Nashville, TN

I've been lazy and neglected this blog since getting back from the trip last weekend. I do apologize. I hope everyone enjoyed a thankful and lovely Thanksgiving! I have a plethora of photos still to edit, thus more blogging will commence.

Getting back into the swing of work after an eventful week off was an adjustment - but quite a good one. Good things keep happening! More on this soon . . .

Back to the trip. While we spent less than 24 hours in Nashville, it was time well spent. Mostly in the hotel making our delicious - but marginally ghetto - Thanksgiving meal (strange hotel hot plates in the very Ikea-like kitchen of our hotel suite) with my mother's birthday Rose. Yum. Besides our meal, with explored the to-scale reproduction of the Parthenon (who knew??) in the center of Nashville. For real, there is an actual PARTHENON in the middle of a park. This beautiful country never ceases to surprise. I had quite a time taking photos in the bright sunlight - beautiful day, beautiful light, and a magnificent structure. Looking up at the pillars was just dizzying. 

If you are ever in Nashville, I highly recommend exploring this place. Quite a visual treat!

Oh, hey sunlight.

 Texture.

Loved the gritty texture of the pillars in contrast with the smooth tiles underfoot.

A little perspective.

My mom using my iPhone

A special treat.

Day Five and Six: Happy Thanksgiving

I'm tired from all the driving but happy to be drinking a little champagne in Nashville.

New Orleans was, as one might expect, amazing! My legs are still sore from all the walking around. We had perfect 73 degree weather for all three days - just right for aimless exploring marked with brief stops for coffee, beignets, and beer. What else? A bayou swamp tour with the a nice cajun who lectured us on exactly why Louisinans take offense at such shows as Swamp People (rightly so). Saw some alligators, armadillos, herons, and floating trailers. Also learned a whole lot about the swamp of Slidell, LA.

I have way too many photos to go through - which I will do as soon as possible. Here are a few of my favorites from days five and.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are enjoying a Food Network-esque cooking challenge in the hotel room (hot plates and thanksgiving dinner?) and as I mentioned - some delicious champagne.

More to come!!

A view of Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral

Cafe Du Monde.

Jackson Square with filters

Birds in a fountain

Sunset

I Think I'm Still Full

How about you? Thanksgiving this year was a fun adventure that involved street-side at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and a trip to the farm in Canada. The continual theme throughout? A lot of delicious food and fun photo opportunities! This week I want to share a couple of photographs that don't directly include edibles, but do contain a whole lot of color (yellow and orange) and flavor. Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and got some much needed respite from work and/or school!

Sunny Side Up!

I would say that this is a fair warning to cut back on McDonalds . . .

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Always in search of the perfect, chewy, simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. I think I got pretty close last night, in my attempt to create a delicious addition for Thanksgiving tomorrow. They certainly came out pretty at least! Unfortunately, that chewyness is still just barely out of my grasp, these are soft and sweet but slightly more cake-y than I desired. I was quite happy with the results however: round, golden, and with molten chocolate abounding!

An Unlikely Pair: Crimson Pomegranates and Green Olives

The pomegranate is a messy, gorgeous, tasty, tart, and awkward old fruit. It is an interesting fruit to cook with - good on salads, in sauces, in desserts, in sangria . . . versatile! Pomegranates have a relatively short season that falls around the holidays. You always start to see them at the grocery store before Thanksgiving in that big, four foot high box in the produce section.

I might be a strange one, but I like to eat pomegranates fresh. Cut them open and get nice and messy with all the crunchy seeds and crimson colored juice that gets everywhere (all over me, all over the table, possibly on the walls from an errant seed . . .) Pomegranates can be rather tart. Although when they are ripe they look a little uglier on the outside and begin to lose some of the vibrant color (of the skin). The unique sour/sweet taste is a combination of raspberries, lemons, and sour grape.

Burnt orange and yellow leaves, brisk air, Christmas decorations (already??) and pomegranate seeds are making this November feel a whole lot like the holidays.

Olives, another one of my favorite foods (up there with avocados!) make their debut here tonight. These particular olives may not complement the pomegranate directly, but serve as a fabulous addition to a delicious meal and a gorgeous mate for a food photo shoot.

This is how a pomegranate should look when it's ripe and freshly cut

I wouldn't recommend the flavor of green olives and pomegranate however . . . This unlikely pair provides the most delightful Christmas colors. Vivid greens and reds without cranberries or pine bows, who knew it was possible?

In addition - these bright green olives (with pits!) have the most fantastic olive flavor. So juicy and so pretty.

The murder scene.

This became a delicious addition to my seasonal Sangria: Pomegranate seeds, pears, and plums, with cranberry-apple sparkling cider and dry Portuguese red. Yum. 

The end product? Olives with aged goat cheese and whole grain crackers, and pomegranate sangria. A perfect and light fall meal.