Spring Delights

Preamble:  Hello my friends. I have missed you. The truth is, that there have been some things brewing these past few months that kept me from relishing in my foodie obsession, much to my dismay and displeasure. I will spare you all the details, but the past months have kind of thrown me for a loop. I'm working on getting back in the mood for food and hope to post lots more very soon!

This Easter was an especially delightful holiday for me. I don't know that there is one specific reason, but I was much more sentimental and spiritual than usual. Maybe it's because here in the South, we've been overwhelmed by beautiful azaleas, flowers popping up in all the colors of a rainbow and yes, covered in pollen, for the past month now.

Or, perhaps it was the sight of the amazing cross covered in flowers on the lawn of my church on Easter Sunday.

Or the Easter cupcakes.

Or, maybe it's my new car! (Well, it's technically used, but it still has that "new car" smell.)

These past weeks, I have just really been enjoying the little things. I've had some really good glasses of wine (and a few glasses of bubbly sprinkled in for good measure). I've eaten the fruits of spring...asparagus, strawberries, jelly beans (well, these are the fruit of Brach's, but hey). My sunroof has been down at every possible moment. I've taken the scenic route anywhere possible. I've turned the music up a little louder and sang my heart out. I've walked Max outside instead of walking myself on the treadmill. I've read books for pure pleasure, and I've sat on the porch admiring my mini garden of hostas and caladiums and ferns.

It has truly been delightful! And this season particularly, I am grateful because I know that I am so blessed. With family, friends, provision, dreams, hopes, desires, passions. That makes every moment delightful.

Headed to the Borough

I just got back from a trip across The Pond. Yep, that's right. I had the opportunity to take two weeks and visit my dear friend, Dr. Nellie, while she was finishing up a bit of studying in London.

My next several posts will be about my adventures with Dr. Nellie...beginning with our trip to London's famed and beloved Borough Market.

I first became aware of this wonderland of food when I saw it on Ina Garten's London special during the holidays last year. Knowing I was headed there in the spring, I have pretty much been obsessed ever since.

The market is made up of of hundreds of vendors selling everything from piping hot Hunstman Pie...

to giant, steaming pots of paella...

to sweet and savory homemade marmalades...

to pastries that will make you want to cry...

and everything in between.

Walking around the market with a zillion of your closest friends takes some patience, but it's hard to really lose your cool when you realize that you are milling through this foodie mecca with your own people.

I mean, how can you fault someone for stopping in the middle of the isle because they just tasted the creamiest, richest cheese of their life? Or for taking 20 minutes in line ahead of you to decide which of the homemade truffles - dark, white, milk, cayenne, chai, strawberry... - is "the" one? I just don't think you can.

If I were an athlete, experiencing Borough Market would definitely be like winning the Superbowl or the World Series.

Dr. Nellie and I roamed and roamed, ogling at all the delights...then, suddenly, there it was: The Flour Station. This is the very vendor where the Barefoot Contessa herself purchased an unbelievably gooey, glistening sweet roll on her trip to Borough Market. I must have one.

I had stood where Ina had been. Happy, happy girl.

After a couple hours of exploring all the cracks and crevices of the market, we picked up some sandwiches and a glass of cold cider to wash them down (I literally watched them pour my cider straight from the cask!) and sat down to rest our feetsies for a bit before heading back to the flat.

Words cannot even begin to describe the swelling in my heart that Saturday morning.  Sheer and utter thrill, complete amazement, crazy wonderment. I felt as if I had come home walking through the market bustling with people, smelling the aromas of the bounties of this earth (and some from grandma's kitchen) and truly savoring every moment.

Cheers!