Life is good around the table.

about couple of months ago I wrote THIS POST.
it was all about my desire for community.

it is amazing how when we speak something out loud, opportunities come to put it into action.
for the last month, my house has been a busy little greeter of people. friends. community.
and i am beyond grateful.

my heart has been so full.

i managed to finish reading bread and wine.

i know i keep talking about it, but it has quickly soared to the top of my list for favorite books EVER read. it just spoke to my soul in so many ways and i just felt full after reading it.

and i really, really, really want to be best friends forever with shauna niequist.
i think we'd be awesome together.

and i want to start a cooking club. the kind like she has with rich food and rich relationships.
i have ventured out in my cooking and that's just fabulous.
for instance, i made grilled pizza with roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, grilled chicken, fresh rosemary and balsamic vinegar. who am i?

i have purchased all of the ingredients to bake my own bread.

it's like a revival in my kitchen. and my heart. i can't get enough.

if you love jesus and food and the kitchen....please read this. for your soul. for your sanity. trust me, you need it.

and so, i leave you with this:

a little bit of honesty

can i be honest?
do you ever feel like something is lacking?
i feel a little of the lacking lately.

see, i have this deep desire and passion for relationships, friendships, community.
like you know, your people.
most people have their people.
and i know who my people are. but i still feel a lacking.
i'm sure that the millions of times that i've moved has A LOT to do with it.
i mean for goodness sake, moving from city to city, state to state, doesn't really allow much time for really cultivating those relationships.

there's another side to this too. food.
i love food. whether its healthy or bad, i love it.
there is something magical that happens around the table when you're with the people that matter most.
i'm convinced that lives change around the table.

when babies are born, we take food.
when people pass away, we take food.
when it's a rough day, we have comfort food.
there is something truly soothing to the soul when gathered with the ones you love.
i think that jesus reveals himself around the table. whether a home cooked meal or take out, the community that happens around the table.....he's there.

i'm going somewhere with this, i promise.
first of all, this love i speak of has been in my heart my whole life.
some of  my favorite memories in the world occurred in the kitchen of either my mother, my aunt or my grandmother. it's where my family congregates. deep, deep conversations around the kitchen table. there's just something so good about that.

well, a few years ago, i read a book called cherries in winter. it was a collection of recipes and the family stories behind them, and it was oh so good. i think this is when i realized how important the "table" was in my own life.


cherries in winter by suzan colon

but then, in december on the way home from paris, i read a book called "a little salty to cut the sweet."
now this, this spoke straight to my heart. literally laughing out loud with one sentence and crying the next.
it was so, so, so, good. i read it in about 2 hours....couldn't stop. and i loved it so much that i bought it for my aunt, grandmother and mother in-law for christmas. it's one of those books that i think everyone in the world should read.....or at least everyone in the south ;) this book is southern family stories that just so happen to have a bit of food. but these stories are so familiar to me. so close to the funny and sad and loving stories of my own family. stories that i want more of in my life. i think sitting with my family and listening to old family stories is one of the greatest things in all of life. i love them. and then i get a little scared as my immediate family gets older, and i have no one to pass those stories on to. what if i forget them?


a little salty to cut the sweet by sophie hudson

then, last week, i started reading "bread & wine", a book that has been on the top of my list since it came out.
and oh my word, it's attacking my heart. shauna niequist is literally taking the thoughts right out of my heart and putting them in a book. i don't understand how these books keep getting better. and it has recipes! all 3 books have recipes!
this book is all about life around the table and how jesus meets us there and heals us there and comforts us there. it's about the importance of having "your people".


bread & wine by shauna niequist

i desire deeper relationships with my family.
i desire deeper relationships with my friends, both old and new.
i DESIRE my people coming over and really living life together.

