My Miss Adventure

Crabs, Yankee Style!

2011-07-17T11:29:00.005-05:00

I was invited to eat crabs with a friend's family yesterday. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon, getting to know new friends and learning to eat a new food.

They caught the crabs in the water right outside their back yard, and steamed em up right before we got there. The steaming part is what makes them Yankee Crabs. The cooks are visiting from Maryland, and they steam them with a mixture of beer and water, and heavily sprinkle them with old bay. The southern way to make these is to boil them. I look forward to trying that too!

It was only my second time eating crabs(whole crabs I mean), and was much better than the first time, which was a miserable failure. I had such a hard time figuring out how to get the crab meat out, that I gave up after my first one.

Like with crawfish, there is an art to eating the little rascals, and I finally had 3 people to teach me how to do it. Each showed me their own way, and I finally got the hang of it.

After we finished up, there were four crabs left. With my new found skills, I picked the meat and the hosts insisted that I take it with me. Oh, am I glad they did!

For breakfast this morning I made a breakfast bowl with:
louisiana hot sauce and old bay seasoned grits
topped with eggs scrambled with onions and peppers
roasted tomatoes from another friend's garden
lump crab meat with a little bit of cider vinegar

Feathers and a Barnicle Covered Stick

2011-02-22T10:04:00.015-06:00

This painting took a lot longer than the others to do, but it felt good to have something to come to work on every evening. I am obviously not making something every day like I set out to do on my birthday. But, I am ok with this. I will be working towards that goal still. I still want to make one thing every day. Maybe in my second month, starting today, I will be more successful. Here is today's painting. Technically I have been working on it for a week, but I finished it today!!!!!!!

A Piece of the Shore

2011-02-04T10:04:00.012-06:00

This is one of a series of paintings that I have wanted to do for a while. During the summer, I took a photo of the sea shore, or several, and wanted to do something with it, but at the time I didn't know what to do with it. When I started watercolor painting in January, I thought again of this series of photos. I decided it was time. I will be doing more of these.

Horn Island Findings

2011-02-02T09:37:00.001-06:00

Here is my newest painting. It is a small collection of findings from Horn Island, and a branch with berries from my yard.

I really liked painting the branch. It was fun watching it pop off of the page when I put the shadows in.

I am definitely getting more confident with the watercolor paint. I am really enjoying it. I am so excited about my next painting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Available here at my etsy store

Not painting tonight? - kind of a fail.

2011-01-31T20:56:00.002-06:00

Nope, I am working on something else tonight. I am not going to finish, but I am dedicating a bunch of time to it, so I am only classifying it as kind of a fail.

I am working on a menu for a friend's establishment. It is a bigger project and tonight I am doing only one step out of 5 or so.

I really should be trying to finish a whole project for my birthday resolution, but I think this is also important.

Oh, this is the balancing act I mentioned in an earlier post!!!

Camellia Pt1 and Pt2!

2011-01-30T20:38:00.013-06:00

So, Camellias are one of my favorite flowers. They are the state flower of Alabama, and I have fond memories of climbing in my family's huge camellia trees as a little girl. I love these flowers.
When I saw some flowers in bloom outside my little cottage, I was so excited! I picked a perfect red camellia.

I brought it in, and started sketching. I immediately got lost in drawing the petals. But, I thought I would stick it out, and try to get a pretty painting out of this, and definitely learn something! Well, I failed at getting anything pretty out of the first try, but I did learn a lot.

So, I tried to paint a camellia again, and this time I selected a pale pink one. It was not easier, but I was able to make out the different petals a bit more clearly, and so it was more straightforward to draw and paint. It turned out a lot better.

I will continue painting these flowers until they fade for the season, but I am going to give my self a bit of a break from them for a few days.

Here is an image of the "Angry Camellia" that I am giving to my friend Britton, because he says he likes it, and I don't!

The Pink Camellia is available at my Etsy Shop.

A Surprisingly Wonderful Date Night with James!

2011-01-30T20:37:00.003-06:00

James asked me on a date on saturday night, but didnt tell me what we were doing.

A cello quartet from russia in a beautiful domed methodist church in Gulfport, MS followed by a yummy pizza at a new pizza place in Gulfport!

Thanks for a wonderful night boo!

A Quick Painting.

2011-01-28T20:45:00.006-06:00

Thursday night, I was loosing energy, and so I decided to paint a quick painting.
I painted my default for drawing: a house tall, on stilts.

I was going to classify this as a fail, but this was a fun painting to do. I was just playing and I was not treating it as a precious object as I have been the other paintings. There was very little care, or precision, or craft. It was all just fast and messy. I like things like that some times. I will do more of these for sure. Why? Why do them when they are not as good and careful as my still life paintings? Well, I think that is the point. It is nice to have that contrasting the slow calculating paintings of the other nights, even if it doesn't come out as clean.

Available in my Etsy store!

Forcing creativity -Cranky Wednesday Fail!

2011-01-27T18:57:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, I realized how tough this resolution really is! It is really really hard for me to force my brain to calm down and do the task at hand after a day of work, and after the excitement of making my first sale, and after two days of ending the day with painting.

My brain got craAAAanky! I was not going to do a painting Wednesday night, no matter how much I felt like I needed to.

This told me a few things. One, I need to have some back up plans, some quick projects that I can default to if my brain really isn't wanting to sustain. Second, I don't have enough time in my day to get the things I want to get done finished, so I need to prioritize, and something needs to give, but not this resolution. Third and most important, This frustration is the point of this resolution. It is to get me out of the comfort zone of doing when I feel like it, and into the habit of making and thinking and creating daily!

This weekend, I will make up for my Cranky Wednesday, and I will make multiple things!

Peilican Feathers, Vertaberries, and a Button

2011-01-26T13:51:00.002-06:00

Birthday Resolution Fulfillment January 25, 2011

This is a painting of brown pelican feathers, verteberries (vertebrae) and a button.
I picked up the feathers and verteberries on my last trip to Horn Island off of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There will probably be several of these paintings with my findings and curies from the beach.

I am definitely liking the evening painting times. It is a great way to end my day. I am also learning so much as I go. I can't wait to make my next one. I also get to revisit the happiness of finding my treasures with every brush stroke, exploring the color, texture and shapes of each of the curies.

This is Sold!

January 24, 2011 - Watercolor painting #1 Feather and notebook.

2011-01-25T10:43:00.014-06:00

Today, I did my first watercolor.

Well this is not entirely true. I played with crayola watercolors as a kid, and some times as an adult. I also did two Beaus Arts style water colors, one of the Greensboro jail as a student of the Rural Studio and one of my friend's trailer as a Christmas present. Beaus Arts style is a wonderful way to paint, very labor intensive, but also very forgiving. It is a method where you use three jars of very watered down paint: red, yellow, and blue. You make colors and darkness by layering hundreds of washes. It is such a relaxing way to paint.

Todays painting I guess I did the more unforgiving way, mixing colors on a pallet, and painting. I think it turned out pretty well for the first try. I learned a lot as I went, and I cant wait to do my next one. Maybe tomorrow!

This one is for sale on my etsy store!

January 23, 2011 - Fail - Birthday Resolution

2011-01-24T10:42:00.000-06:00

Today, my second day of my 29th year, I failed to meet my resolution. I will give my self a pass today though, because I was super tired from my birthday celebration, and because I had to go to work and do some work on a project. I just had no energy left. I will not give my self too many of these passes, but I think today is alright!

Birthday Resolution My 29th Year!!!!!!

2011-01-23T10:41:00.000-06:00

Last year, I had several birthday resolutions, and I will give a recap on those. This year I only have one, that is to make one thing every single day. This is not an average, but a minimum.

I hope my birthday resolution this year will help me really get the Department of Design off the ground, as well and really get my creative juices flowing. I seem to have so many good ideas, but since I dont make time for making as much as I should, the ideas never come to life. Creative juices come more from making than they do from thinking.

What are the rules I am setting for my self? Dinners dont count, but a birthday cake for a friend does. Building a fence for me doesnt count but building a chicken coop for someone else does. Making my self an article of clothing, if it is a creative endeavor does count! Although I might start one project a day before it counts for the day I finish it. If I start a painting on Tuesday, and finish it on Thursday, that painting only counts on Thursday. I must finish other things on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I will post photos on this blog, and some of these will be for sell on my Etsy site.

My first resolution project was a tu-tu for my tu-tu birthday party. Oh so much fun!

Thank you to all the people who made my birthday celebration wonderful!

Captain's Log Calendar

2011-01-06T10:54:00.000-06:00

The first official Department of Design Product: A captain's Log Calendar! A 24"x30" Calendar Grid Poster that helps you chart many different goals and activities for an entire year and see your progress all at one time.

I came up with this idea as I was running on January 2nd! I was thinking that I wish I had a way to track what I do, without using a bunch of different programs. I wanted to track how many miles I run, and what books I read, and who I sent letters to, and the highlights of the day. I wanted a Captains Log!

The 14 small columns will let you track goals with small entries, like mileages, times, child's height, or a simple yes or no. The 8 medium columns will allow for tracking of larger goals, like books where you will be able to write in the titles, or letters to write, where you fill in the recipient. There is one large column, where you could write a longer entry, like a highlight of the day, or the funniest thing you heard your kid say.

It is all up to you!!!!! It is available here at my etsy store.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SCREEN PRINTED POSTER, IT IS PRINTED ON A LARGE FORMAT PRINTER ON HEAVY PAPER.

It is also available as a PDF down load and you can print it your self. Available here at my etsy store

A Flordia Weekend!

2010-10-20T10:36:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I needed, so very much needed to get away from the house and spend some alone time with nature. And that is exactly what I got. I can get so antsy some times and this past weekend it hit me at 5:00 am on Saturday morning.

I threw some clothes in a bag, and loaded up my thermos and water bottle and headed east without a real destination in mind. I already had my tent in my car, which only more encouraged the idea of camping. I was hungry about the time I was entering Mobile, and googled Breakfast in Mobile AL on my phone, and Tiny's Diny came up, I HAD TO GO! It was no mistake. I had a western omelet, with grits and fresh biscuits, served with their home made peach preserves!!!!! Yummy yummy yummy! Even writing this now, my tummy is rumbling for some more!

I jumped back into the car and with the destination of Grayton Beach Campground, I continued East . The campground was so beautiful and clean. Definitely not roughing it. I set up my tent, and walked to the beach. Oh the water in the Florida panhandle is so clear and green and fresh! Other than to say that I started my camp fire in less than a minute, with only one attempt, i am just going to post pictures below.

Sunday morning I woke up, and went for a walk on the beach. When I returned, I had a few missed calls, and one was from my friend Natalie. We made plans to meet up in Pensacola, and I packed up my campsite. I didnt take any photos of our fun time at the beach, but here are a few photos of the place where we ate dinner on the way home. It was such a fun stop.

Getting ready for a good vacation

2010-08-31T08:59:00.000-05:00

I had a happy morning; i rode my honda to work. I actually got it going around 50mph! Amazing! I love that thing.

I am heading up to Kentucky and Ohio this Friday! I am looking forward to the vacation, and the trips to ikea and trader joes. Any suggestions on things to see up that way?

This weekend I made some videos.

2010-07-26T07:17:00.001-05:00

IThis weekend, I used my phone(can you still call those things phones, when they are also cameras, tvs and radios) to make two videos. I also spent a lot of time in the Kitchen making Strawberry Jam and Pear Butter and I rode my scooter enough to need to fill the gas tank.

Here is the first of the two videos.

This is from Saturday night when James played with Fort Bayou Slim at the Shed BBQ in Gulfport MS. Also a special appearance from Jo Jo.

The Summertime Music

2010-07-23T11:06:00.000-05:00

The summertime is slow, well it is down south. You cant move faster than a walk during the day or you are liable to collapse. It is something special and I have always loved this time of year for the slowness.

This time of year also makes me want to listen to the blues. I cant think of anything better than sitting on a porch, with a fan, and a beer, or a glass of tea, hair stickin to my face, and listen to the blues. Man! that makes me happy! So, grab a beer, go outside and turn up your computer speakers, and listen to this:

Happy Slow Summer!

Oh! I seem to have gotten a case of the Busies!

2010-07-22T14:06:00.000-05:00

Which is totally a good thing! I would so rather be busy than bored.But it sometimes mean that i dont get time to do everything. Here are some things that have been going on:

I got my first new tshirts in and posted onto Etsy! Wahoo! You can buy them here!

I spent most of the weekend working around the house, catching up on some work work, riding my scooter, and making even more jam. This weekend it was bourbon ginger peach and blueberry lemon. I also made some more bread and butter pickles which James seems to be eating faster than I can make them, which is only the most awesome complement!

I have also been working on a few new projects, which I hope to get out soon. I am excited for them.
Oh, so much to do, so little time. Its a wonderful life, no?

The weekend, and the garden as well.

2010-07-16T14:41:00.000-05:00

The weekend and the garden fit together as a topic pretty well, mostly because the weekend is when i get to really play in the garden, cooking from it, and exploring it, watching for little critters. This morning I went to the little plots to get some basil to pass on to my coworkers. I love that place, my garden that is, it makes me so happy!

Here is a lovely picture I took this morning to leave you with. I hope that everyone has a safe and happy weekend. I will probably be spending a lot of my weekend making jelly and pickles. The rest of it hope to spend on my little honda!

Happy Bastille Day

2010-07-14T10:24:00.002-05:00

You can't escape the past in Paris, and yet what's so wonderful about it is that the past and present intermingle so intangibly that it doesn't seem to burden.-Allen Ginsberg

Bastille Day is a funny day for me. I once lost a tooth on Bastille day on a plane returning from a trip to England and France. For that matter, I also lost a tooth on the 4th of July while in England. My mouth must have wanted to help me celebrate geographically appropriate history by encouraging visits from the Tooth Fairy. So, this time every year, I remember Bastille Day, and the tooth I lost!

