Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Aboard the USS Underwood

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Only in Chile…

Katherine, Me, Julia, and Captain Pete

…would 3 American women end up aboard a US Navy ship.

Our officer-friends, Pete and Michael, gave us a tour of a their ship, the USS Underwood.  This was not your boring 5th grade field trip tour.  We were privileged to a ~3 hour behind the scenes view of the ship.  Touring the ship was certainly a highlight of our trip to Chile.  SO cool!

The USS Underwood was commissioned in 1983 (an excellent year, if I may say so).  This thing was HUGE.  I would get lost on there.  The guided missile ship is 453 feet long and houses a helicopter!  It also has machine guns and torpedoes.  I felt like I was in a 10 year old’s fantasy land. 🙂

Here are a few highlights:

Clockwise, Left to Right: Captain’s coffee mug, the surf board the Captain keeps in his office/room, radar room (in additions to enemies, they have to watch for whales!), the Chilean ship parked next door, view of Valparaiso from the deck, look out, weights so they can work on their fitness, us posing with a machine gun, staring down the barrel, the on-board helicopter, us IN the helicopter, the flag in the back of the boat

Fun fact of the day: Navy men are fans of Beachbody.  During our tour we ran across a group of guys doing one of the Insanity DVDs!  I wanted to join them, but didn’t have the right attire. *sigh*

The Captain knew about my food obsession and offered to let us take a peek into the ship’s kitchen.  It would be so hard to live on their diet – they can’t keep a lot of fresh fruits and veggies on board because it goes bad after a few days at sea.  The chef, Livingston, was nice enough to let us intrude as he was preparing for dinner.

We finished up the tour at the front of the ship.

One fun fact: the bell you see in the middle-left pic below doubles as a baptismal pool.  If you are assigned to a ship when your child is ready to be baptized, the bell is turned upside down and filled with water for the baby to be dunked in.  Afterwards the baby’s name is engraved inside – it remains there for the life of the ship!

To our friends aboard the USS Underwood: Thank you so much for your hospitality, and for your service.  We wish you the best on the rest of your journey!

Please ignore the fact that I look sickly in a baseball cap.

The ship’s motto:

“Whensoever hostile aggressions . . . require a resort to war, we must meet our duty and convince the world that we are just friends and brave enemies.”  -Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Andrew Jackson, December 3, 1806

On an entirely different note, please click here to hop over the Lindsay’s blog, The Lean Green Bean, today and check out my guest post.  While she’s vacationing in the sunshine, I’m home baking these no-sugar-added, gluten-free Banana-Maple Zucchini Muffins:

There is a vegan option, of course. 🙂

***

Recaps = over!  Back to your regularly scheduled food blog.

What is you favorite type of muffin?

Can you imagine trying to find something to eat aboard a ship for months at a time?  Poor guys!

Chilean Cooking School + WIAW

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It took several days, but we located Chilean food.

As I said in my first recap post, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of Chilean food in Chile.

Determined food-lovers, my travel mates and I did mange to find some more “authentic” eats after making our way to the Chilean coastal towns of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.

For What I Ate Wednesday this week, I am jumping ahead in our travel story to share some tasty Chilean treats with you.  The highlight was an amazing cooking class with the fabulous Boris.  This may not be true snacking, but I eat more snacks than meals when traveling so I can try EVERYTHING.

Check out my Chilean eats below; then click here to hop on to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see what the rest of the blog world else ate Wednesday!

Breakfast:

We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in a neighborhood that was right in between Valpo and Vina.  It was built in 1934, and has since been restored to a fabulous accommodation.  Doesn’t this looks like a Crate & Barrel magazine? 

Casa Olga provided us breakfast each morning.  We were served strawberry yogurt, pears, passion fruit, bananas, kiwi, cereal, toast, jam, ham and cheese (I passed on this – too much for breakfast!), coffee, and – best of all – freshly squeezed orange juice.

Here is the view we enjoyed every morning:

Their dog, Shay, wanted a seat at the table too!

Funny side note: when I asked for water at breakfast, they asked if I drank too much… they are not accustomed to drinking water in Chile!

Lunch:

This is the experience I have been most excited to share with you guys!

