in the bottom of the casserole dish, and I have to say it worked perfectly! This is brown rice, and as I cook the casserole for more than an hour (I use raw squash) it cooks up well. I suppose I could have put more in, but I still wanted the focus to be on the squash, not on the rice.

Layers of patty pan, eggplant, and crookneck, along with red sauce and a variety of cheeses...

Look at the pretty layers! So colorful :)

Cooked and delicious! Pretty low fat, too. This is a fairly simple dish to make, it would be even easier if you just used a can of crushed tomatoes instead of making the red sauce from scratch.

Beyond lasagna, we have also been eating lots of tacos. Here is a gratuitous "Hot Husband" photo of Gustavo eating tacos <3

Squash Lasagna and yes, more pickles

2011-08-09T14:06:00.001-07:00

Are you ready for some non-photogenic food? Here is a half eaten vegetable lasagna, made with pattypan squash in place of noodles. The sauce is made from our CSA tomatoes, and although this looks hideously ugly, its actually quite tasty. If you choose to make this, I would suggest salting the squash first, as you can see it gets a bit watery.

More cukes? More pickles. Shockingly enough, we keep eating all of them :)

Dill Refrigerator:

3 cups warm water
3-5 T. white vinegar
3-4 sprigs fresh dill weed (in each jar)
2-4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon pickling spice (I use kroger brand, but you can google to make your own to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons dill seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
cucumbers - chips, spears, whatever shape you like

Combine salt, vinegar and warm water, stir until salt is dissolved. Pack jars with cukes, spices and dill, then fill with brine. Ready to eat next day, will get stronger in taste with time.

In other news, Gustavo has been busy! See below--our new screen door :)

And, after 6 years of living dangerously, we put in a railing on the porch. Great job, babe! It looks fantastic.

Our first okra came in!!

2011-08-04T16:21:00.001-07:00

I could eat roasted okra every day. Barbeque sauce optional.

Hard at work ;)

2011-08-03T14:53:00.001-07:00

Thank you Sabra

2011-08-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

As part of the Foodbuzz tastemaker program, Sabra gave us a coupon for a free container of hummus--you know I went for the jalapeno! Delicious--thank you!

Home-made pickles and Stinky cheese

2011-07-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we're doing it again :)

2011-07-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

Another teeny, tiny house bought for the price of a honda civic. Here we go again!

It's been vacant for upwards of five years...

First things first, rip up the nasty carpeting and check the subfloors and joists.

We'll keep you updated!

Learning to toss and using Tuma goat cheese

2011-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

First things first, I saw THIS article on NPR and thought I would share, as the majority of blogs I read are written by mothers and fathers. What do you think about McDonald's new healthy menu? I'm glad they're taking blogger input, but I doubt most food bloggers actually eat at McDonalds. Am I wrong?

So, onto pizza! I found Tuma cheese at the farmer's market this weekend, and they said it was a goat cheese similar to mozzarella. You know what mozzarella is good on, right?

Pizza! Gustavo and I have been watching videos and trying to learn how to throw pizza dough. I've always just slapped it back and forth, but I think I'm ready for the big time now. This one, I got quite a bit of height with. It isn't anywhere near round, but I was pleased with the thinness.

Taste was decent--the tuma didn't melt as much as I thought it would, but it has a nice flavor.

I crumbled it for the next pizza--this one has a sauteed summer squash on it. Worked extremely well! This toss was a bit rounder, but I didn't attain the same stretch as the previous crust. Once we get it down, we'll post a video. In the meantime, I foresee a LOT of pizza in our future. (Yeah!!!!)

Unrelated, but did want to share my new sunglasses. Looking sexy on the bike commute...

Eggplant, tempeh and peppers in peanut sauce

2011-07-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

The weekend started, as all good weekends do, with a bloody mary. I prefer mine with Spicy Hot V8, but other than that, its a pretty standard recipe. Oh yes, and a good way to use my endless supply of pickles...

We also had some deviled eggs, just for the fun of it. I hadn't had them in years, and it was a nice finger food to eat on the back deck. Again, pretty standard recipe, though I may have chopped up some pickles and added them (seriously, guys, I don't know how many more pickles we can eat)

This week's CSA bag was full of eggplant. After looking at about 5 great recipes that I didn't have all the ingredients for, I found one that fit the contents of my cupboard. This is a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook (my old standby for decades!) Eggplant and Peppers in Peanut Sauce. I added the tempeh for protein and served it over brown rice. Not very pretty to look at, but it tastes quite good. I needed a healthy dose of siracha on mine.

Baked at 375 for about 15 minutes, stirring once..

Are you ready for it?? The worst camera phone food photos, ever. The impending storm kind of ruined my lighting, and I think my phone just doesn't do close up. One of these days, I may fix my camera. Maybe. Here is my ugly food :)

Oh dear.

I'll see if I can get a better photo during dinner tonight. That one is just awful, lol. Have a great evening!

Halibut with yellow tomatoes over fontina cheese grits and other weekend fun

2011-07-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

Another giant bag of yellow grape tomatoes came from the CSA this week, so after searching epicurious for a recipe, I found this one, and decided it would be perfect served over some cheese grits. Yum!

Before going into the oven, with a cilantro vinaigrette over the top...

My plate (with extra tomatoes!)

Gustavo's plate (with extra halibut!)

Verdict: This is a pretty good recipe. As a personal preference, next time I make this, I plan on roasting the tomatoes for a bit, first, then adding the halibut. The tomatoes weren't cooked to my liking.

Below: homeless man receiving a shave outside the gas station.

Gladiolas make me glad.

Cat deciding whether or not he'll let me touch up the paint on our house..

He did :) Hope all of you had an excellent weekend!

Is it still bruschetta if there is cheese?

2011-07-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

It is what it is: Toasted Bruschetta with Fontina, Lemon Basil, and Grape Tomatoes

I think I'll have some more!

New Orleans, Degas House, and what to do with a dozen cucumbers

2011-07-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the American Library Association conference in New Orleans--between meeting authors, chatting with librarians and TONS of free books, I have to say it was a blast. I also, of course, have to include some pics of the food.

The Bed and Breakfast I stayed at was very reasonably priced and had nice proprietors! I would stay here again--location is superb. I can't find a direct website, but here is a link for contact information.

Bananas!

I brought my bike and biked to the convention center, as it was a couple miles from the French Quarter. Pretty cool--riding in New Orleans is a different animal than biking in Atlanta! Much slower, more laid back, and no one except myself (and this girl I met from Chicago) wore helmets.

The final night, I stayed at the Degas House. Very beautiful, though it was a bit scary as I was the only person staying in this entire mansion. Nuts, right? I had to leave before the tour, but I did get to see the house in its entirety the previous day.

It was raining, so I had a nice makeshift dinner in my room.

Came back just in time for 4th of July weekend--our weekend looked a lot like this:

And my CSA basket was full (!!!) of cucumbers. So many cucumbers!! What is a girl to do?