Here are some wonderful things to help us all remember the day!

A wonderfully French, and a bit Nautical bag from Ikabags. I think I desperately need one, and will be ordering it tomorrow! Good thing she makes them to order, and we can all have one!

Oh and wouldn't these cute little earrings go so well with the bag?!?!? You can find them at Lucky Girl Racer's Shop

And like every day, you should probably tell some one that you love them. Today do it in French! You could send one of these cute cards from humunuku

And in honor of my lost tooth those many years ago, here are some cute little stuffed teeth from lexacto

Oh I wish I could be there!

2010-07-13T09:22:00.001-05:00

Oh how I wish I could be home right now waiting by my door. Waiting for that UPS package with my 11 lbs of tshirts, oh and some sweet mammoth temporary tattoos! It has been at least two year since last I made tshirts. Oh, how I miss it, but you know when you don't exercise those muscles for a long time, you become timid in the reconditioning, and it takes a great will to move those creative juices into motion.

Oh, but they are moving now. I already have a few new shirts I am working on. I cannot wait to get these out of the box. I hope they are there at lunch. Can you tell how on the edge of my seat I am at the moment?

I am planning a trip up to Mammoth Printshop to make some extra special printed materials. I am excited for that too. I miss that place more each day!

By the way, if you ever need t shirts printed, I recommend Mammoth! They are amazing printers and folks! VISIT THEM HERE!!!!

Happy Monday

2010-07-12T16:43:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone. I know it is late in the day to be wishing this, but there are still several hours left in the day. I have been pretty thoughtful lately, and things in my life seem to be progressing pretty well. I am figuring things out that I have been questioning, mostly professional things. I don't mean to sound vague, but, all will be revealed soon.

I am finishing up a house, one that has been a challenging one, one that maybe shouldn't have been as challenging, and I am happy to be getting to the end. It is nice to finish things.

On my way back to work from lunch, I stopped and got some dark chocolate gelato from the corner bakery in down town Ocean Springs. When I ordered the woman behind the counter asked if I wanted to sample, and I said no. She warned me that it was really rich. I resisted her requests, knowing that I knew what I wanted, a small cup of her dark chocolate gelato. Oh, I was so right. It is a reminder to me to stick to my guns. I know what I want!

So I leave you with this happy song that kind of sums up my feeling today!
Taken By Trees - "My Boys"

P. S. I am really loving Swedish music these days!

AND!!!! LOOK FOR THE BRAND NEW ZENORSCHNITZEL SHIRTS TOMORROW (or maybe wednesday, after I have a chance to take photos)

Oh Happy Weekend!

2010-07-12T09:32:00.001-05:00

I had such a great weekend. I made a ton of Jam.... Strawberry, Strawberry-lavender, Strawberry Balsamic, and mango chili. Strawberry is the only flavor I have tasted, and James said it right when he said it tastes like summer. MMMMmmmmmm. I promise to post the recipes soon.

I spent plenty of time on my motorcycle, and near water. Saturday I went to bluff creek with my friend Natalie and her two boys, and sunday I watched the beach from the balcony at the yacht club. Oh happy weekend. Now back to the real world.

xoxo!

Its Hot. I love it!

2010-07-09T09:18:00.001-05:00

Oh, its summer. It has been here on the gulf coast for a while. I love the hot air, and the bright sun. It makes you move so slow, unless of course you have a Honda Passport C70 Motorcycle to ride around on!

James and I are going to be buying the little bike you see me on above, and probably another one. Yesterday we rode around town on the pair of them. It was my first time on a motorcycle, and it was so much fun. And, it gets 100 miles to the gallon! Such a good and affordable way to travel.

To leave you in the summery mood, here is Sam Cooke's Summer time:

Enjoy the heat!

Puttin away the harvest, and then some.

2010-07-08T09:20:00.001-05:00

Anyone who has been around me knows I have been pickling all of the yummy cucumbers, and other yummy surplus from our garden. I have been pickling like crazy. So far I have made pickled banana peppers, dill pickles, pickled okras, bread and butter pickles, refrigerator pickles, and curried pickles.

When the strawberries I have been buying over the last week are extremely sweet and inexpensive, the urge to make jams, jellies and preserves bubbles up. I thought I would search around and see what I could find other people making. I will post more about the individual jars of goodness that is surely to come from my garden soon, but for now, I wanted to record the cute things I found.

Here are some cute earrings from L.K. Farnsworth. I love earrings that dont completely match, dont you?

I also found this great photograph, that almost looks like a painting of jams by francoiserachez.

Do you have any good preserve recipes or things i can put in jars? I am no longer restraining my self to pickles, and opening up the canning room to all sorts of seasonal goodness!

Cute Watercolors

2010-07-07T13:52:00.001-05:00

Here is a cute painting of a little titmouse, one of my favorite birds, from a woman named Irene. (Aka Dimdi on Etsy.) She makes such cute little watercolor gestures of animals, for a decent price!!! I love how simple they are and yet how much life the animals have. Go check out her store at ETSY.

In staying with the theme of birds here is another great affordable water color artist that can be found on Etsy, Eastwitching. She donates some of her revenues to charities that help animals.

I hope you enjoy their work!!!!

Waiting....and trying to be patient

2010-07-07T13:40:00.001-05:00

So, I am waiting on my first order of tshirts in a long time! I haven't made tshirts in almost 2 years, and after finally coming up with what i am pretty sure will be the first in a hopefully long series, I am excited.

They will be here, hopefully, next week, and I will post about it everywhere. In addition to the tshirts, I will be releasing my new website, and a new facebook page! If you notice things changin around me, this is why. I am gearing up for a new era in the Zenorschnitzel life!

Moving my blog back!

2010-07-06T14:11:00.000-05:00

I am back. I think I love my blogger.
Here is another thing I love: The Rural Studio and their new Skate Park. It is so Beautiful!!!!

Greensboro Alabama Skatepark Grand Opening!

faithskatesupply on Vimeo.

I think i am moving my posting to Tumblr!

2010-04-20T08:09:00.001-05:00

So, after a long run with the Blogger, My Miss Adventure is moving to Tumblr.com.

Please check there for new posts. here is the link

http://zenorschnitzel.tumblr.com/

Oh Happy Saturday!

2010-04-19T09:29:00.003-05:00

James and I rode out to Deer Island and had a beautiful picnic sitting on a washed up log along the north side of the island. As we ate our refreshing meal of roasted red pepper crackers, avocado, tomatoes, salami, fresh jalapeno cheddar from the Ocean Springs Farmers Market, and wasabi almonds we listened to the waves come onto the shore.

It was not possible to spend the entire day at the island, because the garden was demanding some more work. We planted some more, and watered, and arranged until our hunger returned around dinner time. We rode our bikes to our friend Ben's house for a visit, with intentions of heading to the grocery for a burger, but when we pulled in the driveway, Ben's sweet daughter Lily came out to greet us with an invitation to eat some of the steak that they made for dinner.

We took them up on the offer and to go with the steak was mashed potatoes and english peas, what a great combination. Sleepiness set in and the desire to go to the grocery faded. We rode home and called it a night a bit early, but completely Exhausted.

Spring Roll Magic!

2010-04-05T16:30:00.003-05:00

Continuing in the girls cooking night tradition, last week's meal was spring rolls, with professor Trinh teaching the lesson on how to make these wrapped goodies. First, it should be known that this was to be the last, most likely girls night with KC because she got a job in Jackson. My happiness for her new change in employment, city and proximity to her beaux was cut short by my sadness that she would be leaving us, and this young tradition of girls dinners that had become such a delight in my week. All hopes are that the tradition will carry on, and KC will continue to be missed until she decides that she should grace us with her presence for dinner once again.

According to Trinh, the making of spring rolls is a rites of passage in the lives of Vietnamese children, very similar to learning to use chopsticks. It definitely seems to bring a happy look to her face when she was telling us about it, similar to the look that comes across my face when I think of icing christmas cookies as an icing covered munchkin.

In Trinh's words, making spring rolls is not a difficult task, it just takes a lot of washing, boiling, and cutting to get everything ready. We had a spread of fillings to go in our thin rice wrappers: rice sticks(noodles) lettuce, mint, cucumbers, shrimp, and pork loin. Trinh also made a hoisin dipping sauce and topped it with chopped peanuts.

The spring rolls were delicious. They were so refreshing, and surprisingly filling. I enjoyed making these so much, that when I visited my mom for Easter last weekend, I brought with me the things to make it, and passed on what I had learned.

Pizza Night with the Ladies

2010-04-05T16:16:00.004-05:00

Trinh and KC came over to cook dinner. It was beginning to become a weekly tradition, KC had come over twice before to cook dinner. It was a happy night that Trinh joined us for our pizza adventure, and good thing she was there, because she was the only person documenting the event with her camera.

To make the do, we followed this recipe, which I highly recommend. It was delicious, and easy(as far as making homemade pizza dough can be).
The sauce was made out of a mix of tomatoes, paste, and a bunch of spices.
The pizzas were topped with tomatoes, peppers, olives, onions, spinach, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
They were delicious. To make your mouth water, here is a series of photos to make you hungry!

Oh, I am back, on the running thing that is!

2010-04-01T09:35:00.002-05:00

This morning I woke up, feeling a bit guilty that I did not do anything active yesterday, so I laced up my sneakers and grabbed my dog and went for a run. I ran down my favorite street, Hudson, and around town, and back all in all about three and a half miles, and I did it In about 35 minutes, which is good. Deloris, my blue eyed pup was happy and exhausted when we got back and I was happy because I just ran a good run for the first time in a long time.

About two years ago, I was running a regular 3-4 miles a day, every morning, and I had to stop because my hips were hurting and I was hobbling every day. Now, I have been to the doctor, and received the news that I had not done damage to my joints, I had just developed tendinitis, and that I wasnt going to hurt myself by continuing to run.

I have been running on the treadmill at the gym, thinking that was easier on my joints, and I took a run last week, about a mile and a half and i was fine, so today was a test that went well!

I am so happy! I love to run, and to greet the morning with my dog at my side and the breeze on my face, and the sun rising in the sky! OH HAPPY DAY and many more ahead!

Oh, i am falling down on my duties!

2010-03-24T09:46:00.002-05:00

It seems like my blog falls down on two occasions. One is when I feel like I have little going on. The other is when I am way too busy enjoying my life, and that has been this occasion.

I apologize for not recording all of the fun and productivity that has been in my life. I will be doing better at recording my captains log starting now!

Last night, I went to the gym, and then for the first time, I went to a yoga class. I found out about the class on a bulletin board in the supermarket. It said it was at the Lutheran church and it was only $1 (donation suggested)

I have been wanting to do yoga for a while. I used to do it in Auburn, but the only place i have found that has yoga here was the yoga studio which is about $50 a month, or $14 a day, which is way too much.

My first yoga class was nice, and a good stretch. It was just what i wanted! Thanks Lutheran Church, I will see you next Tuesday as well!

WHO DAT!!!

2010-02-08T12:50:00.002-06:00

Ok, so all I have to say is WHO DAT!!!!!

The Saints won last night. It was such a good year for them (captain obvious no?) and I am thankful to be in the Saints Nation. I have never been attached to a pro team, in any sport. The Saints is my first, which I inherited when I moved to the coast.

Before any watching of the Super Bowl, I think it is mandatory that you eat and drink well. My friends Heather and Kevin invited us to there house to cheer on our team and, of course eat a lot. They dont mess around either. They cooked a whole pig, and boiled crawfish, and although i didnt take picture of it, they had a huge spread inside as well. To help keep our nerves in check, they had a game of horse shoes to occupy our time before the kickoff!

Here are some pictures from the evening.

Book 2: the Help

2010-02-07T09:07:00.005-06:00

Man, I am flyin through this birthday resolution. I am also amending this resolution. I cannot buy a book. Some one has to loan it to me, or i have to go to the library, or i have to already have it. That is the amendment! Good thing that the first two books both fit under this amendment.

Book #2: The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

click here to go to the books page on Amazon!

This book was right up my alley. I have always enjoyed reading about the Civil Rights Movement here in the south. In addition to hearing about how people can overcome great inequity, it is also strange and powerful to know that i live in that changed place. And while i know that there is still much to be done, much to change and the country still has faults, it makes me feel like i am proof that change has happened. If i were born 25 years earlier, i would have been born into a segregated and violent time. So, thank you all of those who made my life better, and richer.

This book is about a group of black maids in the early 60s in Jackson Mississippi, and their interaction with the white families they served. It is powerful, and feminine. That doesnt mean that men shouldnt read it. They should. It is about women, strong women. I highly recommend this book!!! TO ANYONE. We need to remember all of the work that has gotten us here to where we are, and we need to thank those people who fought so hard.

This book was given to me by my friend Dawn. I share my Wednesday evenings with her and two other women. This book is one that three of us have enjoyed and the fourth is reading now! I am thankful for those women that I share a porch with, and I am glad they introduced me to this book!

I Hate Crape Myrtles

2010-02-06T10:24:00.004-06:00

Thats not true. I think they are beautiful, especially in the winter, with their seed pods, and their peeling bark.

I AM tired of them though. I think that they are very over planted. I think that this world would be better off if another crape myrtle was never planted. WE HAVE ENOUGH!!!!

Almost every small town has them in their street-scapes. Every new development plants them. Hell! Almost every yard that gets landscaping work done has them.

They are pretty plants, but my suggestion is that if you dont have them in your yard, keep it that way. Enjoy them when you visit your friend's house, or when you go to church, or go the grocery store, or go down town, or walk down the street. They are in your life enough.

Instead, I think you should, and every municipality, church, grocery store, should start planting other small trees that have color different times of years. What about the redbud, or the gardenia(i know it inst a tree, but it is beautiful and smells good), or the magnolia, or the dogwood, or the grancy gray beard, or the popcorn tree. all are beautiful. What about a blueberry bush? What about going to the nursery and exploring what is there?

