Artful, Amazing Food

The birthday fun continued with a trip to Southwest Virginia. I am such a food geek that I'm always thrilled on Wednesdays to see the newest articles in the New York Times "Dining and Wine" section. A few weeks ago I saw this piece about a (soon-to-be) husband/wife culinary team that moved to essentially the middle of nowhere--Chilhowie,Virginia--in order to be able to work together and have more creative freedom in the kitchen.

I e-mailed the article to Troy on a whim and he immediately made us a reservation for the day after my birthday. I booked us a nice room at a restored, 1920's hotel in Marion.

It was a 3 1/2 hour drive to get to dinner, but Troy and I both agree, we had the most incredible dining experience of our lives at the Town House.

One thing that I especially enjoyed was the unpretentious nature of the staff, from our server (daughter-in-law of the owner and U.Va. alum) to the sommelier. We dressed up a bit but there were people wearing jeans too. We felt comfortable asking questions about the food (there were a number of things on the menu that we were unfamiliar with) and how it was prepared. I was encouraged to take pictures of the food (although it was tough with such a low-light situation).

We ordered off the four course menu, although there is also an a la carte menu and a nine course meal. In addition to the dishes we expected, we had surprise treats in between like savory cookies made with olives, a lemony jam and freshly shaved Parmesan and then what Troy deemed "the best bread I've ever eaten in my life!" a ciabatta with freshly cracked pepper and another ingredient that slips my mind. We were there for a total of 3 1/2 hours!

Savory cookies for starters.

"Pickled loup de mer & various seeds of summer" (mackerel, along with seeds from a tomato, raspberries, yellow squash, and more served with quinoa and a lovely vanilla sauce).

"Marinated oysters & spring peas" (served with passion fruit, dashi, radish, sorrel, and pineapple).

Happy eaters!

This was definitely one of my favorites, "Caramelized eggplant & cantaloupe" (with grilled mango, ginger pudding, peanut powder, tamarind “raisins,” and crispy puffs of basmati rice).

By the time we got to the final course, the lighting was terrible and the pictures didn't turn out very well. I had the lamb and Troy had the rabbit and we were both thrilled with our choices.

Dessert for me was very decadent. They brought out a little candle in honor of my birthday too.


"Cold smoked chocolate" (with carrot puree, Indian curry, coriander, coconut, and fenugreek).

Each course was obviously lovingly prepared and almost ridiculously complex in terms of flavors. In some dishes, you could taste a completely distinct flavor on each area of your plate but somehow they all melded together seamlessly. It was an incredible experience and I highly recommend it.

We look a bit dazed in this picture that our server took. By the time we finished, we were really just blissed out and happily exhausted! Thanks Troy for treating me!! It was absolutely fabulous.

Birthday Extravaganza

I've always been a fan of birthdays and Troy feels the same way. We have a rule in our house that birthdays last for a whole week. It's nice to get a week during the year where you get extra special treatment.

This year, I've had a birthday extravaganza. I worked on my actual birthday but my co-worker took me out to lunch and my boss bought me a beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas.

Steve and Aurie took me out to dinner that night at Asia Specialty, a place that I haven't tried before but was pleasantly surprised with. I had Chinese dumplings and pancakes and tofu with vegetables and a brown ginger sauce. It was delicious. Courtney came to town to help me celebrate too!

Later we met friends at the 12th Street Taphouse for drinks. Troy knows the bartender and chef because he often stops for a beer at the tap house to reward himself after a long, late night bike ride. They sent out free beer and appetizers for my birthday!

I did an impromptu EMMI photo shoot since the boys need a publicity shot. Difficult lighting but fun subjects to work with.

For the late night crowd, we had decadent chocolate bundt cake at our place. We didn't have candles but Troy put a little bowl of absinthe (thanks Dave!) in the cake and lit it on fire for me. We also had flaming shots of absinthe.

It was a really great time. I was amazed at how many people came out to help me celebrate on a Wednesday night. I will really miss Courtney and all of our Charlottesville friends next year!