Pickles, pickles, pickles...

From left to right: Sweet / sour juliennes for banh mi, dill chips for burgers, and spears for just general consumption. Yum!

One more shot of my continuing banh mi fascination -- this one has baked tofu.

Hope all of you had a great 4th!

Summertime fave - Tomato Summer Squash Soup with Dill

2011-06-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

Now that we're in late June, it is officially "eat some squash every day" time of year. Hooray! I love squash :) I make this soup all the time, but this is the first time I've made it this year, so I'll post it again. I usually switch it up a bit, anyways. Here are the raw ingredients, below.

Drop the fresh tomatoes in boiling water to get rid of the skins. Not really necessary since we'll be blending it, but I hate getting pieces of tomato skin in my teeth.

Sautee a vidalia onion, garlic and all your squash. I used butter instead of oil, just for additional flavor. Here's my oregano from last week's CSA bag--a happy aside, it dried pretty perfectly in the fridge. I added quite a bit as it cooked down.

With the tomatoes, both fresh and canned.

Last but not least, add a large amount of dill. Especially if you are like me and love dill! (dill pickles, dill potatoes, now some dill in my soup...)

Put in the blender--you may want to reserve some squash "chunks" or you may want to blend it all. I like a nice, smooth soup. Better for dipping my grilled cheese ;)

That's it! Fairly boring, but quite healthy and a nice step up from plain old tomato soup. I'm off to New Orleans tomorrow for a conference--Laissez les bons temps rouler!!

Trưng Chien -- Banh Mi with Eggs

2011-06-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

As I receive more and more cucumbers in my CSA, I continue to make pickles. Though banh mi traditionally use pickled carrots and daikon, I figured I could sub the cucumbers for daikon, thus extending their life. A mandolin works well, I hear, but I ended up chopping matchsticks the good old-fashioned way.

Look at these interesting cukes from my CSA! I haven't seen this type before, and initially thought it was squash, until I cut into one. Nope, this is definitely a cucumber. I made some dill pickles with these and really liked how firm they stayed. Here is me filling my jar--once again, I am not processing these, I'm just making quick refrigerator pickles. (though if I keep receiving cukes at this rate, I'm going to have to break down and learn how to can them!)

I used the brine recipe from White On Rice couple's Banh Mi Battle page. It is perfect--and I could tell by looking that it wouldn't be quite so vinegary. I like a slightly less potent vinegar taste for my brine. Here is the link to their recipe. Its really great--I'm excited to see how the pickles evolve over a few days. I also added a few more cuke slices to my dill pickle jar.

True story--I made the pickles last night and woke up wanting to try them RIGHT AWAY. So, here's my breakfast banh mi, with an egg over easy. Oh my yum. This is a very messy sandwich, but the yolk spilling over and soaking the bread and mingling with the sweet pickled vegetables and spicy jalapenos....yum!

Here are all the fixings for my dinner banh mi, that I packed up and took to work with me. I scramble/fried an egg for this one, and even though I'd made it 3-4 hours prior to eating, it tasted absolutely fine.
Come here, my pretty :)

I love all the fresh vegetables of summertime!

more curry and my first triathlon

2011-06-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Joslin, and I am addicted to curry. I don't know if its the proliferation of CSA vegetables or the fact that everything tastes better as a curry, but I've been making profuse amounts of curry. This one has vidalia onion, georgia potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes and zucchini. All fresh, all local (except for the curry powder) and SOOOOO good!

You can serve over a grain of your choice, or if you're like me, eat with sourdough from the local bakery.

This Sunday, I participated in my first triathlon. I hadn't trained much, other than riding my bicycle profuse amounts, so I was extremely pleased that I finished in one hour and three seconds! Here we all are (I run and train with Team Awesome) before the swim.

Callaway Garden Sprint Triathlon: 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike ride, 2 mile run

...and here are some of the goofiest running shots of me, to date. I don't know why I can't just run and smile like a normal person....

Fantastic, no? This was both harder and easier than I thought it would be. The swim? Much, much harder than I thought. I'd swam on the team in high school, but had never dealt with feet in my face, hands swimming into my legs, SEAWEED, and it was such a grimy lake that goggles were pretty much useless. I switched to side stroke and prayed not to kick or be kicked by wayward swimmers.

The bike ride was awesome. I averaged just under 20 mph on a single speed on rolling hills, so I am pleased as punch. The run went better than expected, too. I maintained an 8:45 pace, even though I was passed, right at the end(!!!), by my friend Stacey, seen here in the pink shirt. Its all good, she's a speedy chick :)

Just walking around campus--this is the new Undergraduate Learning Center that will be connected to the Library. Rooftop deck and solar panels--nice!

Trees waiting to be planted.

Good pickles and Georgia love

2011-06-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

With some recipes, like pickles, you have to wait a day or two (or a week or so) before you can really give the verdict. We opened our refrigerator pickles after 48 hours, and they are pretty great! One caveat-too much vinegar-I'll try again with increased water to vinegar ratio.

Also, we had a bit of a storm. The flowers loved it! Both of these are perennials, chosen and planted by Gustavo last summer. What can I say? The kid has good taste :) Check out the happy bee on that coneflower:

Now that it is June, it has been seven years since I left Detroit and moved to Georgia, knowing no one and nothing about my destination. I really do think it was the best, albeit completely random at the time, decision I have ever made. I love you, Atlanta, Georgia. You have introduced me to innumerable fantastic people. I could easily live my life out here.

Just feeling it

2011-06-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

Gustavo is traveling again--but he'll be home on thursday. Any of you married to people who travel for work know how difficult it can be, for both parties. I find music helps. Here's his song from our wedding....I love it, the lyrics, the upbeat sound, and of course, the piano.

I've also been working through the CSA veggies some more. Roasted green beans - not much of a recipe to that, just toss with oil, roast at 425 for 15 minutes, shaking once. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and munch.

Eat with ketchup if no one is watching..

This is an aside...but for any of you who **haven't** watched the drunk history series, this is one of my faves (I can't embed, so you will have to follow link) Tesla

Pickles! Found a good looking recipe--will tell you results in a couple of days. Here's the link: Spicy Dill Pickles So, I altered it. Cut in half, omitted sugar, and used a mix of vinegars (white, cider and rice) We'll see how it goes.

Have a great evening--and kiss your spouse or loved one if they are near by.

One for the adventurous, a "Mess of Greens" stuffed pizza

2011-06-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

I hadn't finished all the greens from last week's CSA, then our box this week had three mini cabbages in it! What to do with all these greens?? I thought a bit, and remembered I'd had a lot of luck with a stuffed spinach pizza...would it work as well with greens? They've got a stronger flavor than spinach, but overall I was pretty pleased with it. Maybe next time, I'll go the full Southern route and do a cornbread crust ;)

I used a different dough recipe than usual, and was extremely pleased with the results. This will give you two medium size dough balls--very pliable and easy to work with.