THERE ARE OTHER BEAUTIFUL TREES ASIDE FROM THE CRAPE MYRTLE!!!!

Make an adventure out of it. Find something that is right for you, not something that is so safe that you are sure to not offend!

Good luck and have fun!

I love fences that are messy

2010-02-05T17:15:00.003-06:00

I was in Gulfport looking at a site and meeting a client. She called to say that she was running a little late and I was in an older part of town and I had my camera, so predictably, I started walking around. There were a lot of great fences.

And this super Mississippi looking alley.

Book 1: Happy Birthday, or Whatever

2010-02-03T08:49:00.004-06:00

As part of my birthday resolutions, I am reading 12 books this year. My first book, with a very fitting title, was Happy Birthday or Whatever by Annie Choi.

Click to view on Amazon

I first heard of Annie Choi when I read Dear Architects, Im sick of your shit. It is a quick 2 page essay, that you should definitely read!

Anyways, Happy Birthday or whatever... It is memoir about a kind of spoiled youngest korean child, who had a insane family. I would recommend it to someone looking for a quick and funny read. It is not too serious, and unless you are Korean, it is a little view port into the American/Korean immigrant family life.

Next Book: the Help! (thanks dawn, for letting me borrow it!)

James played at the Hardrock!

2010-01-26T07:43:00.005-06:00

So last nights were the Covey Awards, which are the Mississippi Gulf Coast's awards for the nightlife. James plays harmonica with Ft. Bayou Slim who not only won a Covey last night but also played the after party. I only stayed for a little while because I wanted to be fresh for work, but, here are the pictures I got from the evening.

15 Things to do before I turn 29

2010-01-23T09:02:00.006-06:00

I am now officially 28! That means that I am no longer 3x3x3; I am now 3x3x3+1! It is not as exciting. So, I will just say 28.

Anyways, I think New Years resolutions are fine, but I failed to make any, and there is something about adding another year to your talley, one that started with 0 instead of 1982, is a little more meaningful, and personal. So here it is, the list of things I want to do before I turn 29.

1) Sing Kereoke. I have never done it, and it is about time I get over being nervous stuff.

2) Never buy bread from the supermarket. I almost said never buy bread at all, but I think that would force me to ignore great bakeries, and I would miss out on great things. What I mean by this is that if I want bread, I have to make it. I am good at making bread, it isnt difficult, it tastes a million times better, and it is better for me. Also, it is relaxing and comforting.

3) Read 12 books. This shouldn't be difficult, but I thought I would add this as a goal.

4) knit 12 projects. Also not a difficult goal, but something I want to achieve.

5) Paint 12 pictures. While I am on the 12's I think I should start painting again. I have not done any in about a year and a half, and that is just pitiful, damnit!

6) Save $1000. I am bad about saving, and every time I start to save, some emergency comes up where I have to spend it. I guess it is good that I have that money in store for those times, but I want to save enough to cover those and have $1000 on my next birthday!

7) Make a good vegetable garden. I have one now, but the soil is poor. So, I want to make it thrive!

8) Make a compost pile or bin! this is a little more difficult, because I rent, but I think it is possible to make some way of storing compost!

9) Write a letter every week. This is something I used to be much better at.

10) Design a new Tshirt!

11) redesign my website. zenorschnitzel.com

12) visit the beach every week. i cannot take my beautiful surroundings for granted.

13) keep my car clean. I have gotten so much better about this than I used to. But I want to do better.

14) learn a new skill. anything. just i need to learn something new.

15) Complete 4 of the 7 Arch Exams!

Alright, that is all. ;)

The fog!

2010-01-19T09:59:00.002-06:00

The fog on the coast is something that always puts a smile on my face. Growing up in Auburn, we would see fog, but it would only last for a short time, and only appear in small patches. Here on the coast it is thick, and will last for days. I had my camera with me this morning, and drove through the harbor, and couldn't help but to stop and take pictures. Maybe the fog will be there tomorrow too, and I will come armed with my zoom lens, and my water boots.

I have been a bad blogger, but I have been busy. I will be posting more images and writings about the holidays and my January soon!

Knitting Adventures

2009-12-31T11:18:00.005-06:00

Oh, this was a knitting fall and winter. I am still finishing up christmas presents... but here is what I have done so far.

My roommate Jeff is modeling the hat I made for my friend Dan.

The fingerless gloves I made for my Momma's birthday. This was my first time making a thumb hole, and my first try with cables.

One of my friends Kathy saw the Koozie and scarf I made for my momma last year for christmas, and liked them. Her boyfriend asked me to make her a set for her christmas present.

Here is the scarf I made for Kathy.

A hat I made for Seth, an office mate. We had a secret santa party, but we all had to make our gifts. It was either knitting or baking.

Every Wednesday night, I meet up with three ladies for beers and talk, usually on a front porch. James calls it the Hen House. These women have become my dear friends. I figured that they needed some help keeping their beers cool (or as of lately their hands warm) and so I knitted up some koozies for them as well. Next I need to make mine.

Christmas at Dad's

2009-12-31T09:00:00.008-06:00

the second christmas party of the season

2009-12-18T09:55:00.003-06:00

Last night was our office christmas party. We were all to bring a dish, and a secret santa gift for our chosen recipient. The only stipulation with the gift was that it had to be something that we made. The gifts and the food were great. There were lamps, and food gifts, and knitted gifts and a cheese press,hand made wooden organizers, and some art. It was awesome. I almost think that should be a rule for every christmas.

There was one present that really stood out. That was a christmas cd made by several of my coworkers. It was amazing.

The Birds are Migrating

2009-12-16T10:31:00.003-06:00

A little while ago, a few people were out back and they started hollering about some birds flying around. I had to go out and see, because I love birds. Here are some pictures I took:

The Christmas Season Began with a Party!

2009-12-16T09:37:00.004-06:00

I have been practically ignoring this Christmas Season. I hadn't really gotten presents, but I had been thinking of them. I only completed a few knitting projects, and I haven't made a tree or anything.

On Monday evening, I was forced to acknowledge it, because by way of James, I had a Christmas party to go to. The Government Street Grocery is one of my favorite restaurant and bars in town, and James got an invite to their celebration. We both got all gussied up, and headed for the party.

There were about 30 of my favorite locals, and a huge spread of food, as well as a seemingly unlimited supply of drinks. There was poetry read, The Night Before Christmas recited, good music and good discussion. The food was delicious, there was even shrimp mashed potatoes, which were amazing!

Below are pictures of the night.

Being sick is no fun, unless you have a James

2009-12-05T08:17:00.003-06:00

Thursday, I was sneezing my head off. I always sneeze a few times a day, but this officially counted as sneezing my head off. I enjoyed my thursday, without my head, but other than that it was normal, maybe even better than normal.

I woke up Friday morning, and didnt feel like getting out of bed. It was not happening. Not even for coffee. Finally after laying there for a good while, I got up, made some tea (you know I am not doing well if i dont go for coffee) and I guess walking around for a little while, I started feeling a bit better, so I drove to the drugstore, got some medicine. I was feeling so well, I decided to go into the office to get a little work done, and to get some files to work on.

Then I went in search of the spiciest food I could find to try to open up my head. I headed to shady's for some curry then headed back to bed.

I laid around for a little while, and James called, asking if i needed anything from the grocery store. He arrived at my house about an hour later with grocery bags full of yummy goodies. He also brought me some really happy flowers.

He immediately got to work. He fixed up some Cincinnati Chili to eat that moment! Then he started the chicken soup. He roasted the chicken, and started working the veggies.

After about an hour or so, he had everything in the pot! The soup was perfect! I am lucky to have someone who will come cook me chicken soup and bring me flowers when I am feeling bad.

We spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch watching movies.

Hair Styles i like

2009-12-01T13:19:00.006-06:00

I have been working really hard to grow my hair out for about a year. I have resisted all of the urges to take my pocket knife and cut it all off in some messy mop. I love short hair because it is super easy, and it looks so good with very little work.

At the same time...I love being able to pull my hair up into a pony tail, I love that I can finally put it into a bun, and wear braids if I want. I love that my hair falls under my scarf when i wrap it around my neck.

So my hair, just below my shoulders is healthy and even looking and it is time to start having fun with it. I originally created this post to show my friend who cuts my hair what I am thinking about. I figured I would go ahead and share this with everyone!

Syrup Soppin

2009-11-29T07:15:00.010-06:00

Saturday morning we got up, and met Abby and Gabby for breakfast at one of the many Waffle House's in Auburn, then headed for some shopping: World Market, Reinvent, Gnu's Room, Gus's Wine Shop, the Guitar Shop.

After we felt that we had spent enough money, we went to the Padgett family farm for the Annual Syrup Soppin. We walked around the dead car graveyard, and around the property, and watched the Padgett men make the syrup, and then the women bottling. We watched several folks play music on the porch. We stood around and talked and of course we ate... Brunswick stew, sausage balls, grilled meat, and many sweets. We brought the Jessie James Outlaw Cheesecake, and it was a hit.

It was a really slow and relaxing time, a wonderful way to end the thanksgiving holiday!

Below are a bunch of pictures of the afternoon!

War Eagle! and a new Auburn fan!

2009-11-29T07:15:00.009-06:00

Friday morning, we woke up early and I helped Momma make turkey enchiladas with the left over turkey. We were making them to take to the tailgate parties that were going to be taking place later on during the day.

It was the day of the Iron Bowl, the most anticipated day in Alabama. Christmas and thanksgiving hold nothing on this day. For those of you that dont know, people in Alabama are born loving a team, Auburn or Alabama. I was given Auburn. If you move to the state, people will make you decide who you love. If you are visiting, you had better pick a team quickly and wisely.

James learned quickly that he needed to become an Auburn fan, so we found him a shirt, I gave him my hat, and mom fixed him up with a scarf.

We rode our bikes from my momma's office to our friends' tailgating spot. We parked our bikes by this appropriate sign.

We headed to the tiger walk where we got to greet all of the players and coaches, and give high fives, and promptly used the hand sanitizer we had in the backpack. We headed to several tail gate parties, where we were greeted with beer and meat, and made our way to the Ale House/strutting Duck, where we watched the game.

Oh what a great game it was. Auburn started off the first quarter 14-0 with fancy plays such as an onside kick, a flea flicker, and a few wild cats! it was so much fun. Then they began to play a conservative game for the rest of the show. Although the final score was 26-21, Alabama, we were proud that Auburn played so well against the nationally ranked #2 Alabama!

WAR EAGLE!!!! And that brings up another point, James learned that War Eagle is an accepted greeting in the Auburn area. James said it to everyone he passed. He still really hasnt stopped saying it. I am so proud of my new Auburn Fan!

After all of the excitement was over, we biked back to momma's office to load up our bikes. James leaned his bike here while we waited for it to cool down. We couldn't miss how appropriate the sign was!

well... that is it for now. WAR EAGLE!

Thanksgiving Day!

2009-11-29T07:14:00.007-06:00

When the Thanksgiving plans started to come together, it promised to be relaxing, food filled and full of things to do. I talked James into jumping in my car and we headed north to the great state of Alabama.

We arrived in Auburn pretty late, around 9:30 or so and decided to get a drink before we headed to the house. We stopped at the Oyster Bar for a few minutes, but it was too bright for our tired, road dizzied eyes, so we ended up going to Fat Daddies, a darker, more down home place.

Although that bar is usually pretty countrified, that night was karaoke night, and I guess when the locals get the opportunity, they like to sing the Raps. We walked into Sir Mix-a-lot's Big Butts song, and ordered our drinks. We walked the edge of the bar looking at the hubcaps and James was able to name all of their respective cars. We headed home after that drink, because we were worn out from a long day.

Early Thursday morning, we got a cup of coffee, and started work on the famous Jessie James Outlaw Cheescake, version 2.0. On James' insistence we made the crust double thick. While we were waiting for the crust to chill, I made a breakfast of scrambled eggs, grits and bacon served with a clementine! After eating, we got back to cooking, James running the KitchenAid, and armed with a spatula, and me working to get all of the ingredients into the bowls. We whipped it up, poured it into the spring form, and it was in the oven.

I helped momma with some more choppin, pulled the cheesecake out, and James and I went into town where I showed him the sites. We walked by one of the tailgate spots, and spotted my friend Leigh, who gave James the Third Degree on what team he was for, so we immediately headed for Stamp to get him an Auburn shirt.

It was time for thanksgiving dinner, so we headed to Beauregard for the feast! The attendees of the feast were Al, Mom, Atilla, Peter and Jim. Atilla and Peter were from Hungry, and were working with Al to open the new plant. They wanted to see a real american thanksgiving before they left to go home, and we were aimin to show em one. There were two turkeys, one fried and one smoked, a brussle sprout casserole, mash potatoes and gravy, cornbread stuffing, and a giant salad. For desert there was a cranberry sorbet and the jessie james outlaw cheescake. while we were waiting for the food to be fit for eatin, Al showed the Hungarians how to shoot shotguns, and James let them ride his motorized bike.

Below are some pictures from the thanksgiving dinner.

Al carving one of the turkeys and mom opening a bottle of wine.

Peter and Atilla

Peter, Jim, Atilla and the two turkeys

The Feast

James found the man chair and wasnt moving.

Jessie James Outlaw Cheesecake and other exciting adventures

2009-11-22T08:43:00.002-06:00

Around 10 am yesterday, James sent me an email with the weekend's Goings Ons at the Yacht Club. On it there was a Dessert Contest. We were in!

James and I talked about what we should make. My first thought was a Hummingbird Cake. It is always a favorite. But it is too summery. So I started searching my recipies and I narrowed it down to two. Banana Nut Bread Pudding with a Buttery Rum Sauce or the Bourbon Pumpkin Cheese Cake with a Pecan Graham Cracker Crust. Although I have never made a cheesecake before, we both thought the elegance of a cheesecake would be more impressive than the bread pudding.