Katherine had to leave early, so Julia and I kept ourselves entertained by taking a Chilean cooking class.  The company, Chilean Cuisine, offers hands-on cooking classes in Valparaiso.  Our charismatic Chilean instructor, Boris, took us to the kitchen to choose the menu before escorting us to the local market to purchase the ingredients.

Much to my surprise, Boris had found my blog via my email signature and read up on it in advance!  He even read the “About Me” section and learned that I do NOT like white potatoes.

“Today we are NOT going to eat potatoes” was written on the board. How cool is that?

Boris lead us through a cookbook to help us choose the menu.  We decided on making cheese empanadas, Chilean pebre (salsa), hake fish terrine with avocado carpaccio, pumpkin and cranberry bean stew… and green chili and basil pisco sours. 🙂

First up, the market.  In the rain.  I don’t take public transportation often (Atlanta isn’t conducive to that)… and I especially don’t take it in the rain.  However, Boris kept us so entertained and energized that I hardly minded!  He also hung our wet jackets and shoes by the fire place to dry while we cooked – thank you, Boris!

Left to right, clockwise: Boris with a fish head, the market, Calabaza pumpkin, Calabaza trash (it was everywhere!),  fruit stand, a massive bucket of CHIA, eggs for sale, drying my jacket, and thawing our feet

Back at the kitchen, we began to prepare the meal feast.

A few fun highlights:

  • See my socks in the first pic?  Those were borrowed from the owner, Martin, because our shoes were soaked and it was too cold to cook barefoot.  Thank you again, Martin!
  • I love empanadas.  I cannot wait to try some fun combos here at home, and to try them baked.  Boris wasn’t amused when I started adding ingredients to the cheese… but the chilis and some cumin were really good additions!
  • We used a lot of merkén.  Merkén is a unique spice blend native to Chile consisting of dried and smoked red chilies (ají cacho de cabra or goat’s horn), toasted coriander seeds, cumin and salt.  I loved it and brought home a couple of bags!
  • The fish terrine was cooked like a poor man’s sous vide.  We wrapped the fish mixture (fish, onions, bread crumbs, egg, spices) in plastic wrap and placed it in simmering water for ~10 minutes.  Very cool method – I can’t wait to try it with other items.
  • I was in charge of seasoning the stew.  You all know how I love heat… I added so much merkén that is made Boris tear up… I thought it was perfecto. 🙂
  • Boris surprised me with beets – he saw me admiring them at the market and snuck them into our bag.  They were wonderful simply boiled with olive oil and salt.

We took a ton of this food to-go to share with our Navy officer-friends.  We were told it was a nice break from ship food. 🙂

Clockwise, Left to Right: Boris (a classically trained dancer) teaching us a dance while shaking chili-basil piscos, raising a glass to surviving the dance, Julia rolling out empanada dough, empanada pre-fry, frying empanadas, the final product (plus some sopapillas), eating our delicious empanada (topped with salsa), fish terrine (pre-slicing), terrines and avocado salad, salsa and beets, pumpkin bean stew (one of the most delicious things I ate on this trip), taking a bite, mas vino, Boris with dessert, dessert – lucuma ice cream with meringue.

Dinner:

I lied.  The Chilean food ends here.  For dinner we met up with the Navy boys for a final farewell.  Dinner was at an Italian Place called Pasta e Vino.  This was the #1 spot recommended to us – by travelers and Chileans alike!

It was quite good!  Those Chileans know their Italian food.

Clockwise, Left to Right: Restaurant window, beautiful candle in the window, the dining room, menu, wine of the evening – a big 2007 Chilean red blend, amuse – pumpkin soup, bruschetta topped with prosciutto, bell pepper filled with goat cheese and prawn and wrapped in phyllo, my entrée: the eggplant gnocchi in goat cheese sauce with toasted almonds, Captain’s entrée: pumpkin ravioli with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese (my favorite of the night), Julia’s entrée: spinach fettuccine with ham and walnut (spelled “wall nut” on the English menu) in a cheese sauce, XO’s entrée: fettuccine with ham in a white wine-lemon sauce with parmesan crisps, apple crumble with chocolate ice cream and caramel, panna cotta topped with a berry compote, sambuca en fuego x2.

Snacks:

Like I said, we basically snacked our way through the entire trip.  My favorites?

Banana Split Gelato

Never enough empanadas!

