This & That

For a four-day work week, last week felt rather long. 

The on-going purge of things in my life continued with the selling of over 100 DVDs on decluttr.com. I am mailing them off tomorrow and should receive a check soon after. My many years of DVD collecting was piling up and I wasn't actually watching many of them. It feels good to get them out of my space.

Along the same purging lines, I plan on taking a few books to a local "Little Free Library". I have seen them around New Orleans but have never taken or given a book before. I heard a blurb about them on the radio a few weeks back and looked into how it works. Sounds like a fun way to give books away! The alternative would be Goodwill or Salvation Army.

The mosquitoes have found me. Grrrr.

Took a trip down memory lane with a viewing of The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under on Netflix. I watched Disney movies as a young kid but not as I have gotten older. It has been at least 20+ years since I had seen either of those animated adventures.

How is tomorrow June?! 2015 is flying by! Seems like Mardi Gras was yesterday!!

Songza = awesome music app! Similar to Pandora in that you can choose what you listen to based off of a genre, artist or song, but Songza has other features: moods and activities! So you can select a station to listen to while you cook, or while you're studying, or getting ready for a night out, or cleaning the house. You can say you're feeling rowdy, or calm or fancy. They have stations to go along with a ton of things! 

Mad Max: Fury Road

I saw Mad Max: Fury Road and, surprisingly, did not hate it. A few circumstances led to my screening of this action packed film. 1) the power went out at my house, 2) the estimated restoration time was hours away, 3) there were torrential downpours occurring every few minutes preventing outdoor activities, and 4) I had already viewed all of the other movies playing that I cared to see.

Honestly I had very little knowledge about what I was about to see. I had not heard of, much less seen, any of the original trilogy starring Mel Gibson in the title role. Despite my ignorance, I don't think it hindered my comprehension of the plot. My boiled down description of the film is a steampunk-meets-futuristic-rednecks action flick, set in a post-nuclear war savaged, dystopian hellscape. Sounds fun right?


For the full effect I figured I may as well go big and take in all three dimensions! Those classic, plastic glasses have come a long way in the line of comfort since 3D became a popular viewing option. The powerful, and loud, score had my mind wandering to what it must have been like to record such intense orchestral pieces! Overall a very dynamic experience of both site and sound.

As is my M.O., I have since done some reading up on the film and watched many YouTube videos. One in particular, some B-roll footage, was exciting because of it's behind-the-scenes look at the stunts and props. Super cool for a non-film industry person to see!

In the end I judge films on how well they keep my attention since I tend to lose focus easily, but this two hour adventure kept me intrigued until the last scene. It also enhanced my growing crush on Tom Hardy, mainly because he is not an over-powering, macho type hero character here. His voice though, sigh, it gets me every time. 

Fiesta in a Bowl

Pinterest came through with a delightful, one dish fiesta recipe that I gave a whirl last week. I would make it again with a few tweaks. This was my first time trying ground turkey and I was not a fan. Possibly prepared another way, but if I made this particular dish again I would go with beef or perhaps no meat at all. Cooking for one lends itself to a lot of leftovers, so I ate on this pot for a few days. I only had avocado on top for my first bowl and this photo :) I did make a point to add chopped cilantro to each serving though!

• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 lb. ground turkey 
• 2 cups uncooked penne pasta 
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce 
• 1 Roma tomato, diced 
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted 
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed 
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced 
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 
  
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground turkey & cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the meat as it cooks; drain excess fat. 
• 
  
• Stir in pasta, salsa, chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-16 minutes. 
• 
  
• Stir in tomato, corn and black beans, and gently toss to combine. Stir in cheese until melted through, about 1-2 minutes. 
• 
  
• Serve immediately, topped with avocado and cilantro.

Jazz Fest Again

Jazz Fest was rough this year. If it had been my first experience, it would certainly have been my last. There were thousands upon thousands of people crammed in to the Fairgrounds on Saturday when Cori and I headed in. Some reports I read said between 90-100k. It didn't take long to discover that there was no chance in hell of getting anywhere near the main stage so we settled for a spot where we could see one of the large screens.

Jerry Lee Lewis from said large screen.

