The Big Easy

Sunset at Jackson Square 

The first time I visited New Orleans was for a conference which happened to coincide with my 18th birthday. And I was smitten. Completely blown away by the culture and class of this town. Luckily I have had the chance to return nearly every year (or more frequently at times) since then - twelve years running now! Most recently, I found myself in the Big Easy for another conference and enjoyed turning this trip into a foodie fest of sorts. Once a foodie, always a foodie.

Amazingly delicious honey lavender ice cream from Bayona

 

Another delicious dessert from Bayona 

For the first part of the trip I was staying out near the Carrollton Streetcar Line in the Uptown-Carrollton area. The area of Oak Street is adorable and I highly recommend it. Lots of little shops, trendy, foodie, love it! My morning chai stop included Rue De La Course coffeehouse. For a local nosh stop, I visited the new location of Juan's Flying Burritos. Both are recommended from this chef!

Apple pie deliciousness from GW Fins

For the days I worked the conference, I switched things up and moved down to the French Quarter. A few of the joints I was able to frequent included Bayona, GW Fins, and The Royal House Oyster Bar. All were amazing! Now normally I am a strict vegetarian with an occasional seafood/fish splurge a few times a year. However, being down in NOLA and wanting to support the local economy (as well as realizing that the fishing industry is about to crumble with the situation in the Gulf), I splurged on oysters one night. Of course it was totally worth it!

Tiramisu from GW Fins

A lovely idea which I may steal to start referring to myself... Kitchen Witch!

Foodie Fest in my Kitchen!

Last weekend a few friends and I held our first ever foodie fest meet-up in my kitchen. The results were amazing, mind-boggling amazing! A huge heaping thank you to all the folks who participated - both as chefs and eaters. When my NOLA trip wraps up I will post the recipes for what we cooked and baked. Stay tuned for a second foodie fest next month! Yum!

Menu included:

Garlic Knots with 2 types of dough
Homemade Hummus
Garlic Leek Broccoli Quiche
Blueberry Strawberry Pie (vegan)
Cheese Plate
And of course... Mimosas!

  I am a sucker for flowers. :)

Strawberry Lavender Bread

What does a little piece of heaven taste like in your mouth? Eat a piece of this bread and find out. A friend of mine occasionally gets a mass amount of organic produce due to his connections (no, it didn't fall off the back end of a truck... well not in the way you think!). He knows what chef I am, so I am fortunate enough to get a little piece of the action when fate roles my way. A few weeks ago it happened to be organic strawberries! And tons of them.

After some research (always key), I found a strawberry bread recipe from the Joy of Baking to start with. Then applied my special Panda touch - in this case, lavender! The results were amazing. Truly, insanely amazing. As I ended up making two batches, I tweaked the second one by using low-fat coconut milk. While it was tasty, I still preferred the first batch better. 

Enjoy! 

Strawberry Bread Recipe:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1-2 tablespoons lavender flowers, lightly crushed to enhance aroma

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of an 8-cup loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inch).  Set aside. 

Place the walnuts (or pecans) on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool completely before chopping coarsely. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Next, gently mix in the lavender. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and yogurt (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and walnuts.  

 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with a pinch of lavender, and bake about one hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen, although mine went too fast to even think about it!

Makes 1 big loaf