Going Home…

After one whole year away from all the beautiful people I love dearly and have MISSED EVERY SINGLE DAY(like you wouldn’t even understand) I simply had to go home.

My life would of course be much easier if all of my friends and family were located in the same city, but like most families, they are strewn out around the United States.

It’s always going to be challenging to see all of the folks that I would like to when I visit. It’s simply not possible. I will also miss weddings, births, and killer dinner parties whilst I’m abroad.

This is just a sad reality of my spectacularly fun new life. ;(

We flew into Cleveland first because that’s where a big chunk of my family live.

My beautiful Aunts did their best to make our stay the most relaxing and fun few days imaginable…

I even got to spend some quality time with the family pets!

And no trip to CLE is complete without stopping by Cedar Point.

We rodes some epic and terrifying coasters…

Ate some massive BBQ turkey legs…

Then we passed out from jet lag exhaustion!

Followed by a quick flight to Nashville!!

I immediately had a bar party and invited everyone to come out and give me a year’s worth of hugs.

They complied!

Toasts were made…

I was so excited to spend time with some of my besties…

And baby!

OOooohhh baby!

This one made me want one of my own…

Even with fussy scrunched up sad baby face…

There were lots of babies being made whilst I was away…

Big fat squooshy pretty babies!!!

And some of the babies I knew a year ago weren’t babies anymore, but little tiny people…

Simon made some new friends as well…Of the furry variety…

And the wacky-conspiracy-theory-Jesus-loving-rocker-chick variety…

Crazy girls are the hottest. Always. That is a fact.

LOVE YOU LALA. Forevs. PS. Her Dad MIGHT be Ziggy Stardust. FYI.

Moving on…

My mom was as pretty as I remember her being…

My brother was still a massive fantasy football dweeb…

Gorgeous sunny Murphmurph was just as gorgeous and sunny as ever…

Becca was still awesome and smart and sharing her love of great food…

She and her fantastic fiance took us out to Dinner at Silo http://www.silotn.com

Exceptional and elevated Southern cuisine welcoming me home proved to be JUST what I needed…

Especially deviled eggs three ways…

Deep fried greenbeans…

And pork belly…

We even visited my beloved Bombay Palace http://www.bombaypalacetn.com/

They were all super excited to see me too! Awwwwww!

Actually, we did a lot of eating.

And of course, we had to work some of it off…

No better place than Edwin Warner Park…

So that was our trip back to Nashville via Cleveland. A ton of photos I know, but some super wonderful days with friends and family! Hopefully I’ll be back sooner than later and can see more of my loved ones this time! See ya soon Nashville xx

One last Spain post for my foodies…

I just wanted to share some of the food I DEVOURED in Spain for those of you who live to eat…

I promise I’ll be quick!

A simple lunch…

Followed by a decadent dinner…

Tomato and goat cheese salad

Beef carpaccio with sheep’s-milk cheese

Tuna carpaccio with pink peppercorn and dill

Filet mignon with foie

Vanilla bean panna cotta with black currants…

Me pre-FACESTUFF

Me in action!

Grilled calamari for another yummy lunch…

A little scampi party…

Tasty tapas…

That is all! I hope you salivated at least a little!

Next up: LONG overdue Nashville Trip posts!!!

Christmas in Spain…

Hi Friends. Sorry it takes me forever and ever to post lately.
I’m a busy little worker bee in hustle-y bustle-y ole Londontown. You must forgive me!

Needless to say, spending Christmas in Spain was exceptionally cool (as you have probably surmised from my last few posts).

I don’t celebrate Christmas for religious reasons (because I’m not a religious lady) but to be honest, I LOVE the aesthetic of Christmas.

Big fat glittery Christmas trees and shiny foil wrapping paper get me all swoony inside.

Eggnog, chocolate truffles, and roasted meat? Yes please.

To get to do, see, and experience all of these things in fancy pants Spain with my beautiful and FUN Spanish family was simply the best.

There was so much food. So many presents. It was quite simply the loveliest and merriest of Christmases I could imagine ever having.

I present it to you with limited comment!

The boys worked hard to prepare Christmas dinner…

They even served everyone!

My paleo plate!

The wine began to flow and so did the laughter!

And then the machetes?

And of course…dishes were tackled…

Snuggles were had…

Feliz Navidad!!!!! xx

TEA. A Love Affair.

I have always loved tea.

Growing up in the South, iced tea is generally part of daily existence.

Iced Sweet tea, Iced Green Tea, Iced Peach Tea, Iced Passionfruit Tea…the varieties are endless.

I’ve never really gotten into hot tea as much (aside from wintry days where my throat is highly unhappy).

