ICELAND

Amazing road trip adventure in Iceland.

hello beautiful Iceland!!!

at the great continental divide- standing between Europe and America

standing on one foot on a patch of ice 1 foot from the edge on cliff of this huge half frozen foss (waterfall)

seemed like a good idea at the time...

now my favorite picture of the trip!

huge rock formation- boats can sail through the arch.

this view was worth the exhausting hike up the snow covered mountain.

we saw hundreds of Icelandic horses.

they have thicker coats and shorter legs than regular horses but

don't call them ponies or they will get upset.

jet black volcanic sand beach and troll rocks.

church of Vik perched high atop a hill.

saw an Icelandic concert here at night.

we went hiking on a glacier!!!

we ended the trip with a soak in the blue lagoon, Iceland's largest geothermal hot spring

ever seen Hostel II? Yes...THAT blue lagoon.

over the course of 7 days we saw the landscape slowly change, showing hints of spring.

can't wait to come back in the summer to see iceland lush and green!

Icelandic fare

saved up by making pasta and veggies at hostels and splurged on one really classy dinner in Iceland.

Hotel Ranga ***** hotel. XOXO

in a glass box dining room, the sun was setting as we started dinner

smoked Arctic Char with toasted sesame seeds and soy

(chef sent this course out!)

simple greens salad dressed with roasted tomatoes and grated cheese

toppings for housemade bread:

evoo, sweet butter, sea salt, crushed pistachio, pepper medley

lobster soup with broiled langoustines and crushed pepper

serf and turf.

Icelandic lamb and Icelandic lobster with vegetables.

pea and potato puree with blueberry reduction and black salt

finished with chocolate lava cupcake and housemade blueberry sorbet

PORK-A-POLUZA

heart be still. but don't stop...please.

have i died and gone to pork heaven?? oh no, its just another trip to Sketch Burger in fishtown.

on special this fine day? the "PORK-A-POLUZA"

Dr. Pepper marinated pulled pork on a toasted butter bun topped with housemade goddess sauce, 4 slices of extra thick crispy applewood smoked bacon, and a fried egg.

WHAT??!?! can this really be true?

of course i couldn't neglect my ole standby, so we got 2 sandwiches and shared.

heart attack heaven.

Biketoit

March means Bikeweek in my family. Bikeweek 2011 in Daytona Beach.

can't wait for Biketoberfest!

so sleek.

i like em rusty and diy.

classic.

beautiful.

oh? its just lil hot rod.

safety has its price.

it costs $124.99

Traaaaditioooon! Tradition.

WOW. filling in some blanks here for the past 5 months..

here are some highlights from Christmas Eve dinner dessert.

One of my most favorite meals of the year.

traditional czech garb + lighting of the advent wreath

all the regulars...

homemade french macaroons

traditional poppy seed and nut & raisin kolach

thanks for THANKSGIVING

so thanksgiving defiantly didn't disappoint. as always deep rooted in family tradition.

turkey and vegetable soup. roasted turkey. stuffing balls. sweet potato. green bean casserole. brussle sprouts. mashed potato. turnips. olives/pickles. cranberry sauce. asparagus.

fruit bowl, pies, roasted nuts.

my first plate...
star of the show.
2 kinds of cranberry.
my brussle sprout dish.
the sausage ones always go first.
whipped and fluffy mashed potato.
roasted almonds, pecans, walnuts and Brazilian nuts.

still using the nut bowl my dad made when he was 12.
7 pies. pumpkin, cherry, apple, mince, pumpkin cheesecake, coconut, apple cinnamon.

what a finish!

fall feast

i had made some delicious fall feast food for Daniel's Friendsgiving dinner in November.

roasted brussle sprouts with toasted pecans, pomegranates, and vanilla butter.

bought all my veggies from Greensgrow
fresh roasted rainbow carrots
harvested the brussle sprouts from the stalk for the first time ever!
apple and onion chutney
de-seeding pomegranates is a tedious task