Asheville Trip Part 1: The Sights

How Joe and I have lived in Tennessee for 5 years and not made it to North Carolina before now, I will never know. But we had a great time during our week in Asheville. It is just as awesome as everyone says! Our main plans were as follows: relax, go hiking, drink good beer. And we were successful.

Our first day, we decided to take a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the sights and go on a few shorter hikes. Fortunately, the Visitor Center was not far from where we were staying, and we easily picked up a map and pinpointed the direction we wanted to go. We climbed up and up and up through the mountains and were treated to stunning views of valleys below until we hit our first destination: Mt. Pisgah.

We stretched our legs on this 3-mile roundtrip hike. There were definitely some steep spots, but it wasn’t long enough for us to get too discouraged. The upside to the summit was a nice viewing deck. The downside is the giant satellite tower that doesn’t go a long way to contributing to the feeling of being out in the wilderness.

I was still hungry for some more outdoor time, so we continued south on the Blue Ridge to Devil’s Courthouse.

It was a short half-mile but very steep climb to the top from the parking lot, but it was beautiful with the rocks jutting out.

After that climb, it was time for us to head back into town to slake our thirst at Highland Brewing Company, but I’ll get to beer and food in a separate post.

We had decided that one of our days we would do a long day hike, and Jen at Peanut Butter Runner had written about the Greybeard Trail at Montreat. Since we were staying on the east side of Asheville, we were only a short drive from Black Mountain. On our way there, we picked up some sandwiches for lunch and ate a filling breakfast before hitting the trail. At about 9.6 miles roundtrip, we were looking at a good 4-5 hours of hiking, and we wanted to have plenty of water.

The first section of the hike was a moderate uphill along a creek. Knowing we had a lot of ground to cover, we took it easy. Then we hit a set of switchbacks, which was a nice change of pace, especially when we came upon this waterfall.

After the switchbacks, the path kept getting steeper and steeper. We started to see a few other groups of people who told us the top was just ahead. Our legs were on fire, and we wanted to eat our lunch. Finally, we arrived at the summit, which, frankly, was a little disappointing. It wasn’t cleared, so you had to peer over some bushes to see anything.

Something something about how it’s the journey not the destination. Those sandwiches and cookies tasted pretty darn good to fuel our hike back down. I always think going back down the mountain is going to be easier, but between watching my footing and burning quads, it doesn’t feel that much easier. At one point, we both acknowledged that we were grumpy and warm and ready to be back at the car. Once we arrived, we were so happy to see our vehicle, especially since it drove us straight to Pisgah Brewing Company. Hikes + Beer = happy.

The next day we hit up the most popular tourist attraction in Western North Carolina – the Biltmore Estate. Initially, I was not that excited. The tickets were expensive (even though we purchased them at Costco before we left), and I wasn’t too thrilled about encountering tour buses full of people after our past few days of lovely quiet in the woods. I’ve seen Monticello and the Belle Meade Plantation. How much more is there to see of old, historic houses, right?

I was so, so wrong. We paid an extra $10 a piece for the audio tour, which was helpful, even if we looked like idiots holding that thing up to our ears all the time. I would’ve paid the ticket price just for the art inside the house: tapestries, Albrecht Durer prints, and ceilings imported from Italy. It being spring, the flower arrangements in the house were glorious as well, and of course, the gardens were in full bloom.

It’s quite a bit of time on your feet between the house tour and the gardens, and then we walked down to the little lake. You could easily spend all day there, but we were getting hungry and drove the 5 miles down to the village part of the estate for lunch and wine tasting.

The next day we spent downtown, walking around and shopping.

Next up: Food & Drink!

Miami Beach Mini-Trip

I am so far behind on the blog, so let me try to play catch up a bit. Joe was invited to present his research poster at something-something conference in Miami, so I tagged along because a) it was the week after Holy Week/Easter and I needed a break and b) with our cold, damp spring, I needed some sun. I scored a Priceline hotel in Miami Beach – The Gale – a recently opened property that was a good deal. Unfortunately, the myriad of TripAdvisor reviews were correct in noting that the music from the club in the basement could be heard at all hours of the night in the hotel rooms. Party! Definitely a downside. But the upside was a rooftop pool with this view:

I love Art Deco architecture.

