Foodie Friday | Avocado Pesto Pasta 2012-05-25

Mmmmmm…..I’m still out of town but couldn’t pass up an opportunity to share a delicious recipe with you that includes one of my most favorite ingredients ever: avocado.

I throw avocado in everything and anything I can because not only does it have a yummy taste but since it has a very creamy texture it is an excellent replacement for cheese, especially if you get a bit hummused out like I do. So when I came across this delicious recipe combining all of my favorites (garlic – oh my! – pasta – gimme gimme – basil – please stop…you’re just teasing me now – and of course…my love…avocado) I just had to make it….over and over and over.

Now, I could either just let you click the link above, copy Chef Chloe’s recipe word for word in my blog or do the smart thing and just command, shift, 4 on my Mac and take a screen shot and place it below. Gosh I’m one smart cookie.

Enchanting | Glamour Photography 2012-05-22

Buhl Park Weddings | Rachel & Dan 2012-05-23

I absolutely love the part of a wedding day when the bride and groom are getting ready. So much energy, so much activity. It’s one of my most favorite parts of the day. Since John takes the photos of the guys getting ready while I’m taking photos of the gals, it’s always a treat to get home and look thru what moments John was able to capture. And I’m never disappointed.

Foodie Friday | Kombu 2012-05-18

Never heard of Kombu? Well you are seriously missing out. Kombu is a sea vegetable that is dense in vitamins and nutrients, especially iodine. Read anything about it and you’ll see that it has a lot of really wonderful health benefits…but what exactly do you do with it??

Well, in Asian countries it’s used as a base to many soups and dishes to add flavor. You can buy it in a variety of forms but probably the easiest is dried. It will look like the photo below…long, hard strips covered in a slight white powdery substance (thought to add flavor that comes about during the drying process).

The main reason we add it to just about anything we cook in our home is because it is a wonderful digestive aid. It is known to alleviate gas, indigestion and constipation. We actually keep ours in a mortar and pestle it to death to break it up into fine pieces that we can just pinch into a dish we’re cooking. It does have a slight fishy taste, which doesn’t go with most of the dishes we prepare so breaking it up so finely avoids any interference with the overall taste. We leave larger pieces for when we are making brothy soups.

We add it to pretty much anything that we are applying heat to that also has a liquid base. Once it cooks for a while it becomes soft, a little rubbery and grows in size, hence why we break it up so finely. We also steam it with rice, which adds flavor as well as steeps the rice in all the yummy nutrients.

Don’t be scared. Just try it.

Jay Verno Studios | Wedding Details | Jen & Kevin 2012-05-21

Since I will actually be out of town all week I’ve decided to keep my blog writing short and sweet…meaning I’m just going to let the photos speak for themselves.

Enjoy!