I long for that handful of people who, when you're having a bad day, come over whether you want them to or not to give you a hug....and maybe some chocolate. ;)
and i long to be that person to my people as well. the one who doesn't give up on them. the one who will just sit and listen. the one who will hug it out.

and i can't help but be convinced that jesus is trying to show me something here.
i can't just wish for more life around the table....i have to act on it.
i feel like god is stirring something big in my heart on this topic.
it's time to cultivate. it's time to harvest.

i want to have more life around the table, and i want to make sure that i am breathing in every moment of it.
even if there's a strand or two of dog hair in the meal. ;)

it's not just about recipes or cooking.
it's about the transformations, big and small, that happen around the table.

do yourself a favor and read these books. i'm telling you....they are good stuff!

i'm intrigued.....and i'd love your feedback

(source)

it's no secret that i'm a firm believer in clean eating.
i just have a problem adhering to it regularly.

anyway, i've recently (well last few years) become rather intrigued by those who live holistically.
you know, clay or stainless steel cookware only, no plastic, essential oils, all natural remedies, etc, etc, etc.

(side note: every time i say etc, etc, etc, it always makes me thing of The King and I. ah, memories).

like seriously, i am for real intrigued by this way of life. i think there's something to be said for it.
now i'm not saying i'm giving up modern medicine or anything, but i really am interested in the natural living.
and i'm really, really mesmerized about essential oils for healing, breathing, and so on.

i haven't even jumped into any of these things, but i think i'd like to. my life is in need of some real changes in this department.
i just don't exactly know where to start, or what the "right" things are.
just as touristy towns have tourists traps, i feel like the "all natural" products do too.

so i'm genuinely asking for your feedback.
do you do anything holistic? essential oils? all natural bakeware/cookware?
what extremes have you gone to? do you grind your own spices/flour, etc?
have you seen a real difference? has this changed any medical issues you have?
how have you adjusted your budget to include this way of life?

i'd love to hear from you and any advice you may have on the matter!

mama's kitchen - apple bread

several weeks ago i mentioned that i was going to start a weekly blog series called "mama's kitchen". 

this is a fun experiment for me in cooking all of the recipes my mom had clipped and saved in her recipe books. i am so very excited to start!

the very first recipe i attempted was apple bread.

now...i am not a fan of cooked veggies. i'd rather them be fresh and cold. 

chris on the other hand loves some fruit bread, pies, etc.

i just so happened to have all the ingredients for this one on hand as well.

here's what you'll need:

2 C sugar

1 C oil

3 eggs

3 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 C chopped, peeled baking apples

1 C chopped pecans

Makes 2 loaf pans of bread.

alright. so go ahead and preheat that oven to 325 and spray your loaf pans.

i only had one loaf pan, so i put the rest into a muffin tin. however, the cooking times didn't match so i over cooked the muffins.

shame, shame.

next you're going to use your mixer and mix up the sugar, eggs and oil.

in a separate bowl, go ahead and mix all your dry ingredients. then you're going to mix it into the wet ingredients just until blended.

now somewhere in the mix you've got to peel, core and chop up the apples. i did this after i mixed the batter because i didn't want the apples to turn brown. being as i don't cook with fruit, i'm not entirely sure that was the best option. 

also...i'm pretty positive these were not the type of apples recommended for baking.

double fail.

ok so once those apples are chopped, add them and the walnuts to the batter and stir it up!

stir it up, roll it up and throw it in the pan.

and try not to peak too many times.

this beauty needs to cook for 1 hour or until a fork or knife comes out clean.

i have to say, it was quite tasty.

you can throw some butter and sugar on it and toss in the microwave for a buttery apple breakfast.

top it with some ice cream for dessert.

endless possibilities!

ok, well maybe not endless, but you've got options here people.

Something about veggies...

i love to cook.
being in the kitchen is one of my most favorite places ever.
and i am plum stocked on fresh veggies this week.
as a result, i have nothing but recipes and idea flying through my head.
So far this week I have made two new dishes that were simply scrumptious and it would be a disservice if i did not share.

let's start with some awesomely homemade pasta sauce.
i always make my sauce from scratch, but this time i had some fresh tomatoes that were about to go bad.
so i added them to the mix and it made all the difference in the world.
i shall always use fresh tomatoes from now on.