When we first arrived, we strolled down to the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall in search of food and beverages, and we found both. It’s not Miami unless you’re drinking a mojito, and these were happy hour mojitos which are even better.

Everyone had sworn up and down that we had to go to Yardbird, and I managed late reservations. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. The food was good but not great, and I have issues with paying $35 for the same food that my grandmother probably cooked for Sunday supper after church. Both Joe and I agreed that the best course was dessert – a sort of crisp topped with peach ice cream. And speaking of grandmothers, that was the closest to my grandmother’s peach ice cream recipe that I have ever tasted outside of my dad making it. The cocktails were good too, but coming from Nashville, I’m just not that impressed by a decent bourbon list and Southern home-style cooking.

The next morning, we got up early, grabbed breakfast, and went to the beach. How early? Early enough that the beach chairs and towels weren’t quite ready for us yet. Oops. Joe had his conference that afternoon, so we headed in, cleaned up, and journeyed downtown. While he presented, I found a nearby park to sit in the shade, watch the ships come in, and read my book. I really had a hankering for fresh seafood while I was in a coastal state, and I settled on reservations at Catch that evening.

Again, our reservations were late, and we are not late night people, so after hitting the rooftop pool for some more sun time, we had to find a way to entertain ourselves. The obvious answer was to grab a pre-dinner cocktail.

Right across the street was Bar Centro in the SLS hotel, a Jose Andres establishment. I couldn’t resist the Clean & Dirty martini with olive spherification and olive brine air. I can’t recall what Joe ordered, but he enjoyed his too. We had great seats at the bar and were digging the environment around us. The few snacks we ordered were phenomenal: conch fritters with a liquid center, frozen bleu cheese sandwiches with lemon marmalade, and patatas bravas with spicy tomato sauce and aioli. Then, this happened:

Liquid nitrogen caipirinhas. There is a guy who goes around making them, like someone would make guacamole at your table at a nice Mexican restaurant. It involves a bowl and liquid nitrogen and is quite the show. The result was delicious. In retrospect, we should’ve just stayed at Bar Centro, but we had reservations, so we walked down to Catch.

By this time we were tipsy and already sort of full from our bar snacks, but we ordered up food anyway. Most of the menu is meant to be shared, tapas-style. Our favorites were the unique sushi rolls. It was majorly pricy, especially for a meal we didn’t really need. The restaurants were all too dark for decent pictures, so I don’t have any photographic proof.

While it was nice to get away to sunny weather while it was 40 degrees and raining in Nashville, Miami Beach is SO not my scene. I remarked to Joe that it didn’t seem like it had much of a sense of place food-wise, and we didn’t rent a car so we didn’t have the freedom this trip to scope out local seafood or authentic Cuban places. On top of that, we had a TERRIBLE experience with our shared ride to Fort Lauderdale and our flight was delayed back to Nashville. But we got some sun!

Domaine de Canton Cocktails

A few weeks ago, I was invited to the first dinner in a series hosted by Domaine de Canton in partnership with a local chef and restaurant – Thomas Cook at Prime 108 in the Union Station Hotel. I jumped at the opportunity since I’ve been a fan of Domaine de Canton for several years. The dinner did not disappoint. In addition to cocktails, Canton was also used in the food!

Seared Diver Scallop with fried green tomato, Benton’s bacon, smoked corn succotash, and Domaine de Canton ginger-tomato marmalade.

Although we have a bottle of Canton amongst our liquor collection, I hadn’t visited it in sometime and was reminded just how good it is. The combination of ginger, vanilla, honey, and ginseng added to a base of VSOP and Grande Champagne XO Cognac is complex and delightful. After the dinner, we were gifted with some swag including a recipe book for both cocktails and food. Having exhausted my beer palate during Nashville Craft Beer week, I was in the mood for a cocktail and broke out the shaker and some martini glasses.

First up was the Canton Negroni. Joe isn’t a big fan of Campari as he finds it too bitter. It is definitely an acquired taste. It seems like other countries and cultures have more of a tolerance for bitterness. One of the popular sodas in Kenya was Krest – a bitter lemon soda. This is not an easy-drinking porch-pounder kind of cocktail, but I enjoyed sipping it as I stirred some mushroom risotto. The Canton replaces sweet vermouth in the regular version of the Negroni, and I enjoyed how the sweetness and spiciness of the ginger muted some of the bitterness of the Campari.