We pulled all of the ingredients together, and started making it. James ran the Kitchen-aid mixer, because its the manly thing to do. He also was in charge of the spatula and licking the bowls, but I helped a little with that last one.

We call it the Jessie James Outlaw Cheese Cake.

We got to the Yacht Club met up with KC, Trinh, Debbie and Terry. The judging had already happened. The email didnt say what time the contest was, and we missed it. Next time!

The Outlaw Cheese cake was a hit.

Dinner was delicious. It was steak night, and you bring and grill your own steak, and the Yacht Club supplies the sides. We got filet mignons from Fayards BP (this gas station is the best place on the coast to buy steaks, it is weird, i know, but dont question it too much)

After the Yacht Club, we headed for the Fillin' Station in Biloxi, where James was playin with Fort Bayou Slim. They sounded good, and there were a few people there I knew that I hadnt seen in a while. I even got up and danced for a spell.

All in all, it was a good night.

The Federal Building

2009-11-18T11:22:00.002-06:00

Our office often gets the chance to explore neat buildings, and today we had one of those chances. There is an old gutted Federal building in Biloxi, that used to serve as the Federal Courthouse, but has been empty for a long time (before the storm even)

Anyways, I took a bunch of pictures, and thought I would share them. I love the colors of this place. The picture of the wood is my favorite, and the picture of the wheelbarrow is my second favorite.

An afternoon bowling and a relaxing evening around a fire

2009-11-16T08:05:00.004-06:00

Almost every Sunday, James goes bowling with Tony. This has been going on for quite some time. James and Tony became friends about 12 years ago when James was coaching sailing in the Special Olympics. Since then, they have been best friends, and talk almost daily.

A week after I met James, he invited me to go bowling with them. It was such a treat, and Tony amazed me with his score of 158. I was just trying to break 100.

Well, while not being able to make it all weeks, I have gone several times, and my score has improved.
I actually thought I was going to win that game because both Tony and James were not on their game, and I was doing rally well to begin with. Tony pulled ahead in the last few frames, and beat me.

I was happy to still beat James in this round. It was my closest chance of the day. I think James and Tony just needed to warm up, where as I was using all of my luck up in the first game.

James and I ended our day sitting around a campfire with some friends. It was a perfect Sunday to end a great weekend.

A boat ride and Ship Island

2009-11-16T08:04:00.012-06:00

During my dad's visit, we did more than just eat BBQ and watch blues bands. We did do some more eating though.

We started the day with coffee, and headed for Phonecia for breakfast. I got eggs, asiago grits, and a short stack with their beautiful blackberry syrup. Dad got the western omelet, which is amazing, asiago grits and the short stack with some of that amazing syrup.

Then we headed for the farmers market, and walked around town. I got a sack of satsumas. By this time, around9:30, Dad was ready for a nap, but I had one more stop to make before we headed home. See, James called, and offered to take us out to ship island, but I had to make the lunch. So dad and I went to the grocery store, picked up the supplies and then headed home. While dad napped with the little chihuahua Isabella, I assembled our lunch of turkey sandwiches, beer, soda, satsumas and zapps.

We met James and the rest of the crew, Tim and Donna, at the yacht club and headed out. We ate lunch at Ft. Massachusetts(which was not really open at the time, but thankfully we could all crawl through one of the windows) , and wondered around the island. We found so many shells and sea things. On the way back we stopped at the Biloxi Yacht club and then back to the Ocean Springs Yacht Club for dinner. Then we headed to Ben and Dawn's for a little time around the fire, and when it seemed like it was Midnight, but was actually 7:30 we headed back to my house and crashed out!

Below are some pictures of our day!

Dad on the boat.

James Driving the boat and Tim and Donna behind him.

Ft. Massachusetts

A crab that wasn't to happy to see us

Some fishermen and Deer Island

Dad Arrives and Dinner at the Shed

2009-11-16T08:04:00.010-06:00

My Dad came to visit me for the first time in my new house. I think he was shocked that I wasn't making him sleep on the couch, but instead, he had a guest bed to sleep in.

Once he got settled into Mississippi (had a beer and some hummus, and said hello to Deloris) we headed for the Shed for some BBQ, friends and music.

Dad and I both got the beef brisket and we got a pitcher of the Lazy Magnolia Beer, and headed outside to find a spot to spend the rest of the evening. There is a great fire pit, but all of the seats around the fire pit were already taken so we found our seat out at a pick nick table near the stage.

The Shed has the best BBQ on the coast. In addition to the yummy meat, on the weekends they have great music on their outdoor stage. Ft. Bayou Slim was playing and my friend James played with them.

It was a fun night, and I was glad Dad got to meet my friends and see how I spend some of my Friday nights.

A weekend in Orange Beach, AL

2009-11-04T11:41:00.007-06:00

I had the perfect costume all planned out for this year's Halloween. I was going to be Hurricane Jessie. I even made a blue and gray tutu for the costume. But when my friend James had one of the worst weeks anyone could have and he wanted to get out of town, and didnt really want to be around too many people, and asked me to go with him, I decided that Hurricane Jessie would have to wait to strike land until 2010.

Saturday after lunch, we gassed up my car, threw our toothbrushes and a change of clothes in bags, and headed East for Orange Beach. One of his clients has a condo there, and was generous enough to let us stay there for a few days. It is located on the bay, and our balcony had a beautiful view of the wetlands and the water.

While it was early, we headed to the FloraBama. That place is amazing. We listened to some music, and watched the band for a while.

We started to get a bit hungry. The FloraBama is equiped with a bear claw game(the ones usually full of stuffed animals) that was full of lobsters. It was $2 a shot, and they would cook it if you caught it. As tempting as that was, we decided that was not the day for a lobster to die at our hands so we went to Tacky Jacks and got a Burger and fries.

The sunset was beautiful that night over the bay. We headed back to the condo, and crashed out. We were both exhausted.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to Hazel's in Gulf Shores for breakfast. OMG that place is amazing! It is an all you can eat breakfast buffet. I dont usually go in for buffets, but this one was beautiful. I got an omelet with mushrooms, jalapenos, and tomatoes. James picked and chose from the beautiful selection of grits, various porks, veggies, gravies, fruits and cheeses.

After we completely gorged our selves, we headed to Ft. Morgan to stretch our legs. It is such a neat and huge place.
That is the entrance to the man part of the fort. Although it is a bit of a drive down to the end of the peninsula It is completely worth it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around and looking at all of the cute beach houses. James showed me a house he worked on right after the storm. We made our way back to Gulf Shores and found the Hangout, a cute beach restaurant on the beach. We watched the race, and had a few drinks. I got a cute little octapus wallet from their gift shop, and James got a pirate sticker for his new laptop.

We headed back to Tacky Jacks for dinner, because it was close to our condo. I got the blackened chicken sandwich and he got wings. Both were delicious.

This weekend was what both of us needed, a recharge. We returned to Mississippi early Monday feeling charged up and ready to go. It was a perfect weekend.

The Solar Decathlon

2009-11-04T11:41:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago, Travis of Crosstree asked if I would like to be a researcher on the 2009 Solar Decathlon. That included a trip to Washington DC to see the buildings in action on the National Mall. The answer was: OF COURSE!

I will get into the whole research process in a post to come, mostly because I still have quite a bit of work to, but here are some pictures of my trip.

I left really hot Biloxi, I was wearing flip flops and tank tops, and arrived in a rainy cold DC. Now this sounds like it would be uncomfortable, but it was so nice to be cold, and I got to use an umbrella, something I haven't used since college.

It was such a pleasure to get to see a bunch of good Architecture. In Biloxi, we rarely get to see beautifully detailed buildings, and in nature of our work, we also rarely get the chance to be that detailed or spend that much money.

I got to see so many different types of solar panels and solar collectors, as well as other ways to run an energy efficient house.

The above picture is a close-up of the rain screen on Penn State's entry. I love rain screens, and they did a beautiful job.

Our trip was not all research. We walked from our hotel to the monument area in the rainy evening. We started at the Washington Monument, walked past the reflection pool, and made our way to see the Lincoln Memorial. Then we headed to Foggy Bottom(is this right?) in search of Indian food and a beer.

I also stayed an extra evening and got to see my friend Jenny. We saw that cute movie Whip-it, and retired for the evening.

It was a good trip and there will be more posts about the actual work part, and maybe some more about the not work part.

Zenor Family time and Shrimp too!

2009-11-04T10:18:00.003-06:00

It has been a while since I posted on my blog. I have been super busy, and although I cannot catch up with everything, I am going to post a few things that have happened in the month of October.

One was that my Cousins Kathleen and Becky and my Aunt Marie from Texas decided to come to Auburn for a visit. This got my brothers and their wives and kids to also come to Auburn. Well, I couldn't miss this. I got in my car and drove home, with 12 lbs of huge shrimp in the cooler and my dog in the back seat.

I arrived at my mom's house, had a beer, and because I was extremely tired, I went to bed pretty quickly.

Saturday morning, I woke up, hung out with my mom for a while, worked on some knitting, and went to Dads to begin the Zenor Family Time!

It was so good to see everyone. I have not seen my aunt or cousins in several years.

Above are a bunch of Zenor! From left to right starting at the top, Becky, Me, Lee, Kathleen, John, Marie, Eli, Abby, Dad, and Annie.

Below, are Me, My brothers and my Dad!

I got to show off my cooking skills for the Zenors, which for some unknown reason they have never experienced. I made a shrimp boil. It turned out pretty yummy and was my first time ever making it.

I should do this again soon! I love shrimp! It is super yummy!

One of the highlights was getting to go through a bunch of old family pictures, and by old I didnt know most of the people who were in the photos. Soon, I will post some of the photos I got from that weekend, ones that my Grandpa took.

A good Saturday in New Orleans.

2009-10-04T10:14:00.006-05:00

Saturday was such a pleasant day. I woke up early, well rested and ready to go. I grabbed a cup of the free coffee at the hostel, got cleaned up, and caught the street car to the french quarter. I really like quarter early in the morning, much more than late at night. I guess I am weird. Anyways... I was slowly making my way to a place to eat breakfast, but I was not in a hurry. I read the menu's of all of the open cafes i passed until i found one that suited me. Finally I found one in the Marigny area and ate a delicious breakfast burrito, and read my book, running with scissors, over a cup of coffee.
I wandered to the St. Charles street car and took it to my stop where I would walk to meet up with some friends. Emily just bought a super cute fix-er-up and I am completely jealous. I was meeting up with Emily and Seth to work a little on the cute camel back shotgun house. Seth and I cantilevered floor joists out the back of the house, to make the structure for the balcony.

I must say that I am so impressed with Seth and Emily's organization. I am sure it helps to work on the house every day, and you really get a feeling for the next step. I am also sure that it helps to run construction sites for a bunch of students, like Emily does, but, it was so nice. Right when I arrived, after I got the tour of this amazing place, we got to work, and we got it done.

In addition to the balcony, i helped move a heavy cast iron tub into the bathroom, helped frame a wall, and went on a materials run. I didn't really do too much, i was just an extra set of hands. Those two are amazing though.
At lunch, their friend Carrie arrived with sun tea (which was so refreshing) and an offer to pick up lunch. She surprised us with four po-boys, of different flavors(Ham and swiss, roast beef, catfish, and couchen de lait) , each cut into four pieces. It was a great lunch. My favorite was definitely the roast with the couchen de lait following close.
We ended the workday with a trip to a Creole Creamery for ice cream. I realized that i could happily eat there every day. I sampled the Mexican hot chocolate, which was delicious, but i chose the Black and Gold crunch because they only offer it during the Saints Season.

I headed back to the hostel by way of the street car. I rode the car quietly with my nose in the book, and apparently i didn't look that dirty from far away because a woman sat down with me. Once she got site of my grimyness she must have thought I was homeless, and got scared, because she moved to another seat. I was then proud of my filth. Messy Jessie!

I was ready for a beer once i got to the hostel. I grabbed one that i had brought with me, and next to the beer fridge, there was a tv playing with the Auburn game on. I watched it for a little while, extending the time that i could basque in my filth. I talked to a few folks, and by the time i finished my beer, i really felt the need to get clean.

Newly squeaky clean, i jumped back on the street car and headed out for dinner. I got a burrito at Fillipe's and wandered around. I stumbled across a brass band in the street. I stood there for a while watching the band play and folks dance. It was so wonderful.

I was exhausted, and not much in the mood for partying, so i made my way back to the hostel, and talked with some folks there for a while before heading to bead.

I really needed a day like that; one where i work hard, get bruised up and dirty, spend time with friends, make new ones, eat well, listen to good music, watch football and relax. Although i generally have a good time, it is nice to have a change of pace and change of scenery for the weekend.

Now it is Sunday, and I have already had a very New Orleans morning. I walked to Betty's Pancake house for breakfast, and sat at the counter. A NOLA cop sat next to me. He noticed i was fiddling around with my sketch book and started talking to me. He was telling me about the stories he writes. He told me one about a love story that extended for centuries. About half way through my meal, a family of three sat next to me. The mom was a stripper at Barely legal. The waitresses knew her, and were talking to her about how her work was going. It is a weird feeling eating eggs and hashbrowns between a cop and a stripper.

Anyways, i have a bit of work to do. I am sitting at a big table at the hostel, procrastinating and writing this blog. There is a big saints game this afternoon, so i had better get at it if i want to watch the game.

An unexpected New Orleans Weekend

2009-10-04T09:58:00.002-05:00

This weekend I was supposed to go to Rural Studio, but something came up with my traveling partner at the last minute, and I couldnt round up another one. I love rural alabama, and the Rural Studio, but it really does make it better to have a traveling partner to share the slow adventure with. So, I decided not to go.