Pizza Dough:

3/4 cup water

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 1/2 t. kosher salt

1 1/2 t. olive oil

The greens, I cooked fairly traditionally. I sauteed a sweet onion, then added the greens and about an inch of water with some butter, salt and crushed red pepper. I like mine fairly tender, so I cooked them down about 45 minutes. Save the pot likker! Healthy flavoring for a variety of dishes. I cooked the loose outer leaves, but saved the small inner heads of cabbage for some coleslaw.

Baked in a cast iron pot at 500 degrees for approximately 16 minutes--if your pizza is thicker, you'll need to bake longer. I added some crushed tomatoes and local goat cheese from Decimal Place Farm.

All in all, I liked it, but I don't think it will become the next craze. I think I probably will just cook down the next batch and serve it up with jalapeno corn bread instead.

Now, if I had some spinach....

CSA vegetables and some minestrone

2011-06-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hooray--its Community Shared Agriculture time again! I hopped onto my trusty bike and biked over to the Carter Center to pick up my share. Its a nice ride, about 3 miles from our house. Here is me, post ride, in the Atlanta heat. Sexy, no?

Here are our goods! So much produce for the first week--its fantastic. We have collards, swiss chard, green onions, squash, green beans and a variety of herbs. We continue to use Huckleberry Hill as our preferred CSA--Tynesha and her mother are fantastic and the shares are generous. This is our third year with them.

I grabbed some bread and goat cheese that we picked up at the farmer's market on sunday, a cup of coffee, and started going through my cookbooks...

As usual, even though its summer, I was drawn to the soups. A nice minestrone would work well with the vegetables, and it would leave me with plenty of vegetables to try other items as well. I based the recipe off the one found in Wendy Stephens' The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook. That is a great book, by the way. Its divided up into regions, such as North Africa, Greece, Turkey, Spain--its really cool.

The nice aspect of this minestrone is that you slow cook the base ingredients (onions, carrots, swiss chard, crushed tomatoes, garbanzos, parsley and broth) for over an hour, then add the remaining vegetables (zukes, squash, green beans) and pasta and cook until just al dente. I ended up using some leftover rice instead of pasta. It worked quite well.

Plenty for lunches as well. Hope all of you are having a nice June!

New settee and a cool local song

2011-05-26T23:14:00.001-07:00

It's pouring here, and I'm lucky I was able to bike home in between the storms. First up, this is a video from our good friends Ty-vicious and Baka, along with Supernova. Very cool song--check it out and keep your ears open for their next show--these guys are going places.

It's awesome, right?

News: We have a new piece of furniture (!!!!)

This is very exciting! I inherited the vast majority of our furniture--and it is beautiful. All antiques, every single piece in my house has a story from my parents, my grandparents, and my great grandparents. I am very lucky to have a nice old house that works well with nice old furniture. I love it...but, I have to admit, it is quite fun to actually pick out and purchase a piece of furniture. We had a room (in our quite small house) that only had one chair in it. It was ridiculous, only one person could sit in the entire room! Silly.

So I needed to find a teeny, tiny couch of sorts, so that we could have a conversation in the room. (and at least sit more than one person ;) Behold the powers of craigslist--here is our brand new hand carved settee (complete with gold strands in the fabric because I love loud and gaudy, always)

Requisite "relaxing" pose, complete with loud, gaudy toenail polish ;)

I love it! Hope it stops raining so we can chill by the pool tomorrow....but if it keeps raining, perhaps I'll relax on the settee.

Fixing Victrolas, watching squirrels, Detroit and a video

2011-05-25T06:12:00.001-07:00

Here is a mishmash of pictures from my phone that are a bit blurry, a bit dark, but convey what has been going on as of late.

My grandparent's Victrola (circa 1920's) has been broken since the fire and Gustavo decided that he may as well tinker with it and see if he could fix it. He DID fix it! Isn't that amazing?

I love that kid.

We went to Detroit to visit my family. More pictures will be coming, but just had to include this one from a park south of 8 mile. It is important for all of us to give back to our communities and keep them safe and strong.

At work, I had to take some pictures and laugh at this little squirrel, eating his crazy cupcake.

Gustavo has been in Brazil again--here is a video he made for a short song our friend sang:

Hope everyone is enjoying the last days of spring and the start of summer. All the city pools open this weekend--I'm so excited!! Happy Memorial Day and please keep those who are currently deployed in your hearts.

Grant Park Farmer's Market and enjoying the outdoors

2011-05-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

It definitely feels like summer in Atlanta. Like the kind of day where you might just spend an hour watching lady bugs climb in the clover.

The kind of day where you have a beer and read a book, with a bit of luck. (but don't read this book--its actually quite awful)

Visited our friends--they are building one heck of shed. Check out their back yard, and keep in mind that they live only 3 miles from downtown Atlanta. Wild, huh?

I biked over to the inaugural Sunday for the Grant Park Farmer's Market. It was a zoo, but I managed to score some H&F Bread (sourdough!). This bread is so, so, so good. They have it at at a few of our favorite restaurants here in Atlanta, like the Krog Bar. I also picked up some goat cheese from Decimal Place Farm. Wow, this cheese is great--perfect to spread on toast or put in your salads. I'm glad I got the larger size. I grabbed a bunch of radishes, too. All the goods for a radish sandwich.

Or two :)
Happy belated Mother's Day to all of you fantastic moms out there.

Windsor bicycles, bikesdirect.com and Timbuk2 Shift Pannier

2011-05-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! May is bike month so here are some reviews of my commuter faves.

I've been commuting to work by bicycle for about a month now, and just wanted to shout out at a couple of products that have made things easy. None of the companies mentioned are sponsoring my habit--I paid for everything out of pocket. When I was researching what to purchase, I read a lot of great reviews so I wanted to put mine out there as well.

Windsor Bicycles and Bikesdirect.com (below: on my new bike)

I had been riding a thrifted Schwinn mountain bike from the 80's for about the last 6 years. When I decided to start commuting daily, I took my bike to Atlanta Cycles because 1. It wasn't shifting anymore 2. The rims were bent and 3. The brakes were shot. The guys at the shop were pretty nice and sympathetic...but said it would cost as much to fix that old Schwinn as it would to just buy a new bike. So I decided to start shopping :)

Road bikes are new to me, but for my purposes (four miles each way through dense city traffic) I decided I needed something fast and light weight. After searching through reviews, I decided to go for a chromoly frame track bike for lightness and speed. I chose single speed for efficiency (and after being completely annoyed with my previous bike's shifting issues). The Windsor Clockwork fit all these specifications and shopping through Bikesdirect.com, it came in right under $300 (free shipping too!). Bikesdirect is a great place to get a new bike if you have a few basic tools to put the bike together. Their shipping is fast--the bike arrived in 2 days.

