NOLA love...
Andrea
Yesterday was Mardi Gras! I've mentioned my love for New Orleans several times before, my hubb and I even got married there! I've been reminiscing about all of our wonderful visits to our favorite city, and am craving a trip back. Man...that would be a heck of a food blog post!!! But until then, a little trip down memory lane bourbon street...
our favorite breakfast spot, Mother's.
our favorite musicians (who played at our wedding!!!).
our favorite late night coffee and beignets, cafe du monde.
at our favorite jazz bar, fritzel's.
on our favorite day, at broussard's.
I had big plans for this week, different NOLA-inspired recipes every day. Some gumbo, red beans, muffalettas and bananas foster. I have fallen WAY short of that goal, but do have a bit of the Big Easy to share with you from dinner tonight... But first, breakfast.
My oats this morning were tasty, but a little dry. And not too filling, surprisingly. I was starving just 3 hours later.
Breakfast: ultra-textured oats
[398 cal]
Lunch: a lovely salad and 3 Back To Nature multigrain flax crackers
[400 cal]
Snacks: an orange and a slice of banana date bread. Also, 2 Jolly Rancher cherry lollipops and 2 squares of dark chocolate...I was CRAVING sugar today! Bad healthy food blogger.
I had my board meeting after work, so knew that dinner would be late. I packed this bar in case of emergency, and needed it at 7:30. It was pretty good...reminded me a lot of the Clif Nectar Cacao bars.
When I pulled in my driveway at 8:30 and climbed out of the car, I could smell dinner cooking. Seriously. From the driveway. And it wasn't being cooked outside on the grill, it was inside my kitchen. I don't know if that speaks more of the amazing aroma of gumbo or the crappy quality of my windows but either way, I couldn't wait to get inside and dig in!!!
Dinner: GUMBO!!!!! On rice, with a glass of cabernet.
I've debated whether or not to share this recipe. It was really delicious, but my hubb and I have had better. My stepfather makes an amazing gumbo that he has adapted over many years of experimenting with many different recipes. This one was from Paul Prudhomme, the father of the blackening method and owner/chef of one of our favorite NOLA restaurants, K-Pauls.
I've decided not to share, because its not right yet. The roux was a deep chocolate brown, just like Chef Paul specifies, but we've learned that we like gumbos with more of a milk chocolate hue. And it was thick...much thicker than the last Chef Paul gumbo we tried. We're soupy gumbo folks, and will be working to perfect a recipe that reflects that texture. So now we have an excuse to make gumbo more often, because I'm determined that by the time I write about our anniversary on April 28th, I will have a gumbo recipe to share with you all.
And now I'm off to read more of Molly's book. Its really wonderful so far, just like her blog. I'll give a full review when I'm finished!
G'night!
our favorite breakfast spot, Mother's.
our favorite musicians (who played at our wedding!!!).
our favorite late night coffee and beignets, cafe du monde.
at our favorite jazz bar, fritzel's.
on our favorite day, at broussard's.
I had big plans for this week, different NOLA-inspired recipes every day. Some gumbo, red beans, muffalettas and bananas foster. I have fallen WAY short of that goal, but do have a bit of the Big Easy to share with you from dinner tonight... But first, breakfast.
My oats this morning were tasty, but a little dry. And not too filling, surprisingly. I was starving just 3 hours later.
Breakfast: ultra-textured oats
[398 cal]
- 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 cup water, pinch of salt
- 1/2 mashed banana
- 1 tsp ground flax
- 2 tbsp wheatberries
- 2 dried figs, chopped
- 1 tbsp TJ's natural crunchy PB
Lunch: a lovely salad and 3 Back To Nature multigrain flax crackers
[400 cal]
- spinach
- broccoli
- red bell pepper
- cucumber
- wheatberries
- chickpeas
- poppyseed dressing
Snacks: an orange and a slice of banana date bread. Also, 2 Jolly Rancher cherry lollipops and 2 squares of dark chocolate...I was CRAVING sugar today! Bad healthy food blogger.
I had my board meeting after work, so knew that dinner would be late. I packed this bar in case of emergency, and needed it at 7:30. It was pretty good...reminded me a lot of the Clif Nectar Cacao bars.
When I pulled in my driveway at 8:30 and climbed out of the car, I could smell dinner cooking. Seriously. From the driveway. And it wasn't being cooked outside on the grill, it was inside my kitchen. I don't know if that speaks more of the amazing aroma of gumbo or the crappy quality of my windows but either way, I couldn't wait to get inside and dig in!!!
Dinner: GUMBO!!!!! On rice, with a glass of cabernet.
I've debated whether or not to share this recipe. It was really delicious, but my hubb and I have had better. My stepfather makes an amazing gumbo that he has adapted over many years of experimenting with many different recipes. This one was from Paul Prudhomme, the father of the blackening method and owner/chef of one of our favorite NOLA restaurants, K-Pauls.
I've decided not to share, because its not right yet. The roux was a deep chocolate brown, just like Chef Paul specifies, but we've learned that we like gumbos with more of a milk chocolate hue. And it was thick...much thicker than the last Chef Paul gumbo we tried. We're soupy gumbo folks, and will be working to perfect a recipe that reflects that texture. So now we have an excuse to make gumbo more often, because I'm determined that by the time I write about our anniversary on April 28th, I will have a gumbo recipe to share with you all.
And now I'm off to read more of Molly's book. Its really wonderful so far, just like her blog. I'll give a full review when I'm finished!
G'night!