That being said, I was hell bent on getting away from mississippi for a few days, and experience something different for a little while. My friend Seth was driving to New Orleans for the weekend, so I hitched a ride with him.

Friday night, I ate an avocado sandwich while i watched the open mic night at the Hostel for a while. I joined a few folks and walked down the street where it was opening night for a little bar. We sat out on the large back porch and talked for a while. It was a great pleasent evening with new scenery, and definitely started to recharge my batteries.

Turkey and Avocado Sandwiches are a Hit!

2009-09-30T08:49:00.003-05:00

Around Noon, I recieved a text from one of my Meal Plan eaters. Here is what it said: LUNCH WAS TRULEY AWSUM.

So here is what they found in their cooler:
Turkey sandwiches with avocado, feta, tomatoes, onion, baby greens and spicy mustard on multi-grain bread.
Carrots, sliced bell peppers, and ranch dressing.
Honey wheat pretzels.
Arizona Sweet tea.

At the office, folks were eyeballing my sandwich while I ate it. Maybe soon, I will have more on the meal plan.

Today's Meal Plan Lunch

2009-09-28T09:47:00.003-05:00

I am really enjoying making the Meal Plan Lunches. Here are today's sandwiches.

Roast beef, with sharp cheddar, banana peppers, onions, horse radish, dijon mustard, tomatoes, and baby greens on a cibatta bun. In the cooler along with the sandwiches were 3 cans of arizona tea, tortilla chips and a container of salsa. Happy eating boys!

My first sailing trip.

2009-09-28T09:04:00.002-05:00

Oh what a good weekend I had. Friday, I went out around Ocean Springs, and I was exhausted, so I went home kind of early. Saturday, I started some Occo-buco in the crock pot(another post to come) and my friend James picked me up to take me to a delicious lunch at Al Fresco. I had a cup of minestrone soup and a fried green tomato sandwich, he had the ravioli. Once we finished our lunch, we went to Miners Toy Store. If you dont know this place and you live in Ocean Springs, or along the coast, you should visit. We went there last week to get a gift for a friend's birthday, and we had so much fun we decided to go again. James bought me a big green ring, and he got two wind up air planes.

We took the planes to the park and flew them. Oh it was so much fun. We ran a bunch of errands an then headed to his house to see if we could rig up his catamaran. He didnt have the right size sails for his boat, so we headed to my house for that Occo Buco and the Big Labowski.

Sunday, I got a lot of chores done and around noon James called up telling me to pack a lunch for three and put my swimmies on. (he used that word, swimmies. so cute) anyways. i did what he said, and about an hour later he picked me up and took me to a dock, where we met up with one of his friends.

We were going sailing!!!!! We were on a trimaran, which is a very fast and stable sail boat. We (james and his friend) got all of the rigging set up and we were off. We ran on the little motor until we got past the bridges, and they raised the Jib and the Main Sail. We were sailing! it was so amazing. James was definitely in his element, but he was being a good teacher as well, showing me how work some of the ropes and the rigging. Oh my goodness it was so much fun.

When we got to where they were ready, they rose the spinnaker. It was so beautiful.

I have to say that sailing is amazing. You don't have any motor, it is all natural power pulling you along. It is so quiet. All you hear is the water hitting the bow.

We were sailing for a while and they let the spinnaker down, and I guess we were moving a long so pretty that a flock of pelicans started flying with the mast. There were probably 7 or 8 of them. It was so neat.

All in all, i loved sailing. It was amazing, and relaxing, and humbling. I think I have the bug.

The Meal Plan is Back!!!!! oh and Grapefruit Cupcakes!

2009-09-25T10:15:00.006-05:00

IWhen I lived in Starkville, it was hard to cook because I was cooking for my self. I would do it, but i was a bit uninspired. There is something so delightful about cooking for others. I would cook for my few friends every once in a while, but, for the most part, it was just me. Then.... one of my friend's came up with the idea that i cook for them and they give me some money. Another friend found out about this, and he just happened to be an owner in a bar, and he wanted in too, although his trade was beer. It worked out great. I could generally end up paying very little for my food, and get all the beer I wanted. It was amazing! This deal ended when I moved to the coast.

For three years, I have been cooking for my self or cooking for my friends.... well, a few weeks ago, a friend of mine was complaining about the food choices at lunch, and how expensive it was, and greasy it was, and how it didn't really taste that good, and it put him and his work crew into comas.

I suggested they pack their lunch. They in the typical manly fashion, admitted that they would probably never do that. This discussion (complaining) went on for the last several weeks. Finally I mentioned that I would pack their lunch if they bought all of the food including the food for my lunch. They were extatic, and I was too seeing as how my budget is super tight and my lunches as of lately have been less than beautiful. So today was my second day.

The first day I made porkchop sandwiches, caramelized onions, feta, roasted red peppers, and baby greens on a baguette. I also packed some fresh fruit, 3 cans of arizona tea, a bottle of hot sauce and a bag of zapps. That was a winner. All three of them were happy.

Today I made Turkey Sandwiches with swiss, avocado, tomato, and baby greens on toasted whole wheat bread. I packed zapps chips, and Grapefruit cupcakes that I made from scratch last night.

When my friend came and picked up the lunch this morning, I gave him a breakfast cupcake with his coffee and he loved it. I was supprised, because he hasn't really liked the real citrusy things I have made, but these he did. He took another for the road.

That is my lunch, I decided against the chips for me and went with oranges.

The cupcakes were another recommendation from my friend Casie. Here is the recipe.

Oh my goodness. They were so light and refreshing. Perfect for this crazy hot weather we have been having.

Several Good Breakfasts, and a sunday of benefits

2009-09-23T10:40:00.003-05:00

So.... unfortunately, I have not taken too many pictures of food the past few days, or pictures of anything for that matter. I guess it means that I have just been having that much fun! and I have.

Sunday morning, I woke up early, and with the craving of pancakes. I ran to the store, got some bacon, orange juice and blackberries, and whipped up a batch of my Dad's famous whole wheat pancakes, and fried up some bacon. I was lucky enough to have a friend join me for all of this delicious food.

Moving slowly after the pancake breakfast, I finally got moving and did some house work. I finished all of my laundry, and vacuumed the house.

A friend and I headed to the Chuck Gibson benefit at the grocery, where I ate 2 baskets of shrimp, and hung out with friends.

It was such a fun evening, and I won a months worth of drum lessons from the grocery!

Tuesday morning, I was feeling extra ambitious, so when I woke up I made biscuits and eggs and bacon. I know I shouldnt be eating like this so often, but I love breakfast!

A night of fun and a morning of recovery.

2009-09-19T09:39:00.002-05:00

Last night, two of my friends invited me out to Just Us in Biloxi for an open mic night and a 2 for 1 happy hour. I had the best time. There was a great poetry battle between Lady Larry and the owner of the bar about the stools in the bar, and their state of disrepair. There were several folks singing, and reading poetry they wrote and poetry they love. I got to meet some new people too! We ended our time at Just us by dancing. I havent danced in so long! It was great.

We left the dance party and went over to my friend's house for the after show. It was a lot of fun, but my body was telling me to go home. So I heazded back to ocean springs.

This morning.... I did not feel good. I really didnt feel good. So... I made some coffee and soaked in the bath tub while I drank it. Then I made my self a beautiful breakfast of parmesian cheese grits and eggs with onions, tomatoes, and basil from my garden. I finished off the plate with some oranges. It definitely hit the spot and left me feeling much more lively.

I played ball with deloris, cleaned out my car, planted some turnips, kale, dill, and brussle sprouts(again...oops to the first batch) and now.... I am ready for the day! Happy Saturday Y'all!!!!!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

2009-09-17T08:38:00.003-05:00

Around 2 pm, after laying around all day sunday watching Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and eating pork roast for both breakfast and lunch, I forced my self to get up and make the strawberry shortcake cookies. My friend Casie made these a few weeks ago, and told me how delicious they are.

They were so much fun to make, and really easy. Strawberries are always fun to cook with because they are so bright, hence all of the pictures. I couldn't stop taking pictures.

They turned out beautiful and were delightful when they were warm, and not bad at all when cool. They were not too sweet, and the strawberries added a little twang of tartness. I took the cookies over to some friends', because god knows I have no business eating all of these. Their daughter had a few friends over, and they were so happy to have such girly cookies. They are girly cookies. The guys really liked them too as they each ate about 6 of them, although the comment was made that they were no whoopie pie. I think I will make the whoopie pies this weekend. It has been a while since the last time I made them.

Anyways... here is the recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. You should make them. They are beautiful and delicious cookies!

My third pork roast!!!!

2009-09-17T07:54:00.002-05:00

So, third time must be a charm, because with as much as I have enjoyed eating the other two pork tenderloins this is the first time I have managed to take a picture of the finished product.

This like my second pork pot roast, this one I cooked in the crock pot. Saturday morning, I ran to the store and got all of my supplies, hurried home and threw it in the pot.

Here is what I used:

2 small pork tenderloins (about 1.5 lb each)
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
3 small turnips, peeled and diced
6 carrots, peeled and chopped into thirds
1 onion, chopped into 8ths
4 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
2 bay leaves
6 stalks of fresh thyme
salt and pepper
a few tbl sherry

First, brown the pork tenderloin on all sides. Throw that into the crock pot, and deglaze the pan with a bit of sherry, and through that juice into the pot as well. Throw everything else in, cover with water, and turn it on, slow cook for 6 -8 hours. Stir every once in a while. MAGIC.

I just thought of something that might be good, after you deglaze the pan and pour off the juice, it might be good to sautee the onions garlic and bay leaves in a little olive oil before throwing them in. I will try this next time.

This brings me to a few questions for who ever reads this thing:

First, what do you call a pork pot roast? is it a pork roast(isnt this more something that is done in the oven like the first one)? a pork tenderloin? a pot roast (i think this refers to a beef pot roast)? If you know, please let me know.

Second, I know that the crock pot is not the really gourmet way to cook. It takes a lot of the skill out of it, as well as the fun and challenge, but there is also something nice about putting something on and being able to do your thing through out the day, and coming home to a good meal. BUT my problem, and one of the reasons for me repeating this same dish twice, is that i cannot find any recipes that look good that don't use packaged stuff, like soup mix or bouillon, or the god forsaken mushroom soup. I have just ordered a book that looks promising, The Best Slow Cooker Cook Book Eve r by Diane Phillips, but if you know of any delicious recipies, that use only real food, I would appreciate it. By the way...canned tomatoes are included in the real food category, as they are usually better than the fresh tomatoes you can get at the store. Please send me your slow cooker recipes... and I will let you know how that book turns out.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Swiss Chard.... i mean Water Cress

2009-09-08T18:35:00.003-05:00

Ok, so this is a recipe that I love, and that I have cooked several times. I usually replace the Swiss Chard with what ever green that I have, like Collards, turnips, mustards, or kale.

When I saw this recipe, it struck me as being a mix between two of my favorite things in cooking, southern and curry. Sweet potatoes, greens, and a legume... sounds close to a mix that I have had of sweet potatoes, greens and pink eyed purple hulls, but then you add all of these rich spices...... ughhh HEAVEN! and then the pop of the lime and cilantro! yes!

And it is pretty easy to make. All of the stuff goes in one pot and it cooks a little while. It does help to go ahead and measure out all of the spices and get everything lined up, because some of the steps go quick, but the clean up is next to nothing.

Ok, so this time, for some reason, I was thinking Water Cress in stead of my normal greens when I was at the store. I am not sure why... but that is what I got. It has been a while since I last made this. Oh my memory.

Anyways... I could not find this recipe on the NYTimes website where I originally found it, which I was going to link to it in this post. So here. I am writing it for you. NY Times, please dont get mad at me for doing this, but it is so good, and i tried to find it.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Swiss Chard
Origionally published November 14, 2007 on the NY Times Website.

Time: 1 hour

2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1-in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded if desired, then minced
4 to 5 cups vegetable broth as needed
2 lbs sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups dried lentils
1 bay leaf
1 lb swiss chard, center ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
1/3 cup finely chopped tamari almonds for garnish(optional)
1/4 cup chopped scallions for garnish

1) In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala, curry powder, and jalapeno. Cook, stirring for 1 minute

2) Stir in 4 cups broth, sweet potatoes, lentils and bay leaf, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and simmer for 25 min. (if lentils seem dry, add up to 1 cup stock as needed. Stir in chard, salt and pepper, and continue cooking until lentils are tender, and chard is cooked, about 30-45 min. total.

3) Just before serving, stir in cilantro, lime zest and juice. Spoon into a large, shallow serving dish. garnish with almonds if desired and scallions.

yeild: 8-10 side dish servings, 6 Main-course servings.

Final Note: after trying this batch, the water cress in it ain't half bad. I guess any green will do!
Good luck!

Oh, I labored!

2009-09-08T10:55:00.002-05:00

I went into this weekend without any big plans, or expectations, only to relax and be out side as much as possible. Well, I think I accomplished it.

Friday night, I rode to a friend's house on my bike, and we sat out side the entire evening sitting on the front porch, talking and drinking. Saturday morning, a friend and I watched Spinal Tap then to brunch at Phoenecia's then headed for the art walk. I didnt buy anything, because I dont have any spare money at the moment, but I sure did want to. I got to see an old family friend Tazwell who was showing his art downtown. We rode bikes all day long. I dont recount all of the places we went, but we went just about everywhere, ending the evening at the Grocery.

Sunday I was moving a little slow. My body was depleted from the riding around all day, but it was happy. I woke up, and made my self some oatmeal with dried cranberries, and walnuts, and did some house work. One of my friend came over and we watched the first disk of Always Sunny in Philiadelphia, which is a show that I am now addicted to.