***

Are you beginning to understand why I had to do a juice cleanse when we returned? 🙂  One more recap to go – the tour of the US Navy ship!!!

Have you ever taken a cooking class in another country?

Do you prefer to stay at hotels or bed & breakfasts when you travel?

Chilean Wine with the US Navy

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This is where the trip got really interesting.

 

 

Having had our fill of Santiago, we decided to make our way to Vina del Mar on the Chilean coast.  I found a wine guide that would pick us up in Santiago at our hotel, take us to 3 vineyards and lunch, and then drop us at our Bed and Breakfast in Vina.

 

Al Rameriz is a sommelier (one who studies wine) from Chile that basically grew up in New York City.  It was such a relief to find someone who spoke English well.  Most Chileans do not and our espanol es mal!  Al was quite knowledgeable and has had some incredible life experiences at his young age.  If you’re ever in Chile, check him out here.

 

Al, Me, and Julia

 

Al and Eduardo, the driver, took us to the Casablanca Valley.  We visited 3 wineries: Emiliana, William Cole, and Casas del Bosque.

 

Me, Julia, and Katherine

 

The Casablanca Valley is a cooler climate, making it better for white wines.  This is where a lot of the more well-known Chilean wine come from, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.  that’s all well and good, but I’m in it for the big reds!  We made sure to have a sampling of Carménère everywhere we went.  I won’t bore you with all the details of everything, but here were my highlights:

 

Emiliana

I should preface this by saying that Chile is not Italy.  In Italy, they have tons of small wineries and you often do a tasting with winemaker or a member of their family (like these tastings we did with the winemaker and their winemaker’s mother in Barolo last year).  At Emiliana the tasting guide was Brazilian and it was his second day on the job.  If you ever go to Chile, it is worth the money for a knowledgeable wine tour (such as Al).

 

Here we tasted a Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.  I likes the Sauvignon Blanc better, but it’s a matter of taste.  Crisp, citrus-y young whites are my favorite.  the lighter and greener the wine it is in color, the younger the wine.

 

Our favorites were the reds.  Their blend, Coyam (pictured on the far right above), was a hit throughout the trip.  We ordered it whenever we saw it in a restaurant!   The blend was 41% Syrah, 29% Carménère, 20% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Mourvedre, 1% Petit Verdot.  Normally I’d say that’s too much, but the berries and black fruits on the palate were fabulous.  It was a good structure and soft tannins.  It was a fun, complex wine that was wonderful to taste.

 

Tip of the day: Always snack while wine tasting!

 

William Cole

This was my favorite winery.  William Cole founded the winery in 1999, right as the valley was being established.  The funny part about the story is that Mr. Cole is an American!  He’s from Denver, Colorado, but married to a Chilean woman.  The symbol on his wine bottles is the Columbine, Colorado’s state flower.

 

 

The wines we tasted were from his Columbine Special Reserve line.  They were: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and a Carménère.  The 2011 Sauvignon Blanc was quite green in color with grapefruit and pepper on the nose.  The minerals and acidity were prevalent, but this young white we well balanced with a pleasingly long finish.  The Pinot was good,nut the tannis were a little sweet for my palate.

 

 

Predictably, my favorite was the Carménère.  It had a deep, rich garnet color and was the most complex wine we tasted this day.  The nose was filled with tobacco and vanilla, with just a hint of cocoa.  In the mouth this wine is layered with dark berries and some oak.

 

A bottle may have found it’s way into my suitcase. 🙂

 

It was at this winery that we heard two guys walk in speaking with Southern accents.  We struck up a conversation and learned we were all from the Southeast.  That is how we met a couple of Navy men that would make our trip 100x more fun.  The guys were the top two officers on a US Navy ship parked in Valpariaso.  We immediately hit it off, and even exchanged contact information with the thought of meeting up in Valpo.  I didn’t think we’d ever see them again, but I was proven wrong!  More on that after lunch and the rest of wine tour…

 

Macerado

At this point it was past time for lunch.  Al and Eduardo took us to this adorable restaurant called Macerado.  It’s in an beautiful old house on a farm, so most of their food is quite literally locally sourced.  If you’re ever in the Casablanca Valley, I highly recommend it.

