My niece is having a baby in September.  I figure if I say it often enough I'll start to believe it, so far it's not working, I know she's grown, but even seeing her it's hard to believe! 

I left Friday morning to drive to Pittsburgh for the shower.  I really like driving and the car was loaded.  My husband went also and we had a nice picnic lunch in Virginia on the way up.  I like to stop, relax and enjoy a meal. 

We got to my sister's about 9:30 Friday night because we had to have dinner before I went to my sister's.  In fairness I did call her and ask if she wanted to join us at Carl's Tavern but they had already eaten.  I have to go to Carl's when I go to Monroeville to eat the fried fish, fried zucchini and onion rings.  Yes, everything is fried.  Lots and lots of fried. 

It has been ridiculously hot and even with the air conditioning in the car on the way up, I headed straight to my sister's pool when we arrived.  After eating.  So refreshing to be in the water.  We chatted and floated and all was well.  We made our Saturday plans which for me was cooking dinner Saturday night at my sister's.  Of course that meant a trip to the Strip! 

Saturday morning we picked up my nephew and headed downtown.  It's all about food in the Strip so we waited in the hot, hot sun at DeLuca's for breakfast.  Not as long a line as it was when we left.  I had to have the seafood omelet with Italian toast.  My husband had a breakfast burrito, my nephew French toast.  Once fortified with food, we shopped.

Yes, I made Scampi with Linguine again.  We needed Italian bread from Mancini's, produce, cheese from Pennsylvania Macaroni, a steak for my sister Cathy, shrimp from Wholey's.   We also needed to stop in at Penzey's Spices because we could.  We didn't do too much extra shopping, it was hot and after about 2 hours we were done.   And ready for the pool again.

Saturday afternoon my nephew made salsa for an afternoon snack.  He is growing peppers and wanted to use them.  I made a Caprese Salad, Romaine Salad, heated bread, made scampi for 12 even though we had 10 for dinner we like leftovers and my sister cooked her steak.  On the way home from the Strip we stopped for dessert at Moio's Italian Bakery and picked up a carrot cake, German Chocolate Cake and fruit tart, again planned leftovers.

Back to the pool after dinner. 

Sunday we had the baby shower.  I didn't have to do anything Sunday but attend.  I rode with  my sister Cathy and we headed back to the Strip to Lidia's restaurant for a brunch shower.  The grandmothers and my niece's best friends did a great job with the shower.  Lidia's did a great job with the food. 





We headed home bright and early Monday morning.  Just a quick visit since my gift to my niece is a personal chef service.  I'll go up in my car with all my cooking stuff early in September to stock the freezer before the baby gets here.  He's due September 17th.  My niece loves to eat and this will give her and her husband some easy to get to food when things are busy.  I have to take care of the people who are taking care of the new baby!

We left Monroeville about 6:30 am so we stopped for breakfast about 10:00 and had a real treat.  Breakfast was good but the parking lot was the best part of breakfast.  The Budweiser drivers also stopped for breakfast and gave the horses some air and let customers ask questions and take pictures.  They were headed to the Greenbrier for a golf tournament I think. 





Back to work now.  I have all my paperwork ready for my personal chef client tomorrow.  I have a first  meeting with my contact at a school in the area as part of Chefs Move to Schools and I have two library programs this week also.  Lots of fun, no boredom.

About two weeks ago I received an email from the executive director of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR).   I am a member of a couple committees in WCR and because of that, was one of the members chosen to be asked to go to the White House.  Yes, THE White House. 

I quickly filled out the required forms and mentioned to my husband that I was going to the White House.  Very exciting.  It was a pretty quick turn around with not a lot of details, but the invitation was for June 4th when the First Lady was kicking off a part of her child nutrition program (www.letsmove.gov) called Chefs Move to Schools.  I knew that it was June 4th, probably in the earlier part of the day and there would be a kickoff breakfast with Share Our Strength ( www.strength.org).

I packed up the car and headed to DC on Wednesday.  I like to drive and knew that I would stay overnight on the way up.  Stayed in Richmond, did some shopping and saw the Tiffany exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  Wonderful!

I left Richmond Thursday afternoon so I could check into my hotel and meet up with fellow WCR members at Commonwealth Gastropub (www.commonwealthgastropub.com) in DC.  Jamie Leeds is the owner and she is also president of WCR.  She invited our group to be her guests for dinner.  Yes, a bunch of chefs in a private room, eating, and talking about going to the White House the next day.  Lots of fun. 