Okay--the random. Windsor Bicycles (click hyperlink for site) is about the least developed commercial website I have seen. My model isn't listed there--actually a few Windsor models on bikesdirect are not listed there. I'm not quite sure what to think. I mean, other than this is an excellent bicycle, likely built by underpaid workers in Taiwan and / or China.

We had the handle bars changed out at our favorite local bike shop, Loose Nuts. (I couldn't get used to the drop bars) and added a lightweight aluminum rack. I've been riding it approximately 30-50 miles a week for the last month, and have to say I'm extremely pleased with the speed and handling of this bike.

Timbuk2 Shift Pannier

At the beginning of April Atlanta weather is pretty nice, but already starting to be too hot to commute in professional clothing. I needed something to tote my clothes, lunch, and other odds and ends. I started out using my backpack, but it made my back super sweaty if I wore it. When I strapped it to the rack, it slipped to the side and took forever to bungee on and off. I rented some REI panniers for a weekend to see if those were a better option. WAY too large for my tiny bike frame--they dragged on the chain and tended to bounce on the bike when I hit bad patches of road. So, I decided to drop the big bucks and get a Timbuk2 bag.

It. Is. Awesome.

It looks rather large in this photo, but remember that I am super short, thus my bike frame is also quite small. (this is why those REI panniers didn't work) The bag easily hooks over the top of the rack, and on the bottom, there is a bungee hook to clip onto the bottom of the rack. So smart! This really reduced the bumping and bouncing on the ride (potholes are an issue here) Their previous version of the pannier / messenger combo (Bullitt) looked too large for my bike and too unstable for Atlanta's bumpy roads. So, even though my Shift pannier bag isn't ORANGE I decided to overlook color for function.

Pretty large space and waterproof. I have work clothes and shoes, purse, u-lock, wet wipes and my lunch in there, if you can believe it. Having it on one side doesn't throw off my balance, and I like the reflective strip to hold your rear blinky.

Here is me in the bathroom at work, blurrily showing off the messenger look. You can see that the bag really isn't that big, and is perfect for my size.

Curry Shrimp -- Blue Mountain curry powder

2011-04-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

A previous coworker of mine swore by Blue Mountain curry powder--and for good reason! This is a great way to dress up some veggies and / or seafood. Atlanta has a pretty large Caribbean population, so its easy to find in the grocery stores here but you can also order it online. I simply followed the recipe on the back of the jar for seafood curry, and added in a lone bag of frozen field peas from last fall (and a heavy dash of cayenne). Results were FANTASTIC!

This rice blend was on sale, so I decided to gourmet up our rice habit. Seriously? It was worth it. I loved the different textures and colors--really worked well with the curry. If you are using a rice cooker, I have found its better to increase the water in order to have whole grain or brown rice cook all the way through. I use 1 part rice to 3 parts water, and consistently have success with this ratio.

Curry on fancy rice :)

I have been commuting almost exclusively by bicycle this month, and somehow had two screws fall loose from the crank. A quick trip to our local bike shop, Loose Nuts Cycles, and everything is back up to snuff. Thank you Chris! Check these guys out if you are in Atlanta--its a really great bike shop for newbies and experienced cyclists.

Have a great weekend!

On Gratuities....

2011-04-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Had an odd but curious moment at Corner Tavern in L5P. Waiter politely confronts (oxymoron) patron of a 3top and asks, in so many words "why won't you leave a tip?" This guy proceeds to make light of the situation: "hey man, we're artists", waiter doesn't take this as answer. Unfortunately got ugly from there. Finally, everyone calms and this guy jokes at first, but in 2 minutes is just enraged with anti-everyone but the people that are at his table. So I move sides to make sure I can see this guy's actions. Finally it got quiet and he smashed the glass against the wall and they split.
The waiters storm out like The Jets vs. (whatever it was in WSS). But the Jets are long gone.
SO!

Who was in the wrong? I think it's impolite and rude and cheap not to tip - but one thing it is not, is illegal. In the end, it is not mandatory. I waited tables on college like most people I knew. Plus this guy called him out not only in front of his friends, but also in front of the entire patio. That's the dicker move. I think this waiter's manager would have a better appreciation for the money the waiter just lost him from the these customers in the future. If the bar isn't open - no one makes money.
Then again, this guy at the table was kind of a racist dick.

Look what Obama makes you sign as:

Other news...this guy is a local that is reporting after that tragic killing last last week in Rio. It's so terribly timed with the release of that new movie. Oddly, I didn't see anything about this when it occured in ATL or american papers. CNN didn't have it before I left and it was no where on AJC's mind. There was something about a killing of 5 in Scotland(?). I digress, he is saying something beautiful about the will of the people, 40 years, etc...but ALL I can focus on is his paint covered face. HOLY SHIT man, why do you have so much paint on your face? Where you painting the ceiling by hand? WTF. There are cameras on, clean yourself buddy.
Anyways it's great for one of those FAIL captions.

G

whoops

2011-04-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

I think my day has been riddled by "whoops" today. About 7 accidental mistakes, from telling one to plant kudzu to scaring another about the government shutting down.

But.

Kudzu is pretty, albeit invasive.

And the government might still shut down. Not that I want it to.

At least the sun is out.

Maybe I will think before I speak tomorrow.

a solo girl's night

2011-04-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Gustavo has been travelling quite often....and I've been eating lentils and rice for the most part. I decided to go out tonight, as it is **almost** friday. I'm going to ride the bike to work and back tomorrow...I have been hesitant to do so because the traffic is thick. As tomorrow is the Braves opener, it will be thicker. Please, if you are driving, be careful for the cyclists out there. (I will be wearing a very sturdy helmet)

Even at a high class wine joint, I'll still order the menu item that mostly resembles pizza ;)

p.s. I'd already drank a healthy portion of that wine glass before the food came, Ziba's offers a fantastic selection of wines all at $7 / glass and $28 / bottle. I had an Argentinian Malbec that was out of this world. Seriously, a good buy.

Dream Jobs

2011-04-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

So, obviously, we've been working on ventures other than this blog for the past few months. I am not ready to let it go yet, but man, there has been so much going on!!! One being, my dream job. I'm not going to name names, but I just might have secured a position at a super fantastic university ;)

...and Tavo just might be working in a super fantastic country right now.... (and sampling the goods!)

So, we've been wrapped up in work, both individual pursuits, but coming about at the same time. It's kind of awesome.

Happy spring everyone!

This one is for you, sweets.

Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand

2011-03-21T00:29:00.001-07:00

Everytime I think the ATL can't get any better - something like Delia's CSS comes along. I got the 'GunnSlinger', a chicken sausage wrapped in what appeared to be a gluten-free bun. Of course like all hip places on the 20 side of things, they subcontract their bread to Holeman & Finch(home to the 2130 limited edition burgers to share with the surgeons-in-residency crowd).
But I digress.

