Scenes from our Accidental Nature Walk

Saturday morning we went to play tennis, and lasted about 30 minutes before I started whining and complaining about being hot and passing out slash Joe beat me too many times in a row. Then we discovered a secret nature trail that led to Rowan Oak.

Eagle Scout in action

New bridge

creepy voodoo stuff hanging from trees

Checking out William Faulkner's kitchen...not impressed

Someone lost some cred when we tried to make our own trail and started hearing threatening animal noises

Bulgogi and Falafel

Ever since I tasted my first (and only..) bulgogi from Seoul Garden in Mary Esther, I have been obsessed. I want more!! There are no Korean restaurants here though, and I will leave the authentic bulgogi cooking up to the Koreans. This weekend, we made flank steak with a bulgogi marinade. It was yummy.

Marinating away!

We obviously don't know how to cook for two... this thing was HUGE

Somebody is becoming quite the grill master!

Big news - Kathy Z will be delivering real plates to Oxford tomorrow! No more cutting through styrofoam.

Here is the recipe from canyoustayfordinner

Grilled Steak Bulgogi

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• ½ cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 TBSP sesame oil
• 2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
• 1 lb flank steak

1. Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Place the flank steak into a gallon sized resealable plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the steak and press to remove all air and seal. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
3. Set all burners of a gas grill to medium. Grill 5 minutes per side. Let the beef rest for 15 minutes before slicing thinly, against the grain.

This is a really good food blog, I have also made the baked falafel, which everyone loved:

Bet you cant guess which pic was taken with the 4g iPhone?

In related food news: someone had their first chicken on a stick Saturday night (Sunday morning?)

yum yum

Great read!

When I moved to Oxford, I knew I would have a lot of free time and would probably be bored, so I moseyed on up to the Oxford Public Library to get a library card. I was immediately declined because I am homeless, and can't prove that I am a resident of Mississippi. SO, I was forced to steal the book Joe was reading (Shouldn't he be studying instead?):

Freakonomics! This is an awesome book that I finished this morning. Its a lot different than my usual favorites (any book by Emily Giffin) because it makes you think. It applies economic thinking to the real world with a bunch of crazy and controversial examples. They explain that the decrease in the crime rate in the early 1990's was caused by the legalization of abortion, because babies who aren't wanted by their mothers are typically the ones who grow up and commit crimes. (See, I told you it was controversial!) Its like the most interesting school book you will ever read! They should teach a class around these theories.

The authors wrote a sequel called Superfrekonomics, which I cant WAIT to read! Now...go get this book!

Peas and Carrots

I miss my chex mix partner. It's hard to eat chex mix by yourself when all of those pesky pretzels are always getting in the way.

This lovely lady used to be very willing to help me out and get rid of them for me:

"Give me all your pretzels!"

How could you resist this little face? Don't worry about her though, she still gets the brown chips when my mom is eating the chex mix at home.

Seedless Watermelon?????

I don't think so, Kroger.

But you are still delicious!

Summer Supper!

Summer is by far the best season for food, my favorites are peaches, corn, watermelon, and strawberries. Last night we had quite the seasonal meal!

Our gingham salad in Oxford - grilled chicken, strawberries, almonds, artichoke hearts, and feta

Yesterday was a very rainy day which meant that I spent a good amount of time carousing the internet. I made P Dubs Blackberry Cobbler and added raspberries (not my idea..), it turned out delicious! It would have probably been better with peaches, but we keep going out with the MBA friends on Friday nights and missing them at the farmer's market. ONE DAY....

Before pic - I was unsure of my skills at this point

After pic! Success!

Ignore Joe's fine china

Adding ice cream...

And the grand finale! Cool wchip

Land of the Delta Blues

Friday night, we took a little trip to Clarksdale, MS to go to Ground Zero Blues Club, the home of the blues! Joe's friends got a party bus and we were off!

The Hotty Totty Bus - high class

paaarrtyyyy

Our friend Meredith is a talented cup-maker, this was my wine glass

This handsome fellow was in town for a wedding, so he got to come with us..

Mista Rockett

Joe and Carson go to Clarksdale!

The bus ride itself was tons of fun... but since it wasn't the fanciest bus, there was no A/C and we drove the whole hour and a half with the windows down, it was basically like being on a boat... not good for anyone's hairdo.

Ground Zero Blues Club

Once we arrived, we checked out the place and then sat down to eat BBQ and fried green tomatoes. There was a blues camp going on for kids in Clarksdale, and they all came together to make the band. These kids were 12 years old and they were AWESOME!!! You wouldn't believe how good they were.

These kids were 12 years old!! Ballers

This one was my fave, Im trying to figure out how to put a video of him on here!

We had a blast, and the bus ride home was ridiculous. There are no pictures from that, thankfully for everyone involved!

Saturday, the old people (Joe, Carson, and I) weren't feeling so great (we were feeling horrible) and we hit up good ole Big Bad Breakfast, which will always make your hangover at least 50% better. Later Joe and I showboated our amazing app skills and made a sausage and cheese plate, Carson was very impressed. Joe felt the need to take a picture of it, so here you go!

We were overly excited to find out you can buy Conecuh in Oxford