Friday morning was sunny and no rain was expected.  Yay!  I headed out of my hotel at 7:30 to stroll to the JW Marriott for breakfast.  Oh my!  I knew there were many chefs invited, but this was pretty amazing.  There were about 600 chefs for breakfast!  Imagine the chefs in the Marriott kitchen making the breakfast. 



We listened to a panel of chefs and principals already working together.  We got some tips on how to work with schools and how to start.  At about 10:15 we all headed to the White House.  It was quite a sight, 600 chefs from 37 states leaving the hotel and walking a couple of blocks to get in line.  There was security you know.

As we stood in line we met new people, chatted with our friends, wondered if the line would ever move and tried to cheer up the Colorado chefs who were really suffering in the heat and humidity.  We were in line about an hour before we got to the first check point.  One of the new people I met was Rochelle who is a member of WCR and owner of ChefWear (www.chefwear.com).  She brought chef jackets for the entire Obama family including the first dog.  Yes I took a picture of the cute gift bags and the chef line.



Once we reached the beginning of the line, we formed into 3 single lines where there was an official person checking our names off the list.  I was hoping I was on the list since we had received no confirmation.  I made it through, he crossed off my name.  Eight more feet and there was another official person with a list and he too was crossing off names.  Made it through that too!

Once through the name checkers we went through the little room with the xray machines.  We had been told what not to bring and that if we had any of the not approved items that we would not be going inside.  We were allowed to take cameras, purses and phones though.  I made it through again!

Once through there we headed up a driveway and there it was, the White House!  Lots of chefs taking lots of pictures.  The Marine band was also playing.



I was surprised that once inside it was very relaxed.  We were just roaming free.  I know there were boundaries and there were Secret Service police and Marines all around, but they were very unseen.  We mingled, went to the garden, chatted and had well needed water. 

The garden is beautiful and I took lots of pictures of the First Garden. 









We mingled and took pictures until about 11:45 when there was some signal and we all moved close to the White House to the rows and rows of chairs set up.  We added some people after the breakfast so I would guess there were about 1000 chairs set up for 1000 chefs. 

The White House assistant chef Sam Kass spoke first and introduced the speakers - chefs from DC with their school principals.  They spoke on what they were doing, how things started, how things had grown.  After that Chef Kass introduced The First Lady and she spoke to us.  She is very invested in helping kids and families learn to eat better and have better choices available.  I got some pictures, a little difficult but I tried.



The program ended at 1:00 and we were told to remain seated until the First Lady was away from the lawn.  She was going to the garden to harvest and cook with kids.  We left and are ready for the next step.  I got a picture of one of the boundary keepers.  I asked first and he was very nice. 



I went back to the hotel, changed out of the chef uniform.  It was 90 degrees and sunny in Washington on Friday.  I went to the Renwick Gallery and then to Restaurant Nora (www.noras.com) for a delicious dinner.  Nora Pouillon is also a member of WCR and is very much dedicated to organic eating and sustainability.  This was a very nice dinner. 



Saturday was the long drive back to Georgia, about 11 hours and then dinner of chicken soup from the freezer.  Perfect comfort food.  Today is relaxing mostly and getting ready for my first week's session of kid's cooking camp at The Cook's Warehouse tomorrow. 

I had a great birthday weekend with little to no time on the computer!  Friday I met a friend for tea and made cupcakes for my birthday.  I always like to get my cake done the day before so if I want, I can have cake for my birthday breakfast.

We went out to dinner Friday night, I closed the kitchen after the cupcakes were done.  We went to Greenwood's and I had trout, collard greens and cheese grits.  Delicious.  Once home we had Lemon Meringue Cupcakes for dessert.  No need to wait for breakfast!



Saturday morning I was awake early and off to Jazzercise at 7:15.  If you are going to eat lots of birthday cupcakes you have to be a little practical.  Once done with Jazzercise it was home for a quick breakfast and to get ready for the day.

We had decided to go to DeSoto Falls since it was such a beautiful day and I packed a picnic.  I am not a cold sandwich person so my cooler had shrimp, cocktail sauce, guacamole, cheese, oranges, salad, crackers, Perrier and cupcakes. 

We did the walk of 1/4 mile first to the lower falls and then the 3/4 mile walk to the upper falls.  What a perfect first day of spring !