So along with the sausage dog which had tons of guac and a mole(i think) we got this chocolate and chocolate shake that was impossible with the straw. You need a stick of pvc and a shop-vac to tried to "sip" this thing. So just use a spoon because it's HEAVEN.

They had this awesome thick cheese sauce for the wedges. Everything was awesome, but you really have to check yourself, because everything sounds like a good idea. They are quick on the upsale too, but hey, I do the same thing at work.
They got a great concept. Its like food truck quality and passion, but with a location. $15 was worth the splurge, I can't imagine eating this stuff at 3am(they are going for the late-night EAV crowd) when my post-bar food usually consists of a bag of fries or syrup on waffles. I think my brain won't be able to handle gourmet anti-hangover food.
Either way, I am stoked to see another great place in one of my fave places on earth, EAV. Great job, y'all, we WILL be back.

Lini awaiting deliciousness to arrive :)

a time of change

2011-03-16T18:20:00.001-07:00

I was offered a job yesterday. A job I have wanted and been trying to get for more than six years now. They're doing the background check and all on me now, so I can't say that I have it yet. As I haven't done anything too crazy in the past, the odds are looking good.

Wow. I have been working years for this. There will be more work to come, for sure, but I've been looking forward to it forever :)

Staining the deck and Caracas--all night pictures

2011-02-24T05:29:00.000-08:00

We've had a few good weeks here--absolutely amazing weather. Last Sunday (we had to wait until Sunday because of Atlanta's water restriction) we powerwashed the deck and our steps. Now, I know you aren't "supposed" to powerwash the deck, but it had a thick layer of greenish blackish murk on it and I think the wood will be fine. So, in the evenings, after work, I've been staining until its too dark to see. Here are the rails and spindles:

...and here is the completed deck.

We'll get some daylight pictures this weekend ;) Meanwhile, Gustavo dusted off his suit and is headed to...

Caracas, Venezuela! He's there for a couple days--just a quick trip for work. If all goes well, though, we may have an opportunity to go down together in the future. He got in at 2 am, so here are just a few quick photos he shot last night.

(the floor!!! I love the crazy floor!!)

More to come.

70's and sunny

2011-02-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

It's getting warmer down here--granted, its probably temporary....but hey, any time I can have my windows and doors flung open in February, I'll take it! Here is my lovely husband and the gladiolas from Valentines..

..a simple snack of pimento cheese and saltines...

..and a blurry photo of some veggie tacos. Don't worry, I made steak ones for Gustavo. (He ate the broccoli on his own accord!)

This song just came on the radio and how cool is it?! I hadn't heard the acoustic version before. Colin Hay from Men at Work.

May as well round it out--here's another Men at Work song. They were fairly recently fined quite a large amount over this song--apparently the flute riff was from "Kookaburra sits by the old gum tree." I don't know--personally, I think they changed it up enough. What do you think?

Some new art

2011-02-16T05:28:00.001-08:00

Kind of hard to see, its the photo on the left. Will upload a better pic soon!

Valentine's Day at home

2011-02-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

Just a side note--has anyone else noticed Blogger's photo upload has been wonky recently? The ordering is all skewed..

So, onward! We decided to just chill at home for Valentine's and have about the most basic dinner ever, spaghetti and a salad. Yet, something about the radio, the candles, the gorgeous flowers--it really turned out to be a fantastic night.

Gustavo grabbed a bunch of my favorite flowers (gladiolas! they make me glad) and I whipped up a quick red sauce with shrimp.

Modelos and the radio rounded out the meal. Crazy enough, the radio played "our song" as we were just finishing cooking the food. So we dropped everything and danced. (subsequently, the shrimp were a bit overcooked)

A quick word about it--this version is just Wilco, but the true song that we love is Billy Bragg and Wilco. California Stars is an old Woody Guthrie tune.

Salad turned out shockingly well--pink grapefruit, edamame and mixed greens with a sesame tahini dressing that is my new favorite dressing of all time!! It's from Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan cookbook. Recipe for salad dressing can be found here.

I dressed up in my sexiest pajamas..

And here we are by candlelight ;)

Hope all of you had a fantastic Valentine's.

staining fences

2011-02-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

Multiple good things have happened this weekend, and its only Saturday! I went ahead and sloshed a layer of stain on the fence over at our little orange house, and will do the second layer tomorrow. Thankful for Atlanta and these random weekend pockets of 50 degree, dry weather (can you believe it snowed here a week ago?)

We all hung out and played loud, passionate (eh, sans proper chords..) music and Gustavo put together a video of our efforts. Disclosure: None of us are trained musicians, and we know it--this is just for fun. The folk-art of music.

Happy Saturday night to you and yours :)

2nd Annual Love Show

2011-02-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

All photos from Thom and Jamarie Milkovic via Tagged by (TM) Creative Photography booth from the 2nd Annual Love Show on Feb. 5th.

All photos from Thom Milkovic

Burger boutiques

2011-02-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Hello guys! As you may be able to guess, I haven't been making any new dishes lately. Still cooking, more so than usual, but its all the same old. Here's one new recipe that is perfect for winter and will likely go into our regular rotation. (sorry--still phone pics until we fix camera)

Gigantes in Tomato Sauce. I based my recipe on Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska's just changing regular dried lima beans for gigantes, and subbing peppers in adobo for the aleppo & tomato paste. Served over sourdough toast w/ cheese.

We've also been partaking in the rash of burger boutiques that have popped up in Atlanta. We both liked Decatur's Farm Burger though it was not our favorite. (and I forgot to take pictures!!) Pros: large burgers, decent fries, good beer selection and I like the quinoa based veggie burger. Neat texture, if still a bit mushy. Cons: Gustavo's burger was a hair overcooked and its kind of far from our house. So, if you're in the Decatur area, this is definitely a good place to go!

Gustavo's favorite? Yeah! Burger. He is a huge fan of the bison burger and the gluten free bun. I like that you can get an order of half onion rings and half fries, as I am the onion ring fan in this relationship ;) And yes, the onion rings are top notch.

Inexpensive beer and a nice patio are bonuses too. I had a bad experience with my veggie burger, but we're going to go back and try again. It's made from local red peas, so that is an exciting new ingredient.

My favorite? Wonderful World Burgers near Emory. They don't have a page right now, but what a cool little place. First--their burgers are much smaller than their counterparts. The menu is smaller and they don't focus on organic quite as much. BUT I really liked it :) $2.75 burger, $3 craft beer? I'm on it.

So that's pretty much what we've been eating lately, with the regular soups, salads and beans in rotation.

Hope everyone is having a great February!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hi guys--hope everyone had a happy new year!

We've been dealing with plumbing issues for the last month--pipes freezing, sewage backed up, all sorts of fun stuff. The good thing is, City of Atlanta is now out front replacing our 100 year old sewage pipes. Hooray! Here are some pics. Additionally, a HUGE branch from the dying tree fell. Amazingly--no one was hurt and it didn't hit our house. Scary, though! We actually have an appt to get this tree removed next week--but I guess it was ready to go NOW!

