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Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Tanglewood!

July 1, 2012 by Mary Frances 4 Comments

I love going to Tanglewood. Before we had our upstate house, I had always dreamed of being able to be close by to there to do exactly what we did last Saturday. I love the setting, I love the whole picnic dinner, I love the music. Diana Krall was playing and she was fantastic! So last weekend, two of my brothers and their wives joined us at our upstate house, which is not far from Tanglewood. (My dream came true!) On Saturday afternoon, I fried up two and a half chickens, made a fabulous potato salad (if I can say so myself) along with a tomato and peach salad and some brownies. My sister-in-laws filled in with a wonderful vegetable slaw, a selections of cheeses, nuts and grapes. Add some fantastic bottles of wine from my brothers and we were all set!!

We were so set, that I forgot to take pictures of all the food and our plates!!

But here’s the evening – and what was left of the buttermilk fried chicken.

Two brothers at Tanglewood.

Two of my brothers at Tanglewood

Chicken basket.

This was full of buttermilk fried chicken

Fried chicken in tin foil.

This is what was left.

Picnic dinner at Tanglewood.

The remains of the dinner

The scene!

Elegant couple with candlelit picnic dinner at Tanglewood.

This elegant couple gladly posed for me. Notice the silver candlesticks and flowers. The guy told me he chose his shirt on purpose to match!

Diana playing at Tanglewood.

Diana playing.

I need to talk to you of what I have learned of the importance of voice – and what Diana Krall has taught me. She is so soft, so mellow, soooo sexy with that contralto voice of hers. She could almost say anything to you and you would agree. If you got mad at your husband with her voice, he’d just have to kiss you and do anything you wanted. Seriously.
I think we don’t pay enough attention to our voice and the strength of it – and we should. So pay attention to not only what you say but how you say it. It makes a huge difference.

Filed Under: Dinner, Travel Tagged With: brothers, buttermilk fried chicken, Diana Krall, dinner picnics, picnics, Pinot Noir, potato salad, Tanglewood, wine

Hudson Valley

June 11, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

Horses at a fence. Stallions at Silvernails sign.My bike ride yesterday was so lovely. I keep saying that the Hudson Valley is just so, so pretty. The light here is so spectacular. No wonder all the artists and painters congregated here.

I have several routes that I go on for my rides. This particular one is about 8 miles and takes in numerous horse farms. Spectacular pieces of property and interestingly enough, the horses and cows all came to their fences to say hello to me as I was riding by yesterday!

Here are just a few shots for your pleasure.

Corn just starting to grow in cornfield.

The corn is just starting to grow!

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: bike rides, bike routes, horse farms, horses, Hudson Valley, Hudson Valley School of Art, Silvernails stallions

Nashville!

May 22, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

Live band in Nashville.

Live music all the time!!

We have been in Nashville for the past four days on business and we’ve really been having a fantastic food time! (Business was great too with a well-accepted Board of Governors presentation!)

So what did we eat in Nashville? Well the highlights were amazing fried oysters on fresh local mesclun greens at Sunset Grill, Redneck pulled pork burritos (awesome) and fried green tomatoes with a chipotle mayonnaise at Puckett’s 5th and Church, hot delicious homemade donut holes with cinnamon sugar and a whipped blueberry peach butter (like it needed it!) at Germantown Café and of course, shrimp and grits at Midtown Cafe. There seems to be a pattern here of fried and richness and I must admit, my tummy is a little upset but you know what? For these few days, it was worth it! Combine the food with the Grand Ole Opry and all the live music in all the Broadway bars at all hours of the day and night, and you realize this is one nice town with lovely people.

In between business, I had one day with my friend Margaret. We started with those large donut holes being served at our brunch of eggs Benedict with crab cakes instead of Canadian bacon, and grits with Jack cheese. We then tried to walk it off at this huge Farmer’s Market they have in Capital Park and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, ending with a cocktail at the historic and gorgeous Union Station Hotel. Quite a lovely “girls day” – in fact – perfect!

A Nashville Farmer’s Market in Capital Park and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

The Farmer’s Market

Nashville greens in a Farmer's Market  in Capital Park and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

Any kind of greens you want!

Nashville tomatoes in a Farmer's Market  in Capital Park and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts

See them cut before you buy!

Nashville yellow squash in a Farmer's Market  in Capital Park and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

That’s a whole lot of yellow squash!

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Capital Park, country music, donut holes, Farmer's Market, fried oysters, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Germantown Cafe, Grand Ole Opry, live music, Midtown Cafe, Nashville, Puckett's 5th and Church, pulled pork, Redneck, shrimp and grits, Sunset Grill, Union Station Hotel, whipped butter

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