After the walk we had our lunch.  We're taking a class at church on Wednesday evenings and have homework to do for that every week, so we did that sitting by the stream in the sun. 

I had a very nice birthday.  Today we woke up to cooler weather and rain.  No outside stuff today.  I have a roast planned for dinner and I'll post the recipe if we like it.  This will be the first time I've cooked a tri tip cut of beef. 

Now I'm going to read the paper and maybe knit a little.  It's still my birthday weekend!

So it's time for Ground Hog Day again already.  It seems like we just celebrated.  I'm not sure what I'm making for a treat for tomorrow, it will have to be something though.

I'm still trying to use up the pantry and the freezer and so far, so good.  We did go out to dinner on Saturday, we tried a new place after we did some shopping.  We went to Six Feet Under.

I had the scallop tacos and they were delicious and my husband went with the fried catfish.  He said his was good too.  I tried a Six Feet Under Lemonade and it was pretty tasty too.  Just one though to relax after a hard day of shopping.

Sunday I made dinner, I used cube steaks that were in the freezer.  I didn't want Chicken Fried Steak so went with another of my standbys for cube steak.  I did of course still have mashed potatoes and some spinach from the freezer.

Cube Steaks Dijon from Bon Appetit March 2003
serves 4

2 12-ounce cube steaks
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/3 cup dry vermouth (I used chardonnay since I had chardonnay)
1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half (I didn't have enough cream so used a little with half and half)
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard

Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks in single layer and cook until browned, turning once, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to work surface; cut each steak in half.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sage; sauté until soft, about 30 seconds. Add vermouth; boil until slightly reduced, about 30 seconds. Stir in cream and mustard. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide steaks among plates, spoon sauce over, and serve.

Tonight is more meat and another repeat with Sloppy Joes from Ellie Krieger.  They do contain beans, bell pepper and tomatoes so not just all meat.  We'll also be having the last package of applesauce from the freezer unless I discover a pack or two hidden as I continue to use up things.

Not that I make resolutions, but one thing I wanted to get back on track with was following the Fly Lady schedule which helps me keep my life in balance.  Per the Fly Lady, Saturday is family fun day.

I started the day with no Jazzercise.  The 7:15 class was canceled because of the weather and the others were too late for me.  I was working for KitchenAid at the Whole Foods in Buckhead.  I used the wonderful food processor and the immersion blender to show people how easy and delicious it is to cook. 

Since we have had so many cold days, soup was perfect for the day.  Many people didn't go out at all on Friday due to the ice and touch of snow, so people were ready to get out. 

Creamy Potato Chowder
serves 4

2 tablespoons butter
4 green onions, sliced
1 rib celery, sliced
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
14 ounces chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk

1. Using the food processor, slice the celery and onion.  Heat the butter in the saucepan.  Add onions and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. While the onions and celery cook, slice the potatoes using the food processor.
   
3. Add the broth, pepper and potatoes to the pan.  Heat to a boil.  Cover and cook over low heat 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
   
4. Add the broth and milk to the pan and using the immerison blender, blend the soup to the desired consistency.  Heat through and serve.
   

Amelia from the KitchenAid Culinary Center on Peachtree was working with me and I asked her to take a picture.  She is a pretty good photographer!



I had a good time at Whole Foods and people were amazed at how easily the immersion blender smoothed the soup.  And at how tasty the soup was.  I left there at 3 and headed home to get ready to go out to dinner. 

My stepdaughter and her husband came to Atlanta on Friday to go to a basketball game.  They spent Saturday shopping and we met them for dinner.  I gave them a couple of choices and they chose Flip Burger Boutique.  For those of you who watch Top Chef, this is Richard Blais's restaurant. 

I guess everyone who stayed home on Friday decided to go out for burgers on Saturday!  There are no reservations, but the wait wasn't bad.  Chrissy and Chuck got there before we did and got our names on the list.  The food was good, everyone enjoyed their meals.  I got the Crab Burger -  jumbo lump crab, green curry coconut sauce, pickled apples, micro greens.  I also got the Parmesan Zucchini Fries and split a Krispy Kreme liquid nitrogen shake with my husband.  Very nice dinner and fun family evening. 

Today is still cold.  I ventured out for groceries.  My husband isn't feeling great, he's had a cold for a while and I am not the best nurse.  I did make pumpkin pancakes this morning and will be making a hot dinner tonight.  We have tea, Kleenex and I keep reminding him to wash his hands! 