Tearing up the street to access the sewer--the old ceramic pipes are completely choked with tree roots. So, none of our water is draining. You can imagine this is slightly inconvenient ;) Luckily, I think things are going to be just fine.

Over Christmas, we went to Michigan to visit the family. Here we are in my sister's new house, playing a very serious game of dinosaur euchre.

I think its my new favorite card game. Notice the homemade cards, no less! Nice save, Lindsey!

Happy 2011!

Germany and races

2010-12-02T07:13:00.000-08:00

Tavo is working in Germany right now--lucky guy! He sent these pictures along to make us all jealous :)

Meanwhile I'm holding down the fort in Atlanta. Here are a couple pictures from the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving--a great race! I had been kind of dreading it, but ended up loving the course and its proximity to our house. Having good friends to run with always helps, for sure.

Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

We're drowning in squash casserole, stuffing, twice baked potatoes, salad and a chicken. Let's share..

(saw Arrested Development play a free show at Turner Field last year--they continue to be relevant and super fun)

I'll be honest--both of us are very apprehensive of religion as a whole, so here is a link to the local food bank that works with groups from all backgrounds.

Atlanta Community Food Bank

It's on the west side--I have worked with them through Whole Foods--it is a fantastic organization.

Please give to your community this season.

Sometimes it really is just Lentils and Rice

2010-11-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

So, we are eating at home. On a budget. Yet, this is one of our favorite meals on the cheap and easy.

Lentils, boiled for 25 minutes, then added to sauteed onion, garlic, biryani paste (our house still has a very ....distinct smell) and a can of whole tomatoes, crushed by hand. Continue cooking until lentils are done--the amount of time depends on the age of the beans.

We then cracked a couple eggs into the lentils, covered and cooked until set. Serve over brown rice.

Still using the phone camera--my sincere apologies.

Decadent weekend--La Fonda, Harper Station and Fontaine's

2010-11-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, it was absolutely gorgeous out. Mid 70's, sunny, and all we wanted to do was walk around Atlanta....and eat out at restaurants.

Friday, we went to La Fonda because we could easily eat there every single day and not get tired of it. Tavo got the sandwich he always gets, and I went for the grilled vegetables. Yum--both of us had leftovers, too. (sorry for dark photos--these are all from the phone..)

On Saturday, we walked through Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown, and went to the newly opened H. Harper Station. This used to be the Depot, which we enjoyed, so I'm glad a new restaurant opened here. To be honest, its a little higher end than we normally frequent, but the food was fantastic. Tavo had the Beltline burger and tator tots (he said the burger was perfectly cooked!) which had bbq pork, pickles, onions, arugula and cheddar on it.

I had his side of Turnpike Grits with Crab. Oh yum! I also had a glass of Gruner Veltliner--to go with the crab, you know. Overall, we were really impressed. H. Harper station just opened last week so stop by and give it a try. If you are into cocktails /liquors, this is where the restaurant truly shines. The list is exhaustive.

On Sunday, we did appetizers at Fontaine's. This used to be a Sunday regular, but they switched the half price appetizer day on us. Boo! Oh well, they had beer specials and a bloody mary special, so one can't complain. Tavo got the fried rice, andouille and pepperoni balls which he said were good, but a bit intense to eat all by yourself. I got the blackened shrimp and scallops--I had no problem eating them by myself. In fact they were so good that I ate them all and forgot to take a picture :)

So, next week we'll try to cook a bit at home. Isn't it fun to go out, though?

Pho for lunch

2010-11-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

I have been cuckoo about this place for a while--if any of you happen to work out by South Cobb, try it out. It's a little mom and pop shop / grocery store that is seriously only staffed by 3 people. Amazing!

Other than eating pho, I haven't been doing much but reading. Tavo and I are planning a new project soon, though...

slow day at the library

2010-11-03T09:05:00.003-07:00

So I drew the library fish.

Illy Issimo Coffee and the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon

2010-10-27T07:33:00.001-07:00

Recently,we received three different types of Illy Issimo coffee to sample. Both Tavo and I tried all three--we also gave samples to his 17 year old nephew, my Italian coworker and a few of our early 30's aged friends.

Overall verdict? Everyone loved them.

Tavo and I rarely purchase prepared coffee because of the price and, for me, because they often have so many calories. The Illy Caffe' (Italian espresso style coffee drink) only has 50 calories, and this was what I liked best, as did Maria, my Italian coworker. She actually went to the nearby health food store and told them they needed to start stocking this! We both like that the ingredients are just coffee and sugar, and that its a nice small size, yet the perfect amount of coffee.

Aaron, Gustavo's nephew, preferred the Latte. He is a big fan of energy drinks and usually gets the Monster Coffee Flavored kind. He said the Illy had a better coffee flavor, though price and size were his biggest sways. Thank you very much Illy!

The other cool thing that happened recently was the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon! My friend, Dona, and I decided to do this way back in July, to keep us running and training through the summer months. The weather was perfect, the water warm, and the race was FLAT! I actually got my best time ever--2:10:43. Very good for me :) Here are some photos, courtesy of SportPhoto.com:

(and a little photo to showcase my lack of MS Paint steez)
Clock time was 2:11:12, my chip time was 2:10:43. Hooray!

We make 13.1 miles look like a cakewalk, huh?

Road Trip: Last Day + Chickpeas and tomatoes with flatbread

2010-10-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

We rolled into Houston, Texas right at dinner time on the last full day of our roadtrip to visit Gustavo's sister, Yolanda, her husband, Alejandro, their four girls and the (crazy) sweet puppy! We did take one more day after that to drive to Atlanta, but as we just deadheaded it, I'm not counting it as a vacation day ;)

We got there on Friday night, and it was that perfect collision of teenagers, preteens, little girls performing skits and can we turn down that volume? Here is Alejandro, turning down the volume--or perhaps turning it up--might have been a good song :) any myself, playing with a camera.

Yollie, Alejandro and I talking...

Imaginary Guacamole with the mortar and pestle!

hmmm, we may have consumed a few modelos...

Here we are, trying to take a group photo:

All right, enough with that! A great time with the family--our biggest regret is that we didn't stake out a few days in Houston. Alejandro has an amazing ceviche recipe that I covet. We will be back ;)

In the meantime, here's a quick pantry staple recipe that I have grown fond of while procrastinating on the grocery trip ;) First, pull out your leftover pizza dough, ball it up, and let it rise for 30 minutes. (what? some people don't make a big batch of pizza dough every weekend? blasphemy!)

Meanwhile, cook down an onion until caramelized. Add 2 small cloves garlic, jalapeños, 3T. sofrito (I have some store bought for use in a pinch, but homemade freezes well...) can of whole tomaotes broken up, and one can of garbanzos, rinsed. Cook on medium low until bread is finished. A good herb to add would be parsley--I added lemon basil and I'm still on the fence with that decision.