in an iron skillet i sautéed a shallot and 3 cloves of garlic. the key is to do it low and slow so they really sweeten up.
next i added 3 peeled/diced fresh tomatoes and let them break down. about 5-7 minutes.
i then added a plop of tomato paste, some salt, pepper and a little dash of sugar. once that all became a little thick, i added 2/3 cup of canned crushed tomatoes (natural and organic). simmer on low for about 30 minutes. i also added a jar of artichoke hearts that i chopped up and some fresh parsley to cook in for the last 10 minutes or so. it was simply amazing. i wanted to just have a bowl of sauce for dinner, but i figured i should probably add a few noodles.
hubby approved of this meatless dinner, however i'm sure that some sausage or ground beef would be delightful!
and apparently i was too caught up in the moment to bother with pictures of that one.

moving on to potato chicken casserole.

 i had a bag of baby red potatoes that i chopped up.

then i sliced 1/4 of a yellow onion.

feel free to add more onion...i'm just not a huge onion fan. i like the flavor, but i don't like to bite into one, so my slices were extremely thin.
in a bowl, toss the potatoes, onions, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and a little ranch dressing mix.



in a greased baking dish, throw in the potato mixture and bake at about 500 degrees for roughly 30 minutes (depending on size of your potatoes).

the goal is fork tender. While the potatoes are baking, cut up some chicken and toss it in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and ranch dressing mix.



When potatoes are fork tender, place the raw chicken mixture over the potatoes.

Cover with cheese and cooked bacon and put back in the oven. Knock the temp down to 400 and cook for 15 minutes. Then it's time to eat!

I mixed some chives and sour cream together for mine, and chris ate his just as it was. yuuuumy!

Mama's Kitchen....A New Blog Series

happy monday!
this weekend proved to be quite full of creative brain storming...and i love it!

so, i wanted to let you in on an upcoming series that's going to take place here on the blog.

it's called Mama's Kitchen.
a huge portion of memories of my mom are all in the kitchen. and my granny too.
mom and my granny taught me to cook.
and it's something i absolutely love to do.

it's also so easy to get stuck with the same old recipes that you cook week in and week out.
when my mom passed away, i took all of her cook books, specifically her little handwritten recipe book full with newspaper/magazine clippings of recipes she wanted to try.

so i am on a mission to cook, photograph and blog all of those recipes!
i am so excited.
the recipes range from appetizers, salads, side dishes, entrees and desserts.

be on the lookout....mama's kitchen is coming soon! i'm hungry just writing about it!

thanksgiving in july?

last week i had an awesome opportunity.

i got to style a thanksgiving photo shoot for a holiday catering guide.

what?

this was so incredibly fun.

like seriously, could you imagine doing this for your day job?

there was replating, adjusting, enhancing and of course....tasting! ;)

and boy was it tasty!

all i have to say is....

if you have an earth fare store near you, you should definitely let them help you with your thanksgiving dinner this year!

because all of this goodness will be available in their catering department.

and it was all simply delicious!

and of course, so much fun!

something's fishy here

well hello monday!

so lovely to see you again. 

i hope you all enjoyed the holiday short week! i know i did.

i'm still reaping the rewards of hubby's new job. this week he had to film some plated salmon.

and afterwards, we made dinner with it!

i bought a huge thing of fresh dill. 

time to get creative with that! any ideas?

homemade ranch dressing is definitely in the future.

so we bought precooked salmon from the cafe section of the store.

for dinner, i made a lemon dill sauce with lemon juice, fresh dill, pepper, garlic powder and sour cream.

i also roasted some small yellow potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

and then we roasted asparagus tossed in olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper.

yummmy!

we were completely on course for a dinner of epic proportions.

it was epic alright.

the salmon was an epic fail.

there are a number of things that could have gone wrong, so this is where i need your help.

i rarely cook fish at home...mainly because most times i do, it turns into a natural disaster.

so here's what i'm thinking.

first, i'm thinking i shouldn't have reheated the salmon and just ate it cold on a salad or something like that.

second, failure could have resulted in the time the fish was out of the fridge for filming and in the car from the store.

i wrapped it in a foil tent and heated in the oven for about 7 minutes. the result was a very fishy tasting salmon, and i don't do fishy.

so....fish pros, help me out here. what could have saved this dinner?

while i'm asking for advice, is anyone else having trouble with the blogger templates? my entire sidebar has gone to the bottom of the page. now, this seems to only be a problem on the home page....all of my other pages have it displayed correctly. i'm just trying to figure out if it's a blogger glitch or something on my end. help!