We shared a huge salad with hearts of palm, olives, and avocado, as well as a grilled fish served with a baked pepper, parsley and abalone sauce and Parmesan husked wheat stew. It was fantastic.

 

 

 

This may not look like much for the 3 of us to share, but they bring out a TON of bread and salsa before meals here.  We learned quickly to share entrees if we were going to enjoy the carbs!

Al ordered a rabbit dish that was cooked in an apricot gravy and served with a baked vegetable salad (basically ratatouille) with sesame with fresh thyme.  It too was scrumptious (thanks for the taste, Al!).

 

 

 

Casas del Bosque

Unfortunately this was not our favorite winery.  It was the most commercial and the wine tasted… more processed, I suppose is the right word.  There weren’t the layers and complexity present as with the previous wineries.

They did do one neat thing – on the table there were glasses filled with red and green peppers and coffee.  Smelling one of those prior to tasting the appropriate wine further bring out the flavor of the juice.

 

 

 ___________________________________________________________________________________

The day’s fun had just started to begin.  We bid our adieus to Al and Eduardo, successfully checked into the B&B, and checked our email.  The Navy officers had actually emailed us!  We were to be picked up by their driver at 9:30p.  Impressive, no?  We got showered, watched some TV (they had E! in English!), and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  They finally showed at 10:30p.  It turned out the restaurant was much further than anticipated and yada, yada, yada…

Any annoyance I felt dissipated when the driver turned on the lights and sirens to rush us to the restaurant.  I wish I could do that every time I’m starving!

 

Santa Brasa

Before you get the wrong idea… my 2 friends are married, and one of the officers is married.  No inappropriate shenanigans was had with the Navy officers.  We were glad to find some other Americans to hang with and I think they were glad to have someone off the ship (i.e. not an 18 year old kid) to talk to.  And we would have NEVER gotten in the car with strangers had they not been US Naval officers.

Dinner was at a very nice steak house called Santa Brasa in Concón, which is right outside of Valpariaso.  At this point it is nearly 11p and we are starving.  Thankfully, Micheal (the XO officer) had empanadas waiting for us.

 

That was followed by the most gigantic pieces of steak I’ve ever seen (we ordered family-style).  It came out smoking!  It also came out with a couple of (unpictured) bottles of Carménère.

 

Its been a loooong time since I’ve had a steak on my plate.  It will probably be a long time before I do it again… but OMG this was a good one.  Well worth the interesting tummy issues the next day.

I tried to balance it out with a spinach salad and roasted asparagus with mushrooms.  Followed by a few french fries.

 

The 5 of us shut down the restaurant, but we weren’t tired… bring on the casino!  (Note to self: you are too old to stay out this late.)

To be continued…

***

I hope I’m not boring you guys too much with all the recaps.  There is just so much to share! 🙂

Have you ever had such random things happen on a trip?  Do tell!

Are you a red or a white wine fan?

 

Argentina… errr… Chile!

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What do you do when you get booted off of a flight to Buenos Aires just before takeoff?

Those of you who caught this post already know.  You get on the next flight out… which happened to be Santiago, Chile!

We landed in the morning feeling a little tired, but excited.  The first order of business was to find coffee and wi-fi so we could locate a hotel and form a plan.

Thanks to the Internet and a very nice Chilean man in the airport restaurant we booked a hotel in a nice neighborhood called Providencia and were on our way in just a couple of hours.

The first order of business was lunch.  Naturally we ended up at a French cafe.  I was craving greens and enjoyed a massive salad topped with egg, asparagus, broccoli, avocado, and olives.   We also enjoyed a glass of wine to mark the first of many beginning of vacation.

We sampled an empananda.  This is once of the most famous South American foods, and one of the most tasty.  It’s basically a pocket of dough filled with cheese and other items (often ham) that is either fried or baked.

More exploring/getting lost ensured before we found these gorgeous fountains.

And then we found wine.

And then we found dinner in a cute plaza called Patio Bellavista.  It was a Peruvian restaurant called Barandiaran.  Go figure.

The dinner was quite good.  That highlight was a shared ceviche dish that was wonderful.  I NEVER thought I’d eat seafood, let alone ceviche; however, I loved the sea bass!  Shrimp is still a bit much for me.

The next day we found parks!  A really cool sculpture park called Parque Las Esculturas:

Followed by an even better park that was filled with exercise equipment!  I busted my ass a move on the elliptical.

