Good Karma in Atlanta

I love when Scoutmob leads to me to an awesome new place.

That's what happened Sunday afternoon.

This place is in Avondale Estates, and reminds me why community coffee shops are the best.

First, check out this spread. All vegan. Coconut yogurt with in-house made granola, pumpkin spice latte with soy milk, and the finale - a chocolate chip vegan muffin that is so most you might not have to chew.

They also have many more non-vegan items, but all gluten-free.

The staff was friendly and the people coming in was Atlanta at its best - all ages, types, etc. This is not your college kid-only or hipster-only coffee shop hangout (thankfully). Lots of light, a good selection of music, and a good wifi connection will have me coming back for more muffins.

How to Eat a Mango

I've eaten mangoes in several countries on two continents.
I love mangoes and will eat them regardless of how messy there are.
I've eaten them on the way to work, in the car, risking my shirt and getting juice all over my front.

Not smart. But thankfully, a fruit seller in Washington Heights has an ingenius method: as a flower on a stick.

Grilled Watermelon

Back in September, I prescribed myself a week at the Southern Cross Guest Ranch in Madison, Georgia. It was just the week away I needed! It was lovely and fun and absolutely relaxing. And the food...oh, it was heaven!

This was one dish that I just had to ask the owner about - grilled watermelon. So simple that it can be easily added to any grill-out and so delicious that it'll be a star! Plus, it's pretty.So what's the recipe?
Grilled watermelon wedges - they seemed to be lightly grilled on both sides, just enough for flavor but the middles were still fresh. The wedges were about 1/2 inch thick and the width of a small saucer.
Salad - greens! sprinkled on top of the watermelon.
Goat's cheese - sprinkled on top of the salad.
Balsamic reduction - Balsamic vinegar heated over medium heat until reduced and drizzled on top.

The combination of the sweet watermelon and balsamic, the salty cheese, and the crunchy greens is so genius. I ate two big slices!

This was another great dish - toasted pita with pan-fried feta and tomate on top, drizzled with herbed olive oil. Yum!

twd ~ Peanuttiest Blondies or Werewolf Balls

This week's pick promised to be delicious! It has lots of chunky pb, the batter tasted great, and it smelled so good baking...until it started burning. I made the blondies a week ahead, and put the batter in the freezer, planning to bake them the night my sister and her boyfriend flew in from nyc. The burning really threw a hitch in my plan.

So, I scraped off the burnt tops, and crumbled it into pieces. Then I made a caramel sauce with sugar and milk, drowned the blondie bits in it, and used the caramel to bind the bits into balls. Since it was just before Halloween, I called them Werewolf Balls. The name got an odd look, but guests had no problem finishing them off. Oh well, they turned out okay, but I'll definitely be trying the real recipe again soon!



For the recipe, check out Bakeologie http://bakeologie.blogspot.com/ by Nicole.

twd ~ Raisin Swirl Bread

I don't like to admit defeat in the kitchen. Each challenging recipe makes me feel like an Iron Chef contestant. But this week, for Tuesdays with Dorie, the Raisin Swirl Bread kicked my behind all across the kitchen floor and into next week's recipe.

This was my first yeast bread so I'd like to cut myself some slack. But really, I should have seen it coming. I think the first error was too little flour. I had a sticky dough, too sticky to form, too sticky to roll. So it ended up growing flat and sideways and being one slice thick period. Oh brother.



My saving grace was going to be the taste. I love raisin bread! I thought the orange zest annd cocoa would be great additions. Until I tried it. Dry, and tasteless except for the occassional raisin. This one totally got the better of me. But I will try again!

Oh Wow Raw Oatmeal

I've been trying to watch what I eat lately, trying to get my waistline back in shape. A couple of years ago, I did the raw food diet for a couple of months and lost some poundage. So I pulled out Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen. Some of her breakfast recipes use oat groats. I found oat groats in the bulk section of Whole Foods. I got about 2 cups and rinsed and soaked them overnight. The groats then go into a food processor with add-ins. I plopped in almonds, wheat germ, cinnamon, ginger, and agave. Whirl and add water or milk to desired consistency. If you use regular milk like I did, it's not raw anymore. There are plenty of milk subs or water will work.

Homemade Deodorant

I have has issues with deodorant since I started wearing it. All during middle school, I would switch brands every time I bought it to prevent it causing me any problems. Usually, I would break out in a red rash under my arm, the lymph node there swolling, getting hot and painful. Definitely the pits.

In high school I avoided all invisible solids, all frangrances and found one that worked! Dove solid, the one with added lotion. Too bad they discontinued it.

I'm not the only one in my family with this problem. My sister also has trouble, though she has reactions to different kinds. She once brought me deoderant home from ireland that was a frangrance-free, roll-on Godsend! Too bad nivea doesn't make the same kinds in the US as Europe. I've been using natural, store bought stuff for at least a year and its okay. But the homemade works so much better for me! No reapplying during the day!

With all the aluminum and suspect ingredients in regular deodorant has caused people to start testing their own this one works for me:

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup baking soda
Coconut oil to mix

I'm still mastering the art of applying it. I still sweat, but even on a beautiful, sunny today, its doing its thing and allowing my perfume to be a solo performer. Yay!