Press your pizza dough into rough 6" rounds, on greased pan. Preheat oven to top temp or preheat cast iron skillet. I did the oven because I wanted to sit on the porch and enjoy the mild autumn temps.

Baked at 500 for 6 minutes, then browned under broiler:

Serve--Ideally I think you would use fresh parsley and squeeze a bit of lemon on it. If none of that is available, its still pretty decent.

I went to Michigan last weekend and totally left my camera charging in the kitchen. BAD! At any rate, I'm headed there again in December and won't make the same mistake.

Next weekend? Myrtle Beach Half Marathon--broken toe or not, I'm running this as fast as I can :)

MarxFoods.com Mushroom Challenge! Lobster Mushroom and Brie Pizza

2010-10-14T20:39:00.001-07:00

Okay--so this was way, way more difficult than I thought it would be. You know how many recipes I tried? Too many! I'm only going to show you my faves ;)

Here is the situation: Justin, from MarxFoods.com, wrote us to join a dried mushroom recipe challenge, and sent us a pile of mushrooms. Now, I love, love, love mushrooms. So I had to try all these different mushrooms in different recipes. Look at what he sent us. (how cool!!)

So, I tried quite a few, but both Tavo and I liked the pizza best. Here's the dough, recipe follows:

We soaked the lobster mushrooms (a few trumpets to throw in omelets in the morning and save all the water for broth) in warm water for an hour or so (would have been fine for 20 minutes, but we had friends come by for a beer...so maybe 2 hours?)
Brie and pepperoncini for a bit of salt

All together now--we just used plain crushed tomatoes for sauce

A taste of honey is *better* than none at all... (Sorry Smokey Robinson!)

Recipe: Brie, Lobster Mushroom and Pepperoncini Pizza

Dough:

1 1/4 c. water

1 T. olive oil

1 t. kosher salt

1 T. sugar

2 c. white flour (I use White Lily)

1 c. wheat flour (I use King Arthur)

2 t. rapid rise yeast (I use Fleischmann's)

Put in bread machine to dough cycle or mix traditionally.

When done, pull your section out and let rise. Throw the rest in a tupperware in the fridge with a bit of olive oil. When you want to use the next batch for pizza, just pull out that section of the dough and let it rest at room temp for 20 minutes or so, then toss or stretch it.

Preheat oven to 500. Chop your hydrated mushrooms and brie. Open a can of crushed tomatoes. If you have some fresh or dried basil, this is good too. Spread dough with toppings, keeping it fairly light. Bake in oven for 10 minutes and serve!

Kansas City introduced me to honey on pizza. There are honey bears on all the tables of a now defunct pizza place in Westport. Joe's pizza, (the back part of Kelly's Westport Inn) still has the honey. Oh man, its so good. Especially when you are using savory toppings and a very minimal sauce like we are. Regular "pizza sauce" you buy in the store has corn syrup, preservatives, tons of sodium and unnecessary ingredients. Just used canned crushed tomatoes--anything that has one ingredient is usually better. I like Kroger, because their store brand has a no salt version, but any will do.

Tell me about a taste of honey...

Recipes that didn't make the cut? Roasted Vegetable and Porcini/Chanterelle Mushroom Soup with Barley
I think I blended it too much.

Not bad, not my fave. I need to rework recipe before posting...this was just a bit bland.

This, actually, I loved. It was just too boring ;) Black Beans and Porcini with Brown Rice.
Cook down an onion until translucent; add cumin, ginger, paprika and cayenne. Add a drained and rinsed can of beans, half can of water, and dried porcinis. Cook down for 45 minutes on low, adding liquid as needed. I like mine a bit dry, but that is personal preference.

Meanwhile, throw 1 cup of brown rice, 1-2 boullion cubes, dollop of oil and 2 cups water into rice maker or saucepan. Cook down for 45 minutes.

Mix. Eat. Add hot sauce ;)

I used the leftover beans for nachos. That was also tasty, but not noteworthy.

This next dish was the actual worst I made--but with a better basic recipe, I really think it could be the best. I made a corn chowder and put chantarelle mushrooms in, black trumpet garnish.

My soup was again too....mushy. And thick--but that's an easy fix. Overall, I needed more texture. So, it gets last place.

Overall, though, I really wish to thank MarxFoods.com for the opportunity to try their mushrooms and have a lot of fun :)

Second to last day...and the art!! Wow.

2010-10-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

As we headed back East from the Grand Canyon, our minds were completely blown by all these wheat pastes. All right--all of you from our gorgeous SouthWest...who is this guy? He / She is phenomenal. I don't even want to taint it with words.

We found most of this art within a hundred miles or so from here:

Perspective...my head reaches the bottom of the window. These are truly awesome.

(my favorite)

Some food, too. Tacos Los Altos in Flagstaff, AZ. Holy cow. For a tiny little taco shop off the interstate, this was fantastic! No web address, but please visit it if you're headed down US 66.

Fish tacos...
Barbacoa--Tavo said it was off the chain.

Hey, you can sleep in a wigwam.

We hit a storm while heading east...

We spent the night in El Paso. Ready to drive across Texas to meet Tavo's sister in Houston.
(unrelated--wow!! They are pulling up the first Chilean miner!)

Day 5-6: Four Corners and the Grand Canyon

2010-10-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I'm never going to finish this if I don't hurry it up a bit. Here are massive amounts of photos, with a few words to tie them together.

This is actually the evening at Great Sand Dunes--but I'm pretty sure it was near or after midnight, so we'll just stick them into this post. I am grinning maniacally because I'm doing three of my favorite activities all at once. 1. Camping 2. Cooking 3. Drinking and I'm doing them all with my best friend--this is what its all about, right?

Chopping a variety of vegetables...

Master firebuilder, in repose.

Rabbit food always tastes better over fire--veggies tossed with oil, salt, pepper and thyme.

Potatoes with oil and cajun seasoning--this is the time I don't mind all the extra salt.

Next day, we stopped at the Four Corners--here is me hovering above Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

Thank you GPS for more gorgeous backroads...

We decided to stay on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, as it is more remote and (I think) more beautiful. You have to drive for a couple hours through the middle of nowhere, though, to get there. The scenery is amazing throughout and shockingly enough, NPR signal stayed strong even though our cell phones were useless.

We stayed in Kaibab National Forest and even managed to get a (blurry) picture of the Kaibab squirrel--look at his ears!!!

This guy had on skin tight white leggings and moon boots. It could be super high tech.....it could be too many days in the hot desert sun...

After hiking all morning, we came back to the campsite and read. A few miles hiking into the canyon is a breeze, but coming back up? Sheesh. It took hours, and I'm not even exaggerating.

Oh yeah, we get to cook again :D

I have a superior s'mores technique, developed after years of bonfires and camping with my family. Check the melted chocolate....