I had a pork tenderloin in my freezer, and wanted to make a pot roast. I called my dad and on his instruction, I browned the pork roast then put it into a borrowed crockpot with turnips, potatoes, carrots, fresh thyme from my garden, garlic, salt and pepper. We left the house after two and a half hours of watching that funny show, and headed out on the bikes again. We went to his house and set up a structure to cover his boat. Then we rode our bikes to a friends house for more porch sitting. When we felt that we had sat on the porch long enough, we went back to my house and ate some of the pork roast. It was great. It was really the first time I had cooked anything in a crock pot. I am not sure that I am the biggest fan of cooking this way, I really love the labor of cooking, but it seems great when I want to just leave some food to do its stuff while I go off on an adventure.

Monday, I helped my friend work in the yard. My roommate loves working in the yard, and generally has all of the yard work done, before I can even think about firing up the mower. I also love working in the yard, and so when my friend said he needed to get some done, I was quick to offer up my help. We mowed his lawn, and weed-eated, and planted a few plants. My legs were worn out after riding all weekend, and pushing the lawnmower. I was not going to pedal another block that weekend. So after I got cleaned up, I met up with some friends, via a car and spent the last few hours of the Labor Day holiday relaxing.

I could not have asked for a better weekend, one where I cooked, rode my bike, spent a lot of time with friends, saw old friends, saw art, watched movies, and worked out side until I was worn out.

My First Pork Roast.

2009-09-03T14:48:00.004-05:00

So, sorry, I dont have pictures of my first ever pork roast. I had all intentions on making a good photo, but I didnt. I was entirely too hungry when it came out of the oven Tuesday. I had also been waiting for it for a whole day, the time it need to marinate, and I had no more patience, so once the 15 minute resting period after pulling it out of the oven was done, I got to eating. I ate it with a salad and some aromatic rice.

I asked for many hints and tips for making this roast from folks that cook meat a lot, and here is what I got.

Get a meat thermometer! this is a must when cooking meat, or you will over cook it

Pull it out when the themometer reads 5degrees below where it needs to be when it is done. So I pulled it out when it was at 155, because it needed to get to 160.

Another thing I learned was that you should brown the meat in a super hot skillet before you roast it, but it doesnt work with this recipe because the rub started to come off onto the skillet, so dont do that with this recipe. But do it with other pork roast recipes, and especially when they have a dry rub, because it really toasts the seasoning.

Last and final, is don't go to Winn-Dixie when you are looking for a 4 lb pork tenderloin, they only go up to 2 lbs. This turned out to be the perfect size for me, because I was the only one eating it, and it lasted me all week, but I was also glad that I had a meat thermometer in this case, because the cooking time was different.

So the review of the meat.
It was good! really good. I used peppers from my friend Al's garden, and they were not as hot as I had expected, so the roast wasn't as spicy as I would have liked it, but it was good! It was moist, and rich.

For two days of lunch, I bought some fresh bread from Le Bakery here in Biloxi, and made poboys out of it. One day I used Louisiana hot sauce, and the second I used Tabasco. Louisiana is generally my favorite hot sauce there is, but with the heavy allspice in the rub, I think that the Tabasco went better.

So here is the Recipe for Jerk Pork Roast.

MAKE IT!

Today at work....

2009-09-02T16:37:00.004-05:00

I got to make little huts and towers from my imagination.
you might need to click on the images to see the whole thing.
And a little snake tunnel for kids to run through. And little flower seats.
This is all for a fall festival of sorts here on the coast. Lets see if they get built?!?!?!

The Second Long Beach post and a lazy Sunday

2009-09-02T13:45:00.002-05:00

So I am a little behind in my posting, but I will catch up! Here is a big heap of things I wanted to record though.

On Saturday, after leaving the Trace dedication, we stopped at Bankhouse Coffee which is located in Downtown Long Beach Mississippi. This is an oasis for coffee lovers if I have ever seen one.

Good coffee in the Mississippi Gulf Coast is hard to come by. Especially for us folks that spend a lot of time around East Biloxi, where our only real option for coffee is found in the casino Starbucks. There is the Beanery in the Beau Rivage, but that stuff is real expensive.

Bankhouse, is located in a gorgeous old bank that has been converted into a mixed use building, with a coffee house and a hair salon on the first floor, and an apartment on the second floor. The coffee house has an abundance of natural lighting and feels great to inhabit.

The thing that is really striking though when you walk in is the smell of the beans roasting. This is the most impressive thing I have seen on the coast as far as yuppy city dweller stuff. THEY ROAST THEIR OWN BEANS. Everyone in the group was excited about this fact. To add to the excitement, we got to watch it happen, and the owner was nice enough to tell us what was happening, and how beans were roasted.

OH MY GOD IT SMELLED SO GOOD!!!! Well, that is about it. If you go there, make sure you have cash, because they don't take credit cards. Also, I recommend the Ice Coffee, which comes with cream already in it (but no sugar, thank goodness) Just the way I like it. Also, I heard that the Ice Mocha was good too.

One last note about Long Beach before I get to the Lazy Sunday, and that is that apparently Long Beach is the home of the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.

Alright so, Sunday, my stomach was feeling better. I woke up early, and got my laundry done. Then my friend and I decided to ride bikes to Phonecias for breakfast. Ahhh... I love their breakfasts there. I had a melon and a bowl of asiago cheese grits, and my friend had a pecan waffle which looked delicious. I am going to have to try their waffle one day.

We then returned to my house and proceeded to watch movies for the rest of the day. Here is what we watched: The Big Sleep, Paris Je T'aime, Unforgiven, and Say Anything. We only left the house when we figured we needed to eat something, and biked up to the InnZone for some burgers. MMMMMM I love their burgers, and

Katrina's Anniversary, and my icky stomach!

2009-09-01T08:06:00.003-05:00

Friday afternoon, I left the office with a bit of a belly ache. It had been lingering for a week and that was the most nauseous I had been the entire time. I spent most of the night in bed reading the rest of David Sedaris's When you are Engulfed in Flames. Yet another great book by him! I have two of his books left to read: Dress your family in Corduroy and Barrel Fever. I really love his stories.

Saturday, I woke up, with still a bit of a twinge in my stomach, but I figured it would go away. I met up with one of my client's Myra to take pictures of her and her children in front of her house. Here is one of my favorites from the morning.
After the photo shoot, I headed home for a spell. I watered my garden, took Deloris on a walk then headed back to Biloxi. I was meeting some of my friends to head to Long Beach for the dedication of a large project our studio worked on.

The project is called the Trace. It is a subdivsion built by Habitat for Humanity Gulf Coast. I did not work on this project, but our office worked with them on their neighborhood design, house design and hooked them up with a landscape architect which in my mind completely made the project. Our houses are good, and Habitat did a great job at building them well. But the landscaping of the neighborhood really makes it feel like it is a coastal Mississippi neighborhood. It also makes it look unique. I was not on the ball with taking pictures at this event. My stomach was angry at me, and it was making me grumpy, but here is a picture of one of the houses set under an old tree, and it looks so natural the way it is sitting in the landscape, like that house was there for years, but it was just built.
There are street lights, sidewalks, and local plants that wont die in this extreme heat. This is why landscape architects are so important. This is why design is important, especially in affordable housing.

Anyways, at the dedication was Mississippi's Governor Haley Barbour. He gave a speech off of one of the porches about Mississippi's progress, and the people of Mississippi. It is good to see that projects like this are not going unnoticed and are seen as part of the progress to rebuild after the storm.

My next post will have more about my time in Long Beach. Promise.

A coastal exhibit and lemon chicken

2009-08-28T08:30:00.001-05:00

Last night, me and two of my friends went to the opening of Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors). It is an exhibit that is being hosted by El Pueblo, the latino outreach organization and the George Ohr Museum, showing photographs taken by immigrants within the area. The photographs were beautiful, and the stories were touching. I highly recomend visiting. It will be up until October 5. It is located at the USM-Long Beach Library on the Third Floor. Visit here for more information.

On the way home from the exhibit, I decided I wanted roasted chicken. I remember looking at a recipe, for lemon chicken, and remembering that all I needed was chicken and lemons, and I had all the rest of the stuff, so I stopped in the store grabbed lemons and a chicken, and headed home.

This is how easy the recipe was.....
I was on the phone with my best friend gabby.....and I made the whole thing, and popped it into the oven, before I was off the phone.

This was the best smelling thing ever. My house filled with this rich meat smell, and the smell of lemons within 15 minutes of putting it into the oven. This would be a great recipe to cook for guests, because the smell alone will impress them. In addition to the smell, the fact that the simplicity of the recipe renders such a delicious bird makes me think that this is one of the best recipes ever. It beats my Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes.

Because is started it so late, I didnt get to taste it until 10pm, but I stood at my counter and ate the leg and the thigh, dipping it in the juices, and grabbing a roasted onion between bites of chicken. I am so happy I have this for lunch today. Alright so here is the recipe. NOW GO MAKE IT!!!!!!! and be impressed with your cooking skills!

A productive and quiet week so far.

2009-08-27T06:32:00.004-05:00

I woke up early today to sketch a bit for a project I am working on. Lucky me, I chose a morning when the storms are brewing. The rain is heavy, and the thunder is rumbling. It is so relaxing and has been very helpful in getting my head in the right place to work. I whipped out 12 sketches, and I figured I should make an update on what I have been up to for the last few days.

Starting monday, my week has been really productive, focusing a lot of my energy on my garden, my home and my work. At work, it seems like many of my projects are either wrapping up or gearing up. I have wrapped up two projects for the most part in the last few days. That has been really nice. I cant really speak too much about those projects, but maybe in time I can share them. I am also working on some of the marketing material for the office, and I have made a bit of progress on that this week, and hope to make some more serious progress throughout the week.

In addition to those projects, the new GCCDS website, something I have been working on for quite a while, will be launched soon. I cannot wait. I will be devoting a lot of this week and next to that effort. I am so ready to have that moving in the path it is right now.

On Monday, I finished laying out my garden, and since then, have been adding more plants, and starting the seeds for the new ones. Gardening is something that makes me so happy. I wish I had the money to really go all out, but it is fun to make do with what I have as well. It also becomes more of an extended project in this way, and not something that I spend a week on then just watch it grow. This way, I get to play in the dirt every few days, and get to have a garden that is growing in many different stages. Oh, I love just thinking about what I am going to do next to my little plot, and think of the nice drink it is getting from this morning storm.

All in all it has been a pretty relaxing beginning of the week. I went out on Tuesday night to play trivia at the Grocery, but only a few folks from our usual team were able to show up, so we decided not to play, and that only added to the relaxing week. I plan on keeping up the relaxing week. Although the activities memorializing the anniversary of Katrina might stir up the end of my week. And maybe I will go on a few adventures, but I would not mind keeping it low key for a little while. I have been going wide open for a while now.

Well, that is about it for now. I am going to go sit on my back porch and read until it is time to go to work.

Oh my garden.... and Dan!

2009-08-24T21:11:00.004-05:00

In my last post, I mentioned that my weekend was not over... and that certainly was the case.

On my walk with my Momma on Sunday morning before she left, we were talking about cooking and things that we both enjoy.... and the subject of gardening came up. I had a garden I was pretty proud of when I was living in the camper, and when I moved, i had to let those baby tomatoes, the leafy dark green kale, my peppers, peas, squash that was just starting to make fruit, and my basil patch go to a certain future of an uneaten death. It was sad, very sad. Well, in our walk, we decided that it was time for me to make a garden, i could start with an array of fall veggies, and a few tomato plants, that would hopefully make fruit before it gets cold.

Well, after momma left, I headed for the garden center to buy some edging and some plants and seeds. I started digging up the grass. Once most of the grass was removed, I dug the edges for the border material. I was just beginning to put the border in when one of my best friends from college pulled up into my driveway. After giving him a quick hug, I ran in side, and put on some fresh clothes.

Dan, the same person I went to visit in Chicago not too long ago, is one of my favorite people on this planet. He is so genuine, and so inquisitive. I always have such a brilliant time around him. We jumped on bikes and rode through Ocean Springs. We rode through the harbor, and down to the Yacht Club where we looked at the catamarans and watched folks sailing. While we were there, he mentioned that he really wanted some sea food. I tried to think of a good place to go, but nothing was coming to mind, so I offered to cook him the rest of the Amberjack that I had in my fridge.

We called up one of my friend's that Dan had wanted to spend some time talking to, and I cooked dinner. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable dinner.

Monday, as I was leaving my house, I remembered that I had a half finished garden that needed to be finished that afternoon. It was no burden, but instead, made me a bit excited. I love doing yard work. I love it almost as much as I like cooking.

When I got home from work, I changed into my play clothes, ate a snack and got to it. I finished edging the garden, raked it smooth, and planted the mature plants that I had bought from the garden center.

In the garden right now are full sized tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, thyme, basil and cilantro.

I have seeds for brussels sprouts, kale, turnips and spinach. I will be working on getting those started tonight!

The weekend aint over yet....

2009-08-23T07:36:00.005-05:00

but some how it feels like I have had enough fun to satisfy the weekend gods already.

I woke up this morning at around 6 am, listening to the birds and the sounds of my neighborhood. It was the first night I have slept with my windows open in a few months. It was really the first night that was noticably cool enough to do. I didn't really want to get out of bed. But I figured I could enjoy the cool morning outside, so I am sitting out in my screened porch, drinking coffee and enjoying the 70degree morning. It is beautiful out. My dog is at my feet, freshly brushed, and wishing she had a bite of my toast. (i will probably give into this) I hope the rest of my day goes as beautifully.

So far, my weekend has been just perfect. Not rushed, not wild, not action packed...I am not even sunburned but I probably should be.

Momma and Kathy rolled into town Friday around lunch time and we headed to Le Bakery for some Vietnamese poboys. Kathy went to the casino to meet up with her dad and momma took my car and went to the house for a nap.