A few years ago I stumbled upon Teavana in the Green Hills Mall and developed a very serious crush with the place.

http://www.teavana.com

But they are SO EXPENSIVE. And they try to up-sell you to death.
It got to the point where I didn’t even want to make eye contact with the sales associates when I went into the store.
They also don’t tell you that the canisters they put the tea in cost extra (or at least failed to mention that to me any of the 50 times I bought tea).
And some of the “teas” don’t even contain tea at all. Just sweetened dried fruit & flowers…but they still call it “TEA”.
(Is there not a rule against this)?

Anyway, I still love tea.

To be more accurate, I’m pretty much obsessed with hot tea since I moved to the UK.
Specifically Earl Grey.

At first, it’s a little weird that everyone is always going on and on about having a “cuppa” tea all the damn time.
But I quickly realized that I had never had Earl Grey tea with milk & sugar before.

MY BRAIN——-> WAIT A MINUTE! THIS IS EFFING STELLAR!

A hot cup of tea can fix your soul.

Part of the joy of tea is the ceremony…

And adorable china…

And having a hot tea date…

I can’t stop drinking it. I crave it!
I have even been using agave syrup and soy milk to be healthier.
It has fully replaced coffee in my life.
I know…THAT’S CRAZY TALK!

I order it everywhere we go.

I just can’t help myself.

And people here even drink it alongside their meals. Even with cheeseburgers!
(By the way, I ate a cheeseburger the other day and it was phenomenally delicious).

See? DELICIOUS!

So, long story short, tea is important. Drink it and feel better.

Now, how about I leave you with some spectacular street art from my travels around Brick Lane in London?

And of course, lest you forget…The Beginning is Nigh!

Nutella + Banana + Melted Cheese + New Camera = Magic

My camera is awesome. I’m loving the macro capabilities and I decided to test them out on my breakfast yesterday.
Check it out.

Banana & Nutella on Toasted Wheat Bread and a simple Cheddar Cheese Omelet.

It’s like you could just reach through your computer screen and take a bite! I love it!

Here is a close up of some crispy cheesey omelet overflow:

Oh man it feels so good to be able to take pictures with a REAL camera again! I love my iPhone but SRSLY…NOT a real camera by any means…

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Buttermilk Pound Cake.

Dieter’s beware. This is the real deal knock-you-over-and-steal-your-purse kind of pound cake.

(Hi Tam, sorry about your purse)

This recipe is definitely not good for your body, but I swear on a pile of unicorn puppies that it is undoubtedly amazing for both your mouth and your soul.

UNICORN PUPPIES!!!!

I don’t know why I decided to try to master pound cake.
I never even think about pound cake until it’s being shoved under my nose at holiday dinners.
I mean, I liiiiiiiiike it. But it just seems so boring by itself.
Is this one of those moments where I’m supposed to value simplicity?
Let’s see about that…

I took the buttermilk pound cake recipe from Alton Brown’s recipe here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/buttermilk-pound-cake-recipe/index.html

I have made it a couple of times with varying results.

When I followed Alton’s recipe baking one hour at 375, the middle was still squishy but the top was browning far too quickly and I had to lower the temperature to 325 and bake another 15 minutes with aluminum foil over the pans.

NOT FUN.

I take it personally when things I make don’t turn out as expected.
(Mom, this is exactly the reason I don’t want to do this for a living, but I appreciate your continued support)

When I baked the pound cake in two loaf pans, I lowered the temp to 350 and added an extra 15 minutes and it came out perfectly, but when I tried a bundt cake or tube pan, the bottom was about 90% cooked.

Damn it.

Well, whatever. Baking is trial and error. It’s just that I don’t get this bad boy until my birthday…

(Again, Mom, thanks for the support!!)

So, for now I’m having to hand mix it all (I know…boo hoo) and it takes twice as long since Alton’s recipe is an exact science and you TOTALLY have to follow it to the letter (except for the baking temperature issue…I’m not sure about that…maybe my oven is messed up)

I’m stubborn, and I realize that I could just wait to try to master this when I have my magic stand mixer, but I just never listen to anyone.

Especially my inner voice.

This recipe is also different from Alton’s in that I took the liberty to add both a cup of mini semi-sweet morsels as well as two tablespoons of cinnamon!!!
SO MUCH FOR BORING. HELLO FANCY DELICIOUS!

(If you like your pound cake less cinnamony or chocolatey you can always half that amount, or omit it altogether, but I’d like to go on the record and state that I don’t think you should)

So here is the picture of the bundt pan about to head into the oven:

This turned out so-so. Almost perfect. But NOT PERFECT. But delicious. It got eaten.

Remember it is also important that all of your ingredients are room temperature. I don’t know why, other than Alton Brown says so. So do it.

It’s Science or something.

