Seasonal Food Map

Epicurious.com has a seasonal food map that I stumbled upon today. I love the idea of knowing what is in season where I am, and where I am going. I imagine myself using it to order fresh seasonal dishes off menus, knowing what to look for in the farmers' market, and planning menus around the seasons. Really, I'll probably just play around with it and compare what is in different states. But it does remind me of the plethora of fruits and vegetables and all the different varieties. We need heirloom tomatoes and vidalia onions and purple peppers.

twd ~ chocolate spice quickies

Whenever I have someone over for dinner, I spend as much time thinking about the dessert as the main course. I see it as the big finale. I planned an intimate dinner for two last week, and took Dorie's suggestion to pair the chocolate spice quickies with ice cream. It was delicious. The cookies are great solo, and are subtle enough in flavor to be addictive. These aren't rich, despite the spices and chocolate, which is one reason why they paired so wonderfully with Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream.
The ice cream overshadowed the cookies a bit. I added a little expresso powder and salt to the ganache to bring out the intense chocolate.
Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart for this week's pick! Check out her blog for the recipe and some beautiful food pics.

Black-eyed peas with fresh tomatoes and broccoli slaw

When I visit my mom, I always grab her latest edition of Southern Living. I love the beautiful homes featured, the cities explored, and (of course) the delicious looking recipes and food pictures!

Last weekend, we decided to make a recipe from the magazine on Sunday after church. It needed to be something quick because I had a two-hour drive in front of me before my dance class in the evening.

The little black-eyed pea cakes were perfect. They are an easy, quick mix-up and fry and are balanced with the fresh tomatoe and broccoli slaw. The cakes are lightly mashed black-eyed peas, a bag of buttermilk cornbread mix, an egg, and spices. The slaw is a tangy mixture of broccoli slaw mix, sour cream, spices, lime juice, and lime zest. I can't wait to try it atop a black bean burger!

High Tea Time @ Dr. Bombay's in Atlanta

I love high tea. It makes a day feel special, and makes it totally acceptable to eat dessert in the middle of the day.

I've only had high tea a handful of times. I studied abroad in England, and we would go in between classes to a lovely little tearoom in Oxford that had something to do with Alice through the looking glass although I can't remember exactly what. I have searched for years for recipes similar to their little granola and honey bar treats!

I've been hearing about Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party for awhile. It's one of those places that I've been meaning to go, but never do. So I made a date with a friend for High Tea!

It was as lovely as I had heard. It has an ecletic arrange of books, games, tables, pillows that fits East Atlanta and gives a very laid back vibe - all mish mashed in and set to some wonderful jazz music. It took a little time to get our dish of finger foods and sweet treats because the scones had just been put in the oven. But the still warm scones made up for the wait! The peanut butter scone completely took me by surprise, as its nutty flavor was perfect smothered in Devonshire clotted cream. We almost finished the entire bowl of cream. Good thing I was going to swing dance classes afterwards, except that I could barely move I was so full!