Sunshine and Libations

Our friend Ben visited us last weekend, and we had a really good time with him.

We know Ben from Eugene, Oregon, where he and Troy both did the Master's program in composition. Ben and his wife Jessie were among our closest friends there and we have missed them a lot. Thankfully Ben has kept a nice schedule of visiting us about every two years in Charlottesville. One of the three times Jessie came too, but now they have a little one, Seamus, which makes traveling a little more difficult.

Troy loves an excuse to make new drinks and to sample different bourbons head to head. And Ben likes to drink, so they are a fun and sometimes dangerous pair. The first night they sampled bourbons.




Ben came at an opportune time, we need help clearing out our liquor cabinet before we move in another month! Some of the drinks they had: Sazerac, mint juleps, bloody Marys with Laura's special recipe, a melon/gin/vodka drink and finally a combination of Red Bull and rye, which was deemed "not terrible."

On Saturday we went tubing on the James River. We have a history of funny tubing incidents with Ben so it was an ideal activity. Our friend Steve came with us too. It was a perfect day, in the eighties and sunny but not too terribly hot. We consumed a ridiculous amount of beer. I stuck to my rule about no hard alcohol after a disastrous trip two years ago. This seemed to help keep the boys from getting too crazy. Although once we got near the end, Troy didn't want the fun to stop, so he stood up and held onto the tubes to prevent them from reaching the docking point for a while longer.

On Sunday we went to the Blue Ridge for a hike and to water Brad's tree. It was parched but still holding on okay.

We saw a bunny on the path.

And lots of pretty wildflowers.

And there were some great woodpecker noises that Troy captured with his recorder.


Finally, we ventured to the Blue Mountain Brewery for more beer and a delicious carmelized onion, brat, apple pizza.

Mmmm....hops!

It was really great to see Ben. I love it that old friends can just pick up where they left off, as if no time has passed. It's really pretty special.

Summertime Visitors

My aunt Barb, uncle Hank and 3 cousins (Valerie, Andy and Maddie) came all the way from Minnesota to visit Troy and me a couple of weeks ago. They stayed with us for almost a week, so we had lots of time for fun activities and for catching up.

On their second night here, we rented the Doyle's River PATC cabin in the Shenandoah National Park. It's a rustic, one-room cabin, and a bit of a hike to get in (especially when loaded down with gear) but it was well worth it. Here's the view from the cabin.


That night we roasted (Polyface) hot dogs and told funny jokes and stories by the fire. Everyone seemed to have a really good time.


The next morning, Hank and Troy were surprised on a trip back to the car by a black bear and her two cubs. Mama gave Hank and Troy a warning glare, so they waited for a number of minutes until the bears passed over the trail. They moved on after what seemed like a safe amount of time, and still the bears were just off the trail at an uncomfortable distance. The guys picked up their pace after realizing that. Luckily, the bears weren't interested in the bag of garbage Hank was carrying!

Later in the day, we took a hike to see the Doyles River Falls, which were gushing pretty good after all the rain we've had this spring. Hank, Troy and the kids had fun climbing up close to the falls while I played with different settings on my camera, trying to best capture the beauty of this place. I took a ridiculous number of pictures but it was a good learning experience. Cousin Maddie, who is also a photography buff too, had fun taking pictures as well. I showed her how to use the macro setting on her camera, which she seemed to like. More of my pics can be viewed on my Shutterfly site.



We stopped at our favorite overlook on the way back to town to take some pictures. It was a gorgeous day.


We were pretty wiped out after the hiking and fresh air but we made it out to enjoy a nice dinner on the downtown mall. And of course, no trip downtown is really complete without a stop at Spendora's for gelato. Yum!

The next day we went to Courtney and Kevin's to spend the night. I think the kids really enjoyed having access to satellite television (we only have very basic channels)! We all had a nice time the next day on the deck. It's such a pretty place, with a koi pond and lots of big, beautiful trees all around.


