Nawlins

A few pics from our food, drinks, drinks, food, music, food, drinks tour of New Orleans:

Local beers from Gnarly Barley Brewing at the Longway Tavern. Our waiter was from Cincinnati and gave us a list of really good recommendations for the rest of the trip

Heirloom tomato salad with popped sorghum, white chocolate, and sorrel 

Napoleon House for a quarter Muffuletta sandwich and Boudin sausage

Does this even need a caption? Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde

The happy travelers at Kingfish cocktail bar for Pimm's cup and sazerac.
I have no photos from K-Paul's, but rest assured we had all the favorites for dinner - fried green tomatoes, shrimp remoulade, chicken and andouille gumbo, pan-fried flounder with jambalaya ... It. Was. A. Feast. 

"Trash grits" for breakfast at St. Roch Market (a bit off the beaten path, but SO worth it)

Drinks on the front porch of The Columns Hotel overlooking St. Charles Ave.
Next up were oysters at Peche. Tip: talk football with the guys at the raw bar shucking oysters and they'll slip you a couple extra

More gumbo and boudin at Cochon. This was described as the Publican of New Orleans. I'd say that's about right 

Our final destination ... Bacchanal Wine. Also off the beaten path and well worth the trip. Enter through the wine store, pick up a bottle, and join the backyard party for live music. An absolutely perfect end to a perfect weekend

Sharing the love

I've made baguettes the last two weeks and am loving the results. The best part is, each batch makes four, so I can share the love with family and friends! Last week, I made pan con tamate (Spanish tomato bread) for friends at a BBQ. Today, I dropped off my extra baguettes with unsuspecting neighbors. I felt like a hero.

This is actually a photo from last week. The baguettes I made today were even better! 

A few other good things to share:

• This lovely article about Prince and his grand plans for an autobiography.
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead - not an easy read, but absolutely excellent.
• Derry Girls, a funnier than expected (and sometimes heartwarming) comedy on Netflix about a group of high school kids in Northern Ireland in the 1990s.
• Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew with Sweet Cream. I feel a little weird recommending something from Starbucks, but I am obsessed with this stuff. Bring your mug in and treat yourself! 

Back to school

I'm a couple of weeks late, but here's the fourth grader:

Molly, age 9. I'm late posting, but this WAS taken on the first day of school

I'm throwing this one in there, just because. We're not sure why this photo happened, but I think it's worth saving. My mom titled it "Whitesnake" (if  anyone remembers Tawny Kitaen)

We've had an interesting start to the school so far ... some of Molly's friends have been a little inconsistent. I think they're starting to notice who's popular and are on the lookout to upgrade. But overall, Molly seems more happy than not. There's always someone to play with. She's spreading her wings and starting to walk to school with some of the neighborhood kids. We'll see how it all goes. She's got to go through this stuff at some point or another ... might as well toughen up before middle school when the real drama hits!

Worth the wait

"It takes time. It takes patience. But the rewards are great.
Every loaf you bake is slightly different, but most of all, it is uniquely your own.
Nothing you can buy at a store will give you as much satisfaction."

- Nancy Silverton

Molly and me with sourdough loaf #3

I'm definitely feeling pretty pleased by my efforts so far! I've baked the last couple of weekends and have ended up with some really good bread. It takes about 2 days to make, but most of the work takes place on the morning of the first day. The rest of the time is spent watching and waiting for the dough to ferment and rise.

I burned the bottom of my first loaf, but we were able to turn the inside of the bread into croutons for Jason's homemade gazpacho, so no big deal! And I also experimented with using some of the leftover starter to make sourdough pancakes, which were absolutely delicious. Speaking of my starter, we've named it "The Yeast Beast" and now it lives in the refrigerator between baking sessions (much easier to maintain). 

I think I need to keep working on the basic loaf of country white bread for the next few weeks, but am looking forward to branching out and trying some different types soon. Baguettes, rosemary olive oil bread, raisin brioche ... I can't wait!

Inter-National debut

I am so proud. Jason's first ever gig poster SOLD OUT and received more than 7,500 likes on Instagram. I wish we would have been able to attend the concert to see it in person, but alas, it was in Portugal and we weren't able to make it! They sent us 10 copies though (Jason did the artwork, but it was printed by someone else in London). I love it!

Happy camper

Ever since we moved to Evanston, we've been hearing about Camp Echo. It seems like half the kids in Evanston end up going to this camp at some point or another and they all just love it. Molly and her friend Ryan have been talking ... and talking ... and talking about going for about as long as they've been friends. So the build up has been pretty intense.

Finally, it was Molly's week to go. The night before departure, she had a complete meltdown. She was worried about the swim test. She was sad that Jason was out of town and wouldn't be there to see her off. She was just plain nervous.

I was kind of nervous too. She's never done anything like this before. Would she be responsible enough to put on her sunscreen? Would she be homesick? Would she like the food? Would she have drama with her friends?

It turns out, our fears were unfounded. Molly had a wonderful time. She made bracelets, went kayaking, bought stuff at the trading post, stayed up late every night, burned a couple of marshmallows. All the best camp things. Next year, she wants to go back for 2 weeks!

Ready to go

A duffel bag as big as the camper

About to ace the swim test - she earned the highest level swim cap

When I saw her face as she was getting off the bus, I knew she had had a good time

Reunited!

Sourdough starter

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I've been watching a show on Netflix called Chef's Table. Well, I was totally inspired by the Nancy Silverton episode and have become obsessed with the idea of learning to bake bread.

And not just any bread. I want to make sourdough from my own personal starter. I've always kind of wanted to do this. A bread starter is basically a science experiment and I've been a sucker for science experiments for just about as long as I can remember. 

So, here we go. I used Nancy Silverton's recipe -- flour, water, and grapes wrapped in cheesecloth. I'll let it ferment and grow and then in a couple of weeks, let the baking begin!

Sourdough starter - Day 1