A Wonderful trip to the Chihuly Exhibit at The Biltmore

My birthday present from John was a trip to Asheville to see the Chihuly exhibit which was being staged on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate.  I loved the Chihuly Exhibit in Montreal in 2013 and I love the Biltmore thus a combination of two of my favorite things.  In addition, we stayed in a wonderful B&B called The Albermarle Inn.  They had experienced a calamity a couple of days before we got there and had a ceiling collapse over their main staircase.  They were so apologetic and they offered us our choice of any room that we liked.  It was fun to get to see some of the rooms in the house, via the back staircase, but we decided to stick to our first choice which was on the main floor with easy access to the beautiful outside porch and yard.  We enjoyed a wonderful glass of wine on the porch along with delicious cheese and olives prior to going out for dinner.  The inn’s cat Simon joined us along with two other couples who were staying there.  We started chatting to them and discovered a small world connection with them.  One of the men was from Australia and had gone to a school that John had presented a workshop at in 1985.  In addition, he was at the school when the person who was John’s host way back then was the headmaster.  We got to hear some fun tales of this rather unique gentleman.  Our dinner was at The Admiral and the girls surprised me with a birthday card that was on the table when we got there and a bottle of Cava to enjoy.  They joined us briefly after their kick ball game for a glass of the cava which was delicious.

My good friend, Ashleigh, came from Knoxville the next day, and met us at The Biltmore welcome center.  We then drove in together to the estate.  I think we were both dumbstruck by the magnificent sculptures from the first Sal d’Orio (2017) to the Alabaster and Amber Spire Towers (2017).  We wandered slowly, taking in every angle of every sculpture.  They look so different when looked at from a different angle.  Every time I looked at one I saw something different.  We took time after the tour to go to Antler Village to see the remaining two sculptures and while there we stopped at The Bistro for lunch and what a lunch it was.  The Bistro is a “Field to Table” restaurant and we all ordered the shrimp and crab and tomato salad in a tomato broth.  It was delicious and well deserved after we had walked almost four miles around the garden.

Then, we went back in the evening and saw them lighted which made every one of them look magnificent.  We enjoyed a wonderful meal at a new restaurant called Chiesa which is in an old church not too far from where our B&B was.  We sat outside and enjoyed the warm evening hoping that it wouldn’t rain before we got to the exhibition.  It didn’t.  It rained all the way back to South Carolina the next day but it didn’t rain on the day that it really mattered.  What a wonderful birthday it was and I cannot thank my husband and family enough for making it so special, and Chihuly for coming to Asheville in time for me to see it before going back up north for the summer.

For more pictures of our visit to Chihuly at Biltmore CLICK HERE

Packing Continues but it’s OK!

I came back from the trip to Asheville with renewed mental energy to get the final packing done for our summer migration to Canada.  I have gone through the kitchen cabinets and drawers, the pantry cupboards and my desk.  Except for the refrigerator it is pretty well packed up and cleaned up.  Dry goods and canned goods are put away in sealed containers where they will be stored until we return.  We have a second fridge in the garage where we will store anything that we want to keep from the inside fridge which is not much at this point.  Knickknacks and photos in the livingroom are put away and tables are cleared off.  John has organized his office space and packed up what he needs for up north.  The guestrooms are cleared out for our summer tenant and our room is mostly packed up.  The porch is where we live with the dogs and the cats most of the time so it will be the last room to be done.  Cat trees will be put away except for the permanent one, dog beds stored, the basket full of toys will go under the stairs to be found in the fall as if it was full of new toys.  The dogs know something is up especially Wyke who recognizes what a suitcase is.  He is moping around the house a bit.  Bean hasn’t a clue.  We had the final vet visits prior to the trip so everyone is legal to go up to Canada.  I wasn’t keen on getting the rabies shots for the cats but I also didn’t want to be stopped at the border and have to go to a vet I didn’t know before being allowed into the country.  I was nervous about them having a reaction because of last summers disaster but two different vets told me it would be fine.  The cats don’t have to have all the other vaccinations since they aren’t boarded and they don’t go outside.  They had the basics as kittens and now we don’t need to do more.  Bean needed her last set to keep her healthy since she and Wyke will probably go to daycare sometime and they play with other dogs quite a bit here on Dataw.  One thing we were told is that Bean has an overbite which can cause problems and it was suggested that we find a good pet dentist.  Not pleased about this but I guess I will see what I can do when I get up north.  We don’t have time to do anything before we leave.  The vet suggested she might need some baby teeth pulled.  Good Grief!!!!  Hope the pet insurance covers it.

A Recipe to Try

Continuing on my theme of eating tomatoes as they are so good for you, here we add in some Artichokes for lots of Vitamin K and Folate and lots of wonderful minerals such as magnesium and potassium.  Not to mention the wonderful kale (wilted) and mushrooms, beans and walnuts.  Last week’s tomato and potato salad was wonderful and it lasted for five days in the fridge.

Roasted Tomato & Artichoke Pesto Pasta (from Blue Zones)

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic
2 cups kale
½ cup button mushrooms
½ cup cherry tomatoes
½ red pepper
1 cup no salt canned cannellini beans
½ cup canned artichoke hearts
1 lemon
1 cup pasta (whole-grain or GF)
¼ cup walnuts
2 cups arugula
1 cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Rinse produce. Peel garlic. Chop kale into thin ribbons. Thinly slice button mushrooms. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. For the red pepper, remove stem and seeds and cut into small pieces. Drain the canned artichoke hearts and quarter. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out into a container, removing any seeds as you do.
2. Cook pasta (whole-grain or gluten free) according to directions on the package. Immediately after draining pasta, return it to the pot and add kale ribbons (the pasta should be hot enough to wilt the kale without having to return the pot to the stovetop).
3. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, button mushrooms, and red pepper pieces in a single layer. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until tomatoes deflate, but are still juicy, and all veggies are slightly charred.
4. While the vegetables roast, make the pesto. In a food processor, add garlic and walnuts. Pulse until finely chopped. Add arugula, fresh basil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and black pepper to taste. Pulse to combine. With food processor running, slowly pour in warm water a little at a time until pesto reaches a thin, sauce-like consistency.
5. Place the roasted vegetables, beans, and hot, cooked pasta in a bowl and pour on pesto. Sprinkle with extra nutritional yeast if desired.