Looking out over the crowd at the flags.

There was an airplane writing inspiring words and phrases along with smiley faces and hearts in the sky over Jazz Fest. That was probably my favorite part of the entire day. 

Sir Elton John. We stayed through Tiny Dancer, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Candle in the Wind, Bennie and the Jets, and Rocket Man before making our exit.

More airplane sky art :)

On our way out we caught a glimpse of rapper T.I.'s performance as well as Ed Sheeran serenading the crowd at his stage. All in all the masses really cramped my style and put me in a bad mood. To be persuaded to return will call for an appearance by someone that I really want to see!

Crawfish!!!

Cori and I indulged in six pounds of wonderfully spicy crawfish at Lucy's the first evening she was in town! It was glorious. She is a claw meat master! I don't have the patience to make it happen and prefer to plow through the tails instead. I also have no time for the extra stuff they throw in: corn, potatoes, sausage, etc. GIVE ME THE CRAWFISH!

Salon by Sucré

Prior to the official opening of Salon by Sucré at 622 Conti Street in the French Quarter I was able to partake in a soft opening. Sara, her friend Jonathan and I sat together and tried lots of tasty plates including the duck, scallops, beef tartare, and beet salad. Now that Salon is up and running Cori and I went to check it out during her spring visit. We had the pleasure of dining on the balcony overlooking the spirited French Quarter. Please enjoy our dinner via photographs and know that everything tasted wonderful!

I sipped on an Old Fashioned while perusing the menu. My inclination was to order the duck again because it was so great the first time but Cori and I opted to go to the course of multiple small plates that we could share. Her pescetarian diet lent to many seafood dishes and I am a-okay with that!  

 The amusebouche of the evening was a corn relish with a crisp house made cracker. A lovely two bite starter to our meal.

Black drum with sweet potato puree, asparagus and key lime vinaigrette (the plating left something to be desired, but it was absolutely delicious!) | Saffron linguine topped with lobster claw meat and roe. So rich. So good. | Scallops with potato dumplings, olives, peas and bacon sauce (this was a repeat dish for me from the soft opening. Yum!)

Crab meat tossed with cucumber, avocado and micro greens cupped in a short bread dough trough. Very refreshing and light.

Another amusebouche before dessert! Plum and cucumber salad beneath a scoop of cool granita. 

Dessert we did not share. The affogato with bread pudding, gelato, espresso and fresh whipped cream appealed to Cori's caffeine needs. I went the only route I know, chocolate. I had this at the soft opening as well but I could not resist re-ordering. Chocolate crémeux covered with an olive oil gelee, cocoa nibs and fleur de sel served with crescent shaped short bread cookies. 

Our meal was great. The weather was great. I will definitely be making Salon by Sucré part of my "places to take visitors" list as well as recommending it to locals looking for a non-touristy dinner in the French Quarter!!

LA to VA

I am here! I am here! I drove home, I drove back south, I caught up on work, I had a friend in town, I caught back up on work, I vegged out, I am now sitting down to write again :)

While in Virginia I got to hang out with these two fur balls! Lucky & Little Kitty are not getting any younger :( They are both around 14 years old. A tad slower, a tad more gray, but still lovable and they know that I will spoil them with treats :)

Grandmaw turned an impressive 92 years young and Dad hit the ripe ol' age of 57! Happy Birthday to them! I was able to transport a Sucre cake home for everyone to devour.

 The birthday girl and boy in their spring colors :)

Smiths + Grandmaw | Brogan family (the ladies sure like their floral and pink ensembles!)

The grandkids with Grandmaw

Getting my car inspected was at the top of the to do list. LB and his friend checking under the hood at their shop before getting the official sign off.

Beautiful spring day! The weather was great my entire trip!

Of course I went over to Goshen. I always like to soak up as much mountain time as possible when in Virginia. Judy, Grandmaw and I drove over to the cabin, I poked around the abandoned church, we drove down Goshen Pass: the usual.

When all was said and done and I had returned to New Orleans I was just shy of 2,000 new miles on the 4Runner. That is a lot of sitting and singing!

Though I did not photograph the evidence, of course I ate Kenney's fried chicken and LOVED it!!!!!