It was warm, so Courtney made peach daiquiris for us and brought out some water balloons for the kids. It was hilarious to watch the kids (and Hank and Troy) toss the balloons back and forth, with Paisley "Walk in the Park" Thompson (Courtney's pug) excitedly running back and forth and making her bizarre pug/alien noises.

Troy got pretty drenched, but he didn't seem to mind.


All in all it was a really great visit. Nice to be able to spend quality time with my family and to share some of our favorite places with them.

New Life

Our friend Brad adored the woods, and red pines (Norway pines) were his favorite tree. Troy had the excellent idea to give away 82 pine saplings to friends and family after Brad's memorial service. We created a Google map so that people could plot out where the trees are planted.

Today Troy and I went up to Calf Mountain (technically outside of the Shenandoah park, although you go through the park to get to the trail) to plant our tree. We found a great spot with a gorgeous view. We know that Brad would have loved this place.


Troy dug a hole and we had our own little memorial service. We buried a tiny bit of Brad's ashes along with letters we had written to our dear friend.




We both felt better after having this very personalized ritual to honor Brad. And it seems really fitting to honor someone who has passed by cultivating new life.

It was a welcome and fun distraction to have my aunt, uncle and their 3 kids visit us last week. They just left today to spend a few days in DC before traveling back to MN. I'll post more about that soon.

Times They Are A-Changing

I heard Friday from the VP of my office that he didn't think it would work for me to telecommute from Belgium. This was really kind of a blow. It may have been because it's just been an emotional time lately. But the VP's assistant had told me she thought he was leaning towards letting me do it, so I really had my hopes up. It would have made the transition so much easier.

The Fullbright folks have said that it's really difficult to get a work visa in Belgium and that even if you do it's "virtually impossible" to get a job. If anybody has tips for living cheaply in Europe, let us know. Or does anyone have ideas on how I can spend my time since I'll be without a job? This will be really strange for me and I'm finding that I'm nervous about how I will fill my time while Troy is working. I was trying to look into volunteer opportunities but it's been hard to find things like that online.

If any of you know me very well, you know that I really struggle with change. I know that ultimately it will be good for me to experience living in another country but I'm terrified.

Anyone know of telecommuting jobs for an editor/writer? I can also take decent photos and do basic website work.

Troy got home last night from NIME and my aunt and uncle and their 3 kids are coming today to stay with us for a week. It's been a crazy whirlwind around here but it will be really fun to see family. Any ideas for fun activities for teens/pre-teens around C-Ville?

Grief and Disbelief

It's been a rough week and a half for Troy and I. After being at a fun going away BBQ for a friend on Memorial Day, we found out that Brad--one of our oldest, dearest friends from Minnesota passed away.

Brad and Troy had been friends since the 5th grade. We all lived together for several years in college. I've been alternating between shock, sadness, disbelief, and guilt at not having kept in better touch with Brad in recent years.

I'm thankful that we were able to go home for a few days to deal with this roller coaster of emotions. So many good friends came together to make the service particularly special and to grieve together. We looked at old pictures, drank Knob Creek bourbon, had a pie fight (which I mostly hid in the woods from), burned a giant 82, lit off fireworks and sat around a campfire and told stories about Brad.

Many stories are humorous and silly. Brad had an amazing sense of humor. He was also a gentle, kind person and an incredible musician.

There are some great tributes to our friend here: http://www.gonzoscience.com/GonzoUSA/?p=1619

Some stories we heard illustrated the impact Brad had on people's lives. Troy and I realized that it was Brad who brought us together 14 years ago. Brad had a percussion audition at St. Cloud State where I was going to college. Even though we all went to the same high school, I didn't know Troy and Brad that well but they came down to stay with me and my friend and check out the school. I guess you could say that I influenced Troy's decision to go there.

Troy performed the funeral service and gave the eulogy. He did a fantastic job of honoring our friend. I am so very proud of the unbelievable strength he exhibited through this painful process.

It's surreal and strange and it feels wrong to be trying to get back to "normal" life after a loss like this. It really puts into perspective that people are what are important in life.