I should mention that these were all found on a walk that must have been close to 10 miles.  By the time we reached our original lunch destination in the Bellavista neighborhood we were starving.  Annnnnd… we discovered the restaurant no longer existed.  We did the only thing left to do: ate a greasy lunch at a trashy college dive.

Sometimes you need to be local.  However, when you order guacamole and it’s served with Doritos, you wish you were a little less local.

That was followed up with a “traditional” dish of fries topped with onions, sausage, and fried eggs.  I can’t lie… I didn’t hate it.

Doesn’t that first yolk look like a heart?

Post-lunch we really needed to walk more.  There is a giant mountain/hill called Cerro San Cristobal that holds one of the most popular tourist destinations in Santiago: the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción.  It contains a 14 meter statue of Mary.  We hopped a funicular (a train built in 1925) to get to the top and visit Mary.

View of Santiago from the funicular

The view from Mary, looking down on the outdoor sanctuary and Santiago

The traveling trio with the Andes in the background

Random sight of the day: dude wearing a UGA sweatshirt.  He wasn’t American.

Come se dice “Go Dawgs” en espanol?

Santiago was an interesting experience; however, we were ready to move on after 2 days.  I hate to say it… but it’s a pretty dirty, crowded (7.5 million people) city.

One odd food note – when we sought out traditional “Chiliean” food, we were often directed to other cuisines such as French and Peruvian.  It seems like Chile is sort of like America in that they take foods from other cultures and modify.  It was good, but a shock having travelled more extensively in Europe.

Sadly, there are no workouts to recap this Monday.  Instead I’ll recap my recovery from the trip:

Step 1: Green smoothie bowl

Step 2: Mani/Pedi

Step 3: Arden’s Garden “Love Your Liver” 3-day juice cleanse (this was amazing – no joke)

Icing on the cake: A special delivery of Greek yogurt from Chobani!  Nothing but goodness.  Thank you, Chobani.  I love you much.

My concierge now loves Chobani, too.  I tipped him with a yogurt, and he’s a convert. 🙂

***

Check back tomorrow for some excellent wine and a run in with US Navy officers.

Have you ever been to South America?  Was it what you expected?

Doritos with guacamole… any thoughts?

“Spaghettied” Zucchini and Walnut Salad

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These past few days have FLOWN by.

I can’t believe that we land in the States tonight!  

Like all good vacations, I am sad to leave but excited to get home and share all of the fun stories, pictures, and FOOD with everyone. 🙂

Today’s post comes from Meg @ A Dash of Meg.  This girl is one of the sweetest bloggers I know.  She’s one of those people who you interact with once and feel like you’ve known forever.  She also has a knack for writing post at just the moment I need it.  When I found out I tore my ACL a couple of weeks ago, Meg wrote this amazing post on the importance of REST (something I suck at).  Today in her guest post she shares a veggie-based recipe that is light a refreshing.  Just what I’m craving after a week of gluttony travel.

 

Hello!

I’m Meg and I blog over at A Dash of Meg.

I blog about my daily life, but I also share a bunch of tasty recipes and heart-pumping workouts too. 😉

If you’d like to know more about me check out my About page on my blog!

Creating new recipes is one of my all time favourite things to do, so I thought it would be a great idea to share a recipe with all of you today that I created last year, but have not shared with anyone yet!  Think of it as a secret treasure that I have been keeping all to myself until now 😉

Now that it’s spring (almost summer!) though, it is definitely time for this recipe to be revealed!  It’s fresh, light, and totally addictive.  I hope you enjoy and make it over and over!

 

“Spaghettied” Zucchini and Walnut Salad

Salad:

  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 1 10 oz. container grape tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ cup walnut halves

Dressing:
There are two different options for the dressing

Option 1:

  • ½ TBSP fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 TBSP walnut oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Option 2:

I have made the salad many times. Sometimes using dressing option 1 and sometimes option 2; both are fantastic

Slice zucchini with mandolin into spaghetti-sized pieces. Combine all ingredients into bowl and toss with dressing of your choice.

Makes 2 servings.

This recipe is simple, definitely not as exceptional as any of Laura’s recipes (Editor’s note: Whatever!  Simple, fresh veggie recipes are the best.), but I certainly do hope you give it a try I’m sure I will be making it quite frequently this summer!