Oh!! Here is a gorgeous picture of one of the uber-successful loafs that were quickly devoured by loved ones:

This loaf was split between my Mom and Dad as well as my best friend Abigail and her wonderful family …And she FINALLY HAD HER BABY BABY!

If you don’t remember, she accompanied me on one of several of my journeys to Monell’s…

http://gimmeyummy.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/review-monells-germantown/

Is he not the most adorable little thing ever???????

Okay. Calm down ovaries. There is time left.

Back to the sweets…
So…look at that right there…I mean, why would you ever want less chocolate in anything?

Trust me. Make this.

Food Review: Ryvita Pumpkin Seeds & Oats Crispbread

I grabbed this on a PMS whim at the store a few months ago because it was still Autumn-ish outside and this sounded like something that I could use as a vehicle to consume cheese.

I also hopped on the pumpkin craze bandwagon this year, so I was curious to see how far it would take me.

Other than being slightly cardboardish, these are very much like Triscuits, but better, and not salty (which I was very happy about)
Triscuits are for losers.
They give me headaches with all that godforsaken salt.
These are fancy UK Triscuits for grown-ups.
These were hearty, nutty, and served their purpose dutifully.
There are also a ton of flavors….
http://www.ryvita.co.uk/

Pesto Pasta with Veggies

I’m officially a no good very bad food blog slacker.
But I make delicious pasta!

Cook the pasta, steam the veggies, add pesto/parmesan to taste…
Mix all of this together and magic happens in your mouth.

This is the easiest thing to whip together in a bind!

Linguine with Shrimp, Thai Ginger Peanut Sauce, Spinach, & Almonds.

P1080726, originally uploaded by Jamie Susan.

I have found that even the most dubious of hangovers, heartbreaks, and hungers can be cured, solved, and satiated by Thai spices.
Try it. Seriously. It seeps into your soul and sets life back on track no matter what your issues may be.
Just look at that big, fat, seductive shrimp glaring at you.
The Peanut & Ginger sauce. Shhhooooo weeeee!!
That’s living!

Miro District Nashville

My best friend in the whole wide world ran away to the mountains and eloped with the love of her life a few weeks ago! So naturally when she came back to town I took her out on a fancy date to celebrate!!
We went to Miro District in hopes of having a nice quiet French meal fit for a newly married goddess and her bestie (that’s me).
Despite hearing a couple of not-so-great things about this place, I had also received some positive feedback, specifically that they had acquired a new chef recently who means business with French inspired cuisine.
The decor in Miro District is clean and simple. A white table cloth kinda place that has zero personality.
Let’s hope the food is better.
We ordered a couple of small plates to start with which we devoured like wild animals.
Success!!
Sauteed chicken livers with little toast rounds and fresh apple…Oh man!
Delicious! Hearty, velvety, dark, and perfect for the season.
I haven’t had Chicken Livers since I was a little girl, but hot damn they are divine!
Maybe it was the lighting issues I was combating and perhaps it is just that Chicken Livers are difficult to make beautiful no matter what, but the pictures of the chicken livers came out so horribly that I must spare you.
We also split the Goat Cheese Tart with arugula salad and fig jam.
Delightful! Much like a tangy savory cheesecake.

This was followed by a heavenly entree of Swordfish atop razor-thin sliced potatoes in a soft buttery lemon infused broth with herbs and carrot slivers.

Nicely done. I could have drank that broth with a straw if I was so inclined.
My super special awesome just-got-hitched best friend ordered this hearty brown stew of fava beans, mushrooms, and braised rabbit (which like the chicken livers, was not very pretty to gaze upon….again I held off on the photo representation…)
But the meal was lovely. She took a bite of mine, I took a bite of hers. We laughed, we commiserated, we enjoyed our food!
We both agreed that we should go camping with that stew. Perfect bonfire deep woods fare!
My Swordfish was perfect and the Chicken Livers I actually dreamed about eating the very next night!
Unfortunately, the dessert options were as boring as the decor.
Bread Pudding, Vanilla Ice Cream & Berries, Creme Brulee……YAWN.
We went ahead and ordered the Creme Brulee, because we just wanted something sweet.
It was actually really tasty (despite the complete lack of garnish. No berries, no mint…nothing).

(This photo isn’t that spectacular either, but I was having kind of an off night with the photography so you know, whatever).
But you see what I mean about it being utterly boring?
Guh. Next time perhaps.

Camera issues and boring dessert options aside, the food was really top-notch and I was very pleased with what we ordered.
There are more and more excellent restaurants popping up around Nashville so it is extremely important to stay on top of your game and consistently create creative and playful dishes that represent the season accurately. Other than the boring decor and snoozefest of a dessert menu, Miro District succeeded at impressing us enough to win our return visit.

http://www.mirodistrictnashville.com