Friday was a day of running around for me.  I was KitchenAid Carlin, I made it to the dollar store and found what I needed, and we went out to dinner.  By the time we headed out to dinner we were both hungry but decided on a place that sounded like what we needed for dinner.

We got to the restaurant, there was a wait, I headed to a clear area to stand and happened to see the rating sheet and saw the total was 84!  Okay, benefit of the doubt, I read it to see what the actual violations were.  They were all for holding food at correct temperatures, receiving food at correct temperatures, storing food at correct temperatures, and heating to correct temperatures.  This could all cause food borne illness, so I went up to the hostess and told her we had to leave and go to another restaurant.  She asked why and I explained nicely.  She assured me that things weren't that bad, but I assured her there was no way I'd be able to eat there. 

I know I drive my husband crazy and myself too because we were both hungry and tired and now had to get to another place to eat and probably wait again.  But we did, had a good dinner and even got a little shopping done after dinner.  I will have to start checking ratings more.

Saturday was my class at Cook's Warehouse in Ansley Mall with the 6 to 9 year olds.  We made Gifts from the Kitchen and had a great time.  We made Banana Split Bark, Cranberry Orange Cookies and Peppermint Bark Hearts.  They also packaged some to take home in cute little containers I found at the dollar store.









Banana Split Bark from Pillsbury

16 ounces chocolate flavored candy coating, chopped
2 dried pineapple rings, coarsely chopped, about 1/2 cup
3/4 cup dried sweetened banana chips, broken into pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips

1. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In 2 quart saucepan, melt chocolate coating over low heat, stirring constantly.
   
3. In medium bowl mix pineapple, banana chips, pecans and cherries, reserve 1/2 cup.
4. Add remaining fruit mixture to melted candy, toss to coat.
   
5. Cool 5 minutes at room temperature then gently fold in the baking chips. 
   
6. Spread mixture evenly into 12x9 inch rectangle on cookie sheet, sprinkle with reserved mixture.
   
7. Cool until set, about 30 minutes.
   
8. Break into pieces, store in an airtight container. 

Yesterday I had a few hours as KitchenAid Carlin and then attended a party.  I had a good time, some food, lots of chatting with people, home and ready to sleep by 9:30!

Today is busy too.  I am heading to Jazzercise this morning because I have a class at the Y tonight.  I'm shopping this morning for the party I'm donating tomorrow for The Beacon of Hope client Christmas party.  I've been doing this party for probably 10 years.  This year the expectation is 40 people but we really have no idea. 

My friend Kevin helps out with the party so I'll call her when I'm ready to shop.  Tomorrow she'll help me cook and serve the meal.  This year is easier because some of the Sunday school groups at church wanted to help so they are taking care of desserts and drinks. 

Kevin and I are doing shrimp,cheese and crackers for starters, beef, potatoes, green beans, and bread for dinner.  I have to go to Jazzercise now and get ready for the day. 

I had a great trip and a great conference so I think this will be two postings to get all the pictures in.  I also have a haircut appointment soon, so need to get ready for that.  Nothing gets in the way of a haircut!

If you followed on Facebook, some of this will be repeated, but in case you didn't friend me, you won't miss any of the trip.

Since I enjoy driving I decided to drive to Washington DC but knew I wanted my trip to take 2 days on the way up.  Since I needed to stop, I decided on Richmond and thought I could do some tourist things there.  A good decision.  I got there about 7 on Thursday night, found something to eat and went to sleep.  Driving is hard.

The next morning I knew I wanted to tour Maymont (www.maymont.org)  and maybe something else and I set out with my iphone and tour book.  I found it!  Richmond was a little confusing with many one way streets and the river and all.  It was a little cloudy and grey but wonderful.  I went through the gardens first.  The description says gardens but we're talking 100 acres of planned and wild area bordering the James River. 







After touring the gardens and the mansion, no pictures allowed inside the mansion, I had lunch in Richmond at Millie's, went to a quilt shop and bought fabric for my next quilt and then relaxed at the hotel.  I was having a mini vacation after all. 

I was planning on some additional tourist things in Richmond on Saturday, but it was raining pretty heavily when I woke up, so I checked the tour book and decided to head north and hope the rain let up.  I headed for Fredericksburg and had a great time. 

I toured an apothecary that made me very glad we don't use some of the tried and true cures that were used in the past.  I toured a tavern that was owned by George Washington's brother Charles.  It was a high end tavern and never had more than 5 people in a bed. 