dearest ina

it's no secret that i'm a food network junkie.
like fo realz yo.
rachel ray used to be my favorite, but i'm a bit over her. paula deen too.
but, ina garten (barefoot contessa) used to be my least favorite, but i feel like she has suddenly become my favorite.
sidenote - i used to think the show was called barefoot contessa in a garden.



my mom loved ina.
maybe that has sparked my love for her.
or maybe it's that i have grown up and like to try more sophisticated flavors every now and then.
no one has ever made me want to cook with a leek more than ina.



maybe i'm intrigued by her life. i mean seriously, she lives in the hamptons. her husband is gone all week, so her week days are filled with cooking for all of her friends and little gay men. i love it!
i love that she cooks rich, full fat/full flavor foods and embraces it.
and although my 2013 should have a lot less fat, i'm feeling the need to cook it up...ina style.

or maybe it's that she loves paris too.
every year she spends new years in paris with friends.
come on! i need that life!

i want to throw parties and make yummies like ina.
you know...be a texas girl with hamptons style.
now that just sounds lovely.

I Love Atlanta: Food Trucks!

It's been a minute since my last "I Love Atlanta" post y'all!
But I'm sooo excited about today's post!

So, for lunch today, a few of us from work walked to the food truck. The trucks are at 12th St. and Peachtree

I ate at a truck called Happy Belly. They offer local grown organic foods - the menu looks delicious! And it's healthy! I've been hesitant to try the food trucks because I assumed they were unhealthy or they'd have nothing I would like to eat. I'm so picky.

But much to my surprise....it was delicious! I had grilled free range chicken with organic zucchini noodles tossed in a fresh basil pesto. Yuuuummmmyyyy! And completely guilt free! The chicken is grilled, but SO moist. Not dry at all! And this was my first time with zucchini noodles....um definitely hooked and will be making them at home!

There are a lot of different trucks. Next week I'm planning my cheat day around this. There are some lemon parmesan french fries that I NEED in my belly! There's also BBQ, hotdogs, tacos, gilato, cupcakes, lobster mac and cheese....I mean the list is endless!

The prices are good too. My meal was $10, but that's expected with all local and organic ingredients. But all of the trucks have inexpensive items too. You could easily eat from several trucks for under $15.

So to my Georgia friends, you HAVE to try this! It's so much fun and, well...cultured! Lol! This whole experience really excited me - probably more than it should have, but nonetheless, it was awesome!

I Love Atlanta

I've lived in Georgia my whole entire life.
Over 28 years.
And in those 28 years, I have not even come remotely close to exploring the things my great state has to offer....especially Atlanta!
So my lovely friend Heather and I have decided that it's time we gave this great city the props it deserves!
Enter....I Love Atlanta.
We will both be posting the awesomeness of Atlanta - some together, some on our own. Either way, sharing it all for your viewing pleasure!

Here are the categories we're looking at:

Cultural

Areas of Interest
Sporting Events
Culinary
Historical
Nightlife
The Great Outdoors

Speaking of which, I went to one of my favorite Atlanta restaurants the other night.
It's called The Vortex.
There are two locations in Atlanta - Midtown and Little 5 Points.

My fave cuz from Texas was in town and that's where I took her. We went to the Little 5 location.
Little 5 is an area of town that deserves a post all on its own, so you'll just have to live in suspense on that one.

The Vortex has been featured on various food shows. They're known for their burgers, which are delicious!
They have this burger called the Double Bypass and a Tripple Bypass. These are double and tripple cheese burgers with grilled cheese sandwiches as the buns! Gross!!!
It's also one of the few cool restaurants that actually serve tater tots!

My favorites on the menu are:
Fried cheese balls - OMG these are heavenly. Little fried balls of cheese....how can that be wrong?
Fried pickles - some of the best in the city!
And the burgers of course! So many to choose from. I usually stick with a boring old cheeseburger. May be boring, but still delicious.

Their menu is hilarious. It's a fun atmosphere full of bikers, bar hoppers and foodies alike.
But beware...you have to be 18 to enter.