Around 3:30 Momma picked me up from the office, we ran to the store to get necessities like coffee, dish detergent and a downy ball, dropped it off at the house and headed out. Momma loves this town, and it always seems that I recognize how pleasant it is more when she is here. We went to the Grocery ordered a few beers and sat outside to watch the evening begin in Ocean Springs. Kathy joined us a little while later, and then a few more friends pulled up chairs. It was raining at this point, and it only added to the atmosphere. Thankfully we were under the roof, but a few drops kept finding their way through, and they always seemed to land in one of my friend's glasses. It became almost a running joke. We ended up ordering some hummus and some of the grocery's fresh french fries, and sat there for the rest of the evening. The band came in, and we even sat there for that. It was so relaxing, and it was like the fun just came to us.

We left after we got to hear James play his harps with the band for a song or two, and went home to go to bed.

The next morning, Momma and I finished off the rest of the lasagna tart for breakfast, and went out to put a pic-nick together for our afternoon adventure. We went to the saturday morning farmers market, Fayards, and the grocery store, and had the materials to make a beautiful roast beef sandwich with red hoop cheese, on fresh baked bread and peppers from my momma's friend Al's garden back in Alabama. We packed the cooler full of beer, and our fancy sandwiches, met up with James, and headed out to the island.

The water was flat, and the sky was clear. We spent the day walking the beach, picking up huge scallop shells, trying to windsurf (james was the only one who could do it. but he has been doing stuff like that for years) and we ate our pic-nick. It was such a relaxing day. We got back into the harbor, right as the sun was hitting the horizon. After unpacking the boat, momma and I headed back to the house.

Momma and I went to Shady's and split a steak salad, and then headed to the Julip room but we were both so worn out that we were only good for one drink. The next morning we got up and went for a long walk around my neighborhood before Kathy came to pick her up.

It sounds like I have had a very full weekend, but the crazy thing is, is that it isnt over. I am expecting a visit from a good friend from school, and I think I will start making a garden while I wait for his arrival.

Momma on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!!!!!

2009-08-21T08:33:00.002-05:00

My momma,left, and her friend Kathy, right, are coming to the Mississippi Gulf Coast today. Kathy is coming to spend time with her dad for his birthday, and mom is hitching a ride with her to come visit ME! I am excited to spend the weekend with her. Last time she visited, I was moving, and she some how got suckered into helping me, but we didnt get to have the good coastal fun that we normally do. So this weekend, I hope we get to make up for all of that... and have a lot of coastal fun. I plan on taking her to a bunch of restaurants that she hasnt been to yet, including the project lounge for the best burger on the coast, and maybe out on the water if the weather is good, and maybe out to see some good music. Oh, I am so looking forward to it.

The last few nights have been really uneventful but nice. I finally made the second lasagnia tart on wednesday night. Iit was good, but not as good as the first, because I made the dough a little too dry. But other than that it might have been better than the first. I added some more basil, and when I was sauteing the garlic I added a little sherry to it before I dumped the tomatoes in. It gave it a bit of a lighter flavor. It is totally edible, but not perfected. ONE DAY MY LITTLE TART PAN, YOU AND I WILL BE GREAT PARTNERS!!!!!!

Anyways, last night, I went to the gym and straightened up a little in anticipation of my momma's visit. James came over, and we went for a bike ride, and a beer. It was a nice simple relaxing evening, full of good conversation. It was a good ending to a productive day.

no tart tonight

2009-08-18T19:11:00.005-05:00

I had planned on making a variation on that lasagna tart I made the other day, but it didnt happen, and I am sure for the best. My friend was supposed to come over and eat with me tonight, but we both have a bunch of stuff that we need to get done around our respective houses, and so we are going to eat the tart another night.

When I got home, I cleaned the kitchen from lunch, and went to the gym for a quick work out. Then I got to makin supper. My head must have been somewhere else, because I had a few mishaps. First, I put the garlic and onions in the olive oil and stated sauteing, but then, for some reason I put the tomatoes in before the onions had even begun to turn translucent. I sucked it up, and went on, adding the oregano, basil, bay leaves, sherry, a little spinach, and a sweet banana pepper that I picked up from the farmers market. I threw in a little sea salt, a little black pepper, topped the pan with a lid, and hoped for the best.

Some times when I make sauces like this, they are not the best thing that I have ever put in my mouth. And, because I didnt even give the onions a chance to cook, I was afraid they were going to be a bit strong.

Before I tell you how the sauce was, I have a side note. I went out side to see this turtle my roommate found, and my eye began to itch, so I rubbed it. Well, apparently I had not washed off my hands enough from that sweet banana pepper, which was not only sweet, but also pretty spicy. Well, I am sure you can guess what happened. It burned like the dickens, but then... it cooled down a little, and it wasnt that bad. It was almost enjoyable. I mean this by really exaggerating the word ALMOST. But it kind of reminded me of two similar feelings that I love. First is putting that alcohol stuff in your ears after you swim. The second is when you get too big of a bite of wasabi, and it burns up your nose. Well it was kind of like that. I am not going to say that from now on, when I am cutting fresh peppers, that I am going to stick my finger in my eye, because that would just be stupid. It hurts too bad. But I will KIND OF look forward to the next time it happens with a not so hot pepper.

Now onto the sauce. It turned out pretty well served on some vermaccelli, topped with some fresh parmesan. I would even serve it to my friends. The onions were not overwhelming, although I am sure it would have been better had they had a chance to brown a little bit.

Alright, off to do a little laundry, and watch a movie, and hopefully go play some trivia with my friends. Good night!

Seducing Dr. Lewis

2009-08-18T08:51:00.004-05:00

Last night James and I watched this great little Canadian movie called Seducing Dr. Lewis. It was so refreshing. It was not wild, or violent. It was really funny, but human nature funny, not people being stupid funny. It was also not assholy funny. It was genuine and sincere. I really recommend it. It might be available at your local movie store, but not in Ocean Springs. It is, however, available on Netflix, and Netflix on demand.

Whoopie Pies, Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Friends

2009-08-16T10:13:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, I got a bit ambitious in the kitchen. I had two separate culinary agendas for the day. Least importantly I needed to use some sweet potatoes that I had bought at the market and were threatening to go bad. I will get to this in a second.

But, my first and most important agenda I had was to make these zucchini whoopie pies. My friend Casie, who shares an uncanny similarity in food taste with me told me about whoopie pies a few months ago. I thought it sounded delicious, but I failed to make any real move to bake them. Well, about a few weeks ago I was browsing the Gourmet website, and I came across a recipe for zucchini whoopie pies .(you can find the recipe here) These were going to be the ones I make, especially in the summer when there is fresh local zucchini everywhere. I kept putting it off, until I heard that Casie was going to be making whoopie pies this weekend. I had to do it this weekend so we could share stories and compare notes on monday.

At the same time that I was scheming on the whoopie pies, my friend James suggested that I cook something up to take over to Ben and Dawn's house for dinner. I needed to use those sweet potatoes, and so the logical supper to cook would be baked chicken and sweet potatoes with a maple syrup glaze. I have made this several times, and I had everything in my kitchen besides the chicken.

I went to the store grabbed a few things, and got to cooking.

At around 5:30, everything was ready, I loaded up the car with the food, all wrapped tightly, picked James up and headed for our friends' house.

We sat out on Ben and Dawn's porch and had a few drinks. I am sure I said it in another post, but just to get the point across, I love their house. I am so jealous of it. It is a great old house, with wood planked walls and a giant front porch shielded from the road by beautiful big green bushes and a tree speckled lawn. We sat out there until we could no longer wait.

We set the table with the sushi plate that Ben and Dawn put together (OMG I CAN EAT SUSHI ANY TIME!!!!!) the Chicken and sweet potatoes and our drinks. We all started loading up our plates. What a delicious dinner it was. The sushi made me incredibly happy, and the chicken, it turned out nice and simple as always. I should say that this chicken recipe is one of the easiest dishes to make, and it always comes off so tasty and it looks pretty impressive. Those are the best recipes ever, no?

We finished our chicken and sushi, everyone feeling full and happy, and I brought out the whoopie pies. Until this point, they had been wrapped up tightly, less they get squished or something. So, no one had seen them, and no one really knew what to expect.
The whoopie pies turned out a bit larger than what was reasonable for one person to eat, so we cut them into smaller portions, and began eating. Goodness, the were delicious. I would so highly recommend making them. It was suprising, because even James talked about them for the rest of the evening, and he doesn't like sweet things. And for as fancy as zucchini whoopie pies look and sound, they were pretty easy to make. I can say it took me about 2 hours to make both dishes and clean up, and have a glass of wine.

After we ate, we returned to the porch, where, in good Zenor fashion(if you know my dad, you know what i am talking about) I laid down on the couch in a complete food coma, half awake, and listened to the conversations only rousing every once in a while to laugh at something funny that was said. It was a beautiful evening.

So today, I have a bit of the icing left, so I am going to make another batch today, after I go to the gym, because god knows I need to work out after just looking at those things.

A new health and a very pleasent evening.

2009-08-14T07:54:00.004-05:00

After about four solid days in bed, I feel great. My brain is working and my throat only now tingles, and I have the energy I should.

Yesterday was my first full day back at work, and I was pretty productive. I went to a pleasant meeting, that regards fun work. I have things ready for the follow up meeting. I cleaned up a layout that is ready for input of the final layout, and I worked to finish up a development review (and began creating a template for that document in InDesign which will make it easier for all of us to use in the future reviews)

When I left work, I had a mission. I had received an amazing coupon for the Gap Outlet, and needed to go before it was expired, and did not feel like it until last night. I got many much needed replacements for my tank top collection and a new pair of jeans!

When I got home, I made a bowl of left over Cincinnati Chili. If you are unfamiliar with Cincinnati Chili, you should quickly familiarize your self with it. IT IS AMAZING. Look here for more information. I have been eating it for the last few days. My friend James, originally from that part of Ohio, has several cans on hand at all times, and brought some over for dinner the other night. What a nice man he is to share some of that glory with me.

After filling my belly a little, I went out side, and cleaned my car. I vacuumed it and wiped everything down. Oh, how nice it is to have a clean car.

At the end of the evening I settled down with a High Life Lite, the book Lucky You by Carl Hiaason, and my cell phone, out on the screened porch. I talked with my best friend for an hour, then finished the book. The entire time i had my foot on my dogs belly.

It was both a productive evening, and one that I spent having me time. It was much needed. I know I have spent a lot of me time in the past few days, but I wasnt feeling well enough to enjoy it.

Oh how good it feels to feel good again!

Bike ride, tornado, and the illness that is not swine flu or strep throat.

2009-08-10T17:51:00.003-05:00

This weekend started off great. Friday night, I got a phone call from my friend James to see if I wanted to bike around town with him and his friend Ben, and stop and have a few beers along the way. The first thing that you should know is that both Ben and James have motors on their bicycles. I do not. The other thing was that my bike had just suffered a hernia in the back tire a few days before, and it was not fit to ride.

I told James and Ben of my misfortune, and they rounded up a bike for me to use. I met them over at Ben's house, and we sat on the front porch of Ben and his wife Dawn's beautiful house for a spell. I am so jealous of their house. It is an older house, with wood siding, a beautiful front porch, and wood planked walls. They are a bit weary of the repairs that it is needing, but I am so jealous. Ben and Dawn have also built a garage with a small apartment in the back yard which is so cute, and very well thought out.

While we were on the front porch Ben and Dawn's amazingly smart 7 year old daughter and her friend were running around with a big frog that they had caught. The poor frog had had about enough of that adventure but the girls had not. In fact, they were taking donations to buy the frog an $18,000 frog habitat. It was obvious how much they cared for the frog, but their pleading with their parents was not getting them any closer to the amphibious empire. They decided to step it down a notch, and ask all of the folks sitting on the porch for donations to keep the frog alive. I wasn't sure if it was a ransom, or if it was for the benefit of the frog's life but I couldn't refuse, so I emptied my wallet of the change, and put it in their begging hat.

Ben, James and I headed off into the night. We were trying to go to cafe New Orleans, because of course I was hungry, as always, and facing a night like that night, of biking and drinking, I knew it was in my best interest to get something in my stomach. They were closed, so we opted for the nearest place, Sweets. It was nice to go in there again. I havent spent too much time there lately, and it was a good return. All of the regulars were there, and I almost managed to school Ben and James on the pool table I learned on, but I think I got a bit to cocky, and lost my touch after the first 9 ball run.

We continued on to the yacht club, from there. I tried to order food, but their kitchen had already closed. We sat out side on the huge second story wraparound porch with an interesting couple and my roommate Jeff and his girlfriend Sharece, who joined up with us at this point.

James got a call from the Fort Bayou Slim folks and he was on his way to go play. I did not want to ride my bike over HWY 90, and i had not been drinking too much at all, so I grabbed my car and met them at the Julep Room. I was feeling tired at this point,(around 10 pm) maybe because I had been up since 5:30 or maybe because of my impending illness.

I headed home before watching James play what I later found out was one of the best times he had played in a long time. I woke up with a sore throat, but feeling pretty good other than that. I figured it was the smoky bars, and that my throat had grown sensitive in the year since I worked at Sweets. I made a pot of coffee, and James showed up right in time(around 6), to have a cup before we headed to the marina to meet up with Ben and to work on a boat. I wasnt really helping, just watching. It was the first time i had seen them work, and it was pretty neat. They are really good at what they do.

Once they got the propellers on the engines, we went to burger king, got a crosandwich, and I went home and took a nap. I was already feeling a little run down and it was only 9 am. I woke up from that nap and went on another boat fixing adventure. This one was in another marina, further east, and further inland. We got there, and a huge cloud was forming over the ocean spring marina... We watched for waterspouts and out of no where this big cloud touched down. It is not the first tornado I have been in, and technically, I was not in this one, but it was the first one I have ever seen.