The people giving the tours were in costume and very knowledgeable.  The town is pretty, nice shops and beautiful houses.  I had lunch at Castiglia's and it was fantastic.  Not fancy but I had a chicken, spinach, mushroom calzone and it was the best I've ever had. 

After lunch I decided to head to Washington DC and finish the driving part of my trip.  I got slightly turned around at a bridge, but not actually lost.  The very nice security guards looked at my directions, pointed me back and showed me the turn.  I made it to the hotel about 3:30 and checked in.

More to follow.  I have lots of pictures and menus to catch up with.  I think maybe more than 2 postings.  Now to further ground myself in reality - laundry.

Maybe not a real vacation, but I didn't work and did some touristy things, so I am counting the time as vacation.  I've been pretty busy this summer so the break was good.

Last Wednesday we packed lots into the car and headed to Pittsburgh, PA.  We left at 6:30 am and were in Pittsburgh by 6.  Perfect!  I had made reservations at Lidia's for dinner because it's good, it was close to the hotel and we were going to be hungry.  We walked over from the hotel which was great after being in the car for so long.  We had a wonderful meal and then back to the hotel.

Thursday morning we headed to The Strip and had breakfast at DeLuca's and wandered around a little.  Even though we were stuffed, we got some snacks for the zoo at the biscotti bakery.  We headed to the zoo and had a good time wandering and looking at animals.  The animals were pretty lively since it was such a nice day.  We saw the polar bears diving, swimming and playing.  Pictures later, there are tons on my husband's camera. 

We had dinner at Church Brew Works and it was excellent.  Neither of us like beer so can't talk about that, they brew their own, but I did have home made birch beer and it was good.  It's been a long time since I've had any.  After dinner we headed to my sister's house to visit with family and see the bride and groom to be.  We stayed several hours, tasted several kinds of cookies to make sure they were good for wedding guests and then back to the hotel.

We had limited free time on Friday so we headed to the North Shore, found a tiny, older and good place for breakfast and headed to the National Aviary.  We had a fantastic time.  We got to feed birds, pictures coming, see bird shows, learn about birds, I highly recommend the aviary.  I hadn't been since grade school field trips. 

Friday evening was the rehearsal and dinner and all went well.  Lots of crying but happy crying.  Saturday was the big day but we managed a few hours of touring the South Side.  Many, many wedding pictures. 

Sunday we headed to my sister's house to open presents and had a couple cookies and some wedding cake.  The cake was excellent.  It was a raspberry batter with chocolate filling.  We visited all afternoon and then headed back to the hotel. 

We needed some food that was not cookies or cake and we went back to the South Side to see what we could find.  We found a great place Yo Rita and had tacos.  I had one mushroom and one ahi tuna and was in heaven. 

Today is back to work!  I have a new personal chef customer tomorrow and have my paperwork done.  I'm teaching at CBA Thursday and Friday and have a class at church tonight.  And a library program Saturday.  And then maybe a little break by the pool next week!

So I'm back from Pittsburgh.  I left last Thursday morning and came back last night.  I drove because I enjoy driving.  I stayed over Thursday night since there was a huge thunderstorm in West Virginia and I was tired.  I decided it was better to rest since I estimated I had 3 hours left to drive.  Good decision.

I got to my sister's about 10 Friday morning and yes I brought the laptop so I could blog and check email.  No, it did not work.  I used my sister's laptop to keep up with email but decided to vacation from blogging.  Since we were having technical difficulties we decided we needed food and went to Carl's for burgers, fish and zucchini.  I need to go there every time I visit.  Luckily my sister Connie likes it and my sister Cathy was there too and approved.  Once we finished lunch we knew we needed dessert for later in the evening so went to Moio's.  Another must. 

No website for Carl's, it is really not very fancy but they are in the process of adding a deck.  They were working on it Friday.  There is a website for Moio's and is a complete contrast to Carl's.  Both very good though.  We spent the evening visiting with neighbors and my niece and her fiance who stopped by after work.  We had pizza, it was a pretty full day of eating.

Saturday my sisters and I decided to go to the Strip.  My nephew had a birthday party to go to so we were on our own.  We needed to get shrimp and steaks for dinner and whatever else we saw.  Even though it was pouring, we all had rain slickers and were fine.  We went to Penzey's and stocked up and we ate some more. 