Thanks for having me Laura! It’s been fun 😉

Meg xoxo

***

I can’t wait to get home and try those out – I love using zucchini as pasta and, after all of this heavy (yet delicious) South American food, I need something light and spring-y.

What are you favorite spring/summer veggies?

Do you use “different” oils such as walnut or avocado?

The Plus One Workout

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Vacation is almost over!

Clearly I’m sad… but already inspired to get back home and hit the gym.  Today’s guest post from Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean will be first on my list to do!  This girl is a workout rockstar.  The workout she has put together kicked my booty (I cheated and tried it early 🙂 ).

Post-Lindsay butt-kicking workout

I am totally honored that she wrote one just for me!  Having tested it out, I can tell you that it’s 22 minutes of heart-pumping, sweat-inducing awesomeness.  Try it.  I dare you.  You might even brave a bonus round…

Hello fellow Sprinters!  My name is Lindsay and I blog over at The Lean Green Bean.

I’m so honored to be here guest posting for Laura today.  We have been connecting online through our blogs for a while now, and we had the privilege of finally meeting a few weeks ago at Blend Retreat!

Laura, Heather, and Lindsay

Laura is totally adorable and we get along SO well because we both share an overwhelming love of food and fitness!  In fact, Laura is one of my biggest workout fans!  (Editor’s Note: I am!  Lindsay has the best ideas!)  She’s always encouraging and motivating me and she’s tried out so many of my workouts…which I love!  Also, she’s in way better shape than I am and can usually kick my butt at any workout.  (Editor’s note: That’s just crazy talk!  Lindsay is in amazing shape!)

So, when she asked me to guest post, I knew I wanted to put together a challenging workout for her.  Before we get started, please keep in mind that I’m not a personal trainer. I just like to work out…and I like to share my workouts. Please check with a doctor before starting a new fitness routine.

For this workout, I chose not to use a specific number of reps for any of the exercises.  I tend to go for workouts like that when I really want to challenge myself because they allow you to push yourself as hard as you want to.  Essentially you’re competing against yourself and the clock, instead of just doing a set number of reps.  Perfect for a competitive person like Laura!

Ready for your workout?

CLICK HERE for a video of pendulum lunges.

CLICK HERE for a video of suicide planks.

This workout is great because it forces you to work just as hard, if not harder, in round 2 as you do in round 1.  I’m not gonna lie…it’s rough!  And that wall sit at the end just might kill you.  But if it doesn’t – it’s making you stronger. 🙂  (Editor’s note: She’s not kidding.)

Proof that it didn’t kill Lindsay!

Have fun!  And a big thanks to Laura for letting me take over her blog today!

Stop by The Bean for more workouts and some delicious recipes!  I love making new friends.

–Lindsay–

***

So far Chile has been full of a lot of walking, but nothing like these workouts.  I’m loving the down time, but can’t wait to get back and run through a few good sweat-sessions!

Are you a fan of these HIIT/tabata-style workouts?  What’s your favorite one to do?

Did you try this one out yet?  What are you waiting for?!

A Meal and Wine Pairing From France

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It appears S2theT is turning Japanese into an International wine/spirits blog.

I kid.  However, today I am honored to have a International food/wine post from my friend Holly @ Je Mange Toute la France.  She has been living in France for the past few years.  Yes, I am green with envy.

Her experiences and recipes inspire me everyday – since I’m traveling abroad (different country, but whatever), I thought it was perfect timing to ask her to guest post here.  I was so excited that she agreed.  This is something of a milestone for this blog – it is the FIRST seafood recipe to ever be posted here.  I’ve only recently started eating the stuff… but it’s not half bad! 🙂  Thanks Holly, for helping me to further expand my palate.

A little background on my ex-pat friend:

Holly has been living in Provence since 2009 and every day she discovers something new about food.  Just the other day she had cade for the first time and it was entirely different from its socca cousin.  She likes to ramble on about food, wine, writing and the discoveries she makes about this often crazy region of France.

Je Mange Toute la France started as a collection of things she liked to eat and places she enjoyed so that she could remember them and has blossomed into an actual “food blog.”  Holly is a published author with dreams of finishing her second novel and sometimes blogs about the trials of that too.  She’s also got an obsession with cookies. (Editor’s note: join the club, my friend.)