Happy 30th Birthday, Tavo!! Here is to many more.

Day 4: Cadillac Ranch, TX to Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

2010-09-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

We slept in Amarillo, and got up early to head west. This was our big driving day. So, Ant Farm's Cadillac Ranch is just outside the city limits, and we decided to stop by it. I was shocked by the police presence and just sheer number of people there! It turned out to be Larry Frederick's Life Across America ride through Amarillo. He is a retired policeman who was injured in the line of duty and saved by blood transfusions. He rode across the United States on his bicycle as a nationwide blood drive. Please, go on out and donate blood or plasma and support this great cause!

We also decided to support Tavolini ;)

We headed west...on super, super back roads. I have always been a fan of paper maps, AAA maps to be specific. (Rand McNally, I'm sorry--but you are not nearly as accurate) I do have to say, over the course of this trip, I found that GPS is even more dedicated to finding rural routes than I ever was with my box of AAA maps. What can I say---I'm impressed!

Fine dining outside the Valero station. Tavo opted for deli meat and some cheese...

..and I went for my Grandpa's favorite fishing snack--sardines in hot sauce ;)

Gratuitous New Mexico shot in honor of Christo. Yep, we were in your home state for a couple minutes ;)

Then we hit our destination, Great Sand Dunes National Park in Mosca, Colorado. So beautiful! They backed up to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains.

It's bear country, and the ranger SCARED me to death by saying that bears can tell what coolers are and that they have food in them....even if they're in my car! (lol......I think he was pulling my leg??!!)
Our view. Can you believe this?? I really was amazed. Okay--I'll be honest. I kind of wanted to stop and just stay here for the rest of the week. It was THAT beautiful. Seriously.

(Only drawback? No showers. We found this out AFTER playing in the dunes and hiking all over and getting really filthy and sweaty. Well, there are always baby wipes...)

Our view. OUR VIEW!!! We fell asleep and woke up to this!!!

After setting up camp, we went hiking all over the dunes. This is so fun!

Then we went back to our campsite. Camping and food to come!

Road Trip: Days 2-3: Arkansas and Oklahoma

2010-09-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

(Shameless self promotion--you can vote for me on the right. Project Food Buzz--my post is below. Thanks!)

We stopped off in Little Rock to see the Clinton Library and to have a bit of lunch.

Daily schedules of every single day he was in office! Wow, I will stop complaining about long days forever.

Then we continued on to Hot Springs for the night. What a cool town--it looks European, almost--all these very old bathhouses and cobblestone in between mountains. Very beautiful!

We opted for the Happy Hollow. This was a very quaint little motel just off the strip...but there were a LOT of daddy long legs. That aside, loved the 60's look and the box of candies that came with the room.

HOT! hot hot hot hot hot!!!

Ouch! ouch! ouch! Sooooooo hot! (can people really immerse themselves in this? This was insanely, scaldingly hot...)

The next day, we went up to Mount Ida, and dug crystals. Fun!

Actually, I dare say this is one of the nicest outhouses I have visited ;) I think it was composting toilet, though I am not positive.

We left Arkansas and stopped off in Oklahoma City to check out the Oklahoma City Memorial. I was surprised to realize that this happened 15 years ago. I'm from Michigan, and remember that we went up north coincidentally on the weekend they found Timothy McVeigh. We were on M-53 and the whole road (this is rural farmland) was being blocked by cops and such.

Great memorial--the chairs and the museum reflection really hit me.

And then, we drove off into the sunset.

Road Trip--Day One: The South and Memphis

2010-09-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here we are, back home for more than a week (!) and I'm finally posting. There is something overwhelming about posting a trip once you get back--if you remember, I've always been a bit delayed (i.e. Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia...) So, I'm actually doing quite well here, I dare say. I think the only time I posted right away was New York...and that is totally out of respect to Christo. Otherwise, I am lazy.

We decided to rent a car as opposed to using either of our slightly (or quite) elderly vehicles. I remember with astounding clarity having to hitchhike or catch a greyhound multiple times due to vehicle breakdown. So, that settled, look at what yuppies we are! We rented a Prius! (Enterprise--shockingly good price and they didn't pay me to say that)

All packed up! (Not one or two.. THREE coolers resided in there...along with all of our "blue" stuff. Huh, must be a popular shade)

Driving across the beautiful Southeastern United States. We left Georgia, and hit Alabama and Mississippi on our way to Tennessee. We stuck to the back roads for the majority of our trip--we just used interstates through major cities and late at night.

I so wish we had gone to the Soul Patrol Anniversary!

This ain't just whistlin' Dixie...

The Mechanized Cavalry!

We rolled into Memphis as the sun was setting. Had enough time to visit Sun Studios, then take a quick swim at our hotel pool :)

Then we got all dolled up (I'm wearing flip flops with my thrift store gown) and hit Beale Street!

Next morning, we did a quick stop at Graceland.

(so, we may have opted to park at KFC and walk as opposed to the $15 Graceland parking fee...but we looked GOOD doing so)

Then we headed towards Arkansas!

Louisiana crawfish and Arkansas crystals

2010-09-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We are back from our trip and going through the spoils. I'll post trip photos later on this week--for right now, here are some food shots. Yesterday, our last day on the road, we drove through southern Louisiana. So, of course, we picked up some crawfish and decided to make etouffee. Every time I make etouffee, I use Kathryn's recipe, from Smoky Mountain Cafe. It was exciting to finally have some crawfish involved! (I usually use shrimp) I followed her recipe almost exactly, just subbing some hot peppers for the red bell peppers. I have no idea why, but red bell peppers are $5 a lb right now at the store and I just couldn't justify that expense.

We bought these from this crazy little seafood shack that was way back in the middle of a neighborhood! We thought we had bad directions at first, but after winding back on side streets for 10 minutes, we found the shop. It doesn't have a web page, but you can google "LA Cajun Seafood & Market" to get the address and visit next time you are in Rayne, LA.

While the etouffee simmered, we pulled out toothbrushes and started cleaning the crystals we found in Arkansas. Again, we visited a place with no website, but what a fantastic business. Here is an article about them, Gee and Dee Crystals in Mount Ida, AR.

It was really neat--we followed Dee up a dirt path to the "mine" which was actually out in the open. The key to finding the crystals is to sift through the dirt and look for flat pieces that are almost black in color. When you pick them up, you can see if its quartz or crystal. This was a ton of fun and reasonably priced, too.

Then we cleaned up and had some etouffee on the back deck. I love traveling, but it is definitely nice to be home.

the coolest crazy beautiful demon song...and of course, more pizza

2010-08-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

I don't really thing I need to describe this. Just two of my most favorite things (besides Tavo) that I happen to experience today.

Hot Pepper and Pineapple pizza...sweet and spicy!

Swedish sisters...(harmony--did you guys learn it in church, too?)