We decided on brunch at DeLuca's.  There was still a short line at 12:30 but it's worth the wait.  Again, not fancy but delicious!  It's only open until 3 so keep that in mind. Again no website but I did get pictures.

We headed home to pick up bridesmaid's dresses and to get a quick nap.  My sister Connie, who was the chauffer, then got us over to my niece's house where I cooked dinner with my nephew Jake.  Cathy got good pictures and will send them.  We had Linguine with Scampi, Roasted Asparagus, Garlic Bread, Salad and steaks on the grill.  And cake - German Chocolate or Black Forest. 

Sunday was the shower and my niece's friends came over early to get things ready.  They left about 11 with my sister Connie, Connie told Cathy and me that we were responsible for getting Cristine to the shower.  Not a problem since it was not a surprise, Cristine was picking us up and Cristine loves presents.  The shower was beautiful.  No games were played, we had lunch, cake, watched the gift opening and had themed basket raffles.  The girls did a lot of work, my niece has great friends.

After the shower we headed back to Connie's to chat, relax, not eat, and plan the evening.  We took some family pictures while we were still dressed from the shower.  One with the 3 aunts and Cristine, one of Ryan and Cristine. 

We didn't stay dressed very long because while I like animals, my sister really loves animals.  Connie has 5 dogs, Cathy brought her dog and apparently I sat on the best chair in the house.  I was swarmed. 

We have 2 corgis, 1 big fluffy dog, 1 toy Pomeranian, 2 Corgi/Shih Tzu puppies.  Connie claims this is her reading chair and this is normal.  I didn't think we could all fit, but I was wrong.  I should have gotten a new picture Friday night when Cristine brought her Shih Tzu and Corgi/Shih Tzu mix.  I'm not sure 2 more would fit.

I left yesterday morning to make the drive back.  The weather was nice and sunny and cool and I made it home in about 11 1/2 hours.  I don't stop much while I drive.  Now back to normal with only 3 cats. 

Spring is the season for weather changes.  In Georgia we can go through many seasons in a week especially this March.  While listening to the weather on the news on Thursday I heard the meterologist announce a flood warning through Saturday night.  We need rain in the area, we've been going through a drought, but it's hard to imagine days and days of rain.  The weather report was correct!

Friday I braved the rain to go cut my haircut.  Pretty much nothing gets in the way of a haircut.  While I was out I went to the bank and then home to do some work.  I was meeting my WCR co-coordinator for lunch at a tea house she read about.  I left in the rain again and thought tea was a good idea for all the rain.

We had a very nice lunch at The Roswell Teahouse and will be planning a Tea Basics Workshop there for the end of April.  If anyone is interested, let me know.  It will be for WCR members and open to non-members.  The owner is very gracious, loves tea and loves to cook using fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. 

Saturday it was still raining, a lot, and I decided I had been to Jazzercise enough that week.  My husband had not though and off he went in the rain.  I thought about breakfast and decided on a scramble with eggs, sharp cheddar, grape tomatoes, bacon and fresh chives.  We also had cornbread left from Friday night.  I did not eat while he was exercising, I waited and we had breakfast together.

We discussed plans for the day - go to the mall?, get groceries? and we decided we needed to stay in the house where it was dry.   I spent a good portion of the day working on an essay that I needed so I could apply for a scholarship to a cooking program in Italy.  I sent off all necessary pieces today and now have to wait and see what happens.  I would love to go and learn with the mammas. 

Sunday we left the house, not raining but much cooler.  We went to church, to get groceries, home for breakfast, read the paper and then headed out for our fun time.  I belong to a group called The Culinary Historians of Atlanta and we had planned a field trip to the Soul Food Museum with lunch at Thelma's.  Yes, pretty much everything I do relates to food. 

We had a great time, about 15 of us, first to Thelma's.  As you walk up to the restaurant you smell the wonderful aroma of smoke for barbecue.  It is not a fancy place, but very good.  I had a vegetable plate with sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese and collard greens.  Delicious, especially the sweet potatoes.  My husband had excellent fried chicken, some had ribs, dressing, black eyed peas, everyone was happy.  They are now open on Sunday.

 

After our fun field trip we even made it to the mall for some necessary shopping.  Not as much fun as the field trip but needed. 

Today I have some office work.  I have been invited to teach a class on Thursday night at Campbell High School and want to get ready for that.  Hopefully I will have pictures of the class in the wonderful culinary center they have.