In parts of Provence, Sunday lunch is still a big deal. Families and friends sit down at the table together with only a meal to dominate their thoughts. This is followed by a long, quiet sieste lasting into mid-afternoon. In my apartment building there’s even a restriction on making noise after 12pm on Sundays. Sundays are serious. You eat, you rest. Anything more strenuous is blasphemy.

The menus themselves are varied and can be in many courses or just one big plate. Though it’s usually two of us, Sunday lunches are meals I always look forward to each week to explore new recipes and old favorites.

This week, I made aioli. Perhaps you’ve heard of it; the garlicky mayonnaise that is traditional to Provence. You may be surprised however, to know that there is a whole meal dedicated to this dipping sauce and is a favorite of brasseries, restaurants, and family meals.

The plate itself is colorful, fresh, and surprisingly cheap. It starts with fresh or boiled vegetables: carrots, beets, cauliflower, radish. Regular and sweet potatoes and a hard boiled egg.

And poached morue: a type of cod popular in the south of France. This cod was purchased for only 4 Euros at the local fish market. I asked the seller for a filet of cod for aioli for two people and he gave me this huge piece. I don’t know how much fish he thought two people could eat, but we had plenty left over.

Mussels are another traditional fish that is served with the aioli plate. But alas, I’m allergic to shellfish and crustaceans.

Aioli gets it’s name from the word ail – garlic in French. I’d never made my own mayonnaise before, but everyone told me how easy it is. Nevertheless, I was still nervous.

I read the directions from the bible: Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking over and over again, showing the recipe to the husband in disbelief at the amount of olive oil for one egg.

Like many things cooking, aioli or any mayo is not difficult if you have three hands and a lot of elbow grease. The most important thing is to keep whisking.

Lay out your plate with a dollop of the ailoi in the center, just a tablespoon to dip your vegetables, fish, and egg in, but always keep plenty in a bowl on the side. There are simple flavors here, everything to compliment the heavy, thick and very garlic-flavored aioli.

To drink, rosé is a must. Though Provence is home to the famous town and wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Editor’s note: my favorite French wine!) as well as several good Côtes du Rhone, it’s the rosé that the region is known for.

This rosé is from a vineyard near Aix-en-Provence and includes Grenache (the grape of Chateauneuf), Syrah, and Cabernet. It is light and fruity and I think what makes rosé so popular in Provence is that it’s refreshing, easy to drink and goes well with almost every summer plate. Aioli and rosé are no exception.

Lunch doesn’t stop there. Petit-fours must be served with espresso. This is a very well-loved Sunday tradition. The rest of the week operas, meillfeuiles, tarts, cream filled cakes are rare or at least in smaller numbers at your local bakery. On Sunday and Saturday they are out in force, lined up along side one another, inviting you to indulge your sweet tooth.

What I love about these cakes is that they are never overpoweringly sweet. Where there is light, fluffy butter cream, there is less sugar and so you don’t find yourself drowning in richness and instead can take the time to enjoy each bite down to the last crumb.

One last word about the aioli mayonnaise. Though traditionally, the recipe calls for only olive oil to be used, this can often leave the sauce with a very powerful and unpleasant flavor. The trick many people use is to combine the olive oil with something milder in taste like vegetable or canola oil. Ratio of about 2:1.

Traditional Aioli:

For the platter:

  • Radishes

  • Carrots

  • Beets

  • Sweet Potato

  • Regular Potato

  • Cauliflower (or any vegetable of your choice)

  • 2 Eggs

  • Cod (about 250 grams for two)

For the aioli

  • 4-8 cloves garlic (I used 6)

  • 1 large egg yolk

  • pinch of salt

  • ¾ cup olive oil*

  • 3 tbsp lemon

*or two parts olive oil, one part vegetable oil

First, if the cod is fresh it needs to be desalted. This should be done the night before. Fill up a large bowl with water and place the cod inside to soak. Before going to bed, dump out and replace the water. Do it again when you wake up the next morning and then once more before you actually prepare the cod. Keep the fish in the refrigerator while soaking so that it doesn’t spoil.

Wash and peel and trim all vegetables. In a large pot boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to pierce with a fork – about 10-15 minutes depending on the size. Hardboil your eggs.