Canton Negroni

1 part gin
1 part Campari
1 part Domaine de Canton

Stir and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

I knew Joe would be much more partial to a cocktail we had at the dinner – The Gold Rush. We had combined bourbon and Canton in the past. The Gold Rush is similar to a Whiskey Sour with the Canton replacing the simple syrup. This is a drink you could easily toss back.

The Gold Rush

1 1/2 parts Domaine de Canton
1 part bourbon
1/2 part fresh lemon juice

Build all ingredients into a mixing glass. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Optional cherry garnish.

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are my own.

Base-building and Ellie Product Review

After completing 4 marathons in seven months, Joe made me promise that I would take the spring off from marathon training. Given that our schedules are often completely opposed and Saturdays are sometimes the only day of the week we have together, a 3 hour training run plus recovery time takes a lot out of that time together. Instead, this winter, I’ve been lifting weights three times a week with some running and the occasional spin class thrown in. It’s been nice to not “have” to get miles in on a miserably cold day, to be able to take advantage of a nice day and go on a hike, and to sleep in on Saturday. I did sign up for the Southern Indiana half in early April just to have something to work towards, and Joe and I are tossing around the idea of doing the Derby Festival half in Louisville together. Like in running, it’s been encouraging to see progressions in strength-training. I’m able to lift weights that I couldn’t have touched 6 weeks ago, and I feel strong and healthy.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Ellie about trying some of their workout clothes. After filling out a style profile, my clothes arrived a few days later in a fun and shiny pink envelope.

They felt like they were made of high-quality fabric, and I was drawn to the ruching details on the top. Fashionable workout clothes aren’t a huge priority for me, as I prefer function over form, but I appreciated the details on the clothes. In preparation for a treadmill interval workout, I slipped the clothes on to see how they would do under pressure.

Getting the clothes on was a bit of a struggle. Let’s just say they have a more figure-conscious cut than I’m used to, and that’s a size medium bottom and a size M/L on the top. I liked the longer cut of the top but considering how tight it was, I thought it might ride up on a run (and – spoiler alert – it did). The top also had a built-in shelf bra, but a sports bra was definitely necessary.

While I wasn’t impressed with the top’s performance on the treadmill run, I was a fan of the capris. They’re just the right amount of thickness to hold everything in without being too warm. When I used the clothes again for a strength-training workout, it was evident that these clothes were designed for the gym and yoga. As much as I like the capris, they don’t have any of the pockets or extras that my running clothes do. Similarly, most of their tops have the shelf bra, meaning they aren’t conducive to high-impact activity. But for weight-lifting and other low-impact activities, they work great.

Every month, Ellie releases a new “collection”. My clothes came from March’s Little Black Collection. You can buy pieces individually or get a membership, where for $49.95 a month, they’ll send you two pieces automatically. And through this link, you can save 20%. So check out this month’s collection if you’re looking for some new workout clothes. You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. I’m partial to their inspirational pins on Pinterest myself.

Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Tortilla Soup

Yes, it’s March in Tennessee, and yes, we had “snow” (some combination of sleet and freezing rain) this past week. So there’s not much better than a steaming hot bowl of soup. My craving for chicken tortilla soup started with a bowl last month from Newk’s. I’d never had much of a taste for it before; something about the soggy tortilla parts in it was a texture issue for me. And how, as a native Texan, I have waited this long to make chicken tortilla soup is also a mystery to me.

The Pioneer Woman’s version is an okay start. Some jalapenos would have upped the ante a bit, and I could have added some more chili powder. Ancho would’ve contributed some nice smokiness. I used homemade stock that spent most of Sunday afternoon simmering away and needed more salt than I normally use. Per most of her recipes, this made a TON of soup, and unusually, it’s actually relatively healthy so I don’t feel bad about loading up a huge bowl. I topped mine with light cheese, Greek yogurt, cilantro, and some avocado.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Yields 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt (I used an equal amount of Penzey’s Southwest seasoning instead of the spice mix)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 10 Oz. Can Ro-tel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
• 3 Tablespoons Cornmeal Or Masa
• 5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in Ro-tel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed---add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.

Ladle into bowls, then top as desired.