James dropped me back off at my house, i crawled back in bed, still denying that i was getting sick, and took another nap.

I woke up, with a big headache, the feeling of fever, and a sore throat i have not had in years. I took some IB profin, and did some work. I had to finish this drawing for a friend that I am helping because they were going to do some work on it this week and were going to be away from their computer for that time. got it done, and crawled back in bed, took some more ibprofin, and went back to sleep.

James called around 7 and i was feeling better, a bit. My throat was still a little sore, but my headache and feverish body was gone. We went and ate dinner. He suggested that we go to the best steak house on the coast. I was excited. I love meat!!!!!

We walked into Cheryl's steakhouse, and it kind of looked like a bbq joint. It is not the type of place that looks like it cooks the best fillet mignon on the coast. I tried not to judge too quickly, and sat down, still excited, because great, or just ok, i love steak.

I ordered my fillet med rare, and it came out a little on the rare side, which i would totally prefer to it coming out a little on the done side. THE STEAK WAS AMAZING. I have never put a steak in my mouth that amazing. It was wonderful. The salad, kind of sucked, the sides, they were typical. The steak was worth it all. If you go, it was a BYOB place, so bring your own bottle of wine. They have openers and glasses. YOU MUST GO!!!!

James wanted to go out and have a few drinks, but I was so tired (still not admitting i was sick) and I tried, but I couldnt hang. I left after a gin-n-tonic that i couldnt even finish.

I woke up sunday morning, knowing i was not going to be doing much.... and sure i had swine flu.

I layed in bed for most of the day, and when i checked my temperature it was at 101. I havent had a fever like since i was in the 5th grade i dont think. I felt so bad. I slept all day, and tried to read, but i couldnt focus on the pages. I slept some more, ate some chicken soup, and slept some more.

I woke up around 7pm, watched some simpsons, and went back to bed. This morning, i woke up to the same thing, but now my throat is really swolen. I went to the doctor this afternoon, and he was sure it was strep, but it was not. He did not tell me what it was but gave me some antibiotics. I am guessing it was not swine flu, or he would have probably freaked out.

I should say that today, I felt a bit better than yesterday, maybe because i am taking a little more ib profin than yesterday. I have been able to read most of the day, and James gave me a good book to occupy my time. It is called Lucky You by Carl Haaison. It is a funny light mystery read. I am about to get back to it.

Patrick Daugherty

2009-08-07T07:56:00.001-05:00

My boss introduced me to this artist today. It is this guy named Patrick Daugherty. What beautiful work he does. Check it out his work here.

A Night of Yard Games and Friends

2009-08-06T09:35:00.002-05:00

Last night I had folks over to my house for an evening of yard games. Jeff, my roommate, and I have been assembling a nice collection of yard games for the past two months and now have enough fun to satisfy several architects, a landscape architect, and a musician for a night.

It was hot, buggy and threatening rain, but we persevered with beer and freixenet and played bacci and croquet. Also, when you mix sand, croquet and the idea of making obstacles with architects, wacky things begin to happen. If you look below, you can see how the sand and a dwell magazine were used to construct a ramp.

Amberjack Supper

2009-08-05T08:58:00.003-05:00

My friend James came into some Amberjack yesterday, and called to see if I wanted to cook it up. Of course!!!!!!!!!!!

I drizzled olive oil and placed two slices of lemon on sheets of parchment paper. I placed the one inch fillets of amberjack on top of the lemon, and covered the fish with a light sauce of sauteed tomatoes, capers and garlic. I threw in a few sprigs of thyme, and tied the parchment envelope with some twine. I repeated this for each of the four servings of fish and placed the little pouches on a baking sheet. I popped them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes.

I served the fish with some middle eastern inspired aromatic basmatti rice scented with a few cloves, a cinnamon stick, some cardamom, and slivers of ginger. Also on the table was some of the sun and rain bread that I pulled from the freezer and popped in the oven for a hot minute and a basic salad with cucumbers and tomatoes.

There were many drinks on the table. I was drinking a chillean white wine, Jeff was drinking Miller High Life and James and Ben were both drinking Captain and Coke.

We had full intentions of having some fresh Chilton County peaches from my lovely state of Alabama, but we were all too full to somach any more food.

New Gym, and Lasagna Tart

2009-08-03T21:50:00.002-05:00

So, I have finally joined a gym. I have been reluctant to do so, because I live in such a beautiful place, that I should be able to get my exercise out side. I still can but now I can add weights into my routine. Plus, It is only $10 a month and it is right down my street. So, tonight was my first night going, and it was a little weird. The gym wasnt. It was nice... but as I walked in and out of the building, I had to go by a big ole table of pizza. They had boxes upon boxes of free pizza. now please let me know if this is not weird to you. It took all I had to not eat it. I hope that isnt how it is every night.

Instead of pizza, I had some extra zucchini in my fridge that needed to be eaten soon, and my momma bought me a tart pan so the Lasagna Tart seemed like an obvious choice when I came across it. I did have to buy a lemon and some ricotta, but everything else I had in my kitchen.
Here is the Recipe. It took a little longer than what I had expected, but it was well worth the work.

I substituted regular ricotta for fat free ricotta, and I am sure the regular would have made the dinner more rich and creamy, but it was still great with the fat free. Also, the fat free was about $1 cheaper than the regular ricotta.

I also had some fresh basil in my fridge that was on its way out, so I threw it in as well, and it was a good move.

I should say that lemon in the crust was well worth it. If you make this, do not skimp on the lemon zest! It complements the tomato and zucchini so well.

I highly recommend this. With the fat free ricotta, and the whole wheat crust, it is a tart to not feel guilty about, and it was soooooo super good! Good thing I liked it. I will be eating it for a few meals in the coming days.

A quick trip to Alabam!

2009-08-03T08:44:00.002-05:00

Last week, I decided that I needed to take a trip home and visit some family. I also had a bunch of shrimp in my freezer, and since I was kind of growing tired of shrimp, I thought I would take some home and share it with the non coasters, or north of I-10'ers as we call em down here.

Anyways, we had a beautiful time. Momma and I cooked up the shrimp, made some rice and called some folks up. It was a great time with friends that I havent seen in a while.

Sunday morning, mom and I had french toast made from the left over bread and went shopping. I now have a Tart pan and a pair of grown up pumps.

I left Auburn and headed out to see my brother on my way out. I got to play with my niece for a while. It is amazing how fast she is growing up. She is so smart, and super cute.

I got in to Ocean Springs around 9:30 and hopped in bed. That brings us to this morning, where nothing extraordinary happened other than me vacuuming.

Oh bread

2009-07-30T20:41:00.002-05:00

I took a half day off the other day, and i made some Sun and Rain Bread. It was super good. I also managed to get a bunch of cleaning done.

A Biking Adventure

2009-07-30T11:40:00.003-05:00

For a while now I have been biking to work which round trip comes out to be about 15.5 miles. I have been doing this for a few reasons, one because it is good for me, two because it is good for the environment, and most importantly, because it gives me a chance to play out side, see the boats, the water, the birds, sand and to feel the wind in my face. It takes me about 30 minutes to go each way, giver or take depending on the oppressive heat or just my general energy level.

I rode my bike yesterday, to and from work, with a stop at Kwitzky's to have a beer with a friend on the way home. When I got home, I got a phone call from my friend James who wanted me to meet him to check out his new project.

He took a bike and put a little two stroke engine on it. It was the coolest thing. The craziest thing is that he assembled the whole project in about two hours. I met him, and his fancy bike up at the grocery, and followed him around town to the yacht club, and then to Shady's as he showed off his new toy to a bunch of his friends. It was fun, and hard trying to keep up with him on my bike, and he was going slow.

By the end of the day, I had managed to bike 22 miles. It was so much fun, and I realized that I should probably have a light on my bike.

I cannot wait for more of these biking adventures. I hope I get to try the motor bike out as well, although it frightens me a little.

It is Curious

2009-07-28T09:13:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I had planned on taking a day off. I had planned on doing a few things around the house, and spending most of the day out side. That did not happen, because I kept getting distracted by things at work, and ended up working most of the day.
I did leave the office around 4:45 though, and took a nice nap before going to dinner with my friend James at Chef Scott's new noodle house. If you are not familiar with Chef Scott of Ocean Springs, you should be. He runs a neat little sushi shop down town that has such an uncommon and tasty array of sushi. It is not your average sushi shop with coastal infused rolls with names like sex on the beach and fall in love rolls. The sushi shop was not his beginning to the culinary world. According to James, he used to work in the Kitchen in the White House. Anyways, this noodle house he has is real low key, and serves traditional vietnamese noodles. It is super affordable, and very tasty. The man knows what he is doing. While we were eating, Chef Scott came out of the kitchen to greet everyone in his new restaurant. He came to our table, refilled my tea pot, and noticed that James was eating Pad Thai. He quickly got a little dish, squirted some of his modified hoisin sause and saracha in to it, grabbed James' fork, and dipped a little of his pad thai into the new mixture. James tasted it, and loved it. I got a bite too, and it was delicious. The food was deliciously simple, but that experience made the meal!

We left the noodle shop, picked up Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and headed for a relaxing evening in front of the television. If you have not seen that movie, you should. It is so heart wrenching, and heart warming. It is also one of those hauntingly beautiful movies set in New Orleans, so that makes it even better.

Thats it for now.

Rough life

2009-07-27T13:53:00.002-05:00

So yesterday, a friend of mine, called me up and asked if i wanted to round up some of my friends and go on this big big boat. I of course said yes.
it took us about 2 hours to get all together, but when we did, what an amazing adventure we set out on. we headed for horn island, met up with some friends,
went to the south side of the island, which you can see int he back ground of this picture, and had a picnic on the boat, then swam into the island, searched for neat debris, and shells and things, headed back and raced another big big boat in to the shore. We totally kicked their butts!!!!

all sunburned, and tired, we went to the yacht club to have a drink before heading home, and while we were in there, a wild storm blew in. It was so beautiful, and i was so happy that i was under cover. we watched the bridge disappear and the lightning pop.

after such an amazing day, i slept so well. I woke up sunburned, rested and tired all at the same time, which i think is another way to say happy!

Shrimp and wine!

2009-07-21T20:55:00.004-05:00

Oh, I have just cooked the most amazing meal.

One of my clients gave me a cooler of shrimp, and i am talking big shrimp. I immediately froze all of it, and started searching for ways to cook it.

Tonight, I cooked shrimp in a ginger butter sauce, green beans, and basmatti rice, and paired with a nice white wine that was recommended by the guy at the wine store.

I cooked the green beans with just a little olive oil, garlic, and almonds. The rice was white. THe shrimp was yummy!!!! Please cook it!!!! and serve it with this beautiful Argentinian wine called Crios' Torrontes. It is sweet to the nose with a very fruity bouquet and a dry taste. It was perfect for this summer meal!

I stole this picture from the Gourmet website where i got this recipe. it is a better picture than i could have taken.

oh, the Message from that bottle

2009-07-21T13:53:00.003-05:00

At times like this
I need to fly down
against a powerful
up draft__
in constant motion
with wings that push
slowly and evenly
and feel kind of forceful
against the pushing evenly
grey black
and white with red too
painted type clouds,

(we missed second saturday)

my shoulders where they
connect with large bird wings
are very happy__
and keep me sane__
cause i also love
hearing about my tiny animals
as i do this
to stay still in a
small place
or maybe larger
now!

Love
David and Felix
Bay St. Louis

A message in a bottle.

2009-07-21T06:54:00.004-05:00

One of my friends, James, and I spent this past weekend seeking out adventure.
We started Saturday morning with a very nice breakfast of veggie filled omelets at the Bayview and conversation with some of his fellow sailors about the good ole times in the races and adventures they had. I learned the difference between starboard and port, and I think it only reinforced that i really want to start sailing. It sounds like so much fun.

After breakfast, we went and picked up a boat, and headed for the harbor. We got the boat in the water only to realize that the spark plugs were not working right. James called up the folks at the parts store, and we waited for a few hours for them to deliver the parts to us in the Marina. While we were waiting, we walked around the harbor, talked to a bunch of folks and looked at the other boats while James told me about most of them in detail, and their owners.

We finally got the spark plugs and because the water was so calm, we headed for Horn Island, and met up with some folks we knew, had a beer, and went off to explore the island. We passed a large group of dolphins on the way. In our exploration we found huge scallop shells and an old bench. We threw the loot in the boat, and went wondering a little more. When we were sufficiently hot, and hungry, we got back in the water, and in the boat and headed back to Ocean Springs, for some burgers at the Inn Zone, and some good music by the May James band. James even got up and played the harmonica with them.

Sunday morning, we went and got breakfast again, this time at the Yellow Mouth, another veggie filled omelet for me and eggs and hash browns for him. We cleaned the boat out, and went back out on the water, this time without the wait, and headed for Deer Island. We started walking the shore of the island, looking for shells, and glass and old pottery, and we found a message in a bottle. I will post the message another time, because i don't have it with me at the moment, but it was kind of a weird poem. I understand that when you tell someone you find a message in a bottle and don't tell what the message says, it kind of ruins the story, but oh well. It is not possible at this moment. I think the most important part of this story is that we found a message in a bottle. A real one, that had floated up on the shore.

We headed back to Ocean Springs, picked up his friend Tony, and went to the movies to watch Harry Potter. By the time i got back home that evening, i slept soooooo well. It was an amazing weekend.

I'm in love....

2009-07-16T06:09:00.002-05:00

I'm in love with this composter!!!!!!!!

A few years ago, I was living at this place that had a compost pile. I fell in love with composting. I moved, and it wasnt realistic because I didn't really have a yard. Still, i rent, but i think that this might have just turned me. I dont care that i rent, i think i need this.

This composter can be found at People Powered Machines

There are some other neat machines at that website.... but none as cute as this!