For the cod, you will wash it off once more and then poach it. Make sure the water is just under boiling point otherwise the fish will be rubbery. This takes about 15 minutes or until the fish is flaky and falling apart.

As for the vegetables, some people (like the husband) like them boiled. I prefer mine raw. It’s up to you. Traditionally, everything is boiled together in one large pot.

For the aioli:

In a large bowl crush your garlic with a pestle until it’s a fine paste. You can do this while you are cooking everything else, but I recommend making the actual sauce after everything else has finished so that you can concentrate on whisking – once you start DONT stop.

Add the egg yolk and a pinch of salt to the garlic and whisk until the yolk has thickened. The very, very slowly begin to add the oil. Keep whisking vigerously all the while and if the egg and oil are going to make a mayo you’ll see it start to expand and combine almost immediately. Once you see the sauce start to come together, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Go back to the oil, slowly add more. Remember to ALWAYS be whisking. Add another tbsp lemon juice. Add oil. Always whisk.

You may not need to use all the oil. It depends on how much mayonnaise you actually want. For two people I ended up using just over ½ a cup.

Plate everything. Serve. Enjoy. Take a sieste after. I did.

***

I’m crashing Holly’s place in France on my next international trip!  Who’s with me? 😉

Have you ever made your own mayo/aioli?  How about a VEGAN version?

What is your favorite French dish?

Frozen Kale Cucumber Mango Margarita

By

We had an adventure before even leaving ATL.

At 9p last night our Argentina trip was no more.  We boarded the plane only to be deplaned 10 mins later.  Apparently there was a lot of cargo on boarded and the plane was over weight.  All non-rev passengers were removed.  But we were going somewhere, dammit.  The next flight out was a 10:30p to Santiago, Chile.  A quick sprint through the airport later (with luggage, which was an adventure in itself) and we were on our way to Chile.  So… we’re in Santiago right now. 🙂

After all that we needed a drink.  The plane served wine, but tequila would have been good too.  Ashley from Freckles & Spice has put together the healthiest drink recipe possible to share with you guys.  I met Ashley at the Blend Retreat and we hit it off immediately.  She has so much energy and a passion for trying fun foods.  She brought roasted fava beans from NYC to share with everyone at Blend!  (Which reminds me, I want to recreate those…)  Check out Ashley’s awesome tequila-kale concoction here, and then go say hi over on her blog!

Hi Sprint 2 the Table readers! I am Ashley from Freckles & Spice.

I began writing my blog to share my journey of a fifty-pound weight loss and to help me find my way as mid-twenty something living in the greatest city on Earth, New York. I write about all aspects of healthy living with the goal to find happiness and balance in my life.

I cannot tell you how honored I am that Laura asked me to do a post for her today. Spring 2 the Table is one of those blogs that I check every morning, so I could not turn down the opportunity! I also knew I was going to have to do something a little special. I fully believe that the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is enjoying everything in moderation and finding a balance that works for you.

Laura and I both share a love of Mexican, green smoothies, and enjoying a drink with friends every now and then.  I came up with this recipe for a frozen green juice margarita. It is the perfect blend of health and indulgence.

Frozen Kale Cucumber Mango Margarita

  • ½ cup kale and cucumber juice (4-5ish kale leaves and ½ cucumber)
  • ½ frozen mango
  • 3-4 oz tequila
  • juice of one lime
  • 3 ice cubes
  • salt for rim of glass

Directions:

  1. I used extra green juice from early in the day. (I don’t have a juicer so I blend the green juice ingredients and then strain the pulp with either a nutmilk bag, cheese cloth, or any fine strainer.
  2. Blend all ingredients except in your blender.
  3. Pour in salted glass and enjoy!

This drink is best served poolside, but it was so nice and refreshing it can be enjoyed anywhere. It definitely brought the feeling of summer to my NYC apartment for Memorial Day weekend.

A life well lived is one with balance. This frozen indulgence allows you to have your drink and feel good too!

Cheers!

Ashley

***

This may trump a glass of red wine as the healthiest drink.

P.S. Thank you for the Buzz yesterday!  My Sweet Potato Leek soup made the Food Buzz Top 9!

Have you ever combined veggies with cocktails?

Do you like South American wines?

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